By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Dana & Carol P.

Weather: Overcast with dark clouds. Rain on the horizon. Warm.

Juvies!!! Yes, we had juvies this morning. 🙂

When I first arrived, I found Hope on Widows Walk. She didn’t stay long. Hope took off heading southeast. I followed the best I could. When I caught up to her, Hope was eating on the base of Mercury. She was buzzed by another juvie, probably wanting a share of her small breakfast. While I was watching Hope, I spotted a falcon on the corner of Riverside with its back to me. At first I thought it was an adult, but after checking my pics, I believe it was a small, dark-headed juvie. Probably Roc. Both took off, leaving Dot.ca on the top IBeam of OCSR.

I was talking with someone on the Broad St Bridge when they took off, so I didn’t see which direction they took. Then I heard juvies (plural) crying from above. Beauty was in the lead with three, yes three, juvies trailing her. They flew over the Blue Cross Arena, heading north. I wasn’t able to get any pictures as they passed in front of the Times Square Bldg.

Dana arrived and we drove around, searching for falcons. We found a juvie and Beauty on the 5 Star Bank Bldg. They both took off just as we arrived. The search continued.

We split up, and I found Hope on the Frontier Communication Tower. Dana reported seeing a juvie hunting over the hole (Aqueduct St). She then saw one on the Academy Bldg. Soon after, a dark-headed juvie landed on FCT, lower than Hope. Hope took off while I was checking out the newly arrived juvie. The dark-headed juvie then took off hunting the nearby pigeons, then landing on City Place.

Larry visited for a short while before heading home. Now that I had no falcons in view, I started my search again. I met up with Dana and we drove over to Midtown, where we spotted Hope on top of the building behind the Cadillac Hotel. She walked out of view. It was probably their siesta time.

Dana and I drove over to the Court St Bridge. From there, we could see that Dot.ca was still on the top Ibeam of OCSR. It was time to end our morning watch. I was really happy to see juvies again this morning and I’m pretty sure I saw all three!

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Dana and Carol P.

Weather: Rainy and muggy.

My morning watch was a dark & rainy watch. It set the mood for a juvie-less watch.

The first falcon I found was Beauty. She was snoozing on the Frontier Communication Tower’s NE Box. Beauty had a very full crop and she looked content (if a Peregrine Falcon can look content).

I searched for 3 hours and could not find any of the juvies. I knew this time was coming.

Dana and I visited the High Falls area and were happy to watch two juvie Red-tail Hawks flying through the gorge. We couldn’t help but wish they were juvie falcons. 🙂

I drove around one more time. After finding no falcons, I returned to watch Beauty at FCT. A falcon flew in and landed near Beauty. I heard a falcon wail and thought it might be a juvie. After a closer look, I found out the 2nd falcon was Dot.ca.

It started raining harder, so I decided to end my watch.

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Dana, Larry O & Carol P.

Weather: Cooler, with temps in the 60’s. It was 71 at the end of our watch. Brilliant Blue Sky!

The first falcon I saw this morning was Roc! He was hunting off the north side of Kodak Office. The first time he stooped off and brought back something very small. It didn’t take him long to finish eating it. He was quickly off again, chasing pigeons over a building to the north. Roc returned and landed on the NE corner of the Kodak Tower.

I drove around to the east side of the building for a better view. Roc was sitting up on top of a large decorative ball. He was preening a little bit, but mostly looking all over at everything that moved. He stooped off of the building and swooped over the old Button Factory Bldg, just southeast of Kodak Office. I lost sight of him as he passed over the building. I looked around the area, but could not find him. Dana joined me and we continued the search.

We ended up on Aqueduct St (the hole). From there we could see Beauty on the base of Mercury and Dot.ca on the top Ibeam of OCSR. A few minutes later, we heard a juvie crying and spotted Hope on Widows Walk. She didn’t stay long, taking off and heading west. While we had Hope, Beauty and Dot.ca in view, Larry O reported that he had spotted a falcon under the platform on Frontier Communication Tower. Probably Roc, or maybe Geraki?

Dana and I drove all over downtown Rochester after losing sight of all the Rochester Falcons. We even visited the pedestrian bridge at High Falls again. We could not find any falcons.

