By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Rochester was hit by a bad snow storm over the last couple days and today it didn’t make it out of the single digits.  When I was downtown between 4 and 5 pm, it was 4 degrees and the windchill was below zero.  Brrrr!

With the bad weather and the frigid temperatures, I was pretty sure I knew where the falcons might be, at least Beauty.  I made my way over to the Radisson and looked up into the OCSR elevator shaft.  The elevator was up there, but there’s still room on each side.  Both Beauty and Dot.ca were there.  Beauty was on the south side ledge and Dot.ca was on the north side ledge.  I was happy to see them.

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Larry O had reported earlier in the afternoon that he had seen a falcon at the BS location, but was unable to positively ID if it was Pigott.

Traveling was not the best today.  The roads were pretty much snow covered and slick, but yesterday had been a lot worst.  Tomorrow it’s expected to go up to 30 degrees.  Today the sun rose at 7:41 pm and set at 4:47 pm.  The days are getting longer!  🙂

I’ll leave you with some pics I took of snowy downtown Rochester during my watch.  Be sure to click on any you would like to see larger. Goodnight all and keep warm!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Here are some pictures from the Watcher gathering on New Year’s Day.

Gathered Watchers: Shaky, Carrie, Larry O, Jeanne, Pat, Dan S, Don, Suzanne, Kathy O, Lisa McK, Joyce, Steve, Dana, Lou, June, Carol P and MAK (from Arkansas).

#1 – Larry O, Jeanne, Dan & Shaky; #2 – Dan, Carrie, June & Pat; #3 – Shaky (Not sure what he’s doing. 🙂

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#1 – Shaky, Steve, Joyce and Lou; 2 – Shaky (not sure what he’s doing : ); 3 – Shaky, Shaky, Shaky!

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#1 – Lisa McK, Kathy O & Shaky; #2 – Everyone by me!; #3 – Shaky recording the event.

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#1 – Shaky with Time Sq Bldg Behind him; #2 – Dana and Joyce.

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#1 – Steve, Dan & Pat; #2 – Lou, Shaky & Don.

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Oh, in case you were wondering why we were gathered, here are three reasons why.  Beauty, Dot.ca and Pigott!

Beauty on the Kodak Office Tower

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Pigott and Dot.ca at the BS location

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Beauty eating on Kodak Office Tower

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Thanks Shaky for fixing the problem that wouldn’t let me download pictures yesterday.

Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Today the Rochester Falcon Watchers met at noon  in front of the Blue Cross Arena on Broad St to toast the new year.  A toast to a falcon filled season!

But first, I wanted to find the falcons we were toasting.  So, I headed out an hour and a half early.  There were no falcons at Kodak Park or the BS location.  I headed downtown, again finding no falcons.  From Kodak Office I looked south and saw two falcon flying really high above the city.  They were circling each other, coming together, then apart.  The only way I can describe this flight between a bonded pair of Peregrine Falcons is to call it an aerial ballet.  They flew higher and higher, heading north east, where  I lost sight of them over the river.  Soon after that, one of them flew in and landed on the southeast corner of the launchpad.  Beauty had arrived.

It was noon, so I had to get going.  It was time to meet up with the other watchers to toast to a successful 2014 falcon season.  The following Rochester Falcon Watchers showed up today.

Shaky, Carrie, Dan S, Jeanne, Larry O, Pat, Suzanne, Don, Lisa McK, Kathy O, Joyce, Steve, Dana, Lou and me Carol P.  Oh, and MAK called and joined us for the toast all the way from Arkansas!

I had pictures I wanted to share, but for some reason, I can’t post them.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

After the toast, we headed over to the BS location and found both Pigott and Dot.ca on the east side of the building.  Pigott’s crop was huge, so she just ate.  Dot.ca was eating her leftovers.  By the time he was finished eating, his crop was huge too.  lol

At the end of my watch, I drove through downtown and found Beauty where Joyce reported seeing her.  Beauty was eating on the south side of the launch pad at Kodak Office.  So all three Rochester Falcons were accounted for, well fed and doing good.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was time for another speedy falcon watch this afternoon after work.  (3:40 – 5:00 pm)

My watch started with temps in the teens and a thin layer of snow on the ground.  Over the next few days, the temperatures will be plummeting here in Rochester, NY and 2013 will become 2014.

My watch started at KP.  I could not find any falcons there.

BS was my next stop.  I found Pigott on a south facing window on the east extension.

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Fellow watcher Joyce, joined me.  We were chatting when Pigott took off.  She returned to the building very quickly, and she wasn’t alone.  Dot.ca had arrived.  They both landed next to each other on the southeast corner of the southeast extension, just above the tree ledge.  There was no vocalization.  They both settled in, just a couple feet apart from each other.

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Joyce and I decided to head downtown to look for Beauty, before the sunset and it was too dark to see anything.  We searched everywhere, not finding her at first.  On a 2nd pass of the east side, Joyce spotted Beauty up on top of the Xerox Tower on the south side.  I drove over and found Beauty where Joyce reported seeing her.

