By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Yes!  I can now officially include Orion in my Falcon Watch Report.  We had a nice view of him on the nest box perch, from the Broad St Bridge (BSB).

It was a cooler day, so I decided to head right over to the BS location after work to check on Pigott.  No such luck. I drove around the building a few times slowly, but never did find her.  Kathy O tried after I left and she also could not find her.  Not to worry though.  She had been seen multiple times over this past week.  It was time to head for Downtown to check on Beauty, Dot.ca and Orion.

When I arrived downtown around 4:00 pm, I found Beauty on the west corner of the top IBeam on the OCSR.  Dot.ca was on top of the Times Square Bldg (TSB) at the very top of the SE wing ring.

I was joined for a short visit by Debbie H who was on her way to her car.  We chatted for awhile and she told me she had seen Dan S early that morning on the bridge.

Just after Debbie left, Dot.ca took off from the top of the TSB and flew quickly to the south.  He slowed down just past the Dinosaur BBQ and started stooping on something out of my view.  Up and down, up and down.  I have a feeling a Red-tail Hawk might have been his target.  After a couple minutes, Dot.ca headed back, flew over me and landed on the base of the Mercury Statue, where he enjoyed a bit of leftovers.  I was joined first by Kathy O and then Dan S.

While Dot.ca was on Mercury, Beauty remained on the top IBeam of OCSR and Orion made an appearance on the nest box perch.  He was very visible from the BSB, even without binoculars.

While watching the falcons, we enjoyed watching the end of the American Legion parade.  I spoke to a woman who said her father was a member and that they were having the NYS American Legion convention in Rochester.  It was very nice to see.

Larry O joined us on the bridge.  Just after he arrived, D.C. and Beauty left while we weren’t looking.  It wasn’t long before Dot.ca returned and landed on top of the TSB, this time on the NE wing ring.  🙂  Beauty did not return before Kathy and I left.  We left Dan and Larry on the Broad St Bridge, while we checked on KPT at KP.  We had not luck finding him either.

Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am, we have our Fledge Watch Meeting at Aqueduct Park.  Hope it’s a good turnout!  We could sure use the help.

Oh, and one last thing.  Both Debbie H and Dan S told me what they saw early this morning.  Dan had arrived on the Broad St Bridge very early.  He loves to watch them hunt in the morning.  Around 7:15 am, Beauty went on a hunt on the south side of the TSB.  He saw a pigeon fly by and the chase was on.  Beauty stooped behind a building and Dan lost sight of them.

He didn’t have to wait long before Beauty flew back into sight carrying the pigeon.  Her hunt was successful.  She attempted to carry the pigeon up to the TSB, but it was too heavy.  Missing the landing there, she flew towards Dan and the river.  She was losing altitude, so she attempted to land on the roof of the Rochester Convention Ctr.  But the roof was steeply sloped, so off she slid still gripping her prey.  She finally landed on the RG&E bldg just north of the BSB on the edge of the river.  This isn’t a very high roof, but she was safe there.

Debbie arrived for a short visit and she and Dan watched as Beauty prepped the meal, feathers flying.  But, she wasn’t alone.  Three Crows arrived and landed on the roof with her.  They wanted their share!  Beauty was not in a sharing mood and the Crows soon gave up.  But they weren’t happy and they let the world know, CAWING their displeasure.

I always love hearing Dan’s stories about what he see’s on his early morning Watches.  I used to join him when I worked downtown and loved it.

Here are a few pics from today’s Watch and an album with a few more.

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

On a much more pleasant day temperature wise I ventured out to the bus stop to go downtown for a morning watch. As I made my way up Broad St. I stopped by Falcon watcher central by the stairs as I spotted Beauty on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR. I then spotted Dot.Ca(DC) on the same ibeam at the opposite end near the south corner.