I was really happy to see Roc, Hope, Beauty and Dot.ca today. I wish we could report seeing Geraki. One of these days, we will not find any of the juvies. It’s getting close to the time they will start their wandering. That will be a sad day for the watchers and a happy day, knowing that they are doing well and ready to start their travels. Sadly, because they are not banded, we will never know if they are seen nesting in the future.

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Carol P.

Weather: Just beautiful! Warm and blue skies.

My first falcon of the morning was a double header. Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower and Dot.ca on the Powers Bldg. Both seen from Kodak. Beauty took off heading Southeast. Dana reported that the Rfalconcam cameras were showing both Beauty and Dot.ca inside the Powers nest box.

I drove around quite a bit before finding Hope on Widows Walk. It was wonderful seeing her, since she was not seen yesterday. By the time I arrived in the hole, Hope had taken off and landed on Mercury’s foot. She only stayed for about 15 minutes before she left, heading west. I looked everywhere, but could not find her again or her siblings. Everyday I see one of the juvies, it’s a good day.

Later in the watch, Beauty landed on the Widows Walk railing. She stooped off WW and chased the pigeons there. Now I knew where Hope learned this trick! lol

The majority of my watch was spent driving all over downtown Rochester. I did spot a water main break on Clinton, next to the Washington Square Park. I did report it, but they already knew about it. Lots of water was flooding the street.

At the end of my morning watch, I checked out the Kodak Tower, just in case the juvies had made their way there. No luck. It was time to end my morning watch.

Here are some pictures from my morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Dana & Carol P. Linda did get out a little later and saw DC on OCSR, and a dark headed juvie on WW.

Weather: Very warm and humid. Temps expected to go up to mid-90’s with a heat index close to 100. It is going to be a 3H Day – Hot, Hazy & Humid!

The first falcon I found was Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower. I drove around trying to find a juvie. Finally, from the Court St Bridge, I saw a dark-headed falcon on the Court Exchange Bldg. Before I could get any closer, the juvie took off heading west.

Just a little Rochester history. The Court Exchange Bldg was the National Casket Company. It was built in 1881 and it was used to manufacture, display and warehouse caskets until 1984.

A little later, I found a dark-headed juvie on Widows Walk. It took off quickly. After looking at my pictures, I believe it was Roc that I was seeing early this morning.

Dana and I went over to the pedestrian bridge to check out the High Falls area. Hoping we might see some falcons there. On the way, we saw Dot.ca up on the north side of OCSR in the shade. Smart fella!

From the pedestrian bridge, we saw no falcons, but we did see a couple Red-tail Hawks. The High Falls area was as beautiful as always. From there, we could see Dot.ca on OCSR, but no other falcons.

I decided to check out the Midtown area. As I arrived I could hear the glorious sound of a juvie’s cry echoing off the buildings. A juvie was chasing Beauty overhead. Beauty landed on the RG&E antenna and the juvie ended up on the NW corner of the 5 Star Bldg. I was not able to get a good picture of the juvie before it left.

Dana joined me and we saw Beauty take off heading east. A few minutes later, Beauty returned and flew over heading west. A juvie took off from the SW corner of 5 Start and followed her. From the Court St Bridge, we could see Beauty on the SW corner of B&L, but there was no sign of the juvie.

The temps were rising, it was time to end our morning watch.

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Falcon Watchers: Dana, Kathy O, Larry O & Carol P.

Weather: Warm with brilliant blue sky. Temps started in the 70’s, but are going up to 90 this afternoon. Tomorrow will be a very Hot, Hazy & Humid day; temps in the mid-90’s.

The morning watch was very Hope-Full! The only juvie seen this morning was Hope along with Beauty and Dot.ca. No sightings of Roc or Geraki.

Hope was eating on Widows Walk when we first found her. Dot.ca was watching her from above on the Times Square Bldg wing ring.

Hope was very busy keeping an eye on the pigeons below her on WW. Twice she stooped off and gave chase. I don’t believe she has been successful yet.

Beauty came in and she and Dot.ca visited the Times Square bldg nest box together.

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Dana, Larry O & Carol P.

Weather: Started out very dark and dreary with light rain. After a whole lot of rain yesterday, it didn’t take too long for the dark clouds to clear and blue sky to appear this morning. Very hot and humid days coming, with temps in the 90’s.

