By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I wanted to check on the local falcon spots today, so I headed over to Kodak Park first.  I’ve been keeping an eye on this area every day after work (I park on the north side of the stacks), but have had no luck spotting a falcon there.  Today was no exception.  I found no falcons there today.

Next stop, the BS location where Pigott and Dot.ca used to hang out.  No falcons there either.

I had much better luck downtown.  Both Dot.ca and Beauty were on the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  Beauty was up under the northeast wing and Dot.ca was on Camera #1 aka Pan Cam.  The same spots that Brian and I found them yesterday afternoon.

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Dot.ca took off from Pan Cam and landed on the ledge just above the nest box.

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Dot.ca took off again, this time heading east, over the river.  I was down on Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”), so I could not see him once he passed over the Reuters Bldg.  I moved my car closer to the Wilder Bldg, and found Dot.ca on top of the Mercury statue.

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Beauty had not moved from the top of the TSB.  I was in a good spot where I could watch both Beauty and Dot.ca.  Beauty was dozing and was all fluffed up against the cold.  In between preening sessions, Dot.ca was keeping an eye on everything that moved around him.  He took off from Mercury and stooped over the river, then headed north.  Notice that there are three sets of wings in this picture.  🙂

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I found Dot.ca up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the south ledge.  Beauty remained on the NE wing ledge on the TSB.

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This is where I left them to continue my search for falcons.  At Seneca Towers I found two falcons a few feet apart from each other on the north end, near the NW corner.  I was too far away to positively ID them, but I’m pretty sure it had to be Billie and 99.  Can you spot them in this picture?

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Here they are!

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While I was watching Billie and 99, Larry O tweeted from downtown that Beauty remained on the TSB, NE wing ledge.

My last stop before heading home was Russell Station.  I was not able to find a falcon there today.

I ended by watch after finding all 4 Rochester Falcons.  It was a nice quiet and peaceful Sunday, just how I like it!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was another dark morning with a temperature of 33 (F) 1 (C) with a few stray snow flakes

Click on the pics to see the full version

Billie was waiting for 99 and I to show up from the northwest corner railing as I parked on Seth Green Drive to start my watch.

A few minutes later Billie flew south and returned with 99-they both landed on the northwest corner of the roof. 99 was around the corner where I couldn’t see him.

Around 7:35am Billie joined 99 on the north side out of my view so I left for downtown. On my way out I spotted a young healthy looking buck in Seth Green Park.

Arriving downtown from the Broad St. bridge (BSB) I spotted a falcon on the southeast corner of the Kodak Office launchpad. I drove down to State St. and just as I got there Beauty flew off the southeast corner followed by Dot.Ca (DC). They did some flying together then DC landed on the northeast corner of the launchpad with food. He finished it then Beauty flew in and took his spot as he flew off.

Driving further down State St. I found DC on an apparatus attached to the north side of the KO playpen. Beauty looking his way from up on the launchpad.

At 7:48am they flew east and returned with the Beautyful one landing back on the northeast corner of the launchpad and DC landing on the east side arch above the playpen.

Minutes later they flew east again but only DC returned this time landing on the northeast corner of the playpen netting and left minutes later heading south in a hurry toward downtown.

I headed that way too thinking he saw Beauty catch breakfast and sure enough I found her on the base of Mercury plucking feathers. Parked in the hole on Aqueduct St. I was able to see DC fly in and grab a small piece of food from Beauty and take it over to the Times Square building (TSB) north side on the back lower section.

It didn’t take DC long to eat the meager piece of meat he had and after a couple minutes he flew back over to the base of Mercury and set up on the green part where I couldn’t see him. I knew he was there because I saw his wing tips when he hopped up. Beauty continued eating while DC strategized his next move on her food.

I went up to the BSB so I could see both of them and as I got there DC flew east and returned landing close to Beauty. He then took off right over top of her and came back landing on the base across from her. He was getting impatient now as he watched the prey get smaller and smaller underneath Beauty.