Click on pics for full version

After an hour of enjoying the nice breeze and cooler temp Beauty left without me seeing and DC moved down to the south corner of the top ibeam of OCSR. In that hour I watched a couple pigeons on nearby buildings and a male house sparrow catching bugs on a fire escape ladder. Nature always provides us with something to watch. About 10 minutes later DC flew off and when he reached the Times Square area Beauty came out of nowhere and met up with him in the air. They circled above Times Square and the surrounding area above me on Aqueduct St. (the hole as I call it) a few times before the Beautyful one landed under the northeast wing on Times Square. DC continued to show me his flying skills briefly and then he landed under the southeast wing. So we had a pair of bookends to watch over Orion down in the nest box.

Patsy who works in the Thomson Reuters building came by and said hi. And shortly after that as I was looking up at the Times Square building from my spot at the base of the Falcon watcher central stairs I spotted MarkB open his window from the Times Square buildings top floor just 1 level below the nest box. He stuck his arm out and waved to me and I waved back.  10 minutes later Beauty flew down to the nest box deck landing near the main cam on the southeast corner before going further in where I couldn’t see her. DC remained under the southeast wing as Beauty flew up to the top of cam 4.

DC left when I wasn’t looking and then DebbieH joined me on her lunch break. That’s about it for my morning watch,Deb left and I took the next bus home. I departed with a big ole smile on my face for having seen falcons and falcon friends! 🙂

Click on the links below for more pics and a couple short videos

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http://youtu.be/mFG0gcCkI1c

http://youtu.be/nFIlbn387NA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Just a quick and short watch tonight. KathyO and CarolP were down in the hole (Aqueduct St.) when Joyce and I arrived downtown. We joined them as Beauty was on the 2nd ibeam S corner of OCSR with DC directly above her on the top ibeam.

DCBClick on pics for full version

There was a pigeon perched on a lower roof  between us and our “in hunt mode” pair. We kept hoping it would fly off and one of them would catch it so Orion could be fed. It wasn’t meant to be even though DC flew fast to the south he slowed up at the end and left our field of vision. Beauty remained on OCSR for 20 minutes after DC left and just after KathyO left so did Beauty. We didn’t see where she went off to but again we hoped that there would be dinner for the baby. CarolP headed out to check KP before going home. Beauty returned 30 minutes after she disappeared with a bunch of swifts chasing her and Joyce and I thought perhaps she had food but no luck again as she flew low above us and then went over to Widows Walk to perch from the east side of the railing.

10 minutes passed and with it almost dark out the Beautyful one stooped to the west and then proceeded to fly back through low above Joyce and I and out of sight to the south (empty taloned). We waited 10 minutes to see if she came back and with darkness upon us we left downtown with Orion on Joyces phone and a few minutes later could see Beauty on cam 4. The extreme heat had kept me from going downtown for a few days so it made me smile to get out and see our Rochester Peregrine Falcons tonight! 🙂

By Rochester falcon Watcher MAK

Well my friend Linn was too tired to drive me home last night so she said take my car and go watch falcons in the morning if you want to. Just say the word girlfriend…morning falcon watch. Oh sorry that’s 3 words! lol Ok so upon arriving on the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) it was my good fortune to see LarryO standing on the sidewalk. He stayed long enough for  both of us to see Beauty on the front ledge of the nest box with her back to us and little Orion flap his little wings in front of mommy.

After Larry left I took a drive around the city looking for Dot.Ca(DC) and then made my way over to the Brighton site(BS) when I didn’t find him. It was my mission today to find our wandering tiercel for he hadn’t been seen since Friday night around 6:00pm by Ezsha(EZ). I drove around the building slowly stopping at the usual spotting spots. Did I just say spotting spots?! lol TRANSLATION:The places we watchers pull over to have a look with our binocs. Phew! So I drove around the building once and saw nothing. My next trip I went even slower and bingo I caught a tail hanging off a ledge tucked into  a corner on the west side. I stopped the car grabbed my camera and then he showed me the rest of him-it was DC! And before I could snap off a pic Miss Pigott came into view on the same ledge to the right of him.

