By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My fledge watch started at 4:00 pm, after getting out of work. I really look forward to going downtown and meeting with friends and seeing Orion, Beauty and Dot.ca.

Orion has really been a joy to watch these last few days, since he took his first flight last week. He has made his way as far as the Kodak Tower, but seems to like sticking close to home, the Times Square Bldg, for now. I would really love to see him make his way to the gorge. Oh, what a joy it would be to watch a young falcon flying there yet again.

Tonite’s Watchers during my Fledge Watch were, Donna, MAK, Kathy O, Aaron, Jeanne, Lynda and me, Carol P. It was a warm evening, but not too hot. Very enjoyable.

At 6:50 pm, Beauty brought in what looked like a pigeon for Orion’s dinner. She landed next to him on the base of the SE wing on the TSB. Dot.ca flew in and both he and Beauty took off, heading north. DC landed on the 2nd Ibeam down on the OCSR and Beauty continued north.

During the evening, after eating, Orion did a lot of wing exercises, strengthening his muscles for longer flights. He flew back and forth between the Times Square Bldg. and the OCSR, where he ran, jumped and flapped his way around the roof line.

Orion returned to the SE wing of the TSB and tucked in tight to the metal wing. At 8:30 pm, he seemed to have settled there, we hoped for the night.

DC had taken off earlier, heading south and we did not see him return. We found Beauty on the middle arm of the FCT.

Oh, and on my way home, I checked KP for KPT and found him on the west stack, NW side of the catwalk. Always good to see him there.

Tomorrow is another day and I plan on being downtown to continue my fledge watch of young Orion, who always has his eyes on the sky!

Here are some pictures from my watch tonite.  If you’d like to see more, check out this Shutterfly album.  No sign on needed.

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The highlight of this fledge watch for me was when Dot.Ca had prey he was eating under the northwest wing of the Times Square building and Beauty wanted it. She flew in landing in front of him and started giving him a piece of her mind and eventually moved in and grabbed it from him.

Debbie came by and told Donna and I that Orion was under the southeast wing. Orion would spend quite some time there later in the day as well. And Beauty would have some words for Orion too on this day.

Mary stopped by for a few minutes to watch Orion when he was on the ledge above and behind the nest box. He spent most of the day there sleeping,walking,flapping,running and singing on and off.

Yesterday Orion knocked Dot.Ca off the OCSR building today he rushed in on Beauty under the southeast wing and she too was displaced by her son. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with I think, which will serve him well in the future. Donna and I ended the watch with Aaron, Carol,Kathy and Jeanne. Tomorrow will be my last fledge watch with Donna for she will be going home to New Jersey on Thursday morning. I will miss her but will remember all the laughing and smiling we did in the last week.:)

Links for my photo album and videos are below just click and go

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http://youtu.be/TOSDLuiNnGk

http://youtu.be/cEeMWP5b-VA

http://youtu.be/Z7ZsGEhVmkE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I left work and arrived downtown at approximately 4:00 pm.  Donna & MAK were sitting down by Key Bank on Aqueduct St.  The told me that Orion had been up on the back extension of the Times Square bldg on the north side, but had ducked down and not seen by either of them in a couple hours.  We hoped he was still up there and hadn’t left.  We were soon joined by Jeanne.  Donna and MAK decided to take a ride around just in case he had flown off without our seeing.  It’s happened before.  Many times.  🙂

Just after they left, Jeanne and I noticed a little brown head pop up on the roof where D&M had last seen him.  There’s Orion!  I quickly texted that we could see him and D&M returned.

After stretching, flapping and pooping, Orion took off and landed on the chimney above us on the Wilder bldg.  He then took off and landed on the iron work between the wings at the top of the TSB.  He was balancing on the tip of one of the pieces of metal up there.  At this time, we were joined by Kathy O, Larry O, Marcia, Dana and Lou.  All of a sudden, Orion started screaming.  We looked back at the OCSR just in time to see DC land up on the top Ibeam.  Orion saw him too!

Orion took off and landed almost on top of his dad, knocking him off!  Orion nailed the landing and DC took off heading NW.

For the rest of my watch, there was no more activity by Orion, DC or Beauty.  At 8:00 pm, I decided to leave and checked out KP on the way home.  I could not find KPT tonite, although he was there last night.

If you’d like to see some pics from tonite, please check out the my album at this link.  No sign on needed.

