By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I was elated this morning to start my watch with Orion whom I have nick named the singer for he is always singing about one thing or another. lol

Now he just needs to take voice lessons! I saw no adults around and LarryO wasn’t up on the bridge so I settled in by the Blue Cross Arena(BCA). Soon after Larry tweeted so I knew he was there and I texted him where I was located. He joined me and 10 minutes later B showed up under the northeast wing on the Times Square Building(TSB). DebbieH stopped before work around this time. After they left Orion started being daring by going outside the rail to Callidoras corner not once but twice!

Beauty brought in food and Orion took it and ate it himself. The boy is growing up before our very eyes! He looks like a falcon now with the exception of those bright white pantaloons. lol He’s flapping those wings vigorously and often and soon he will fly. The Beautyful one left and went to the base of Mercury and then up to the heel.

I left to get breakfast and when I came out of Tim Hortons there was a pefa under the southeast wing on TSB and on Mercury.  As I made my way up Exchange Blvd. Beauty flew off Mercury and 10 minutes later Dot.Ca (DC) flew up to the southeast wing ring at the the highest point of the TSB.

Beauty and DC hung out on opposite sides of the south corner of OCSR top ibeam watching Orion from afar.

Click on pics for full version

Aaron came by again looking to get a pic of a kill(his words) and we chatted  a bit about cameras. After he left I watched Beauty flying well west beyond the TSB. She made her way back toward me and hovered just above Broad St. and started climbing higher. She ended up flying high to the south where I eventually lost sight of her. Boy it’s fun to watch them sky dance! Both adults flew in from the east with DC landing under the southeast wing and Beauty going to the deck with food for Orion. DebbieH came by for a few minutes but thought it was too hot so she went back to work. 🙂

After awhile DC went to the nest box and started eating leftovers from Beautys earlier meal and finished it off with his sons help and left according to my ace reporter Donna. Time passed when I spotted DC come flying through from the east and landed on a grate between the southeast and northeast wings. Boy do they blend in when they get on those.

Beauty made her way out of the nest box and went up under the northeast wing and stared at DC on the grate. I wonder what she was thinking. Maybe “silly boy you can’t hide from me”!

I feel like today was a big learning experience for Orion and of course every day we observe falcons is a big learning experience for all of us.  I decided to end my watch with DC up under the northeast wing and Orion sleeping with Beauty near by. On a very humid and warm day I boarded the bus smiling for I had just spent 8 hours sharing space with the fastest animal on the planet(and cuz the bus was air conditioned) lol 🙂

Check out my pics and video by clicking on the links below

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Watchers: Joyce, Jeanne, Aaron and Carol P.

Due to the earlier report that there was a 3rd Falcon seen flying near the TS nest box, I headed right downtown from work. I arrived around 4:00 pm, just about the same time Joyce arrived.

Orion was on the platform of the nest box, Dot.ca was above at the base of the SE wing and Beauty was over on the top Ibeam of OCSR. All was very quiet for most of the late after noon and evening.

Dot.ca joined Beauty on the top IBeam of OCSR. They remained about a foot apart for close to an hour. Just sitting there peacefully. I believe they were hiding from Orion who had been fed very well today. I read the report when I got home that Beauty had given him a whole piece of prey and watched as he tried to eat it by himself. He did try, but ended up bringing it to her for help.

During the time I was there from 4:00 to 8:30 pm, there was not much activity at all. Periodically, Orion would come out to the end of the nest box and either just sit there staring over at his parents or flap his wings and run around the platform. Wing exercises continue to strengthen the muscles he will need to fledge. He is getting stronger and stronger.

When Joyce, Jeanne and I left at 8:30 pm, Dot.ca was gone, Beauty remained on the top IBeam of OCSR and Orion was sleeping in the nest box. A not very exciting fledge watch, but that’s ok with me.

This evening and tomorrow, we are expecting some bad weather, so it’s good he’s still safely in the nest box.

Jeanne checked on Pigott on her way home and reported seeing an a falcon on the building, whining. It’s possible that D.C. was there with her, but Jeanne could only see the one falcon.