Pigott flew out around to the back of the building, cut back and stooped on a starling. She missed and flew to the west corner of the vent on the north side of the building. Soon after DC flew out of the hiding spot and flew to the front northeast corner of the building.

He spent some time preening and she spent her time looking for the next meal. 30 minutes passed before Pigott flew off landing on the southeast corner above where the rooftop tree grows. She was whining and soon after DC left flying south out of view. She then flew to the west side landing on the roof above the scrape toward the west end. I heard her echup a couple times and then suddenlyDC appeared from the east. She took off and flew with him to the back of the building out of view. I found Miss Pigott back on the west corner of the vent back there.

I had to get going but before I left a male American Goldfinch flew in and landed on the corner of the lower brick building. On the wayI stopped by the BSB to see if maybe DC came to see his family. I didn’t find him but I saw the Beautyful one facing me with that gorgeous salmon colored chest perched on the front ledge of the nest box!

A great way to end a watch and keep me smiling for a long time! 🙂

Click on the link below for more pics from todays watch

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I got a text from CarolP at 6:00am stating that the banding of our little eyas would be today between 10:30am and noon. I sprang out of bed and thought, alrighty then I  better check the bus schedule and plan accordingly! Took the 9:34 and arrived downtown just before 10:00am. Got Carols’ tweet that Beauty and Dot.Ca(DC) were on the OCSR building so I remained on Main St. instead of heading to the Broad St. bridge(BSB) like I usually do.

Soon after Beauty flew over to the nest box area and so I made my way up Exchange St. and landed in front of the Philipone building directly across from the entrance to the Times Square building. I figured when I saw the banding crew go into the building I’d move to the BSB where I could see the nest box area better for the activities. Joyce joined me a few minutes after I got there and then Jeanne showed up also. Somehow Carol snuck into Times Square without being seen for she was to be present for the banding. At 11:00am June Summers and a young man entered the building and so we walked over next to the Blue Cross Arena for a better angle to view the nest box and got ready for the main event. Brian had joined the entourage at this point.  We couldn’t see the side where they would take the eyas from the nest box but we knew when it was happening because Beauty flew out the nest box loudly and DC shot off the OCSR building. We had good seats for viewing Beauty and DC flying and vocalizing as their baby was removed from it’s home. DebbieH arrived around this time to watch the aerial display.

Beauty was pretty much non-stop circling the Times Square area kakking most of the time as well. DC joined her at the start but backed off a couple times landing on the money bag hand of Mercury and the OCSR building a couple times. This is normal for the males usually stay back to defend and watch over the territory while the female protects the nest box more so. There was some swooping by both adults at the brooms that were near the nest box in the well but nothing too terribly close. Of course that’s easy for me to say since I wasn’t at the end of one of those brooms! lol Jeanne had an appointment so she had to leave. Beauty also landed on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR to take a breather toward the end with DC at the other end of the ibeam.

Bill Nopper came by followed by Patsy to check things out. It was pretty quick lasting less than half an hour. You could tell the little guy had been put back because the vocalizing toned down. Then a tweet came stating it’s a BOY! Carol came over for a few minutes before she had to leave and return to work. I waited until Beauty went to the nest box to check on her little tiercel before I headed to the bus stop to come home. It seemed to go smoothly and hopefully he will fledge in a few short weeks without incident as well. We can all smile now knowing that our little one has an identity and will soon have a name as well! 🙂

Below are the links for a few more pics and a couple videos Enjoy!

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http://youtu.be/53HRersFT9k

http://youtu.be/VTtKjQBkvqk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher

Well I didn’t plan on going downtown this morning, but when I got a text from DebbieH saying to text her if I was around at noon…well it motivated me to hop on a bus and visit our fair city. Of course there isn’t much falcon business to see downtown these days since everything is about that fuzzy little eyas in the nest box but there is always something to see. I saw no falcons around tho I knew Beauty or Dot.ca(DC) were in the nest box with baby so I checked the mighty Genesee River from the Broad Street bridge(BSB). On the north side I saw gulls, Canadian geese and a pretty purple weed display on the east shore.