Beauty turned around and DC saw an opening to run in and snatch another piece of food from behind and fly over to the TSB landing under the northeast wing to gobble it down.  It didn’t take him long! I decided to drive back down to the hole to watch from in between them but they left while I was doing that.

I left for home at that point-I saw no falcons on my way at Hawkeye or at Seneca Towers when I arrived there at 9:30am. Boy, what a fun watch I had compliments of  our hungry tiercel DC, who made me smile a lot! 🙂

Click on the links below to see a photo album and the antics of DC in todays videos
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqkFq

http://youtu.be/Tf3ni3a8qn8
http://youtu.be/F_aLtrsQN8w
http://youtu.be/Mj0q-Dk0g3s
http://youtu.be/ERfgWAwT5gk
http://youtu.be/uKKpcXy1cUA
http://youtu.be/-qEFKBk7Yu8
http://youtu.be/99MzG8NC2Mw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Woohoo! for the weekend!  🙂

I couldn’t get out until the afternoon.  But I was happy to finally get downtown after a long work week.  While I was checking out the BS location and finding no falcons there, I received a text from Brian H.  He was downtown and reported seeing a falcon under the northeast wing on the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  Since there was nothing to see at BS, I headed downtown, meeting Brian on the Broad St Bridge.

It was a very cold afternoon with temps in the mid-30’s.  Brian was on foot, so I invited him into my warm car and we moved closer to the Times Square Bldg.  From Aqueduct St, aka “the hole”, we saw two falcons!  Beauty was the falcon under the northeast wing and Dot.ca was on Camera #1, aka Pan Cam, near the nest box.  I had reported that it was Beauty on Pan Cam, but after checking my pics, I see it was Dot.ca.  So it was Beauty above him with her back to us, all poofed up in the cold.

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After taking Brian home, I returned to the Times Square Bldg.  Of course both Beauty and Dot.ca were gone.  I looked all over, but was unable to find them.

So I headed to Seneca Towers (ST) to see if I could catch Billie or 99 there.  I did find one falcon on top of the building at the north end.  Based on size, I believe it was Billie.  I was facing directly into the sun, so it was hard to get a good look at the falcon.

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As I was leaving Seneca Towers, I saw this old historical marker sign on the side of the road.  I’ve seen it before, but never took the time to read it.  I can’t remember if anyone has posted a picture of it before, but it was very interesting information about the area.

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My last stop, before heading home, was Russell Station (RS).  I checked all sides and could only find a Red-tail Hawk hunting off the east end of the plant.  Since the hawk wasn’t being harassed by a falcon, it was safe to say there was no Peregrine nearby.

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It was a nice way to end my Saturday afternoon falcon watch!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast at the start today with a temperature of 30 (F) -1 (C) but by the end of my watch the sun was shining brightly

I didn’t find any falcons home at Seneca Towers as I left for downtown today. It took me a half hour before I came upon Beauty on the southeast corner of the Kodak Office launchpad. She had her back to me where I first pulled over at State and Platt St.

<Click it

As you can see in the last pic it was so dark out at 7:30am that the Kodak red lights were still on. So I went down another block to State and Brown St. where I had a front view of the Beautyful one.

I took many pictures of her in the half hour I spent watching as she preened, but the distance and darkness made them pretty blurry. I had to leave to get some blood work done and when I returned downtown I noticed a white spot on the 3rd ibeam northwest side of OCSR as I approached from the north on State St. It was gone when I got close enough to see that it was a falcon. I stopped across from the Federal building on Andrews St. to check out some trees that still had some nice color on them.

<Click them>

I made a trip around downtown looking for falcons and ended up on Bragdon Place by the Radisson Hotel to check the OCSR elevator shaft. I’m pretty sure it was Dot.Ca that I found up on the south side ledge.