On my way home, I drove through KP and found KPT on the railing in front of the red door on the east stack. When I parked my car and looked again, he was gone. The family of Kestrels were flying and talon tagging over the field in front of me and on my way out I saw not only one fox in the field, but two. They ran up to each other and greeted each other with rubbing against each other and licking and sniffing. I had never seen this type of interaction between two foxes. Very cool! It was a wonderful way to end my evening.

I promise to go through my pics and post them soon.

Tomorrow is another day, and I’ll be out again tomorrow afternoon, come rain or shine.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Upon arrival in front of the Times Square building(TSB) I met Janey who works in the Thomson Reuters building with Patsy. I could see LarryO up on the Broad St. bridge(BSB) and Beauty was up on cam 4.

I joined Larry and could see Orion pushing his luck on the front ledge by the main cam as mom watched him.

I had checked the livestream before leaving the house and Orion was flapping up a storm with those wings. Building up strength for when he takes flight! He messed around for awhile under moms supervision going over to what I call Callidoras  corner on the south side of the nest box. She used to pancake out on that spot and couldn’t be seen on camera. We all would get nervous wondering where she was. lol

Larry spotted DC on OCSR before he left for work and when Beauty flew to the OCSR building I went down to the hole and set up my chair by the corner of Keybank. I met a nice man named Robert who asked what I was doing. I explained and pointed out Beauty and Dot.Ca (DC) on OCSR. He said “cool” and continued on. DC flew up river and came back settling on the Times Square building under the southeast wing.

I packed up and made my way over to the corner of Exchange and Broad by the Blue Cross Arena(BCA). A man stopped and asked what I was looking at so I pointed out DC, the cams and nest box to him. His name was John and he stayed and chatted with me for about 15 minutes. He was thrilled to see DC through my binocs since he is legally blind and instantly fell in love with falcons.

Orion was very curious and noisy today. Flapping his wings frequently,yelling at mom and dad every time he saw them and wandering out on the edge of his little world many times. I’m sure his peeps on livestream chat had some anxious moments as did I.

I was so happy that DC was hanging out with us today. I was a bit upset with him yesterday for not being around to bring food and protect his territory. He has since redeemed himself  with me! lol I had the pleasure of watching him drive 3 crows out of the area actually mini stooping one of them several times. Archer didn’t like crows either and entertained us many times going after them. Beauty and DC spent most of their time today on the OCSR building going off at times and returning. At one point they had both disappeared for a while and showed up on the 2nd ibeam near the elevator shaft on OCSR. They cache food there and I didn’t actually see it but I think Beauty had a little morsel and was mantling it from DC.

Make sure to click on pics for full version

A gentleman with a long lens camera asked me a couple questions about the falcons. I introduced myself and I found out this was Aaron who had been watching last nite with our watchers. Unfortunately there were no pefas in sight at the time so he left after a brief stay. I walked up on the BSB for a better view of things and found the Beautyful one on the jail tower. She flew from there over to the TSB landing on one of Archers spots which I call a cubby on the southeast corner just below where Callidora fledged to.

DebbieH came out to join me on the stairs at the BCA. We could hear Orion squawking up a storm as DC flew through making us chuckle. After Deb went back to work I saw Beauty fly through to the south losing her behind buildings I walked up to the bridge where I witnessed her fly east and then there were 3! My heart started pounding for I was afraid it was DC and Pigott coming to oust our fair Beauty! All I could think was how they double teamed her when she first came back after rehab. Anyway, i followed them with my binocs as they flew higher and higher into the clouds and then I lost them. There never was any contact made between them just a pair being trailed by one whom I believe was Beauty. I kept looking for them but never saw them again.

Beauty and DC eventually showed up on the TSB and Orion was safe so I was happy. No harm no foul right? Toward the end of my watch DC flew in under the southeast wing with Beauty down on the deck with Orion. All was right with the world and though my back was hurting and my head was pounding I left downtown smiling for having spent a great day with our beloved Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below for many more pics from the day and 3 videos

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http://youtu.be/eVrAO059A2U

http://youtu.be/OSvNNNwgcks

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I was on Fledge Watch from 6:00 to 8:45 pm.  Just before I arrived downtown, Dot.ca brought food into the nest box and fed Orion.  He had gone quite awhile without being fed and folks were starting to worry.  Well, not to worry!  Both Beauty and Dot.ca were close by all evening and both were hunting.  With the cooler evening, it seemed the surrounding area was alive with all kinds of birds flying here and there.  Yesterday I barely saw a pigeon, today there were hundreds flying and landing near the river.  It seemed like the temporary end of the hot, oppressive weather breathed life into everything and everyone.

