By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

At 18 degrees (F) -8 (C) it should have felt warmer this morning as I headed out the door at 7:10am but the wind made it feel very bitter cold. We had an Alberta Clipper come through just before I left bringing 3 fast inches of snow making for a slow drive at rush hour and the wind created white out conditions at times. However, the sun shone bright!!!

In my travels to find a falcon downtown I spotted one flying for a brief moment near the Bausch&Lomb building around 7:40am. I continued on and found Beauty 10 minutes later on the Kodak Office (KO) tower south side arch perched on the west side of it. 10 minutes later as I just started to video tape her the Beautyful one flew off heading south right over my head.

After it was apparent she wasn’t coming back I left and did a quick check of downtown-with no sightings I went to the Brighton Site (BS). As I rounded the back of the building and the east side of the building came into view I spotted Dot.Ca fly (DC) off the east extension followed by Pigott who was on a southeast extension window. They flew around to the front of the property out of view and half a minute later Pigott returned and landed on an east extension window. She stayed only a few seconds before she flew over to the southeast extension coming to rest on a window ledge 2 rows down with her back  facing me.

I got situated where I could get a side look at Miss Pigott-she always looks around a lot so I was able to get some shots of this pretty Peregrine! At one point she was getting sleepy but didn’t close her eyes for long as the wind would whip up and wake her. It seemed to give her a little attitude judging by the look on her face.

I stayed with Pigott for about 35 minutes and before I left her I took a ride around to see if maybe DC  was somewhere on the building-no such luck. I drove to the back of the east side parking lot and took a few parting shots of Pigott before leaving for downtown.

Arriving in our fair city around 9:30am I searched for falcons at KO but found none so I drove over to the Andrews St. bridge to have a look/see. Scanning from the east side of the river and working my way west-nothing on OCSR or Crossroads north side. Nope, not on Times Square or Mercury. No bumps on the Frontier Communications tower either and then-what? Is that Beauty on the south side arch of KO? Yep it sure was as I pulled over on State St. to check out our little sneak after I had just been there a few minutes ago! lol

I shared space with our downtown matriarch for 15 minutes as she looked around her territory while the wind whistled around her.

DC  was nowhere in sight as I ended my watch about 10am. I said good bye to Beauty and shot her a smile as I drove away! 🙂

Click on the links below to check out todays videos

http://youtu.be/4UrerCa

http://youtu.be/GTKarmTszxs

http://youtu.be/HHTD5J7-dgo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My Watch started at noon today.  My normal first stop is Kodak Park.  Today I found the KP Falcon at home.  S/he (don’t no if this is a male or female yet) was on the east stack, lower catwalk, on a silver box next to a red light, east side.  This seems to be a favorite perch for this falcon.

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My next stop was the BS location, where I found both Pigott and Dot.ca.  Pigott was on an east end window and as I was driving up, Dot.ca flew in and landed on the tree ledge above her.

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At 12:50 pm, a Ring-billed Gull came flying by.  Now, I’ve seen many gulls pass by the building and flap their beaks at the Peregrines below.  Usually Pigott and Dot.ca just ignore them.  But not today.  For some reason this gull annoyed them.  Here comes the gull.  Scree!  Scree!  Scree! Dot.ca looked up at the approaching gull.  This gull was entering Peregrine Country, not a smart move.  As the gull got closer, Dot.ca took off and smacked the gull!  Over and over again, chasing it to the north east.  Well, Pigott wasn’t about to let Dot.ca have all the fun.  She took off and joined in the attack on the hapless gull.  They double teamed, both taking turns hitting the gull. The gull screamed and got out of dodge as quickly as possible.  The interesting thing is that there was no vocalization from the falcons at all.  No KAK KAK KAK! like they would normally do for an intruder.

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Pigott and Dot.ca finally gave up the chase and returned to their building.  Both flew over patrolling the area.  Then they both flew off heading southwest.

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I waited around for about a 1/2 hour.  When they didn’t return, I headed downtown to find Beauty.  It took me awhile, but from the Andrew St Bridge, I found her up on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.

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On my way home, I checked out the Charlotte area and Russell Station, hoping to find Billy.  I had no luck finding her, but I did find a Snowy Owl out on the middle of the ice on Buck Pond.

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When I was downtown, I did visit the pedestrian bridge.  I wanted to check out the High Falls and Genesee River Gorge.  It was an icy wonderland.  I’ll leave you with some pictures from my visit to the gorge.

