By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

First time in a long time I was awakened by my alarm clock because I wanted to be downtown on watch at sunrise. I so have missed getting out every morning to see the Beautyful one and having the truck for one day I took full advantage of it!

When I arrived in our fair city I had to drive around to all the usual spots for Beauty was nowhere in sight. Upon arriving at the intersection of Broad St. and South Ave. I spotted our girl on the money bag hand of Mercury. With a big old smile on my face I crossed over and parked on the bridge,set up my camera on my window mount and started clicking away!

What a Beautyful sight for me to see with her back on her favorite perch and mine too!

Although I spent only 15 minutes with Beauty I felt quite content. It was good  getting out and seeing the people walking down the sidewalk to work and greeting them with hi how ya doin’! After 2 months of being absent it was nice to be remembered.

Beauty flew off really fast after a pigeon stooping behind the Thomson Reuters building where I lost sight of her and after searching the city twice with no luck I had to end my watch. I don’t know when I’ll get out again to see our resident downtown Peregrine but until I do I want you all to keep smiling!  🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

I had the opportunity to get the truck today and I went for it. KathyO was kind enough to take me to pick it up. I went straight downtown to look for Beauty.  She was no where in sight so I decided to go to KP and look for Unity. Lo and behold KathyO was there when I arrived but Unity was not. We chit chatted for a few minutes and left. She went home and I…well I went back downtown of course! Having a vehicle available to me for the first time in about 2 months I intended to make full use of it while I had it. While sitting on the Broad St. bridge a helicopter passed overhead. It was going downriver toward High Falls!

I found the Beautyful one under the northeast wing of the Times Square building so I went down to Aqueduct St. to be closer to her.

The parking attendant didn’t like where I was parked and asked me to leave and since there was nowhere else to park I decided to go park in front of the Blue Cross Arena on Exchange St.

I shared space with Beauty for over an hour. It felt just like old times and as darkness fell she took off heading east. Another watch in the books and another smile put on this watchers face! 🙂

I have to give thanks to fellow watcher KrisG and her husband Bill for the kindness they have given to me both before and during my recuperation from knee replacement surgery. I feel terrible that I forgot about their good deeds when I thanked others in another report. I appreciate ALL of my falcon family but I must admit that I  have a terrible memory! Sorry Kris and Bill I hope you can forgive me!

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Joyce picked me up this morning for a watch and upon arriving downtown about 11:00am we found the Beautyful one on the Times Square building under the northeast wing and she was plucking feathers from prey.

After watching Beauty for an hour or so we checked out the old Rochester Psyche Center but there was no falcon to be seen at this location today. We then went back downtown and found Beauty on the top ibeam north side of  the OCSR building. We left her soon there after to go to my house to wait for fellow falcon watchers Bobbie from Ireland and Dawn with her dog Bullet to come for a visit.

Joyces’ dogs Abby and Casey were there too and they all had some good doggy play time in my backyard. Unfortunately all the pics I took with all 3 dogs were blurry cuz they were moving too fast! lol

After Dawn and Bobbie left, Joyce and I went over to KP to find Unity. We found her on the north side of the tall still on the second catwalk railing and she had a full crop.

With daylight quickly fading we took one more trip downtown but couldn’t find Beauty and this is when we called it a watch. There are links at the end of my report for more pics and a video of todays observations. I hope you enjoy them and they make you smile!  🙂

http://youtu.be/Ef7XY6YQGsY

www.kodakgallery.com

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Joyce picked me up this afternoon for a watch and we got Brian to go along with us. We found the Beautyful one hanging out on the top ibeam north side of the OCSR building. She had her back to us but she did keep turning her head so we could see her face.

We didn’t stay long for we wanted to check on Unity at KP and then go to the Charlotte pier to look for Snowy Owls and the amount of daylight would be working against us. We didn’t find Unity right away because she was on the north side of the tall still and we had to do some driving around to locate her. I was happy to see this gorgeous girl for I hadn’t seen her in even longer a period of time as I went without seeing Beauty. And she was looking pretty big to me!

We went to Charlotte pier after finding Unity at KP and had no luck finding a Snowy owl but we did see a migrating Brant Goose.