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With all three Rochester Falcon found and all quiet and peaceful, it was time to end my watch and head home.  Keep warm everyone!  Goodnight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Even during the busy holiday season, the Rochester Falcon Watchers are out and about.  All three Rochester Falcons have been seen over the past few days, reported by Larry O, Kathy O, Lisa McK, Joyce, Dana, Lou, Pat, and me Carol P.  Thanks to you all for taking time to go out and check on the falcons.

On Friday, 12/27/13, I found two adult Peregrine Falcons hanging out on the smokestacks at Kodak Park.  I saw one here last week.  So, are they a pair just passing through?  We’ll definitely keep an eye on this location, which is where we first saw Unity.

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On Saturday, 12/28/13, I checked out KP, but could not find any Peregrines.  But there was a smaller falcon there, an American Kestrel.

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BS was my next stop, but Pigott was not home.  Later in the day, Joyce found her there.

Downtown, Dana and I found Beauty and Dot.ca on the Kodak Office Tower.

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They both took off, heading south towards downtown.  We found Beauty on the Widows Walk.

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Beauty took off and we found both Beauty and Dot.ca back on the Kodak Office Tower in the same spots they had left.  They both seemed settled, so we headed down to the lake (Ontario) to see if any Snowy Owls were there. Kathy O met us there and she saw her first Snowy way out on the ice on the other side of the Summerville pier.  We were watching the Mergansers diving between the Mallards.  Every now and then a Merganser would come up right under a Mallard.  Pretty funny to watch.  Fellow Watcher Jeanne joined us and she also was able to see her first Snowy of the year.  Here are a couple of pics of a Merganser that caught a fish, and after a few tries, was able to swallow it.  GULP!

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The ice between the beach and the lake water looked like an alien landscape.

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Sunday, 12/29/13

The Watchers were out again and falcons were seen at the BS location (probably Pigott, according to Dana) and Beauty downtown.  We again ended up at the lake to look for Billy at Russell Station (no luck) and Snowy Owls at Charlotte/Summerville.

When I arrived, Kathy was already out on the Charlotte Pier and Dana & Lou were on the Summerville Pier.  There was a Snowy far out on the Summerville Pier.  A jogger ran down to the end of the pier and the Snowy took off, landing near the end of the Charlotte Pier, landing on a railing.

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The Snowy was scared off again by a passerby, this time flying off to the west.

Later in the day, Dana found a Snowy Owl at Irondequoit Bay.  Kathy O, Joyce and I joined her.  The Snowy was on a dock eating a gull.  We were able to remain in our cars at a far distance.  Thank goodness for zoom lenses and binoculars!  This Snowy Owl found a nice, quiet spot to enjoy its’ meal.  We were joined, for a short while, by a birder named Richard and his friend.  They were thrilled to see the Snowy.

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A Kingfisher flew in, vocalizing loudly and landed on a nearby plastic owl.

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What a wonderful holiday weekend of birding!

I’ll leave you with this video of the Snowy Owl enjoying its’ meal.  It’s truly amazing that we are being visited by so many of these beautiful birds.  Goodnight everyone!

Just click on this link to my youtube video.  Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/_Ty6PGT4G_c

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

(3:50 – 5:00 pm)

Just a quick watch late this afternoon.  No Pigott seen at the BS location.  But, a falcon was seen there earlier by Larry O.

I checked out the downtown area.  No falcons seen until I approached the Kodak Office Tower.  One falcon was flying around the top of the tower, landing on the south side of the cupola.  I was not able to get an ID on this falcon.

By 5:00 pm, it was too dark to see much, so I ended my watch with just one falcon.  Can’t wait for the days to get longer!

Here are a couple pics of the falcon on the Kodak Tower.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

(8:30 am – Noon)

I decided to head out early this morning (8:30 am) for a Christmas Day Falcon Watch.  It was 15 degrees and the sun was out for a short while.   Been a long time since I’ve seen that bright orb in the sky.  Loved it!  It clouded up pretty quickly though.

I was back and forth between the BS location and downtown.  Not many others were out and about at that time.  At times, I was the only one on the road.  I could get used to that!  lol

During my watch, I did find all three Rochester Falcons.  Pigott was at BS and Beauty & Dot.ca were on the Kodak Office Tower downtown.  Pigott had a nice full crop.   Beauty was prepping food on the southeast corner of the launch pad and Dot.ca was keeping guard on the antenna that juts out from the south side of the playpen.

Pigott at BS

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Beauty and Dot.ca at the Kodak Office Tower – Downtown

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I looked for Billy down at the lake (Ontario), but could not find her.

I’ll leave you with a few pics I took during my watch.  Merry Christmas!  Goodnight everyone!