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Oh, and one last thing.  Here’s a video of the water flowing over the partially iced High Falls.  Enjoy!

CLICK ON THIS YOUTUBE LINK

http://youtu.be/yy-1UZRMhv4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My falcon watch started a little after 2:00 pm.  At the BS location, I found Pigott and Dot.ca on the east end of the building, just a few windows apart.

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At 2:39 pm, Pigott took off and flew around the building.  She then flew off to the southwest.  I had reported in my tweet that it was Dot.ca, but it was Pigott that went on a hunt.  Dot.ca and I waited for her to return.  We didn’t have to wait long.  Pigott came back at 2:46 pm carrying a pigeon up to the tree ledge above Dot.ca.  There, Pigott prepped the pigeon and enjoyed her meal.  Feathers were flying everywhere, floating on the cold winds. Dot.ca stayed where he was the whole time Pigott was eating.

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After Pigott finished her meal, she took off with the remainder.  Dot.ca took off and gave chase.  He finally got his share when Pigott allowed him to have what was left.  lol  I have to say, he was very patient, waiting for her to complete her meal.

Now, did you ever wonder what we mean when we say “feathers are flying” when the falcons prepare their meal?  Well this video says it all.  Here’s Pigott prepping her pigeon on the tree ledge at the BS location.  Enjoy!

CLICK ON THIS YOUTUBE LINK

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As I started my watch at 7:15am the temperature was 6 degrees (F) -14 (C) the sun rose with no clouds in the way and it warmed up to 7!   LOL

Beauty gave me a break this morning and only made me make 2 trips around downtown before finding her on the west side of the south side arch of Kodak Office (KO).

Around 7:45am Dot.Ca (DC) arrived as Beauty watched him fly in from the south and land on the southeast corner of the launchpad.

At first he was facing me but I guess he wanted to warm up his back in the sun. Coupled with the cold weather making it hard to get my camera to focus and looking at his back I didn’t get a whole lot of pics of him today.

<DC  <Beauty>

DC left after 20 minutes, flying southwest and didn’t return. Beauty remained on her arch perch and I left for the Brighton Site (BS) after a few more minutes.  Arriving at BS around 8:15am I found Pigott on a top row window ledge on the southeast extension below the roof top tree. In the half hour that I shared space with this pretty Peregrine she had her back to me giving me only glimpses of her face as she preened.

Miss Pigott seemed content to stay there basking in the sun so I headed back to downtown. I didn’t find DC but Beauty was still on the south side arch of KO when I got back.

The Beautyful one was all foofed up to keep warm and seemed like she wasn’t going anywhere so I ended my watch around 9:30am. I was lucky enough to see all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons on my watch. Keep smiling everyone it makes people wonder what you’re up to! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos of our fine feathered friends

http://youtu.be/CH5xXcqB-fM

http://youtu.be/eyhgYptFMXY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Happily it was a little warmer this morning with overcast skies,windy conditions and a temperature of 18 (F) -8 (C)

Once again the first hour of my watch was falconless, prompting me to go to the Brighton Site (BS) for a falcon fix and I got it! Arriving around 8:15am I found Pigott on the southeast extension perched on a top window ledge.

10 minutes later Miss Pigott vocalized a bit as a falcon came speeding in from the east at a good clip and past us flying behind the building to the north side. I took a ride around  but didn’t find it anywhere. Pigott settled back in and I left her half hour later for downtown.

As I was searching, I spotted a falcon circling the Kodak Office tower around 9am. As I pulled over on Mill St. in the High Falls district I could see 2 falcons on the east side of the launchpad. Beauty was a few feet away from Dot.Ca (DC) who was on the northeast corner.

You must click on my pics to see the full version

About 10 minutes later Beauty hopped her way over to face DC as they both had words to say to each other. She seemed to be picking at food and at times they looked at each other and at one point they touched beaks.

A few minutes later Beauty slipped off the launchpad and flew east. I lost track of her as I was watching to see if DC would follow-he didn’t.

<DC

Unbeknownst to me Beauty had come back and landed on the playpen hidden from me and the only reason I know this is because I saw her exit from it and fly north. I followed her with my binocs until she disappeared into the gray sky. After 15 minutes passed I was getting ready to leave when the Beautyful one returned,  landing on the northeast corner of the playpen. I moved farther down the street to get her in view.