After a look around for a falcon I crossed over to the south side of the BSB where I found lots of gulls everywhere a few ducks and one great Blue Heron that was fishing.

It was starting to heat up on the bridge so I made my way down to some shade by the D&C building to check the back of the Times Square building(TSB)  for a falcon. Under the northwest wing I saw something that could have been a pefa with it’s back to me but I couldn’t be sure. It was about noon so I texted Debbie who works in the Ebenezer Watts building and told her I was outside waiting. She came out and we walked to He’s chinese restaurant where she bought me lunch. We went back to her break room to eat in the air conditioning and after we were done she introduced me to her co-workers and showed me the view she has of the back of the TSB and Widows Walk area. She told me that on her way to work this morning she saw Beauty and DC looking  like bookends with one under the southeast wing and the other under the northeast wing of the TSB.  Thank you very much for lunch Deb! It was back to work for her and back to searching for falcons for me. When I got back to the BSB and turned around to look toward the nest box I spotted a pefa with it’s back to me next to the main cam at the south corner. It then went into the nest box and perched on the front ledge of the nest box facing me and it was then that I knew it was the Beautyful one! I also got a text from Donna confirming it. Thanks D!

Mission accomplished-I saw my friend Debbie and my favorite Peregrine Falcon Beauty. It was time to end my watch and get out of the heat. I’m pretty sure I was smiling the whole way home on the bus! 🙂

Check out the rest of my pics by clicking on the link below

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I arrived downtown around 7:00 pm. At first I couldn’t find any Peregrines, but I knew the eyas was at the nest box. Where else would s/he be? 🙂

It wasn’t long, after I parked my car on the Broad St Bridge, that a falcon flew in from the south and landed on the SE end of the ledge just above the nest box. It was Beauty. I drove closer to the building to get a better look. She was up there preening and stretching and looking around. It was really quiet for a long time. That is until two juvie Ring-billed gulls flew through passing in front of the TSB. They were low, much lower than the nest box and they were screaming at the top of their lungs and chasing each other. Beauty didn’t care for that. They were too close to her baby and they were making way too much noise for her liking.

Off she went, stooping on the two unaware young gulls and she wasn’t quiet about it. She matched their cries with her very loud alarm call. They went between the buildings and I lost sight of them. Beauty returned very quickly to the Times Square Bldg (TSB), landing on the same spot she left. I never saw the young gulls come out from behind the building, but I’m sure they were ok. A big lesson learned. Don’t ever play below a momma Peregrine and her eyas!  When she flew over me, I noticed that she was missing a couple primary feathers from her left wing.

Beauty went back to preening and snoozing, always with one eye open. Defending her chick was her top priority and nothing was going to stop her.

I drove around looking for Dot.ca, but could not find him. Since he did not join Beauty in the defense of the eyas, I do not believe he was anywhere close by. My thought was that he might have been at the BS location visiting Pigott.

Speaking of Pigott, she was seen earlier in the day at the BS location by MAK and Larry O.

It was starting to get dark, and all was quiet at the TSB, so I decided to check on KPT at KP. Just after I arrived at KP, MAK joined me. I saw the fox run across the road into the woods and something larger on the other end of the woods. I really didn’t get a good look and I assumed it was a raccoon, but I can’t be sure.  It didn’t really move like a raccoon and it seemed larger.

MAK and I parked up at the lot we are allowed to watch from. We were unable to see any falcons at KP. I really hoped KPT would come in as we lost light, but we never saw him. But one strange thing did happen before we left.

We both heard this very strange call/cry coming from the woods near our parking lot. I cannot even describe it and we never did get a glimpse of it. It lasted for a few moments and then, silence. We’ll definitely be on the watch for a strange creature in the woods!

So, the Rochester Watchers saw 3 of our 4 falcons yesterday; Beauty, Dot.ca and Pigott. We’ll keep our eyes to the sky and report what we see, and hear.

