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Morning watch 3-14-14

Friday, March 14th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

What blizzard-we had a blizzard here? Mostly clear main roads this morning with a starting temperature of 25 (F) -4 (C) overcast with a southerly breeze-forecast says a high in the 40’s today

I found Dot.Ca (DC) on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR at 7:10am as he was eating his breakfast. I didn’t see Beauty in the near vicinity.

img_0001-dc-with-prey img_0002-dc-has-breakfast

I left him to it as I went searching for Beauty. As I returned to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) DC was gone from OCSR. I found Beauty under the northeast wing of  the Times Square building (TSB) with her back to me, but at the time I thought it was DC. Once again her salmon color helps in identifying her.

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I stayed a while then left to check the Brighton site (BS). Arriving there about 8:15am I found a Canadian Goose on the southeast corner of the east extension-not exactly the falcon I was hoping to find. A minute later a crow came by landing below the goose, who had a lot to say to the crow. The crow moved in on the ledge out of view and came back out with some cached food that most likely belonged to Pigott and flew off with it. He dropped it just before landing on a pine tree and had to go to the ground for it, he took one bite and left it in the snow.

img_0022-goose-warning-crow-not-to-take-pigotts-cache img_0023-first-a-look-to-see-if-pigott-is-around img_0024-moving-in-for-the-burglaryClick on my pics to see full version

img_0026-got-it-goose-says-i-hope-pigott-doesnt-blame-me img_0027-crow-drops-the-goods-on-the-ground img_0028-took-one-bite-and-left-it2 img_0029-get-some-police-tape-and-cordon-off-this-area-for-investigation

So that was my entertainment at BS today. Upon returning downtown I found the Beautyful one still under the northeast wing of Times Square with her back to the world so I continued on to look for DC. From the Andrews St. bridge I spotted him on the northeast corner of the Kodak Office launchpad. I drove to State St. and checked him out. His crop was full from the meal he had eaten earlier on OCSR.

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I made one last check of Beauty on Times Square before calling it a watch just before the 9 o’clock hour-she still had her back to me.

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Keep smiling everyone! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/SEVrD0pFt9k

http://youtu.be/B2rQ76Q8p88

http://youtu.be/baKgitc-nBM

Thursday Afternoon Falcon Watch – 3/13/14 – The Day After the Blizzard of 2014

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunrise at 7:24 am.  Sunset at 7:13 pm.

After receiving up to 20 inches of snow in the Rochester area yesterday, the city did an awesome job of clearing out the snow from the city streets.  It was 15 degrees (F) during my watch.

I did check the Kodak Park area after getting out of work and found no falcons there.

Today I decided to head downtown first.  From the Broad St Bridge (BSB) I could see both Beauty and Dot.ca on the south side top IBeam of the OCSR.

Beauty and Dot.ca on OCSR 3-13-14*

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Dot.ca was eating while Beauty watched.  (Beauty – Left; Dot.ca  – Right)  You can really see the size difference between them.  The female (falcon) is on average one third larger than the male (tiercel).

Beauty and Dot.ca on OCSR 3-13-14Beauty and Dot.ca on OCSR 3-13-14Beauty and Dot.ca on OCSR 3-13-14*

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When Dot.ca finished his meal, Beauty took the leftovers and cached them up inside the OCSR elevator shaft.  This was a place that Kaver used to cache his leftover food during the spring/summer months when feeding his and Mariah’s young.  Long time Falcon Watcher Dan S named it the cold stone, since it was a cool spot during the heat of the Spring and Summer months.

Beauty returned to the top IBeam.  A short while later, Dot.ca took off heading west.  I waited to see if he would return.  When he didn’t, I headed over to the BS location where I found Dot.ca on the southeast corner of the east extension.  I had just missed Larry O, who reported seeing two falcons on the east extension.  When I got there, Pigott was gone.  Dot.ca kept looking towards the east.