I took lots and lots of pics, but ran out of time tonight.  I will attempt to post my pics from this evening when I leave my report tomorrow night.

Today I was joined by fellow watchers Joyce, Brian, Kathy O, Jeanne, Aaron, Larry O and Willie.

It was a gorgeous evening to be downtown watching these beautiful creatures.  I’ll definitely be out again tomorrow!

Remember to keep your eyes to the sky!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As I approached the Times Square Building(TSB) at 6:40am I spotted Beauty on the northeast column directly above the nest box. 

When I got to the intersection of Broad and Exchange Streets I could see LarryO up on the Broad Street Bridge(BSB) so I walked up there and joined him. He showed me Orion in the nest box on his phone. Beauty flew to the base of Mercury.

We saw Orion hanging out on the front of the deck before Larry had to leave for work.

Orion looks more grown up with each passing moment. I had checked the archives back to 4:00am before I left this morning and there were no feedings. Beauty was totally in hunt mode for most of my watch. She stooped over the river flying south behind the Blue Cross Arena(BCA) where I lost sight of her. After Larry left I moved to Falcon Watcher Central(FWC). Beauty came back from the southeast without prey in her talons landing on the base of Mercury again.

DebbieH stopped on her way to work. Beauty left and made her way to the southeast column one level above the nest box.

Beauty went back to the base of Mercury 15 minute later. I left her there and took a break down to Tim Hortons and when I came back out I saw Beauty fly from the west over to mercury again. She was really trying hard to find some prey birds in order to feed her hungry son. She stayed there a while and in the meantime Orion had found his way to the front rail of the deck on the north side of the main cam.

He was looking at mom and squawking! An hour passed when the Beautyful one left Mercury. Half hour later I spotted her on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR after Brian joined the watch with me on the BSB. 30 minutes passed and then Beauty flew over to the southeast corner of the deck just long enough to land by the main cam and fly back off. Her route took her directly above me where I was stationed at the bottom of the steps in the hole. She proceeded to go out around Mercury and head north down river out of view. A couple minutes later she appeared on the east end of the Wilder building green strip.

DebbieH joined Brian and I at FWC on her lunch break and Beauty flew off Wilder. After Deb went back to work I headed out myself for the bus. With my first official fledge watch in the books I was content that things were quiet. However, I would have been smiling more if Orion had gotten fed! As I’m writing this report I have the livestream on a split screen and watching daddy feed his son. Good stuff that makes me happy! 🙂

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I guess I’ll consider this my first fledge watch, since it’s getting close to that time our little guy Orion will take flight and we did have our Fledge Watch meeting this past weekend.

Big thunderboomers coming in, so I have to hurry.

I was downtown from 6:45 to 8:45 pm and I was joined during that time by Willie, Kathy O and Larry O.

We saw Beauty and Dot.ca attempt to hunt tonite.  Dot.ca just missed catching a starling right over us.

There was a lot of flying by the adults and we were able to see Orion at the front of the nest box platform many times.  We could also hear him crying very loudly from where we stood at Falcon Central on Broad St.

No fledge tonite, thank goodness!

I’ve put together an album of pictures and more of a report of what happened on Shutterfly.  Take a look if you get a chance.  No sign on needed.

Enjoy!

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Here’s one picture from the album.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I always love to meet fellow falcon fans.  Today I got to meet Maureen from MA and her friend Laura.  They were on vacation and passing through Rochester on their way to Niagara Falls.  So, this morning I picked up MAK and we went to the Broad St Bridge to meet Maureen & Laura at 10 am.  Brian H joined us and we spent a wonderful 2 1/2 hours visiting.

We were more than happy to show them all the Rochester falcon landmarks.  All the things they heard about in our watch reports over the years.  Maureen had been watching them since 2005 and she felt she knew all of us.  I love that these falcons bring so many people from all over the world together in friendship.  It truly amazes me.

I set up the scope and Maureen & Laura were so happy to see Orion and Beauty, who were at the nest box, up close and personal.  They were only able to stay for a couple hours, so we decided to head down to the pedestrian bridge we spent so many hours watching Mariah and Kaver’s young from.  Maureen especially wanted to see the gorge and the High Falls area.