Having gotten my falcon fix for the day by seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons I ended my watch at 9:40am. Oh yeah, I was smiling for sure as I drove away! 🙂

Click on the links below to see videos of our falcons

http://youtu.be/XCgaf1YOq1Q

http://youtu.be/6b1kg8a-zo8

http://youtu.be/1H9yk0w-ntM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The days are getting longer, but staying bitter cold.  I am so ready for Spring and eggs!

Thursday – January 23, 2014

After work, I made the rounds.  Since I work right across the street from the KP location, I headed there first and found the KP Falcon on the east stack lower catwalk.

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Onward to the BS location, where I found Pigott on the south side of the building on the corner of the roof above the south side vent.  I looked around for Dot.ca, but could not find him.

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My last stop was Downtown Rochester where I found Beauty on the B&L Building.

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I looked all over the downtown area before the sunset, but could not find Dot.ca.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Started my Falcon Watch at 3:30 pm.

No Falcon found at Kodak Park. (KP)

At the BS location, I found Pigott on the south east corner of the east extension.  She was eating and her meal looked to be a freshly caught pigeon.  Feathers were flying!  The Crows were passing overhead and every now and then one would swoop in for a closer look.  One look from Pigott and the Crow continued on.  No free meals here!  lol

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I headed downtown and after checking all over, I found Beauty up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the south ledge.  For once it wasn’t snowing and there was just enough daylight to get a really good look at her.

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I looked all over for Dot.ca at both locations, but could not find him.

Hope everyone is surviving this frigid cold weather!  Be safe and stay warm!

I’ll leave you with a collage of pictures of Billy down at Charlotte (Friday 1/24/14), taken by fellow Falcon Watcher Dana.  It is always wonderful to see Mariah and Kaver’s granddaughter doing well!   Thanks Dana!!!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The bank clock on State St. said it was 2 degrees  (F) -17 (C) as I arrived downtown for my watch at 7:10am. When the sun came up there were no clouds to block it but it didn’t raise the temp much

I had no luck finding a falcon downtown in my first hour so I drove to the Brighton Site (BS). Arriving there at 8am, I found Pigott on the top window of the southeast extension in the corner where it meets the east extension. She was preening in the bright sunshine.

While I was taping Pigott, a woman pulled up next to me and asked if this was where the forensics unit was-I was kind of short with her because I was taping but I had quite a chuckle after I stopped my camera, thinking maybe they could use a forensics unit for the BS building. As  in-who knows what might be in this old abandoned building with all the vagrants and vandalism that takes place! Anyway,10 minutes later Miss Pigott made a few sounds announcing the arrival of Dot.Ca (DC) who landed a couple windows to her left on the southeast extension.

He stayed only 10 minutes or so looking to and fro and then he was off to the south. DC didn’t return in the next 15 minutes so I said goodbye to Pigott, who was still preening and left for downtown at 8:30am to look for Beauty. I found the Beautyful one on the east side of the Kodak Office playpen. I got there just in time for one pic and a short video as she flew off through the smoke of a chimney stack passing above me and flying to the south.

I left to look for her on all the usual downtown perches but she was nowhere to be found by this watcher. I ended my watch at 9:30am with a smile after seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/4dkznNnGVu0

http://youtu.be/MerNwpLpl1c

http://youtu.be/IeW2N6xlZxE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a little warmer this morning from yesterday as I began my watch at 6 degrees (F) -14 (C) with overcast conditions and a fine light snow falling. The sun broke thru around 9am and the temperature rose to 11 degrees when I ended my watch at 10:30am

I arrived downtown about 7:10am-it was still a bit dark out and initially I wasn’t finding any falcons. Eventually as I made my way down Broad St. from checking the east side I spotted a falcon on Mercurys money bag (MMB). About 2 seconds later cam watcher Donna reported Beauty on the MMB-thanks for the assist! So I drove down to the hole (Aqueduct St.) for a closer look. Ah, it was good to see her up there looking around for breakfast.

Less than 10 minutes later the Beautyful one flew north and so I checked Kodak Office (KO) to find that she had gone there as has been a pattern of hers recently.

Make sure to click on my pics to see the full version

Unfortunately because of the long distance,dark overcast conditions and cold temperature my camera was not focusing very well as Beauty was perched on the west side of the south side arch of KO.