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The Rochester Watchers will continue to keep their eyes to the sky and report what we see.  So far, Orion has been flying and landing wonderfully.  and I just watched the video posted on the forum of Orion picking up Orville in his talon and carrying him out of the nest box, placing Orville on the nest box perch.  We may have to rescue Orville if Orion decides to have his little buddy join him as he learns to master the sky above Rochester.  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Donna and I arrived on the Broad Street Bridge(BSB) just before 7am and found Dan,Linda,Larry,Gigi and her sister Pat. They were excited to have seen a stoop. It was nonstop action following Orion this morning. We saw him on OCSR,cam 4,FCT ,Times Square back lower roof  where he hungout for 7 hours this afternoon.

The most impressive flight to date was Orion’s trek to the Kodak Office Tower where his Beautyful mom was hanging out on the cupola. He chose to be on the launch pad near the southeast rocket. And this was after he had joined dear old dad on FCT. Joyce  joined the watch for a while after Lynda,Gigi and Pat left.

Orion flew himself back to the Times Square building where he ended up parking for 7 solid hours on the lower roof in the back. I guess he tired himself out pretty good! He wore Donna and I out,that’s for sure! I must say he is quite impressive and CarolP said to me tonight that he’s about the best juvie flyer she has seen…ever! High praise from a seasoned watcher.

A visit to the nest box for Orion today and Beauty brought in, what else but pigeon for him and DC visited the well wall.

Beauty and Dot.Ca were absent for most of the afternoon and evening and when we ended our watch some 13 hours after it started the only falcon we could see was our fabulous flyer Orion. Watchers that were out this evening were:Jeanne,Dana,Lou,Marcia,KathyO, CarolP,Larry,Donna,Aaron and me the MAKster. lol A fun day with our newest Rochester Peregrine Falcon Orion as he puts a smile on all our faces! 🙂

Album and videos are on the links below

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrEkg

http://youtu.be/uNVwQYl3D88

http://youtu.be/UW5Ia-GHFpY

http://youtu.be/pFUd1dV9DxQ

http://youtu.be/WB27840ZFBM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays watch featured dark,humid and rainy conditions. Orion was on the Widows Walk when Donna and I arrived downtown. EileenCarolP and Dana were sitting in the parking lot watching him. He flew from there north and out of sight so Dana,Carol and I set out to find him while Donna and Eileen stayed put in case he came back. I found him on city place on Main St. near Fitzhugh St.

Orion soon took off and ended up on a chimney on the Wilder building. Dot.ca meanwhile was found on the west side roof of Widows Walk. And it was reported that Beauty was on the rail of Widows Walk. Carol and I couldn’t see her from our location.

The weather started to turn as a storm front was approaching and the wind picked up. Orion flew against the strong southwesterly wind to go to the Times Square building and land like a pro! He is doing so well!

Beauty and Dot.Ca were around the whole time watching over their little darlin’. And as the rain came down Orion just had to go out and play for a bit in it only to retreat into the inside ledge under the northeast wing on the Times Square building.

After the thunder and lightening stopped Donna and I went for a walk and found Beauty under the platform of the Frontier Communications Tower(FCT). We then drove to City Hall to confirm it was the Beautyful one and there she was big as life!

When we returned to the hole where we left Jeanne,Dana and Carol we saw that KathyO had stopped by. There were big puddles around and Kathy had taken her flip flops off and was wading in one of them. As I walked up she started kicking water at me so…I had to give it back to her. I jumped in and the rest is history! We were both soaked when we were done and everyone had a great laugh. Meanwhile Orion was shaking the rain off  himself under the northeast wing. DC was on the OCSR building and Beauty on FCT. All Times Square Peregrine Falcons accounted for and so Donna and I ended our watch and left after a very fun afternoon playing in the rain and smiling! 🙂

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After an afternoon of wild rain showers and thunderstorms, we thought we were going to call it a day. Orion “discovered” the Frontier Communication tower (and his mother). He was flapping, flying and exploring. Dotca was there for part of the time along with Kathy O, Dana, Carol P and Larry O. Dotca flew off and a short time later so did Orion. Although we were thinking of leaving, we couldn’t with a newly fledged juvie gallavanting so the search began. We heard him near Times Square and then saw him but off he went. Dana found him on the north side of Old Changing Scene Restaurant. With that, Carol and Dana left (kind of– they both went to Kodak Park on their way home) and Dan S. arrived. I thought i would stay awhile to keep him company. All was quiet and we decided to go on the Broad St. Bridge. We no sooner got there and lots of flying took place. We saw Orion at the base of Mercury. Dotca seemed to be on Old Changing Scene. He flew over the river and then back. Beauty flew over the Hyatt and then hovered atop Xerox. For a watcher, it never stops being awe inspiring to see a falcon catch the wind and hover, seemingly motionless in the air. Wow! Dan said a stoop was coming and he was right. She suddenly darted over the river and in a stoop. She missed over the Blue Cross Arena, coming up empty but darting off. Orion then did some flying to the Old Changing Scene Restaurant (OCSR). He landed atop it and then would fly to other parts of the same level. At one point he dusted his father off. We then saw an adult on Times Square beneath the wing. Orion did too– he seemed focused in that direction. While on OCSR, he would walk. For a falcon, his walking is really steady. We could see storm clouds in the distance and Carol tweeted that it was raining in Greece. Sure enough, the rains came!! Dan and I both went to our cars. I hoped that Orion would stay safe. It was very windy along with the rain. As the rain eased, the sky turned a pink tint and a double rainbow appeared! Awesome! We looked an Orion was still on the OCSR! Very good. Gigi from Indianapolis and her sister Pat stopped by and saw Orion and the adult! She said they recently lost their 19 year old male:( They have been following the Roch falcons and all of our drama. It was so nice to meet them! After they left, it really got very dark so Dan and I left too. It was hard to see if Orion was still on OCSR but we hadn’t seen any flying so we figured he was tucked in!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