Joyce met us there and we all walked out onto the bridge.  So many things were the same, but many things had changed.  The most noticeable change, to me, was the building missing at the east end of the bridge.  This had been Skye’s building, but so many of the Rochester Falcons would sit and rest on that building.  It was kind of sad to see a gaping hole.  Only the foundation remained.  This had been an old brewery building that had been falling apart for so many years.  I believe there are plans to build a visitors center & beer garden in it’s place.  Maureen and I walked to the end of the bridge and I showed her all the special spots, including the bowed tree and the falcon sucking tree where so many of our young would rest.  I even checked out the gorge wall looking for a falcon.  🙂

Just as we rejoined the others, Brian yelled out “What’s this?” and pointed north of the bridge.  We all looked up in time to see a falcon coming towards us, flying low.  It passed over us and we noticed the missing tail feather and split in the wing.  It was Beauty!  Yes, Beauty now has a split wing tip due to her molt.  Beauty flew over us and headed back towards the brewery, flying higher and higher.  We all watched as she eventually headed back towards downtown and we all saw her land on the nest box at the Times Square Bldg.

What an absolutely perfect way to end our visit with Maureen and Laura!  Thanks Beauty!

We all said our goodbyes.  I was really sad to see them go.  Safe trip ladies!

Here’s a link to my Shutterfly album with some more pictures from today.

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Carol and I arrived downtown around 9:45am. We were to meet Maureen from Massachusetts who was stopping by enroute to Niagara Falls. Brian joined us just before Maureen and her friend Laura got there.

Orion came out to the front rail by the main cam where you could see him from the Broad Street Bridge where we were watching from. The girls were thrilled to see him but we all were a bit nervous about him being so close to the ledge where he could easily fall off if he lost his balance or the wind could lift him off!

Carol set up the scope so we could get a close look at Orion which Maureen and Laura quite enjoyed. Carol and I took pics of Maureens tattoos which included Spiderman! We took them over to the High Falls pedestrian bridge to check out where Mariah and Kaver used to soar through the gorge with their many babies. Maureen started watching them around year 2005. After we parked and started walking to the bridge I found a Cicada laying upside down on the sidewalk. He obviously was in distress baking in the hot sun so I picked him up and put him in the shade of a tree. He was still there when we came back through after our watch so hopefully he recovered and could carry on with his life.

Joyce met us there with her dogs Casey and Abby. While we were there we saw some Canadian Geese, the new paint job on the Genesee Brewery(notice to the right at the end of the bridge-Skyes building is now gone)and Beauty on the west corner of OCSR on the top ibeam.

She left from there and suddenly she was gracing the sky above us! Flying over the gorge and the Genesee brewery and making her way back to the Times Square area. How nice of the Beautyful one to come out and greet her fans from Massachusetts. It was a surprise and treat for us local watchers as well! Unfortunately my camera battery was dead and I couldn’t get any pics of her as she flew over but  it gave me the perfect opportunity to just stand back and watch her magnificence! It was getting extremely hot in the sun and it was time for Maureen and Laura to move on to Niagara Falls so we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I had a nice time with our new friends from Massachusetts and I know we all left downtown smiling! 🙂

For a few more pics click on the link below

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a beautiful morning to hold the official 2012 Rochester Fledge Watch meeting.  Fifteen of us met at Aqueduct Park at 9:00 am.  The sprinklers were looping around and getting everything wet, including the picnic tables.  So, the fledge watchers gathered 2 and 3 at a time, settling at the south end of the park.  The only dry part at that time.  The folks attending included Kathy O, MAK, Lynda, Tim, Larry O, Carrie, Shaky, Debbie H, June, Lisa McK, Pat, Jeanne, Dan, Joyce and me, Carol P.

There were three boxes of Tim Horton’s donut holes for those that were hungry.  Carrie and Kathy O passed out the fledge watch buttons and brochure for this year.  The brochure contained instructions and contact information in case our little guy Orion gets himself into trouble.  Hopefully that will not happen!

As soon as everyone was settled, June spoke to us about how the fledge watch works and what to expect.  We had two new fledge watchers this year; Debbie H and Pat.  Thanks ladies!  We were also missing some watchers; Brian H, Susan C, Dawn, Dana and Lou.