I didn’t stay long as watching a falcon up in the elevator shaft is similar to watching paint dry! lol One more check of downtown for Beauty proved fruitless so I left for home. Once again there were no falcons at Seneca Towers as I ended my watch at 9:40am. It was an uneventful falcon watch this morning but still, any time I see a falcon is enough reason to make me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see videos

http://youtu.be/PDUI-nnpeVM

http://youtu.be/kyYkq1psC_g

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a brisk 26 (F) -3 (C) degrees as I walked out the door for my watch this morning. It started out with some clouds and some sun with blue skies peeking out in between the clouds and by the end of my watch it was completely overcast and snowing

Click on the pics to see the full version

Right out of the gate I spotted Beauty and Dot.Ca (DC) over on the Kodak Office (KO) launchpad from the Broad St. Bridge (BSB). I whipped down State St. and just as I pulled over Beauty flew off the southeast corner and DC followed right behind her flying from the northeast corner.They headed west out of view and just as I was going to go look for them Beauty came flying straight up State St. headed south with prey in her talons. I followed but didn’t find her as I checked the Frontier Communications Tower. I did however, see DC flying around KO so I returned to watch him land on the southeast corner of the launchpad where Beauty had been.

Right around 7:30am DC flew up and hovered above KO like he was looking for something then he landed on the same corner again before flying west out of view.

I made my way back downtown where I spotted the Beautyful one on the base of Mercury plucking feathers from her fresh catch. I first parked on Broad St. next to the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) to observe her.

She took her prize around to the opposite corner where I couldn’t see her so I went up to the north side of the BSB as she started eating.

Beauty mostly had her back to me and I eventually went down to Aqueduct St. in the hole to see the front of her even though the back lighting was not good.

At 8:32am Beauty flew off with a wing that had a nice hunk of meat left on it heading north.

After getting coffee as I drove down Aqueduct St. I noticed Beauty up on the top ibeam of OCSR preening so I stopped to check her out. I then spotted DC further down the ibeam with food-I’m sure it was the leftovers of Beauty.

I then drove over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. for a better view. DC ate away while Beauty turned her back to the world to rest and digest her breakfast. By this time it was snowing on and off.

CarolP had sent out a text to all the local watchers before my watch that said June Summers had been notified of a deceased falcon near the RG&E BB station by KO last night. June had gone to get it but it was gone when she got there, so there was some concern that it was one of our falcons. I was relieved to have seen Beauty and DC but I hadn’t seen 99 in a few days so I wanted to get to Seneca Towers and hopefully see him and Billie. I was overjoyed when I found 99 on the north end of the building on the top window ledge and he had prey.

For 5 minutes or better I watched 99 from the Northridge Church driveway on St. Paul St. as he stand over his catch. He then plucked a few feathers and I tweeted what was going on. 99 left while I was doing that and after a minute or so I spotted him on the east side of the roof above the east side balconies standing quite erect. Then I caught Billie flying up to the southeast corner railing with prey landing on it. I believe there was a food exchange where 99 gave his girl the goods.

I had to get going as I had an appointment to get to so I signed off on my watch-but just as I was about to pull away Billie and 99 flew off together. After I parked my car on the east side of the building I grabbed my camera and looked up to catch Billie flying off the southeast corner again and watch 99 land above me on the east side railing-they had a lot to say to each other too! On that note, I ended my watch at 9:40am.

Now if that isn’t a great watch worthy of a great big smile I don’t know what is! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/GRQGnEHeHKY
http://youtu.be/edWVX4Dth-w
http://youtu.be/XZO3UkaWevg
http://youtu.be/fJwyJl5Kv-k
http://youtu.be/qtPuOgCJKS0
http://youtu.be/ber9QJIX2ns

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a temperature of  35 (F) 2 (C) and not expected to go much higher than that today

Click on the pics to see the full version

I started my watch on Seth Green Drive at Seneca Towers this morning finding Billie on the west side railing and she had a small package in her talons. This would be the first time I’ve seen a falcon eat on the railing-I know they eat on the roof out of sight because I’ve seen feathers flying.