By Rochester Falcon watcher MAK

Gee it had been 2 weeks since I saw a falcon and I was so hoping to find one when I returned to our fair city after being out of town. I was NOT disappointed as I landed on the Broad St. bridge(BSB) and looked over  at Times Square,the jail tower,Mercury and then I spotted not 1 but 2 pefas on the 2nd ibeam west corner of OCSR! Could this really be Dot.ca(DC) and the Beautyful one together within a couple feet or less from each other? I quickly went down to the hole(Aqueduct St.) to get A closer look. After taking pics and zooming on my LCD screen I could positively ID it was the happy couple.

For one solid hour these once battling pefas perched with each other-a first for me to see! Funny how things have a way of working out if we just wait long enough. Beauty preened for most of that hour while DC kept his head cranked most of the time in the direction of the Times Square building and the nest box where he and Beauty hatched a very cute little eyas. After the hour was up Beauty flew directly to the nest box and DC remained on OCSR keeping an eye on his family.

I stayed a few more minutes and then made my way over to the Brighton site(BS) to look for Pigott. Again I was not disappointed and as a bonus she was on a lower west side roof making for some good shots of her.

For about 15 minutes I watched her head move practically non-stop from side to side and up and down. She was definitely looking for a meal. There were some birds in the trees below her as I could hear them and so could she! At one point I heard a Cardinal and because they are my favorite songbird I sooo hoped she didn’t get it. She flew off right above me to the west and circled right back around to the same roof landing on the corner this time.

Again about 15 minutes later she flew off again this time she swooped back and forth a few times above the trees and then she flew lower and lower to the grass to the right of me only a couple inches above the ground. It was so cool and then Miss Pigott returned to a north facing window ledge on the same lower west side roof.

After 10 minutes passed she took off from the ledge flew around to the back of the building and returned to the same lower roof top. She just could not stir up any birds for catching a meal. I shared space with Miss Pigott for another half hour and then I had to say good bye and run some errands.  In my travels I stopped by KP but the only sighting I had was that of a fox. He crossed the road in front of me and by the time I pulled over to the shoulder and got my trusty camera out he was behind a fence and staring at me. He probably heard Led Zeppelin playing on the radio and stopped to check it out! lol

I had a wonderful watch for my first day back on duty in a while, having seen 3 of  our Rochester Peregrine Falcons. And as always they put a big ole smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Click on the links below for a photo album and 2 videos-for those of you who are used to Kodak Gallery it was taken over by Shutterfly. Simply click the link then click the view album box on the Shutterfly page and then you can either watch a slide show or view the pics on your own. Either way I hope you enjoy the experience!

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http://youtu.be/vzc1CJ1UMSQ

http://youtu.be/veMrvQgEnkA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What an absolutely gorgeous weekend. Seeing all four Rochester Falcons and a visit to Paradise made it extra special.

Saturday (7/7)

I got out mid-morning on Saturday. My first stop, after getting my coffee and an egg mcmuffin, was a visit to Kodak Park where KPT (Kodak Park Tiercel) and maybe, just maybe, a 2^ndPefa is hanging out. A few weeks ago, MAK reported seeing two, just a quick look and not chance for a picture. I and the other Watchers are pretty sure that we are seeing two different falcons, just never at the same time. The problem at this site is that the falcons are far away from where we view them. Unless they come closer, it will be nearly impossible to get ID’s on them. The only thing I do know is that the smaller, sub-adult male has a black over black band. So he is from Canada. We believe the 2^nd Peregrine is a larger adult female.

When I arrived, KPT or the other KP falcon (maybe) was on the lower catwalk of the west smoke stack, hunting off the NW side.  I watched until the falcon landed on the north side of the catwalk where I could no longer see it.

I drove up to the parking lot we view from and called in to Kodak Dispatch, I was told a very large storm cell was looming just west of us. Bundy warned us that this storm would probably be on top of us in about 10 minutes. He wasn’t far off. I put out a tweet to warn anyone that was out and to let the viewers of the Times Square nest box know that rain and thunder and lightening was on its’ way.