We left the shore of Lake Ontario in Charlotte and took a ride next to Seabreeze and Irondequoit Bay. There were many Mute Swans on the bay. With daylight quickly leaving us I took a few pics of them.

There’s 2 swan with their tail feathers in the air in the second pic above so make sure to click on the pic for the large version. And that would be all for todays outing. Until next time keep smiling!  🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Let me start by thanking all our veterans for without their sacrifices I might not be able to enjoy the pleasures of falcon watching. I salute each and every one of you!!!

So I was laying in bed doing my knee exercises this morning at about 6:40am when I got a text from Joyce saying that she was heading out the door to take me on a falcon watch before work. Nothing makes me move faster than the chance to see falcons! So I finished up my exercises and threw on some clothes(my shower could wait ’til later) plopped my tye-dye cap on my head and waited for her arrival. I told her she must really love me cuz even work doesn’t get her up this early in the morning! lol Anyway, we headed downtown on route 490 and it was a breeze with very few commuters as it’s Veterans day. We searched all the favorite spots with no luck and decided to just sit on the Broad St. bridge and wait for Beauty to come to us. I got out and checked the river on both sides looking for something to take pics of but all was quiet. Up on Mercury was a bunch of starlings just hanging out.

All of a sudden they were off and what looked to me (cuz I’m a little rusty) like a crow chasing them at first turned out to be the Beautyful one! As she flew up to the Times Square building with that gorgeous wing span of hers there was no doubt that I was seeing my feathered friend that I had been missing for nearly a month. Joyce drove down to the alley by the Wilder building and parked as tears of joy and gratitude streamed down my face I thanked her for getting me back to where I belong. At first the sun was shining on Beauty and then it clouded up and started to snow.

Next thing we know Beauty was plucking feathers out of something. We didn’t see anything in her talons when she flew up there so we assumed it was cached prey. I took a short video of her eating as the snow fell down on our heads through Joyces’ sunroof. The link will be at the end of this report. It is a bit shaky since I was holding my camera up in the sunroof but I hope you will enjoy it none the less.

We sat there in the cold and wind and snow content with the fact that we were watching one of the most extraordinary animals on the planet! I count my blessings every time I see a falcon for it isn’t something that everyone has the chance to do.As the clouds rolled in making it darker and darker the pics became less and less clear but she still looks BEAUTYFUL!

As time was ticking away and Joyce had to be thinking about getting to work we said goodbye to Beauty and went to KP to look for Unity. This gorgeous gal was nowhere in sight. As a matter of fact there were no birds of any kind around. Since there’s no great need to defend territories right now we figure Unity is wandering as Peregrines are famous for. Joyce dropped me off home and another watch was in the books.

I’ve thanked Joyce many times for her contribution to my happiness and well being but I need to thank some other folks that have been here for me too throughout my recuperation. Special thanks to CarolP, KathyO and Jeanne Jeanne the dancin’ machine!  They have texted me with encouraging words, they have visited me when I was in the hospital and rehab and they have come to my home with cards, balloons, flowers,goodies and food! I have not gone hungry that’s for sure! I soooo love my falcon family both far and near. You all keep me SMILING! 🙂

http://youtu.be/kRE_q2ff6W4

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Hello everyone!  It sure felt good to get back in the saddle again thanks to Joyce. She picked me up around 7:15am and we went straight downtown.  Unfortunately we couldn’t find the Beautyful one but it sure was fun looking. Joyce had a 8:15 doctor appointment so we had a break in our watch. After she was done we went by the Rochester Psyche Center and lo and behold I spotted a falcon on the southeast corner.

She soon flew over to a window ledge opposite of the corner she was on. I thought perhaps because it was more protected as it started to rain lightly.

At this point we decided to go get some breakfast. When we returned she was back on the southeast corner near a tree that was growing on the roof.

I say she because we think based on size it was a female falcon. We didn’t get any pics of the legs so we don’t know if she’s banded. Joyce was going to compare pics of the wintering pair that was there last year with this one as she thinks it’s one of them and neither one was banded.