She flew down a few feet to the south landing on the railing again

Almost immediately Buffalo Billie flew off again, this time down to the south end of the building coming to rest on the side antenna of the tallest antenna on the roof.

I waited a few minutes to see if 99 would show up but he didn’t so I left for downtown around 7:30am. No sightings at first but I did spot Dot.Ca (DC) on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) while on Bragdon Place checking the OCSR elevator shaft.I drove over to the City Hall parking lot just in time to see DC fly south and go into a stoop before leaving my field of vision.

I drove down to Broad St. where I caught up with DC on the west side railing of Widows Walk (WW). He didn’t stay long before he flew around to the north side of WW heading east out of sight.

Next I parked by the Radisson Hotel at Main St. where I spotted DC on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR where he remained for approximately an hour and a half.

DC didn’t move much more than his head which kept track of everything in the near vicinity. He did scratch a couple times but that was about it. There saw some color left on a vine that grew on the north side of the Main St. bridge-things are pretty much winding down here in the fall foliage category.

I was really surprised I hadn’t seen the Beautyful one so I decided to leave DC at 9:30am and look for her. My first stop was Bragdon Place to check the elevator shaft- I spotted her on the cross beam between the southeast and northeast cubes of FCT. I left there for the City Hall parking lot.

She had her back to me-as I was taping her she walked over to the southeast cube then flew off and landed on the northeast cube, again with her back to me.

No falcons seen at Hawkeye on my way home nor at Seneca Towers but I was happy that I saw both Beauty and DC-I ended my watch smiling at 10am! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos
http://youtu.be/MKHMg0nzd-s

http://youtu.be/WE-XYrZO8QQ

http://youtu.be/H3btHP0x2mA

http://youtu.be/npnGSg8ELvo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast and 47 (F) 8 (C) when I left Seneca Towers for my watch and when I finished over 2 hours later it was 42 (F) 6 (C) The strong west winds were blowing a cold front in and were to keep dropping the temperature throughout the day

I was hard pressed to see falcons this morning-there were none present at Seneca Towers either before or after my downtown watch. I found Beauty around 7:15am on the top ibeam of OCSR southeast side as I was on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) and I also spotted Dot.Ca (DC) over on the Frontier Communications Tower on a top arm.  I went down to the hole to check out Beauty a little closer.

I quick left to check on DC but he was gone by the time I got there. I looked around for a bit then went back to see if the Beautyful one was still on OCSR but she wasn’t. I spent the next hour searching for our little friends and stopped to check out the river for something to do. I also found a couple colorful trees on Pleasant St. that were still looking vibrant.

No herons around today-the wind probably blew them to the next state. Finally at 8:30am after many trips around town I spotted Beauty back on OCSR same spot as earlier. This time I parked over by the Radisson Hotel at Main St. as she was facing that direction.

She hung out with me for about 20 minutes then flew northeast at 8:51am and I never saw her again.

After more driving around and finding no falcons I gave up and headed home. No sightings at Hawkeye or Seneca Towers when I arrived at 9:54am. I still could smile though, after seeing Beauty for a total of about half hour today! 🙂

Click on the links below to see a couple videos from todays watch

http://youtu.be/IoPacejpZio

http://youtu.be/l8lmHFrYL0k

http://youtu.be/J8Q94LYYwqY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

First off I would like to say thank you to all the men and women  who have and are presently serving this country to protect our freedom. I salute you!

It was a warm 59 (F) 10 (C) degree morning with brilliant sunshine and bright blue skies on this Veterans Day 2014

Click on the pics to see the full version

I started my watch at Seneca Towers with Billie and 99 who were hanging out on the west side of the building. I believe it was 99 on the northwest corner and Billie on the railing.

They didn’t stick around for long as they flew south while I was taping them. Off to downtown after they didn’t return to search for Beauty and Dot.Ca (DC). It took me a while but I finally found DC in the OCSR elevator shaft on the south side around 7:30am from Bragdon Place on the east side of the river by the Radisson Hotel. It was a last ditch effort to find a falcon, and I was very surprised to find one up there on such a beautiful morning.