Dot.ca at BS 3-13-14Dot.ca at BS 3-13-14*

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After preening, Dot.ca took off and flew low going northeast.  I thought he was either going out to greet Pigott or heading back downtown.

About 5 minutes after Dot.ca left, Pigott flew in carrying prey.  She flew around the west end of the building, caching the remainder of her meal there.  She flew back to the east side landing on the south side roof of the east extension.  She had a full crop and evidence of a recent meal on her beak and talons.

Pigott at BS 3-13-14Pigott at BS 3-13-14Pigott at BS 3-13-14*

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After moving around on top of the roof, she took off and landed on a east facing window on the southeast ext, just below the tree ledge.

Pigott at BS 3-13-14*

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I left Pigott there to go downtown one more time before ending my watch.  Dot.ca had returned to the top IBeam of the OCSR, this time to Beauty’s left.

Dot.ca and Beauty on OCSR 3-13-14Dot.ca and Beauty on OCSR 3-13-14*

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I ended my watch a little before 6:00 pm.  At 7:36 pm, Kathy O reported: “BS falcon report – Pigott settled in 6 floors down in nighttime roosting spot.”

While I watch the falcons downtown, I continue to watch the diving ducks on the river below the Broad St Bridge.  They continue to do well as far as I can tell.  I think I hit the Red-breasted Mergansers siesta time though.  I’ll leave you with a few pics of the river and critters that are calling it home this Winter.  Goodnight everyone!

Let Sleeping Duck Float 3-13-14Male Red-breasted Merganser 3-13-14Male Red-breasted Merganser 3-13-14*

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Juvie Ring-billed Gull Looking For a Fish 3-13-14An RBM Chase 3-13-14Pretty Golden Eye I Think 3-13-14

Morning watch 3-13-14

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Well, we survived the blizzard of yesterday-I reckon at my house I got around a foot and a half with drifts up to my hips. As I made my way downtown this morning it was mostly cloudy with a temperature of 9 degrees (F) -13 (C) and still windy but not like yesterday. Toward the end of my watch the sun broke thru making it very bright out with all the new fallen snow!

After a drive to the east side with no luck I stopped on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) and spotted Dot.Ca (DC) on the top ibeam of OCSR near the south corner around 7:30am. I went over by the Radisson Hotel at Main St. to observe him and check the elevator shaft for Beauty-she wasn’t there.

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I left him after 10 minutes or so to look for Beauty and when I came back thru from the east side DC was gone from OCSR. I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) and while I was there I spotted a small falcon (probably DC) flying over the river near the Radisson Hotel. It crossed the river heading west and then a larger falcon (probably Beauty) flew with it-they passed the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) and out of view. I left for the Brighton Site after they didn’t return. Pigott was on the west end of the south side vent all foofed up and crouched down to stay warm as I arrived at 8:30am.

img_0012-pigott img_0021-pretty-pigott

As I tweeted that Miss Pigott was there she flew off and I found her over on the southeast corner of the east extension. You can see that she has a small bulge in her crop so she did have a bite to eat.

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I didn’t stay long for I wanted to get a glimpse of  Beauty before ending my watch so back downtown I went. Spotting DC on the top ibeam of OCSR southeast side I went to the Radisson Hotel again to find that he had prey-he was ripping out feathers creating a feather flurry!

img_0040-dc-in-a-feather-flurry

I left him to it and set out to check the Kodak Office Tower-I pulled over on State St. when I spotted the Beautyful one on the launchpad at 9:30am. She had her back to me as she was perched on the south side right above where the old Mariah & Kaver nest site used to be. She was watching something below her-probably a pigeon, as they like to hang out around the Kodak letters on the roof.

