From Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a beautiful day in Rochester.  Sunny, warm with a nice breeze.  I arrived downtown just before 11 am.  A quick check of the Times Square nest box showed Archer inside the box, moving about.  I didn’t see Beauty.

Off to the east end of the High Falls pedestrian bridge.  I joined Joyce and Dawn .   They had spotted Mariah on the gorge wall, east side, near the falls.  She was enjoying the cooling spray.

We were soon joined by Dan S, Larry O, Jeanne, Suzanne, Don, Kristen, Scott and Jeannette.

From 10:30 am until 2:20 pm, all was peaceful.  That’s when we spotted a Peregrine flying along the east side gorge.  At first I thought it was Mariah.  The Peregrine flew up into the Shady Tree.  A quick check through the scope showed that Mariah remained in her spot near the falls.  Hmmm, who was this 2nd Falcon?

A few of us walked down the path leading to the observation deck.  From there, we got a very clear view of the Falcon in the tree.  We’re pretty sure it was Archer.  This is the 3rd time in the last few weeks since Mariah’s return that I’ve witnessed Archer visiting Mariah in the gorge. 

Mariah turned towards him and they both just watched each other.  Absolutely no aggression by either of them. 

At 3:25 pm, over an hour later, Archer took off from the tree, he flew past Mariah, then headed west over the river.  He then flew towards the west end of the pedestrian bridge, turned back towards the falls, up and over the observation deck and then high over the Brewery.  The last time we saw him, he was soaring very high off to the south east. 

Mariah remained in her spot, preening, stretching, dozing and looking every which way.

Joyce and I left her on the wall around 4 pm.

Carol P.

Peace still reigns over the city of Rochester.  There seems to be a line in the sand between Mariah and Archer & Beauty. 

Archer and Beauty remain downtown, with their main focus on the nest box located at the Times Square Bldg.  They hunt over the river and points south.

Mariah claims the Kodak Tower and the gorge where her young learned to fly.  We usually find her on the top of the Kodak Tower, or on the east side gorge wall, near the High Falls cooling mist, sitting in the shade.  She will fly off to the north to hunt.

So, what will happen in the future?  No one knows, but we’ll keep reporting what we see.

Carol P.

From Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P:

No activity today.  It was very warm, sunny and quiet in the gorge.  Many Watchers came out for the noon hour Watch:  Shaky, Kelly W, Larry O, Dan S, Susan C & Carol P.

At 2:00 pm, I drove over to the Times Square Bldg, parking as far back on the Broad St Bridge as I could.  When I looked up into the nest box, I could see a black hooded face looking back at me.  Yep, there was definitely a Peregrine up there, but I couldn’t tell which Falcon it was.

I drove back towards the Kodak Tower and thought I may have seen a bird shaped shadow up on the south side launch pad, but I couldn’t be sure.

It was a very quiet Watch today.  🙂

Carol P.

From Rochester Falcon Watcher Susan C:

after Carol left…

Jeanne left shortly after Carol did, so I walked down to the west end of the bridge to find out if I could see the building that Carol was talking about (I could) and find out if Mariah was still on the building (she wasn’t).  So I walked back to the east end of the bridge in preparation for going home, and noticed another person with gear around their neck, sure enough it was Jim P.  He searched the gorge wall, and found Mariah almost directly under the right-hand corner of the observation deck, tucked back into the wall. 

Jim took some pictures of Mariah and then some of the poor deer who was stuck up on our level who ran right in front of my parked car and toward the observation deck.  We walked around to see where it went, and observed one very frightened deer looking around in a panic.  There wasn’t anything that we could do for it, so we ducked back onto the bridge and out of it’s site, hoping for the best.  I’m not sure where the poor thing ended up, but I hope that it’s safe.  A short while later, Jim left and I continued to watch Mariah.

At 3:50 I had my binoculars directly on Mariah when a bird flew up toward her and landed very close to her!  I thought to myself “stupid bird!” before I realized – almost immediately – that it was Archer, and he was about a meter away from her.  Mariah seemed to hardly notice him, she shifted around a bit but basically stayed where she was.  Archer tried to get her attention by fluttering (I’m sorry, do falcons flutter?) (I guess I should say ‘flapped’) his wings a bit and hopping over even closer to her, but she never made a major move of any kind.  After 3 or 4 minutes Archer flew off, staying next to the gorge wall and flying under the bridge.  He flew out on the other side, went out over the river and turned back, I believe that he landed under the west end of the bridge as he was pulling up for a landing as he approached.