It was pretty dark up in there but he was there and as I taped him he flew out after a gull, chased it off then flew to the 2nd ibeam north corner of OCSR.

He wasn’t there long before he took off to the west going into a stoop and disappearing behind the Rochester Plaza Hotel.

Now a short moment later I thought it was him that flew up and landed on the top ibeam north corner of OCSR but it turned out to be Beauty.

The Beautyful one flew off around 8:15am and the next thing I knew DC was on the 3rd ibeam north corner of OCSR with a very full crop. So I believe when he stooped earlier he must have caught something and was eating while I watched Beauty.

I left DC to look for Beauty and I found her from the Broad St. Bridge-she was eating on the base of Mercury. I started taping her as she jumped up to the green part to finish eating around 8:30am.

My eyes kept being drawn to a tree in Aqueduct Park with something white in it-at first I thought it’s just a plastic bag caught on the branch but I decided to check it out to be sure. It turned out to be a Black-crowned Night Heron (BCNH) of which I would never expect to find her in November. And to my surprise above and past it was another BCNH in the same tree!

The BCNH that was up higher was not showing as well and when I noticed Beauty had left Mercury I went down to Aqueduct Park for a closer view of these 2 herons. I wasn’t able to find the one higher up in the tree because the leaves were blocking my view. To see the 1st heron I spotted I went to the furthest point south in the park.

He started moving around so I left him so as not to disturb his peace. I drove back to Bragdon St. to see if DC was still on OCSR and he was-but back up in the elevator shaft on the north side this time.

I left DC and on my way out of downtown I noticed Beauty up on her northeast cube on the Frontier Communications Tower while stopped at the traffic light at State and Church St. Naturally, I had to go shoot a couple pics of her before ending my watch.

I left for home finding no falcons at Hawkeye or on Seneca Towers when I got there at 9:45am. I’ll end this report the way I started it-honoring our veterans and grateful that I have the freedom to watch falcons and smile because of that fact! 🙂

Please click on the links below to view my videos from todays watch
http://youtu.be/Qhy1bgLs2BE

http://youtu.be/ef_-2li_7EQ

http://youtu.be/3Nb71Az_SX8

http://youtu.be/yZQOoagEtxM

http://youtu.be/nz2muh2HoOM

http://youtu.be/nhLFOhLEyFQ

http://youtu.be/NsULtG30C8U

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a dark start with lots of clouds and a temperature of 42 (F) 6 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

After finding no falcons on my building, Seneca Towers, I left for downtown. As I turned off South Ave. onto the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury eating with her back to me at 7am.

I then drove down to the hole, parking on Aqueduct St. to see the front of her with bad back lighting. Soon after, Dot.Ca (DC) flew in and came to rest on the Mercury money bag (MMB) and started keeping an eye on the Beautyful one below as she had food.

I went back up to the BSB for better viewing as they both had turned their back on me. DC looked around in between watching his mate eating. At 7:19am DC made his move flying down to the green part of the base facing Beauty as she continued to eat after some conversation between them.

Beauty ate with DC eyeballing her and when she had her fill she stopped, feaked a couple times then flew east while I was taping them.

DC immediately went over and snatched the leftovers and brought them up to the green base to finish them off. There was some vocalization when Beauty returned and looked around for her leftovers, then it was her turn to watch DC eat.

There was more left on those scraps than I thought because DC spent way longer eating than I expected. Beauty had a nice full crop as she stood perched in a food coma state. She roused once, them went back to relaxing while DC ate.

Just before 8am DC suddenly stopped eating and flew off as Beauty watched him leave. He flew over to the OCSR elevator shaft and made his approach to fly up into it, then at the last second he flew back around and returned to Mercury. He checked out the skeletal remains then slipped off the back of the base where I couldn’t see him.