I hung out with Beauty for a while and left her all settled in to check on the Brighton Site (BS).  When I arrived at BS nobody was home, but after making a stop, I returned to BS to find both Pigott and Dot.Ca (DC) present. They had there backs to me and were on kiddie corner top window ledges-Pigott was on the east extension and DC on the southeast extension.

<DC       Pigott>

DC kept falling to sleep on and off and Pigott did not show her face much but I managed to get a couple shots of her.

<DC> <Pigott

<DC>

I spent about half hour with them and left to re-check downtown for Beauty. I stopped on the Broad St. Bridge to have a look before continuing on to see that she was still on the south side arch of KO but she was now on the west side.

<Click it

I left her to it at 10:30am thus ending my watch after having seen all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons which always puts a smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/ZIO3mv1kE_8

http://youtu.be/r2qlAgOrPTw

http://youtu.be/HWTMJLOL56c

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

There was a big fat zero on the thermometer when I walked out the house this morning-as I approached downtown the light snow looked almost like fog enveloping the tops of the buildings. The sun had to work hard to break thru the clouds and snow but it made it out for a while

My first sighting of a PEFA was around 7:30am when I spotted one taking off from Midtown as I came around from behind HSBC. 15 minutes later I found Beauty on the south side arch of Kodak Office (KO). She was on the east side of it all foofed up to keep warm as the temperature had risen to 1 degree (F) -17 (C). The cold gave me problems getting my camera to focus so I had to trash most of them but you get the picture anyway!

I left the Beautyful one to check on the Brighton site (BS) and on the way I took a pic of the sun trying to rise above the snow and clouds, plus a first for me-a snow rainbow also known as a Sun Dog.

I found Pigott on the south side vent at the west end of BS. She too was all foofed up to keep warm. She did some preening and flew off to the south after 10  minutes or so.

Little did I know that she was flying out to greet Dot.Ca (DC).  I drove around the building looking for Pigott and when I got to the south/back side of the building I spotted DC on an east facing top level window ledge on the southwest extension. He quickly flew off with a couple of his famous chirps and landed on the east end of the south side vent,his back facing out, as Pigott had returned to the west end.

<DC   <Pigott

5 minutes later DC flew south followed by Pigott a few seconds later-they disappeared beyond the tree line into a wall of snow. I left to return to downtown where Beauty was still on KO in the same spot I found her.

I was thrilled to have seen all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons on my first watch in a month as I returned from a stay in Arkansas yesterday, but there was a bonus 4th falcon sighting after I ended my morning watch at 9:20am. I was running some errands that brought me near the Kodak Park (KP) power plant about 90 minutes later, so I stopped to have a look/see. On the east side stack, lower catwalk I spotted a falcon whom I believe is probably the one that’s been seen there since I went away in December. First from Mt. Read Blvd, then from parking lots on the KP premises.

The smoke from the stacks kept blocking my view so I had to take my shots in between. Judging by size I would say this is a male but from that distance looks can be deceiving.

Not bad at all for a welcome home watch that made me smile from start to finish! 🙂

Click on the 5 links below to view todays videos-sorry they are not in focus for the most part, because of the very cold conditions

http://youtu.be/vrTE94L80lQ

http://youtu.be/oBA3UanINo4

http://youtu.be/OwmA7lyCXpU

http://youtu.be/nxDDOQ8L28c

http://youtu.be/YTVRuu-ighA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunrise at 7:35 am.  Sunset at 5:06 pm.

Currently (9:30 pm) 5 (F) degrees; feels like -7 (F) degrees.

Other Falcon cities:  Buffalo – Currently 4 (F) degrees.  Toronto – Currently -2 (F) degrees.

During my short late afternoon watch the sign downtown said it was 6 degrees.  Plus it was snowing, making it hard to see up into the elevator shaft of the OCSR.

But first I checked Kodak Park after leaving work.  I could find no falcons there. (3:30 pm)

My next stop was the BS location.  I first found Pigott on a west facing window on the southeast extension.  As I was taking a couple pictures of Pigott, Dot.ca arrived, landing on the southwest corner of the southeast extension. (3:50 pm)

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Dot.ca took off and I was not able to find him again.

My last stop was downtown Rochester.  I ended up looking up into the OCSR elevator shaft.  It was snowing, making it very hard to see.  I was just able to make out one falcon on the north side ledge. (4:20 pm)

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I cannot be sure it was Beauty, but it probably was.

Be careful of this extreme cold everyone!  Keep warm and be safe!  Goodnight!