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I drove around to the west side of KO to get a better angle but she was gone by the time I got there. I happily ended my watch at 9:45am with a smile after finding all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons unscathed by the blizzard of yesterday! 🙂

Click on the links below to view videos from todays watch

http://youtu.be/yhXvPd2JFTU

http://youtu.be/kGF_d1_JOD4

http://youtu.be/KlTFAGRNYAE

http://youtu.be/nVJV16deZvM

http://youtu.be/PJje3CWeoEk

Morning watch 3-12-14

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Well the weather is the story today-when I left for my morning watch at 7:10am it was wet and raining with a little sleet mixed in and a temperature of 33 (F) 1 (C). By the time I got downtown there was light snow mixing with the sleet. Within half hour of arriving in our fair city the snow and wind picked up considerably and it only went downhill from there. We are forecast for blizzard conditions today with 12-20 inches of snow and winds up to 40 mph gusting up to 50 mph and maybe some thunder too1 Just a little spring storm for upstate New York. lol  Stay safe out there Rochester!!

So I didn’t have a falcon sighting until 8am when I saw one fly off the City Place building which is near the Frontier Communications Tower. I was on the Andrews St. bridge as I watched it fly south vanishing in the snowy dark sky quickly. I headed for Times Square since that’s the general direction the falcon was headed. I went down to the hole and could barely make out a falcon on the southwest side of OCSR on the top ibeam. It was Beauty.

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Wasn’t sure it was her until I went to Graves St. at Main St. right across from OCSR for a closer look. There’s no mistaking that salmon color, even in a snow storm!

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Next I ventured over to the Brighton site where it was snowing a little harder than downtown but closer viewing. I arrived around 8:40am and after a couple trips around the property I spotted a falcon on the southeast extension on a top west facing window. This was Dot.Ca (DC) judging by the whiteness of  him.  It didn’t look like he was liking the weather too much.

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Across from him on the southwest extension was Pigott on an east facing top window and she was preening as the snow came down all around her.

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I stayed only long enough to make videos of them as the conditions were getting worse by the minute and I wanted to check on Beauty again before calling it a watch. It was no luck as I couldn’t see if the Beautyful one was still on OCSR or up in the elevator shaft but I have a feeling she was hunkered down up there out of the weather. Personally, I love blizzards and severe weather so I was smiling over that and the fact that I saw all 3 of our resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons this morning as I ended my watch at 9am! 🙂

Click on the links below to view some snowy white videos

http://youtu.be/37u2qY4sf-E

http://youtu.be/xTtcsgzzAeQ

http://youtu.be/cI1dJtJ9TfM

Morning watch 3-11-14

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 36 degrees (F) 2(C) and overcast when I left for downtown at 7:10am but the sun broke thru the thin clouds and it was partly sunny for the remainder of my watch

As I made the u-turn on the Broad St. bridge (BSB) to face the Times Square building (TSB) I spotted a falcon on the Mercury money bag (MMB). I drove down to the hole and stopped at Aqueduct and Bank Place to face Mercury. Dot.Ca (DC) was on the MMB and Beauty was behind me under the southeast wing of TSB.

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DC flew off headed toward TSB and I whipped over next to Keybank at Aqueduct and Basin St.-on my way over I could hear the sound of falcons mating and saw them under the southeast wing as I looked that way. As I came to a stop, so did they with DC flying off to the northeast-I lost sight of him behind the buildings. Beauty then flew down to the nest box. Donna texted me that they were both in the nest box at that time. I saw Beauty fly out and go to the MMB but I missed DC-this was around 7:30am.

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Beauty left Mercury heading northwest. I took a ride but didn’t find her or DC until I returned to Exchange Blvd. 20 minutes later and spotted Beauty back under the southeast wing . I parked in front of the Blue Cross Arena to get a better look at her-she was looking Beautyful in the sun up there.

img_0019-beauty img_0024-beauty1 img_0026-watching-a-starling-fly-below

I left at this time to check out the Brighton Site (BS) arriving there at 8:22am and finding a kestrel on the west side. Just as I got my camera up it took off-they’re quick little falcons! Larry stopped by and said hello on his way to work. He saw the kestrel too on the back of the building and while we were watching it fly off DC came in and landed on the south side vent landing on the east end and then ran to the middle of it.