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Merry Christmas!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I was able to leave work a little early today, so of course I headed downtown to look for Beauty, who I had not seen yesterday.  From Morrie Silver Way in front of the Frontier Field Stadium, I could see two falcon on the Kodak Office tower.  Both were on the south side of the launchpad.  Beauty was on the southeast corner and Dot.ca was on the southwest corner.  It was 34 degrees (F) and ice pellets were falling.

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I drove over to the BS location and found Pigott on the southeast corner of the east extension.  Her crop was full, so she recently had a meal.

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That was all three Rochester Falcons seen today.  But there was one more falcon that I wanted to see, so I headed down to Lake Ontario.

After parking in the lot on the north side of Russell Station, I saw a bunch of pigeons flying over the building and right behind them a juvenile Peregrine Falcon.  The ice pellets had turned to a fine snow, so I was not able to see the bands to confirm the black over green.  She landed on the antenna at the west end of the building.  Her crop was not as big as Pigott’s, but it looked partially full.

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My watch lasted from 2:00 to 3:30 pm.  I was happy to have seen Beauty, Dot.ca, Pigott and possibly Billy all doing well.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Rochester (NY) was in the path of an ice storm that hit overnight.  Thankfully it wasn’t as bad here as the weather people said it would be.  Our friends in Canada were hit especially hard and we hope that they are all ok and any others that were affected by the storm.

There wasn’t much icing at my house, but as I traveled south, I ran into heavy, dense fog and trees covered in ice.  It was quite beautiful, but icing like this always causes so much damage.

I arrived at the BS location a little before 1:00 pm.  There was a falcon on the NW corner of the SW extension, just above the cubby.  The falcon was turned towards the building preening.  The fog was very heavy at the top of the building.  I am pretty sure this was Pigott.

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I looped around the building hoping to find a 2nd falcon, but I didn’t.  The trees at BS were coated with ice.  I returned to where Pigott was preening.

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Pigott took off and I followed her to the south side of the building.  Dot.ca had arrived and both were on the south side vent.

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Dot.ca flew over to the east end of the building and landed on the tree ledge, where he found a bit of food.

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After finishing his small meal, he flew back over to the vent and off again.  As he was flying back and forth, both he and Pigott were vocalizing.  Dot.ca ended up on a south facing window on the SW extension.  He didn’t stay there long, flying to the west end of the south side vent.

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At 2:30 pm, I left Pigott and Dot.ca and headed downtown to look for Beauty, hoping that the fog had lifted a bit.  On the way, I took a quick detour into Mt Hope Cemetery.  Here are a few pics I took.

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The fog was still covering the tops of the buildings, but I drove around looking for Beauty anyway.  I had no luck finding her.

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Over at Kodak Office, I saw that the cupola and the netting around the playpen were covered in ice.

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Beauty’s favorite SE box on the Frontier Communication Tower was also covered in ice.

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While I was looking for Beauty, I checked out the widows walk.  She wasn’t there, but I did get the name of the building the widows walk is part of.  It’s the old City Hall, now called Irving Place.  This is were I saw the Snowy Owl a couple of days ago.

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At 3:30 pm, I headed back over to the BS location and found Dot.ca on the SE corner of the SW extension.  He was looking towards the southeast.  Soon after I arrived, he flew off to the east, very fast and did not return. The light was starting to fade.  It was time to check out the downtown area one more time.

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From 4:00 to 5:00 pm, I looked for Beauty, but still could not find her.  While I was checking out the buildings from the Strong Museum parking lot, I noticed that the Christmas tree was lit on the side of the HSBC building. I love when they do this.

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My last stop before ending my Watch was a good look at the Kodak Tower.  The lights were on, but Beauty was not there.

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Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The fog and rain made it very hard to find any falcons during my watch on this first day of winter.  I checked the lake shore first and had no luck finding Billy or any other Peregrines down there.  But, I did see a falcon.  A very wet merlin sitting on a tree branch in the rain.

I headed downtown and, with difficulty, found Beauty on the Kodak Tower.  She was on the south side arch ledge above the old M&K nest site.

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After checking the rest of the downtown area and finding no other falcons, I headed over to the BS location.  The only birds I found there were the local crows.  One of the crows was checking out the building ledges, probably looking for Pigott’s caches.  A sure indication that Pigott and Dot.ca were not home.

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I went back and forth between the two locations during my watch.  Beauty was the only Peregrine I saw today.  Funny that I only saw Pigott and Dot.ca yesterday.  Pigott was seen this morning.  Fellow watcher Joyce was out during the afternoon and she only saw Beauty also.

My watch started at 10:30 am and ended at 2:00 pm.  During that time, it never stopped raining.  One more stop at Kodak Office before I headed home.  It was too foggy to see if Beauty was still up there or not.

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I’ll leave you with some pictures I took during my watch .  Please be sure to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.  Goodnight all!

Such good memories…..

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A gull floating by on a sheet of ice on the river…..

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A huge raft of Long-tailed Ducks out on Lake Ontario…..

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Swans on a frozen Buck Pond…..

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Can anyone guess where this beautiful art deco is from?

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Saw this gorgeous Cardinal today!