Mariah was still in position on the wall, and after a short while Archer again approached her, did sort of a ‘touch and go’ against the wall, and flew up under the shady tree but still on the wall.  He was completely invisible, even though I knew where he landed I couldn’t find him.  He didn’t stay there long, but flew away again – this time Mariah was in the air.  As he flew away, she approached the bridge and landed right under me!!  I could look over the railing and see her, it was amazing.  It almost made me wish that I took pictures, this one would have been great.  She only stayed for a minute, then flew up into the shady tree, where she sat facing me for quite a while before turning around and moving to a more camouflaged position behind some leaves with her back to me.  That’s where she was when I left her at 4:20.

susan c

From Rochester Watcher Carol P.

I arrived downtown a little after noon. I decided to check the downtown area first.   I couldn’t park on the Broad St Bridge due to traffic, so I headed over to Midtown Plaza. No Falcons in sight. I headed back towards Times Square and while stopped at a red light, checked ou the building. I’m pretty sure there was a Falcon inside the nest box. No Falcons on the east side of the building.

Then I drove around the Kodak Tower. No Falcons. Time to head out to the east end of the pedestrian bridge, where I joined Debbie, Shaky, Larry O, Jeanne and Susan C.

A quick check of the east side gorge wall showed Mariah with her back to us.   Shaky got his scope out and we got a really nice look at her.

During the Watch, Shaky saw a Falcon fly to the communication tower over the County Jail. As we watched, the Falcon flew back over to the Times Square Bldg, south side.

Around 1:30 pm, we noticed that Mariah was no longer on the gorge wall. Now where did she go! I walked out for a better look at the gorge wall and under the bridge, no Mariah. All looked peaceful downtown. I then walked to the west end of the pedestrian bridge and saw what I’m pretty sure was Mariah sitting on the SE corner of the red brick building near the corner of Smith St. and St. Paul.

At 2:45 pm, I left Susan C and Jeanne on the bridge. Close to 3:00 pm, I
received a text message from Susan saying that Mariah had returned to the east side gorge wall.   She sure does love that gorge! 🙂

Carol P.

It was a gorgeous day for a Falcon Watch.  I met many Watchers out on the east end of the pedestrian bridge over the High Falls, Genesee River.  From here we have a great view of downtown Rochester, the Kodak Tower, gorge and points north.  Watchers today included Lisa McK, Larry O, Sue(Bess), Shaky,  Susan C, Carla & Jeanne.

During the noon hour, we were joined by approximately 25 children.  Very excited children that wanted to know where Mariah and Kaver were.  We explained the situation to them and their teachers.  This was the class that gave Diamante his wonderful name last year.

Just before the class arrived, Larry O saw Mariah fly into the gorge from the north.  She flew under the bridge and landed on the gorge wall below the shady tree.  This was a new spot for her.  We tried our best to point out Mariah’s position, but she was very well hidden.  She blended perfectly with the wall, with her dark gray back towards us.

As we tried to patiently point out her position, someone yelled, “there she goes!”.  Mariah took off flying north just above the gorge wall.  There was a loud squeal of delight from the kids as they yelled, “Mariah!  Hey Mariah over here!”  Now we were in the center of the pedestrian bridge and Mariah was well over the Genesee Brewery, so the enthusiasm from the children went unnoticed.  🙂

We watched her head north and out of sight.

Later in the Watch, a Falcon was spotted on the Times Square Bldg below the NE wing at the top of the building.  We believe that this was Archer due to the very white chest.  He flew off and another larger falcon landed on the platform in front of the nest box located there.  As I watched, the bird we believed was Beauty entered the nest box.

So, all three Rochester Falcons were spotted today.  All still seems to be peaceful.  Archer and Beauty downtown and Mariah north of the downtown area, including the Kodak Tower and the gorge.  Could these be the territorial lines between them?

Carol P.

Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I’ve put together a KGallery album of  pictures from my weekend Watches. 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=171aim5l.8evc10k9&x=0&y=v0ybpb\
&localeid=en_US

or tiny url:

http://tinyurl.com/r2tlmn

No sign in necessary. Enjoy!

Carol P.

Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

OK, all. It’s been a very interesting week, watching Mariah, Archer
and Beauty.

There have been no witnessed encounters between Mariah and Archer &
Beauty over the past 3 days. Things seem to have calmed down,
thankfully. Every day something new happens.

Mariah has been spending a lot of her time snoozing on the east side
gorge wall, between the observation deck and the High Falls. Today a very strange thing happened.

I arrived downtown at 10 am. After checking out the downtown area and only finding Archer on the Times Square Bldg, I drove over to the east end of the pedestrian bridge. Carla P had arrived just before me.

We spotted Mariah on the gorge wall, very close to where she was yesterday.

At 11 am, Archer flew into the gorge. He flew over us, heading north. He
didn’t go very far, turned around and flew low over our position. I was really concerned that he had come to do battle with Mariah, but he landed on the east side gorge wall about 20 feet from her. During the next 45 minutes, Archer and Mariah continued to sit calmly. Mariah even slept on and off. After 45 minutes Archer took off and landed just above Mariah’s position. Again no seeming concern from either of them and no vocalization. After about 5 minutes, Archer took off, dipped in front of Mariah and flew south towards downtown.

When he first flew in, I was very concerned that he was going to
attack Mariah, but he didn’t. The behavior of these three Falcons is really
different than anything we’ve seen before.

About 15 mintues after Archer left, Mariah left the gorge wall and flew towards the Kodak Tower. She looped around a few times before landing on the launch pad, north side.

A 1/2 hour later, she left the launch pad, and headed north, away from downtown.   This seems to be a pattern for her lately. We believe that she is going north to do her hunting and then returning to either the Kodak Tower or the gorge, sometimes hours later.

Now for some more interesting news. 2 Falcons are spending a lot of
time on the Times Square Bldg. We believe that it is Beauty & Archer, but we can’t be sure of that without a scope. One of the Falcons was sitting on the nest box perch and later in the afternoon one was seen entering it.

So, it’s certainly a strange and interesting Falcon Watch right now.
We definitely learn something new every day.

Carol P.

Falcon Watcher – Carol P.

I arrived at the east end of the pedestrian bridge this morning around 10:30 am, after checking downtown.  No Falcons in sight.  I joined Susan C for the morning Watch.  I had forgotten to check the gorge wall and finally did around 11:00 am.  There she was!  Mariah was on the east side gorge wall between the observation deck and the High Falls.

She was sound asleep, head tucked under her wing with her back to us.

At noon a lot of Watchers started showing up for the noon hour Watch.  Dan S, Kathy A, Larry O, Sue (Bess), Jeanne, Lynda and Tim.

Mariah woke up and decided it was time to stretch her wings.  During the hour, she took off a few times, returning to the gorge wall in a different spot.  She even ended up in the Shady Tree on the east side gorge wall.  Dale has nicknamed this tree the Falcon Sucking Tree!  🙂

 She then flew towards the pedestrian bridge, under it and off to the north.  She soon returned with a Crow on her tail.

Mariah landed on top of the gorge wall in front of the observation deck, just past Pride’s Rock.

After about a 1/2 hour, it was inevitable that someone would walk out to the observation deck.  Mariah took off and flew to the top of the Kodak Tower, landing on the launch pad.

During the morning and afternoon, Archer and Beauty were only seen twice, flying high above downtown.  There was no interaction witnessed between them and Mariah.

At 4:40 pm, both Jeanne and I left Shaky on the pedestrian bridge.  I did a quick drive around downtown.  I couldn’t find Mariah on the launch pad, but I do believe she was up there hunkered down in the shade.  The sun was very hot today.

A quick trip around the Times Square Bldg revealed Archer on the east side, just above the nest box located there.

I couldn’t find Beauty.

At 6:30 pm, Watcher Carla P left me a message on my cell phone saying that she had both Beauty & Archer on the Times Square Bldg. near the nest box level.

Carol P.

From Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I didn’t post yesterday because I wanted to figure out what was going on. First, I want to thank ALL the Watchers that have been out over the past few days since Mariah returned. You’ve all been so generous with your time and you know who you are. If I try to list all the names, I know I’ll forget someone.On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Mariah was content to stay near the Kodak Tower. She did not go anywhere near downtown. We were still keeping an eye on Archer and Beauty at Midtown. Over the weekend, we noticed a change over at Midtown. Both Archer and Beauty were spending more time off of the nest ledge. But, there was not behavior that indicated that there were any hatches. No food was
being brought to the ledge. In fact, when Archer brought in food on Sunday evening, Beauty tried to take it. Archer gave her a really hard time. Finally, after a long time, she was able to take the food, which she brought to the near by B&L Bldg to eat.

Things changed on Monday. Mariah decided it was time to make a move downtown. The Watchers on the bridge witnessed Mariah and Archer pushing each other back and forth between the Kodak Tower and the Times Square Bldg (which is where the 2nd nest box is located). The behavior was more like what we saw last Easter Sunday when Kaver attempted to keep the intruding female away from the K-Tower.
He was alot faster than the female, but he wasn’t strong enough to keep her away. It took Mariah to finally vanquish her after she landed in the playpen area.

During the Monday Watch, Mariah would land on the Times Square Bldg. and Archer would fly above her. Late afternoon, Mariah flew over us (on the east end of the pedestrian bridge), heading north. Approximately 45 minutes later, she came back carrying a black feather in her talons, with 2 Crows chasing her. She flew under the bridge, just below us and landed on the east side gorge wall. I was able to see that she had a very full crop, indicating that she had eaten a meal while she was gone. She only remained a few moments, before again taking off and flying south, landing again on the Times Square Bldg.

Kathy O remained downtown until 8 pm. Mariah remained on the Times Square Bldg, Archer was on the east side of Xerox (where he couldn’t see her) and Beauty was on the west side of B&L, within view of Mariah.

Now today’s Watch – Tuesday June 2nd.

The call was put out to the Rochester Watchers come downtown if they could today and many answered the call. Thanks all!

I arrived downtown around 9:30 am. I immediately spotted Mariah sitting up on the southside launchpad. Workers were below her, but she didn’t seem to mind, only ee-chupping now and then.

At 11:30 am, I drove out to the east end of the pedestrian bridge. Just as I arrived, Mariah took off. I looked all over trying to spot where she went. That’s when I saw three small dots in the sky between the K-Tower and the communication tower. There were three Falcons. The two larger Falcons were flying apart, flying together over and over again. The smaller Tiercel was hanging back, following them. There wasn’t a lot of hits and both Falcons seemed equally matched.

All three flew past the Kodak Tower and broke up. Two returned to the south towards downtown and one continued north. They were very high and only looked like small dots up there. For the next three hours all was quiet, except for the big duck rescue, which is a whole other story. 🙂

At 3:00 pm, there were a few Watchers still on the bridge, including Susan C, Kelly, Lisa McK, Shaky, Dan S, Larry O and Lynda.

Dan was the first to notice that Mariah was flying around the Kodak Tower. She never landed, but flew higher and higher and higher. First heading north and then passing overhead flying towards the downtown area. It was a joy to watch her. She would stoop and rise and flap and stoop and rise and flap. She just looked like she was having fun.

A large dark bird flew in over the gorge. At first we thought it was a Turkey Vulture, but it was far from that. The large dark bird flew over the High Falls and …………….Mariah spotted it and stooped……… and hit the very large bird. That’s when we noticed what she was hitting. It was an adult Bald Eagle. White head and white tail. She flew high again and let the Eagle go on it’s way. I’m sure the Eagle was happy about that!

Mariah was again a small speck in the sky. Now she was directly over the old Changing Scene’s Restaurant and no Falcons were speeding towards her. We watched her fold her wings back and go into a very steep stoop. Down, down, down she plummeted and whack! She hit a bird about her size. I do believe it was another Falcon, but I can’t be 100% sure.

We watched as Mariah flew over to the Times Square Bldg and landed on the base of the NE wing. Another Falcon made a quick appearance and then flew off.

When I left at 3:40 pm, that where she remained. I left Susan C and Lynda to carryon with the Watch. Hopefully they’re report what they saw.

We’ll keep Watching.

Carol P.