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DC saw Pigott fly in and he flew to the southwest extension opposite from where she was then he flew off to the north and I lost sight of him until he reappeared on the southeast extension.

img_0040-dc img_0042-whitey-i-mean-dc-lol

I backed up to find Miss Pigott peeking over the roof edge above the cubby. Meanwhile, DC was scratching his head and thinking about his next move which came a half minute later.

img_0044-pigott img_0045-pigott-waiting-for-dc-above-cubby<Pigott  DC>img_0048-better-scratch-on-this-one img_0050-step-back-mak

Pigott flew out and back going into the cubby where some loud echupping took place and I didn’t see DC the little sneak go in but I heard him chirping.

img_0051-pigott-ready-to-go-to-cubby-with-dc img_0053-pigott-next-stop-the-cubby

A minute later Pigott came flying out then DC appeared at the front of the cubby a few seconds later then he flew off. He returned to the cubby and then left again flying southwest in the direction Pigott had gone.

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I waited a couple minutes for them to return and then took a ride around to the front of the building where I spotted DC up on an antenna on the top of the building. As I stopped the car he flew northwest toward downtown so I left too. I drove all over downtown searching and as I parked the car on the Andrews St. Bridge I spotted a falcon on the east side platform railing of the Frontier Communications Tower. I got my camera just in time to get the take off and judging by size I believe it was the Beautyful one. I watched as she flew south past the Powers building and then I lost sight of her when she turned left and flew east behind OCSR.

img_0063-i-believe-this-is-beauty-leaving-fct

A quick ride around the city with no more sightings brought a close to my watch around 9:30am. I saw all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons including some serious courting of DC with Beauty(copulation) and Pigott (bonding in the cubby). The 2014 season is in full swing without the drama of the last 2 springs making for lots of smiles! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/ASBeac4tDkY
http://youtu.be/yMpwnsRL5lA
http://youtu.be/P_FzKsJe4h8

Morning watch 3-10-14

Monday, March 10th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I’m liking these morning temps lately-today it was 36 (F) 2 (C) with dark overcast skies

I found Beauty eating on the south side of Bausch& Lomb (B&L) at the southeast corner as I pulled over on Woodbury Blvd. to check the area at 7:20am.

img_0001-beauty-on-bl-from-woodbury-blvd img_0002-taken-from-woodbury-blvd

I drove around to Broad St. for a closer view and soon after she stopped eating had a look at something (I believe DC) then flew west with the goods.

img_0004-beautyon-bl img_0005-beauty-stops-eating-when-she-sees-something img_0006-beauty-leaves-with-the-goods

I caught up with Beauty as I pulled over on the Broad St. bridge (BSB)-she was at the nest box and Dot.Ca (DC) was under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB).

img_0008-beauty-waiting-for-dc-at-nest-box img_0010-dc

I drove down to the hole where I had a closer look-the drawback being that I couldn’t see the nest box from there, but I could see DC and would follow his lead.

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DC saw Beauty take off and flew after her to the southeast out of view and back less than a minute later. The Beautyful went to the nest box and DC went to the corner of the deck by the main cam for some bonding time.

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It took less than a minute and he was off again flying north with Beauty following right after him.

img_0028-dc-drops-off-the-deck <DC>  img_0029-dc-off-to-never-never-land-haha img_0032-beauty-takes-off-after-dc<Click to see Beauty

Beauty returned by herself coming to rest under the southeast wing at 7:52am. It was at this time I left to check the Brighton Site (BS).

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I arrived at BS around 8:30am to find Miss Pigott on the southeast corner of the east extension. She had a little bulge in her crop as she did some stretches and watched every Canadian Goose that flew in and landed on the property.

