By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a warm morning at 31 (F) -1 (C) degrees with overcast conditions and snow falling throughout my watch

I was kind of surprised to see a falcon on the west side railing of Seneca Towers as I started out on my watch today. I’m pretty sure it was 99 perched so pretty with the snow falling down around him. He didn’t stay long for as I had just started taping a video of him he dove off down toward the river gorge and didn’t come back.

I headed down Seth Green Dr. to go downtown and see what Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) were up to. From the Radisson Hotel I spotted DC quite easily as he was facing out showing his whiteness from the north side ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft.

The snow was giving my camera a hard time focusing and I couldn’t see much better with my binoculars but I believe Beauty may have been tucked way in on the south side ledge. DC moved way in on his ledge where you could barely see him so I set out for a drive around downtown. Below is my best shot of DC as my camera wanted to focus on the snow rather than my subject, DC.

<Click it

I didn’t find Beauty so I assume she was up in the elevator shaft with DC. I checked out the river, then to Tim Hortons for coffee. There were cops, an ambulance and a fire truck there-I found out that a kid had been stabbed on an RTS bus and went in there to hide. Rochester has become a very violent city-sad. Anyway, I checked around downtown one more time and came up empty at seeing a falcon. I ended my watch at 9:15am figuring there would not be much if any falcon activity.  Keep smiling folks-spring begins in 67 days! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/NR_f9WfpcFs

http://youtu.be/Xflg2e2FaMQ

http://youtu.be/WYbSjisMnvU

http://youtu.be/gOUUA5_rnRM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

12:00 – 2:30 pm

Today was so much nicer than recent days.  Temps soared into the mid-20’s (F).  It was a heatwave and the sun was out for awhile.  lol

I started my watch at the west end of Kodak Park (KPW).  No luck finding a falcon there, but I was very excited when a gorgeous adult Bald Eagle flew overhead, low.  I didn’t even have to get my binocs, s/he was that close.  Beautiful dark body, with white head and tail.  I scrambled to turn my camera on, but was only able to get a couple pictures as it continued on, heading south. What a lovely bird and a wonderful way to start my watch.

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While I was at KPW, Kathy O and Brian were downtown.  Kathy tweeted that both Beauty and Dot.ca were on the Kodak Tower. A little while later, she tweeted that both Beauty and Dot.ca took off heading south.  From the Broad St. Bridge Kathy reported that Dot.ca was eating on the base of Mercury and Beauty was on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.  They were still in those spots when I made my way to Aqueduct St. aka the hole.

Dot.ca’s white chest was glowing in the sunlight.  He had a very full crop.

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Beauty was keeping watch from the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.

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Dot.ca continued to eat.  I’m pretty sure that Pigeon was on the menu.

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Dot.ca moved to the far side of the base of Mercury where I couldn’t see him.  Kathy could see him from where she was on the Broad St. Bridge.  She told me he had finished his meal and was preparing to take off.  Just as he took off, Beauty landed and picked up what remained of his meal.  After a few moments, she took off with it and flew over the Cross Rds Bldg, landing next to Dot.ca at the north end (this is where he went after leaving Mercury).

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Kathy joined me and Brian headed home.  We stayed until Beauty finished her leftovers and left the Cross Rds Bldg.  Dot.ca remained at the north end.  Kathy and I made our way over to the Andrews St. Bridge and found that  Beauty was now on the north side of OCSR on the top Ibeam.

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Kathy headed home and I went to Seneca Towers where I found two falcons.  One was eating on the northwest corner and the other was directly above on the railing.  I was at too far a distance to be able to get an ID, but I assume that they were Billie and 99.

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My last stop was back at KP West.  I was hoping to find a falcon there, but I didn’t

As I wrap up my falcon watching weekend, I’ll leave you with these words of wisdom for these cold & icy winter days.

Walk Like a Penguin and Drive Slowly! 🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I want to dedicate this watch report to fellow falcon watcher and friend Glo Thomas who passed away early this morning. RIP Glo

It was a warm (compared to the past few days) 19 (F) -7 (C) degrees this morning as I headed out with overcast calm conditions

Click on the pics to see the full version

I checked the OCSR elevator shaft first and found it to be falconless. I then drove over to the Broad St. Bridge as I spotted a falcon on the base of Mercury with its back to me from the hole. It turned out to be Beauty. I had time to get a couple pics and when I took my eyes off her to tweet out my findings she snuck off.