I stayed about 10 minutes with Beauty and then I went to the hole to see if DC was on the back of the base. He wasn’t there so I drove over to the Radisson Hotel to check the OCSR elevator shaft but he wasn’t there either. I was about to pull away when I noticed a white falcon figure across the river on the middle arm of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT).

I headed over to City Hall to get closer to DC but just as I turned onto Fitzhugh St. he took off and flew south very fast. I drove that way to look for him but never found him again. As I passed Mercury I could see that Beauty was still up there in the same spot I had left her. I decided to call it a watch as they had both eaten and probably wouldn’t be too active for a while. I headed home smiling after sharing space with our downtown pair while they enjoyed a meal together. 🙂

Click on the links below to watch Beauty and DC on todays videos
http://youtu.be/mfgDRxV2Yag

http://youtu.be/D2oSAcmOvuU

http://youtu.be/p_BG4X2f-EY

http://youtu.be/Ivuof8PBAFk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another cold day, with temps in the 40’s.  But there was this unfamiliar bright light in the sky.  I think they call it the sun.  🙂

I checked downtown first, having no luck finding a falcon until I checked out the Times Square Bldg for the 2nd time.  On my 2nd trip to the Broad St Bridge, I found a falcon on the northeast wing ledge.  I believe it was Beauty and but she had her back to me, so I couldn’t be sure.

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While I was tweeting, she took off.  A few minutes later, I spotted a falcon on the jail communication tower 2nd arm down and it was in hunt mode.  As I was watching, the falcon took off and stooped low over the Cornhill area.

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When the falcon did not return, I drove over to Cornhill to see if I could find it.  No luck.  Again I looked all over the city looking for a falcon.  This is the sign out in front of the Strong Museum of Play showing the three 2014 inductees into the toy hall of fame.

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While I was in front of the Radisson checking out the OCSR elevator shaft, I spotted a falcon on the northeast corner of the platform on the Frontier Communication Tower.  There was a 2nd falcon below the platform on the southeast box.  Over to City Hall I went for a closer look.  It was Beauty on the southeast box and Dot.ca on the northeast corner of the platform.

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Beauty was preening and seemed settled, but Dot.ca was actively watching everything around him.  He was in hunt mode. Dot.ca stooped off the tower, heading north.

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A few seconds after he took off, Beauty followed.  Dot.ca was swooping over pigeons getting them to take flight. They were tandem hunting!  Beauty returned to the southeast box she had vacated.  Soon after, Dot.ca returned to the 2nd arm of the communication tower.

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Dot.ca was still on the hunt.  He took off again, this time stooping low over the City Hall parking lot.  I waited, hoping he would be successful, and he was!  Dot.ca flew back towards the communication tower clutching a small bird.  Success!

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He landed on the large white drum, just below the platform.

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As Dot.ca was prepping his meal, he looked up and started to kak-kak-kak!  He took off, leaving is meal.  Something definitely had his attention.  He was gaining altitude quickly.  A Red-tailed Hawk came into view overhead.  That’s what Dot.ca was after!  As Dot.ca closed in on the hawk, the hawk attempted to leave the area, quickly.  But not quickly enough for Dot.ca.  He escorted the hawk to the east.  Here are a few shots of Dot.ca and the Hawk.

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That was the last of Dot.ca I saw during my watch.  Beauty remained on the communication tower watching Dot.ca vanquish the hawk.

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I stayed with Beauty until another hawk floated overhead.  This time it was her turn.  She started to kak-kak-kak and took off. The hawk flew east and Beauty followed.

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It was time for me to go search the city for falcons again.  I could not find Dot.ca, but I did find Beauty on top of the Mercury statue.

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It was time for me to end my watch.  I left Beauty on Mercury and looked for Dot.ca on my way out of the city.

A quick check at ST and I found a falcon on the ledge above the windows at the north end of the building.

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At Russell Station, I didn’t find a falcon, but I did find fellow watcher Dana there.  While we were chatting, this squirrel made his way across a wire carrying a big nut.  Smart squirrel!  It was a nice way to end my weekend watch.