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I kept expecting her to go after the geese but she just cranked her head and watched them as they came in waves to land on the lower roof in the back of the building and on the grounds. I left Pigott at 9:10am as she was looking up at the sky.

img_0067-golly-mak-how-many-geese-are-coming img_0070-ill-stretch-out-in-case-i-have-to-chase-a-goose-or-2-or-3-or img_0072-skies-the-limit-miss-pigott

As I arrived downtown I spotted DC under the northeast wing of the TSB so I parked in the hole to check him out.

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I couldn’t see in the nest box from there so I went over to the Radisson Hotel driveway near Main St. just in case Beauty had gone up into the OCSR elevator shaft. She wasn’t up there but I could see her perched in front of the nest box looking relaxed and checking to see if DC was above watching over their territory.

img_0082-beauty-waits-patiently-for-dc img_0084-yep-hes-still-up-there img_0086-taken-from-the-radisson-hotel-driveway-by-main-st img_0090-see-ya-later-dc

All was good in the Rochester Peregrine Falcon world as all 3 were seen doing just fine early in this 2014 season which sent me on my way with a smile as I ended my watch at 9:30am! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/MS1yC0h_HK4
http://youtu.be/JcdB1Ih6FII
http://youtu.be/ZrINSj46jaM

Sunday Falcon Watch – 3/9/14 – Beauty, Dot.ca, Pigott and the KP Falcon

Sunday, March 9th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Our time sprang ahead one hour today.   Sunrise at 7:31 am and Sunset at 7:08 pm.

Temps just made it into the 30’s today.  It was windy and cold, but the sun was out for much of the day making it a very nice day here in Rochester, NY.

I started my watch at 11:00 am at Kodak Park where I found the KP Falcon (KPF) on the east stack catwalk.

KP Falcon 3-9-14KP Falcon 3-9-14KP Falcon 3-9-14*

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KPF flew around a bit and landed on the south side of the catwalk.  I still believe that based on size, this is a male (tiercel) and have to wonder if this is the unbanded tiercel (UT) that hung out with Beauty last week for awhile. There is no way to know for sure.  I lost sight of the KPF just before fellow Falcon Watcher Dana joined me.

At noon, we decided to go over to the BS location.  After circling the building a couple times, we could not find Pigott.  Next stop, Downtown Rochester.

Beauty was up on the southeast wing ledge of the Time Square Bldg (TSB).

Beauty on TSB SE Wing Ledge 3-9-14Beauty on SE Wing Ledge TSB 3/9/14*

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I looked all over for Dot.ca, but could not find him.  I joined Dana on the Broad St Bridge (BSB) and we kept an eye  on Beauty while watching the activity on the river below.  There were lots of ducks and lots of gulls.  Sadly, we saw two dead male Red-breasted Mergansers on the ice.  I was really hoping that they were doing ok here.  This Winter has been so hard on them.  This beauty seems to be doing good.

Male Red-breasted Merganser 3-9-14*

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At about 1:00 pm, Beauty took off heading southeast.  She headed towards the Xerox building where we saw a 2nd falcon stooping on a larger bird.  I only got a quick glimpse, but I do believe that Dot.ca was going after a Red-tailed Hawk and Beauty was joining him.  First Beauty and then Dot.ca flew back towards us.  Beauty landed in the nest box and Dot.ca landed on the OCSR south side top Ibeam.

Beauty flying over us on way to TSB 3-9-14Beauty at the Nest Box 3-9-14Dot.ca on OCSR 3-9-14*

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Beauty took off and returned to the south east TSB wing ledge.

Beauty on TSB SE Wing Ledge 3-9-14*

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She took off again, heading east over the river where we lost sight of her.  While Dana stayed on the BSB, I drove around looking for Beauty and found her on the SE corner of the B&L building.  She was eating up there, but not for long.  I headed back to the BSB because there was no where to park.  When I arrived, Beauty was up on the lower southeast corner of the TSB.  Just after I joined Dana, Beauty again took off and flew up into the OCSR elevator shaft.