As I made my way down Exchange Blvd. I glanced over at Widows Walk and the roof of City Place as I always do and noticed Beauty up on one of the chimney structures on City Place, so I pulled into the parking lot next to Times Square to observe her. This is a spot the Beautyful one likes to eat and true to form, she started plucking feathers from a fresh catch soon after I arrived.

The white down feathers of whatever she had up there kept sticking to her chest, head, back and beak. If it weren’t for the fact that a small bird lost its life to feed Beauty it might almost be funny to see her all covered with little white feathers.

It seemed as though Beauty spent more time pulling feathers than she did eating as I watched her for about an hour.

I left her to it at 9am so I could try and find Dot.ca (DC). He wasn’t around the Times Square area obviously since he didn’t visit Beauty so I went over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. to check the OCSR elevator shaft-nothing on the north side ledge. Then I drove down to Bragdon Place and that’s where I saw DC on the south side ledge just standing there facing north.

I ended my watch at that time because I had to tend to some business in Brighton-I checked the Brighton site but no falcons were there. When I arrived home to Seneca Towers (ST) at 10:30am I spotted the head of falcon on the northwest corner from Seth Green Dr. When I looked again with camera in hand and ready to shoot it had turned around and all I could see were tail feathers. They were moving like it was eating but I can’t say for sure.

It disappeared so I drove out to St. Paul St. and checked the north end of ST from the Northridge Church but the falcon was gone. I had a nice watch and saw 3 of the 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons to come away smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/8SU7beS8Y9I

http://youtu.be/9lYHHp-Xj3I

http://youtu.be/_lDR5-gfFhc

http://youtu.be/wT4hsWm_cMw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Hooray for the weekend!  I couldn’t wait to get out and get a falcon fix.  🙂

It was cold, only 9 degrees (F) when I left the house.  Brrrr!  Can’t wait for Spring!

Because I saw a falcon at KP West the other day, that’s where I started my watch.  As luck would have it, I found a falcon on the lower catwalk of the east smoke stack.

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I stayed there for 1 1/2 hours, hoping that this falcon would take flight and maybe come a little closer.  No such luck.  The whole time I was there, the falcon preened, pooped and looked every which way.  But it did not moved from its spot on the catwalk.

At 12:30 pm, I decided to head downtown.  I found both Beauty and Dot.ca up inside the OCSR elevator shaft.  Dot.ca on the south side ledge and Beauty on the north side ledge.  When I first arrived, parking in front of the Radisson, they were ee-chupping to each other.  My first clue that they were up there.  lol

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While I was keeping an eye on Beauty and Dot.ca, I heard the unmistakable chittering of a Kestrel.  This is the vocalization a Kestrel will make when it is upset.  It was stooping over and over again over the trees on the other side of the river.  A quick check with my binoculars and I could see what was upsetting the Kestrel.  There was a Coopers Hawk in the tree.  After about 15 minutes, the Coop took off and so did the Kestrel.  Beauty and Dot.ca never moved during all of this.

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At 1:30 pm, I headed out of downtown to check Seneca Towers (ST).  From far back on Seth Green Dr, I was able to see a falcon on the northwest corner.

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From the north side, I had a better view of this falcon, but at too far a distance to make an ID.

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After checking out all sides of Seneca Towers and not finding a 2nd falcon, I headed back to the west end of Kodak Park.  The falcon I had seen there earlier was gone.

I was happy to get out after a busy work week to finally see some falcons!!!  Yay!

I’ll leave you with a few pics I took while downtown.  The river is almost frozen over.  Enjoy!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was mostly cloudy with a short peak at the sun-cold temperature of 8 (F) -13 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

I started my watch with Dot.ca (DC) on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. After I checked the south side ledge of the elevator shaft from Bragdon Place. I drove around to Main St. end of the hotel to check the north side ledge-both were empty and to my surprise DC was facing me up on the top ibeam.

10 minutes later the sun peaked through the clouds and DC started to pluck feathers from food he had underneath him.

DC worked on preparing and eating whatever he had and at about 8am I cranked my neck to take a look at Mercury which was behind me-I got very excited to see Beauty was on the base of Mercury and she too, was eating. The reason for my excitement was because I’d only seen them in the elevator shaft the last 2 mornings.