Shaky explained that we would all have to sign up for passwords for the Falcon Watch Blog, which MAK and I have been using.  This is where the calendars for the Fledge Watch are now set-up.

As we were winding down, the sprinklers behind us turned on and there was a mass exodus.  The falcon watchers all migrated to the now dry center of the park.  But, there was one casualty to this unexplained, sudden explosion of water.  Two of the three boxes of Timbits hit the pavement and scattered.  Dan made a valiant attempt to herd the wayward spheres of yummyness back into their box, but it was a lost cause.  They became gull food.  The gulls were very happy.  🙂

After the meeting a few of us, Kathy O, MAK, Joyce, Brian H, Lisa McK, Karl and I moved to Aqueduct St to continue our Falcon Watch.  Beauty was at the nest box and top IBeam of the OCSR and Dot.ca was on the 2nd IBeam down.  We all relaxed and chatted and enjoyed the Puerto Rican parade as it passed by the end of the street down Main St.  Lots of good music and beautiful floats and costumes.

After the roads around us reopened, I decided to go home for some lunch.  On the way home, I stopped at KP, but had no luck finding KPT.  Kathy O and MAK also left and they did find Pigott at the Brighton location.

At 7:00 pm, I decided to head downtown to check on things.  Beauty was on top of Camera #4, guarding a sleeping Orion inside the nest box.  Thanks Ei for letting me know that.  I was not able to find Dot.ca, so after awhile, I headed over to the Brighton location.  I found both Dot.ca and Pigott on the vent on the south side of the building.  Pigott was doing her normal whining the whole time I was there.

Joyce and Brian joined me and we stayed until it started to get dark.  Just as I was leaving, both DC and P took off and flew around to the front (north) side of the building.  By the time I drove around, I found them both on windows near the scrape area.  Pigott was still whining and it was time for me to go.

Of course I had to check KP one last time before I headed home.  This time I was lucky.  Just after I arrived at 9:05 pm, KPT flew in from the east and landed on his nightly roosting spot just above the catwalk on the east stack.  Well, that was very nice!

I am happy to report that all 5 Rochester Falcons were seen today.  Always love to report that at the end of the day.  Always remember to keep your eyes to to the sky!

Here is a link to an album with some pics from today’s meeting and falcon watch.

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Today was the first fledge watch meeting since Jemison and the late,great Calidora graced our skies. Looking forward to a successful fledge season without incident. The people that attended include-KathyO,LarryO,Lynda,Tim,Carol,Carrie,Shaky,Dan,Jeanne,June,Patsy,DebbieH,Joyce,Lisa and yours truly MAK.

Kathy and I arrived downtown first at around 8:15am and found Dot.Ca(DC) on the base of Mercury. He was picking at something up there with his back mostly to us..

When Larry arrived DC flew to the south corner of OCSR on the top ibeam.

I took lots of pics of Mr. DC cuz I know his peeps miss seeing him and he was posing for us after all. lol So he stayed on OCSR while we had our little meeting and Beauty was up in the nest box with Orion. The highlight of this watcher get together was when the sprinklers went off where we were sitting in Aqueduct Park. People went flying,donut holes went flying and then the gulls came in flying to get at the tasty morsels from Tim Hortons! It was chaos I tell you and pretty darn funny! lol

This is where most of us were sitting. This is who is left after sprinklers started.

After the meeting broke up Kathy,Carol,Joyce and I went up to the hole to falcon watch with Brian joining us shortly thereafter.  This weekend is the Puerto Rican Festival and they were having a parade down Main St. to start off the days festivities. Beauty made an appearance showing up on the 2nd ibeam on the west corner of OCSR.

A nice young man by the name of Karl joined us for awhile. He wants to learn about our falcons and we’re only too happy to oblige him. Kathy and I left around noon and made a short visit to the Brighton site to find Pigott. Kathy spotted her on our 2nd trip around the building on a window ledge where she had seen her before on the south side(back of building). After a few minutes she flew around to the front of the building and again after going around a couple times I spotted her on a north side window ledge. We left smiling and as they say-” that’s all she wrote “. 🙂

Click on the links below for more pics and a video

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http://youtu.be/rtY1cslNVwA