Beauty on SE Corner B&L 3-9-14Beauty Flying up into the OCSR Elevator Shaft 3-9-14Dot.ca on OCSR 3-9-14*

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It was going on 2:00 pm, so we decided to head over to the BS location again to see if Pigott had returned.  When we arrived, she was on an east facing window on the southeast extension, one floor below the tree ledge.

Pigott at BS on East Side 3-9-14*

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Pigott hunched down like a cat ready to pounce and started to vocalize with a high pitched wailing sound.  That was our first hint that Dot.ca was arriving.  lol  He landed above her on the corner just above the tree ledge. They both chatted a bit and looked at each other.

Pigott Watches DC Coming In 3-9-14Dot.ca Lands on Corner Above East Tree Ledge 3-9-14*

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Pigott Poops 3-9-14Dot.ca Above Tree Ledge at BS 3-9-14*

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Dot.ca stayed at BS for about a little over a 1/2 hour.  He flew to the northeast corner of the east extension.  Then both of them took off.  We could see Dot.ca flying over the building.  When we got to the west side, Pigott was inside the cubby and she was ee-chupping loudly.  She flew out and landed on the southwest corner of the west extension.  Dana and I weren’t sure if Dot.ca joined Pigott in the cubby or not.  We’re pretty sure he probably headed downtown at that time.

Pigott took off.  When we caught up with her, we found her on a east facing window on the northeast extension.  I left Pigott at BS at 3:30 pm after receiving a tweet at 3:19 pm from cam watcher NCA that Beauty had left the nest box ee-chupping.   Many thanks to Camp, Annette and NCA for tweeting what they were seeing on camera at the nest box during my watch today.  It is very helpful to the Rochester Watchers.

After checking all over downtown, I found both Beauty and Dot.ca on the Kodak Tower.  They were both on the south side of the launch pad.  Beauty was eating and Dot.ca was watching.

Beauty and Dot.ca on the KO Launch Pad 3-9-14Beauty and Dot.ca on the KO Launch Pad 3-9-14*

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At 4:00 pm, it was time to end my Sunday Falcon Watch.  The weekends go way too fast!

When I got home, I was greeted by many Robins in my yard.  Spring can’t be too far away!!!  Goodnight everyone!

A Sure Sign of Spring 3-9-14

Morning watch 3-9-14

Sunday, March 9th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 22 degrees (F) 6 (C) as I started my watch this morning a bit cloudy at first but the sun rose above the clouds and shone bright with beautiful blue skies

I spotted Beauty from Woodbury St. on the southeast corner of the south side of Bausch & Lomb (B&L) around 7:20am. I drove around to Broad St. to find that she had moved to the east side of B&L on another southeast corner and she was plucking feathers to prepare her breakfast.

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About 15 minutes later she stopped eating and took her cache to the next southeast corner where she left it before flying to the last southeast corner.

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At 7:44am she flew off B&L and went to the nest box-I left my spot on Broad St. and followed her and stopped on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) to get a pic. Dot.Ca (DC) came in and landed under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB).

img_0035-beauty-drops-off-bl img_0039-beauty-waits-for-dc-at-nb img_0040-dc-under-ne-wing<DC

Both Beauty and DC snuck off the building when I wasn’t looking and a couple minutes later Beauty appeared under the southeast wing.  I almost drove thru a huge pothole  as I was noticing the sun peeking up thru the clouds.

img_0043-beauty-under-se-wing img_0045-sun-peeking-thru-the-clouds img_0047-big-pothole-getting-bigger <Click it to see pothole

Around 8:15am the Beautyful one flew off to the northeast crossing the river and flying out of sight. I left for the Brighton site (BS) after that.