The Beautyful one had her back to me so I opted for moving to the Broad St. bridge to see the front of her and keep track of DC over on OCSR.

DC stopped eating and a few minutes later Beauty finished up as well. She feaked a few times then slipped off the back of the base and flew over to OCSR to join DC. They were at opposite ends of the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR-she was near the south corner and he was near the elevator shaft.

<Click it

I left the bridge and went back over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. for closer viewing. They were facing each other at a distance with their feathers all foofed up to keep warm.

At 8:29am DC flew off to the north side ledge of the elevator shaft and tucked way back in on it.

And a couple minutes later Beauty followed suit by flying up and next to DC on the north ledge. There was bowing and vocalizing involved.

I decided to end my watch as I assumed they would stay up there for a while to digest their food and keep out of the cold a bit. My fingers and feet were frozen so it was time to start the engine, put the window up and crank up the heat as I left downtown at about 8:45am. Our beloved Beauty and DC had put a big ole smile on my face today by ending my watch with them in the elevator shaft instead of spending the entire time in there! 🙂

After I checked all 4 sides of Seneca Towers (no falcons) I decided to take a short ride down St. Paul St. to Seneca Park below the zoo to see if I could find any birds amongst the trees-it’s very quiet and serene there this time of year. I didn’t think there would be any shore birds as I figured the pond was frozen. As I entered the park I saw the remnants of what a beaver can do to a tree and to my surprise as I came around to the west side of the pond there was a round opening in the pond where many ducks,gulls and geese had gathered. Man made no doubt. The last video below is of the time I spent with them. Enjoy!

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/8f1dFmRR3Co

http://youtu.be/fLtSz_lD9KI

http://youtu.be/AlYFQ1nOWu8

http://youtu.be/wbihs84zVYc

http://youtu.be/ADqaBPtS9ac

http://youtu.be/U73Jdqy1kzM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Snowing, dark and a bit breezy with a temperature of 19 (F) -7 (C). It was however, 12 degrees warmer than yesterday morning-a virtual heat wave!

Click on the pics to see the full version

There were no falcons at Seneca Towers for the 5th straight day-I guess they’re staying hunkered down just like Beauty and Dot.ca (DC). I tried to check the OCSR elevator shaft when I first arrived downtown but it was snowing too hard to see up in there so I took a ride around stopping on the Court St. bridge to check out the river. I taped a video from both sides of the bridge then headed back to the Radisson Hotel to check the elevator shaft again. The snow had let up enough for me to see Beauty on the south side ledge.

I could see a dark image tucked way back in on the north side ledge with my binoculars but couldn’t get a pic to show it.

Around 8:45am Beauty turned sideways and gave me a look at her. I tweeted that I was leaving and just as I started to pull away the Beautyful one flew out from the elevator shaft and went over to the top ibeam and landed near the south corner. As the snow stopped and the sun came out I checked the north ledge again and could definitely see the dark shape of a falcon-DC.

I drove to Graves St. by Aqueduct Park for a short visit with Beauty before heading out at 9:15am. Not much happening on watch the past few days, but at least we know Beauty and DC are doing ok. Now if Billie and 99 would show themselves I’d be a happy camper.

I smiled as I drove away – satisfied that our downtown Rochester Peregrine Falcons are weathering the bitter cold polar vortex that has drifted down over a large portion of the country! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/O1d5Ekm6D-E

http://youtu.be/I4BcHspmIYo

http://youtu.be/6fuoH-qfVtk

http://youtu.be/diHCqupOPTI

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another frigid day in Rochester, NY.  When I woke up this morning, it was 6 degrees (F) with -16 windchill.  I hope that everyone affected by this bitter cold weather is keeping safe and warm.

This is just a quick report.  Everyday, when I leave work, I always check the two smoke stacks at the west end of Kodak Park aka Eastman Business Park.

During the day, I noticed that the pigeons that gathered on the building on the west side of Mt Read were flying frequently.  I kept checking to see if anything was chasing them, but I never did see anything.  Finally, at the end of my day, I found what may have been causing the pigeons panicked flight.