I was joined in the parking lot by fellow Watchers Dana, Lisa McK and Kathy O. Lisa left just before the storm hit and Kathy got there near the end. Dana and I watched the huge tower of dark clouds approach. Thunder and lightening, high winds and a wall of water hit. We were both sitting in our cars waiting for it to pass. My car appreciated the heavy rain, way better than a car wash!

When it stopped raining, Dana, Kathy (who had arrived during the storm) and I got out of our cars and watched as the dark clouds headed towards downtown. At times the lightening was quite intense.

A quick look at KP showed that KPT had moved during the storm.  He was now sitting on the railing in front of the red door on the east smoke stack, preening.

Kathy mentioned that she was thinking of visiting MAK at Paradise and asked if Dana and I wanted to join her. Well, who was I to pass up on a trip to Paradise! We made plans to meet around noon. The three of us had a wonderful time. MAK is not exaggerating about this beautiful place. The view is incredible and it is so peaceful there. Thanks so much for the invite MAK. Loved visiting with all the critters, which included two horses, 2 dogs, and 4 kitties. We ended our visit with a trip to the local pizza shop. Yummy!

Sunday (7/8)

Another beautiful day! Temps in the 80’s, blue sky, sunshine. I do love summer.

I arrived at Kodak Park around 10 am. KPT? was on the railing in front of the red door on the east smoke stack. Again I was not certain if this was KPT or the adult female. This one seemed to be larger and much whiter. But, again, I cannot be sure, due to the distance. I wanted a closer look, but by the time I set-up my scope, the falcon was gone. Darn! These falcons can be so sneaky!

Dana joined me and we made plans to head over to the BS location to visit with Pigott. For whatever reason, this location is always oppressively hot. There is no breeze here like there was at the more open locations at KP and downtown. I found Pigott finishing her meal on the north side, west end of the building. She finished her meal and flew over towards the scrape. I texted what happened to Dana and she found her on a windowsill below the scrape. We watched her for awhile as she preened and looked at herself in the window. Pigott was the smart one, finding a nice shady spot, while we sat in the sweltering heat. Now that we knew she was ok, our next stop was downtown to check on Beauty, Dot.ca and the eyas.

The Cornhill Festival was going on, so it was very busy. Most of the bridges were filled with cars, so parking was at a premium. Dana and I parked down on Aqueduct St in a nice shady spot. Dot.ca was at the nest box looking after the eyas, while Beauty was on the green strip on the south side of the Wilder Bldg. She was flat out on her belly, with her wings spread and tail feathers flared. I think this must be something they do to cool down. They do this quite frequently when it’s really warm out.

As I was taking pictures of Beauty, she started to whine. I looked up to see that Dot.ca had joined her on the green strip, just a few feet to her left. They just kind of looked at each other. After a few moments, Dot.ca flew back up to the nest box. He was a little antsy. Moving around and taking off and landing. He flew back over to the Wilder building, passing Beauty and then back to the nest box. Beauty spread her wings and took off, heading NW. Dot.ca took off and landed on the well wall, just to the right of the nest box. He walked around a bit and then ended up back on Camera 4.

After awhile, Beauty returned and flew around the area a bit, landing on Wilder, then the top I-beam of the OCSR, then flew over the river and then FINALLY, she flew up to the nest box and Dot.ca took off. He flew over us heading east.

We waited until our shade disappeared, hoping that he would return with food for the eyas. After our shade was gone, we decided it was time to head home.

I’ve put together my first photo album in Shutterfly.  Now that KGallery is gone, they are still in the process of moving all my pictures to the new site.  They are not there yet.  So here’s my first attempt at a Shutterfly album.  Hope it works!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Check!, Check!, Check!, Check!, Check! Five Checks! Five Rochester Falcons Found!