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Arriving at BS at 8:30am as I came around to the east side of the building I spotted Pigott on the corner below the roof top tree. She flew off as I pulled around and circled the building 3 times before flying southeast out of view. A few minutes later Miss Pigott returned landing under the rooftop tree on a top window ledge of the southeast extension. She proceeded to bring up a pellet-in the last pic below you can see the pellet in her mouth starting to make its way out.

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Pigott snuck off around 8:45am when I wasn’t looking so I headed back downtown to  see what the Beautyful one and DC were up to. When I arrived I went to the hole to watch Beauty who was on the base of Mercury-she didn’t stay long as she flew over to Widows Walk for a split second then back around the TSB and landed on the southeast ledge above where Calidora and Orion fledged to.DC arrived under the southeast wing.

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Beauty and DC then flew down to meet at the nest box-I’m not sure who went in first but Beauty landed on the deck by the main cam and then proceeded into the nest box

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DC flew out and up to the northwest wing ledge where he grabbed a food cache and started plucking feathers in a frenzy-a boy gets hungry when he is in courtship mode. He stopped suddenly and flew northeast.

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I couldn’t see if Beauty was still in the nest box from the hole so I drove up to the BSB where I could clearly see that she was there.

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It was about 9:20am and time to end my watch-and what a busy watch it was as our falcons are really getting into courtship mode now. Everyone can smile right along with me as I saw all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons and y’all at home are getting to see action at the nest box! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos from todays watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqjW0

http://youtu.be/hJRzbOjjsFQ
http://youtu.be/wNQF6XQ2nyA
http://youtu.be/0L2jWsoNCy4

Morning watch 3-8-14

Saturday, March 8th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

This morning it was overcast with a temperature of 34 degrees (F) 1 (C)

It took me about 25 minutes for my first falcon sighting in the form of Dot.Ca  (DC).  As I came back from the east side of town from the Broad St.Bridge (BSB) I saw him under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB).

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DC was eating up there as I parked down in the hole behind He’s Chinese for a visit with our resident male around 6:45am. He waved hello to me!

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While I was watching DC on my camera LCD screen I heard Beauty vocalizing-I looked around but couldn’t find her. She may have been in the nest box-I can’t see in there from the hole. I went up on the BSB to have a look/see but she wasn’t in the nest box so I drove over to the east side of the city while DC cleaned himself up from his meal. As I looked to the east side of Bausch & Lomb (B&L) I spotted the Beautyful one from Chestnut and Broad St. but she flew off as I pulled over. I watched her fly straight to the Mercury money bag (MMB) so I drove straight to the hole and parked on Bank Place where it meets Aqueduct St. (the hole) to share space with Beauty around 7:15am.

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10 minutes later Beauty flew to the nest box and DC remained above under the northeast wing as I went back up to the BSB to watch. She looked up at DC as he took off at 7:38am and followed him only to return half a minute later and land on the main cam.

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I then went back to the hole behind He’s Chinese to watch Beauty preen and relax a bit.

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I thought perhaps DC had gone to the Brighton site (BS) since that’s the direction he was headed when I last saw him so I headed there myself. He wasn’t there but Pigott was and she was playing peek a boo with me as I could only see her head poking up from the northwest corner of the southwest extension which is right above the cubby where we Rochester falcon watchers think she and DC have a scrape.

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Her pretty head was turning rapidly every which way in the few minutes I shared with her. At 8:10am Miss Pigott flew southwest and didn’t come back while I was there.

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On my way back downtown I stopped on Exchange Blvd. across from Cornhill to check out the frozen Genesee River. I was surprised to find a boat tied up in the icy body of water. Under the Ford St. bridge there were ice and debris chunks that will no doubt block up the BSB and Main st. bridge when they get there.