There was an adult Peregrine Falcon on the east side of the lower catwalk on the east stack.  It was on a small silver box that I have seen other falcons on.  Here are a couple of pics taken with the small Kodak camera that I had with me.

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Sorry that the quality of the pictures aren’t very good due to the distance.

So, is this a wintering falcon or possibly one of the locals?  Hopefully it will stay for awhile so we can ID our visitor.

Stay warm everyone!!!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Sun prevailed this morning in a cold kingdom-temperature from start to finish was 7 (F) -14 (C) and a biting wind making it feel like -15 (F)

It was a short watch for me this morning-I didn’t get downtown until after 8am because of slow moving traffic. The first place I checked turned out to be the last place I had to check-the OCSR elevator shaft. First, from the south end of the Radisson Hotel by Main St. where I can see the north side ledge. I believe it was Beauty tucked way in on that one as she mostly had her back to me, but I did see her preen a little.

I went over to the north end of the hotel on Bragdon Place where I can see up onto the south side ledge of the elevator shaft. I believe this was Dot.ca with his back to me and not even moving his head so I could catch a glimpse of his whiteness.

And that’s all she wrote folks-I stayed until 9:15am watching a couple falcon backs which is a lot like watching paint dry. lol  Still, just knowing the Beautyful one and DC have a place to go is enough to make me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see what I watched today-brace yourself because it may be too exciting for your hearts! lol

http://youtu.be/nXGjCNPRXoA

http://youtu.be/HJtf7gqrDcc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Baby it’s cold outside! When I left for my watch it was 15 (F) -9 (C) degrees with windy, overcast conditions. When I ended my watch at 9:15am it was down to 9 (F) -14 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

As I left Seneca Towers I spotted a falcon flying over the river gorge heading north-when it didn’t come back and land on the building I took off for downtown. I made 2 trips around and as I was at the Radisson Hotel to check the OCSR elevator shaft I spotted Beauty over on the south side arch of Kodak Office (KO). The shaft was empty so I drove down to State St. below KO.

The Beautyful one was all foofed up to keep warm and was actively watching for breakfast to present itself. The steady strong wind was blowing her feathers up.

At 8:23am Beauty flew off in a hurry to the southwest-I watched until she disappeared into the gray sky. I waited a few minutes to see if she would return then I left for the Times Square area.

15 minutes later, after searching the east and south parts of downtown, I went to the Radisson Hotel to check the elevator shaft. This time there was a falcon in there on the north side ledge with its back to me.

The few times that it turned its head I thought that it was Dot.ca as it seemed bright white like him but I can’t positively say it was him.

At any rate, I had business to attend to so I ended my watch at 9:15am leaving whomever it was in the elevator shaft. Stay warm and keep smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/JhLNN35LRzU

http://youtu.be/pyvNfKxdW5Q

http://youtu.be/iS4tma2G7OU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a chilly 13 (F) -11 (C) when I left Seneca Towers this morning with a little breeze, fine light snow falling and overcast conditions

Click on the pics to see the full version

I spotted Beauty on the Ellwanger Barry building which is on State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel. I was on the Andrews St. Bridge at the time-Beauty had her back to me on the green strip and was eating. I drove over to the exit of the hotel for a front row seat.

I started to tape her as she finished eating and turned around to face me-then she flew over a couple feet to grab a leftover leg and started picking at that. Beauty polished that off quick and in the end didn’t have much in her crop so I believe it was cached food that she was eating.

Beauty did a little feaking, then flew off to the north straight up and above State St. at 8:16am.

I headed down State St. myself and found the Beautyful one on her south side arch of the Kodak Office tower. She had her back to me so I drove over to Verona St. to see her from the front. The snow and dark lighting conditions made for some awful pics but you could clearly see her salmon colored chest.

I left her around 9am to look for Dot.ca (DC)-I found him on the south side ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft. I mistakenly tweeted the north side-it’s an old age thing I guess! lol Anyway, it was nearly impossible to see him but through the snow I could make out his dark falcon shape and a little of his whiteness with my binoculars. My camera however focused more on the snow so you’ll have to take my word for it that DC was up in there.

I was happy to have seen both downtown Rochester Peregrine Falcons even if it wasn’t under the ideal conditions. I left Bragdon Place and downtown at 9:15am ending my watch with a smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/BotrNywMGng

http://youtu.be/RExaA8UxSOg