Beauty – Check!
Dot.ca – Check!
Baby Eyas – Check!
Pigott – Check!
KPT – Check!

Of course we’ve been seeing Beauty, Dot.ca and the eyas (who by the way is growing like a weed!) on the RFalconcam cameras daily. It’s the two youngsters living on the edge of town, one to the south and one to the north, that are hard to find. I am happy to report that both Pigott, at the BS location, and KPT, the Kodak Park Tiercel, are thriving and staying in their chosen corners. Now, if only these two youngsters would find each other!

This past week, Rochester has been going through a heat wave. Temps have been hovering around 90 degrees with high humidity. Usually by this time, our eyases are much older. They’ve either fledged or are ready to fledge. This year’s eyas is much younger by comparison.

It had been awhile since we had seen Pigott out at the BS location. Many of the Watchers had been looking for her with no luck. I went there and checked out the building on Tuesday (7/3), after work. She was nowhere to be found, so I headed downtown. I found Dot.ca on the kicked back foot of the Mercury statue. He looked like a 2nd wing on the back of the fleet-footed Roman god. I parked my car on the Broad St Bridge and took some pictures. I could see Beauty on the platform in front of the nest box, guarding the young eyas. After a few moments, Dot.ca spread his wings and took off. He passed over me heading south.

I quickly grabbed my binoculars and watched as D.C. met up with a Red-tailed Hawk and a couple Crows that were harassing it. Since D.C. is an equal opportunity territory defender, he started to whack both the RTH and the Crows! He drove all of them down into the tree line and then continued south. Hmmm, where could he be heading? I quickly tweeted out what happened and jumped into my car. It was time to head back to the BS location. I was thinking to myself that was where D.C. was heading.

As I approached the building, I could hear loud whining coming from the scrape area and I could see D.C. on the SE corner of the building. The whining was definitely not coming from D.C. I parked where I could watch the scrape and yep, there she was. Pigott was sitting there, crying her heart out. It was so good to see her after not seeing her for over a week. We all love to know that all of our Rochester Falcons are safe.

After spending some time with Pigott and D.C., I decided to head over to Kodak Park. Could I make it 4 out of 4? I hoped so.

I was starting to lose light when I arrived at KP, but I could see that KPT was sitting in what I believe is his night time roosting spot. He was on the east side of the east smoke stack, on the east side of the lower catwalk. There is a metal arm that juts out just above the catwalk with a wire above it that supports the arm. He likes to sit on the wire where it connects to the stack. Success! All 4 Rochester Falcons seen this week! Some day I will find time to go through my pictures and post an album. 🙂

RED, WHITE & BOOM!

Last night there were a bunch of us in the live streaming video chat room waiting for the fire works to start. I was very curious to see how Beauty would react with such a young eyas in the nest box. It was almost 10 pm, the time the fire works would start. Beauty was on the perch outside the nest box. The eyas was sleeping in the back left corner, next to Orville. At 10 pm, the first boom sounded, a loud BOOM! Beauty jumped, spread her wings and took flight! Would she return?

She did return a few minutes later. As the fire works intensified, Beauty flew back to the nest box and entered it from the right side, facing the eyas. As the loud noises and flashes of bright lights continued, she moved in closer and turned around, until she was totally blocking the eyas from the outside world. She stood like that, on alert, until the fire works ended and well after.

After the noise and light show ended, she remained in position for about 5 minutes, before finally relaxing, very slowly. You could see her muscles relaxing as she finally turned her head to look back towards where the fire works were launched.

She fussed a bit with the eyas, gently touching it and pulling at the white fluff. The baby stirred and woke up briefly, then right back to sleep. Yes, the eyas slept though the whole thing! Finally, she stepped out to the perch and looked around. A few additional booms, brought her right back to the eyas and then finally total silence. That is, except of course, for the mass exodus of people from the downtown area. From the street below, we could hear the honking of horns and people yelling and laughing. These were more familiar sounds to a Peregrine that chose to nest in a city setting.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!