It took awhile before I spotted any falcons. First Beauty on the base of Mercury and Dot.ca on the top Ibeam of OCSR, south side.

Finally, from the Court St Bridge, I spotted a juvie on Widows Walk (WW). After a closer look, I was able to ID her as Hope. She was soaking wet and playing on the railing of WW with her wings out.

Later in the watch, Beauty came in with food. Dana and I were very happy to see a food transfer right overhead (see my last report for a sequence of pictures of the food transfer). Hope took the food to WW.

At 10:00 am, we were going to end our watch. As I was pulling out onto Main St., Beauty came flying over with a juvie hot on her tail. They landed on Riverside. From the Andrews St Bridge, I could see a juvie on the NW corner of the closed hotel. The juvie took off carrying food towards Thomson Reuters (TR), where it landed. This juvie had a dark head, so it was either Geraki or Roc.

From Broad St, in front of the Blue Cross Arena, I had a nice view of Beauty and the juvie on TR. This juvie had a very dark head and was much smaller than Beauty. It was Roc and he was not happy that mom wanted to share his breakfast. His crop was huge, so it was time for Beauty to get her share.

After they both finished eating, they took off. Beauty took the leftovers and Roc landed on the corner of the railing below the Mercury Statue. Hope was watching from Widows Walk. Now if we had only been able to see Geraki this morning, we would have had the whole Rochester Falcon family.

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

We’ve talked about food transfers in our falcon watch reports over the years. But, unless you see one in person, it’s hard to imagine what really happens. Today I was very lucky to get a series of pictures of a food transfer from Beauty to Hope. You’ll notice that Hope will flip upside down to take the food from Beauty. I just wish the pictures were a little clearer. But you’ll get the idea. Enjoy! 🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Dana, Larry O & Carol P.

Weather: The calm before the storms. 70’s this morning with a beautiful breeze. T-Storms coming through this afternoon. Temps will be rising over the next few days.

Right now we’re under a severe thunderstorm warning, so I’m going to make this fast.

We believe we had all 3 juvies, plus Beauty & Dot.ca this morning. Lots of flying and lots of hunting attempts. I wasn’t able to get a picture of Geraki or Dot.ca. Dana had Dot.ca on Xerox and we believe that Geraki was flying with Beauty over Xerox. I really wish they’d all pose for a family portrait. lol

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning Watchers: Kathy O, Larry O & Carol P.

Weather: Another gorgeous morning. Bright Blue Sky and warm temps.

The first falcon I saw this morning was up on the Times Square Bldg, NE wing ledge. I was able to see this falcon from Kodak Office. When I pulled into the hole (Aqueduct St), I saw a juvie up on the base of Mercury. It was Hope and she was having her breakfast. Beauty was the adult up on the Times Square Bldg.

I walked up to the Broad St Bridge, where the lighting was better. It’s not good to take pictures directly into the bright sun. I was soon joined on the bridge by Larry O. Kathy O had texted that she was driving around trying to find the other falcons.

After finishing her meal, Hope flew over to Widows Walk (WW). Kathy joined me and we settled in to keep an eye on Hope, since we couldn’t find Roc & Geraki. Twice Hope stooped off of WW attempting to catch one of the pigeons there. She missed both times, returning to WW. Beauty was keeping an eye on her daughter from above.

We had been talking about the fact that we had not seen Hope make any serious attempts to hunt yet, so it was great to see her hunt.

Kathy was the first to spot a momma duck and 10 ducklings heading towards us across the parking lot. Oh, boy!

I took a quick pic after they passed us and locked up my camera and binocs. It was time to help this little family to get to the river. With the help of another lady and three guys who were sitting in the park, Kathy & I were able to get all of them to the river. It feels awesome to help when you can!

After returning to the hole, Hope was gone from WW and Beauty was up on the base of Mercury finishing Hope’s breakfast. Kathy went to search for the duck’s nest. She found it in a planter close to the road. Thankfully they were now safe.

We drove around, but were unable to find any of our Rochester Falcons. It was close to 10 am and getting much warmer. Siesta Time!

Here are some pictures from the morning watch. Enjoy!