She flew off to the south and stooped on something before vanishing behind some trees. 4 pigeons came flying overhead and when I turned to look at the building again I saw her back up on the southeast corner. I thought maybe she had doubled back on us as I’m used to Beauty and Archer doing so to me all the time. Joyce agreed that she thought so too!  We left our mystery falcon to take another shot at finding Beauty. Again we were foiled with no sign of her in all the usual spots. I was disappointed to not see our Beautyful one but thankful to be out and about again and for having seen the RPC falcon. We went over to Kodak Park to look for Unity but she too was nowhere to be seen. My knee was telling me that it was time to go home and ice it, so Joyce brought me home thus ending my first falcon watch since October 16 the day before my knee replacement surgery.  Special thanks to Joyce for getting me out to do what I love best and for making me smile!  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

As we lose daylight, it’s harder and harder to Watch the Rochester Falcons. I drive by KP on my way to work at 6:30 am most weekday mornings, but it is now way too dark to see much. Evenings aren’t much better.

Today I did my normal drive thru at KP and all was quiet and dark. I could not find Unity in the normal spots.

During the day, Beauty was reported visiting the nest box a couple times. It had been a long time since she’d been there.

After work, around 4:00 pm, I stopped at KP for a quick look and found Unity on the catwalk of the western smoke stack. She took off and flew to the blue bldg where her scrape is located and landed on the black ledge. That’s where I had to leave her.

This evening, after dinner (around 5:45 pm), I headed out to look for both Beauty and Unity. My first stop was KP where I found Unity on the tall still she favors. After about 15 minutes of watching her preen and enjoying what was left of the sunlight, it was fading fast, I decided it was time to head downtown.

It was a busy place tonite. Lots of stuff going on. Frontier Field next to Kodak Office was all lit up. Lots of folks streaming into the War Memorial aka Blue Cross Arena. No parking spots available, so I was unable to check out the Times Square Bldg & the south side of the OCSR. Onward to the south side of Xerox, where Beauty liked to go at night.

As I passed the library, I was greeted by the wonderful music from a fife and drum band. They were dressed up in dark blue Civil War uniforms, northern soldiers. Wish I could have stayed to listen, but I was on a mission. Find Beauty.

As I approached the south side of Xerox, I found a spot to park my car. It was dark already, but I could see a falcon shaped figure up on the tippy top of the Xerox bldg on the SW corner. That was an unusual spot for her. Of course I couldn’t be 100% sure it was her, but I believe it was.

The protestors were milling about in Washington Square Park, which they shared with the 1,000’s of Crows that were streaming in from all directions.

Beauty, high above, must have had quite the view of all this hustle and bustle below her. She must have wondered, what are they up to now? lol 😉

This weekend is supposed to be very nice. Sunny both days, 50 degrees (F) on Saturday & 60’s on Sunday. A nice weekend to get some camera work and maintenance done. Enjoy the weekend everyone and remember to turn your clocks back an hour Saturday nite.

Posted by Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Here’s what was posted today on the forum.

From Mark B @ 9:39 am from the Times Square Bldg. where Beauty & Archer’s nest box is located.

“One of the two, I didn’t see which, just attacked a crow. From above me in the Times Square Building, it dive-bombed the crow into the Thomson-Reuters courtyard before breaking off the attack and flying back to the box. The poor crow then kept running into the walls and windows of the TR buildings before flying off.”

*CPNote: Since we have not seen Archer in quite awhile and we believe that he has migrated, this was probably Beauty who remains on territory in the downtown (Rochester) area. Thanks Mark for reporting this.

At approximately 6 p.m., the following two tweets came in.

“Beauty on south side of Xerox . . Usual evening spot.” – Kathy O.

“At KP. Looks like the lovely Unity preening on top of the tall still.” – Carol P.

*CPNote – So at 6:00 p.m. two different Rochester Falcon Watchers saw both Beauty (downtown) & Unity (KP).

There were no visits by Beauty to the nest box today caught on camera.

It was a gorgeous Fall day here in Rochester, blue sky & wispy clouds with temps in the mid-60’s (F).

One more thing. The following announcement was posted on the forum by Shaky.

“We are planning on doing maintenance on the cameras at the Times Square building this weekend starting early Saturday afternoon (11/5). The cameras will be turned off during this period. They should be on again later in the afternoon.

Additional work may need to be done on Sunday (11/6). We’ll make that determination Saturday.”

This completes the summary of Falcon Happenings posted on the RFalconcam Forum on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.