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Upon returning to downtown I found Beauty under the southeast wing of TSB at 8:40am. A few minutes later after I got situated in the hole behind He’s Chinese again Beauty flew down to the deck by the main cam for a few seconds and then flew to Widows Walk coming to rest on the east side railing.

img_0110-preen-time img_0112-beauty-on-deck img_0114-beauty-on-widows-walk

I parked in the parking lot next to the TSB for a closer view and about 5 minutes later Beauty flew to the nest box. As I turned my head to watch her I saw DC fly in with her.

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I couldn’t see the nest box from where I was but Donna let me know that they were bowing. A few minutes later DC flew to the north side railing of Widows Walk and that’s where I ended my watch just before the 9 o’clock hour.

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I left the city smiling after seeing all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see more pics in my album and some videos as well

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqjWW

http://youtu.be/auNsRQ2H5X0
http://youtu.be/ioMk-NHA-28
http://youtu.be/SLIQqST3me4
http://youtu.be/T6RBczQglek


Friday Late Afternoon Falcon Watch – 3/7/14 – What a Difference a Day Makes!

Friday, March 7th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunrise at 6:35 am.  Sunset at 6:06 pm.

After a record low temperature yesterday, today the temps rose into the mid 40’s (F).  What a difference a day makes!

I saw no falcons at Kodak Park and Pigott was not home while I was out at the BS location.

Downtown I found a falcon on the OCSR top Ibeam, north corner.  The sun was lowering in the sky and very bright.  It was really had for me to make any ID’s.

Falcon on the Northside Top IBeam OCSR 3-7-14*

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This falcon took off and flew around the OCSR before heading towards the Time Square Bldg. (TSB).

Beauty Flying Around OCSR 3-7-14Beauty Flying Around OCSR 3-7-14*

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* You’ll have to click on the 2nd pic to see it.  🙂

The falcon flew to the TSB and landed on the level just above the nest box.  There was vocalization.  By the time I made my way back over to the Broad St Bridge (BSB), there were two falcons on the TSB.  It was Beauty who had been flying around the OCSR.  She was the one on the lower level above the nest box.  After checking my pictures, I am almost certain that the smaller falcon on the northeast wing ledge was Dot.ca.  Beauty was vocalizing with a wailing sound.  Donna had texted me that she could hear her on the live streaming video.

Beauty and Dot.ca I believe on the TSB 3-7-14Beauty on the TSB 3-7-14*

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Dot.ca I believe on TSB 3-7-14Dot.ca I believe on TSB 3-7-14*

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Both Beauty and Dot.ca took off.  I found Beauty tucked into the OCSR elevator shaft on the south ledge and Dot.ca was on the top arm of the Frontier Communication Tower.  He took off heading south.  I checked all over downtown, but could not find where he went.

Beauty was still in the OCSR elevator shaft when I ended my watch just before 6:00 pm.

Beauty in OCSR Elevator Shaft 3-7-14*

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At 6:36 pm, Kathy O tweeted that there were two falcons at the BS location at the nighttime roost on the north side.  This was Pigott and Dot.ca’s spot.

On my way home, I did check along Lake Ontario, but saw no falcons there.  A couple days ago, there was ice on the lake as far as I could see with my binoculars.  Today, there was some open water and ducks were out there.

Icy Lake Ontario 3-7-14*

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Like I’ve mentioned in earlier reports, it has been a very hard Winter on the ducks, swans and other water birds that winter here.  The Genesee River that flows through downtown has become a refuge for some of them.  It started with female Red-breasted Mergansers and then some males joined them.  Now there are other kinds of ducks there and a Cormorant.  So far, there is a lot of open water on the river for the ducks to feed.  I’ll leave you with a few pictures of the birds on the river.  Goodnight!

Ice covered river from the Ford St Bridge Looking North Towards DT -3-7-14Two RBM's on River Ice 3-7-14Male and Female RBMs 3-7-14*

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Cormorant on River Ice 3-7-14Cormorant and Gull Share a Berg 3-7-14Genesee River South Side of BSB 3-7-14*

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Another Pretty Duck 3-7-14Duck Diving 3-7-14


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