New fledgling Orion spent his first night on a window ledge on the Times Square building(TSB) and made his way on and off the base of Mercury.

Donna from New Jersey and Bonnie from NYC came in Bonnies’ RV camper arriving on the Broad St. bridge just before noon to join us on fledge watch. They were the first of several out-of-towners to come this year for Watchers weekend.

Saturday started out getting  together with fellow falcon watchers at Aqueduct Park for our annual watchers weekend brunch. There was a good turn out from near and far.For our beloved Orion today was all about exploring new places. Not only did he fly well he actually soared for a bit as well. He was seen on Mercury(base),OCSR(roof),Telesca Center(roof),Wilder,TS grates and at the nest box. What a treat it must have been for everyone who saw it on cam at home.

It sure was a hot day but we had the shade of the trees in Aqueduct Park and there was a breeze. Orion seemed to fly like it was a breeze. Hopefully he will continue to improve without incident. We ended the watch at dusk having had a good showing by Orion and feeling good about how well he is doing so far. Smiley peeps make for smiley fledge watches! 🙂

For pics from Friday and Saturday click on the link below

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Here’s a video to show you just how well our little Orion is doing.  A flight from the base of the Mercury Statue to the ledge just above the nest box on the TSB.  It wasn’t long after that he made his way down to the nest box to let his fans take a peak at him.  His first time back to the nest box since he fledged.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8nyzqKxV1w&list=UUkL-m83o7PVaDyTQPEbi-aw&index=1&feature=plcp

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I left work and arrived downtown around 4 pm. As I came off of Rte 490, I noticed that there was a falcon up on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT). At first I thought it might be Dot.ca, but found out that it was Beauty. She was on the top arm facing the Kodak Tower. I stayed with her for about 15 minutes and tweeted it out to the other Watchers, who were over on Aqueduct St watching Orion up on the base of the NW wing and Dot.ca on the top Ibeam of OCSR, south side.

I made my way over to where the other Watchers were gathered, plus some very special visitors from out-of-town, here for Falcon Watch Weekend.

There was a large group gathered to watch Orion’s 2nd day of flight. The Jehovah Witnesses are in town again this weekend and we were visited by many of them asking us what we were looking at. Very nice folks.

Bonnie, with her very large camera/lens, Wendy, Marcia and I walked over to get into the shade to watch Orion up on the base of the NW wing of the TSB. We watched him run around and scream until he made the short flight to the base of the NE wing. He repeated all of this and took off yet again, flying over us, heading for the OCSR bldg where Dot.ca was located. Orion made a perfect landing right next to his dad on the top IBeam. I am so impressed by his landings. He still misses his target now and then and hits a building or window, but at least he’s not traveling and high speed yet. As our friend Mark Nash from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation says, it’s better they hit a building at this stage. It will hopefully teach them to avoid doing so later.

As soon as Orion landed next to Dot.ca and started to scream again, DC took off and flew around to the back of the OCSR where we lost sight of him. I am not sure where he went.

We returned to join the other Watchers behind the Philippone Bldg. Watchers gathered tonight during my 4:00 to 9:00 pm Watch were: Bonnie, Wendy, Donna, Wendy (aka Birdmusic), MAK, Joyce, Marcia, Dana, Lisa McK, Jeanne, Dan S, Carrie, Shaky and Carol P. Larry O reported from the BS location that PIgott was on the building there near the scrape.

For the rest of the evening, we watched Orion walk and run along the Ibeam. He mostly just slept for the next couple hours. Shaky was able to move pan cam (Camera #1) over to the ledge to show Orion to the folks on the forum/live streaming video.

It was a very enjoyable watch spent with good friends I had not seen in a couple years. Cannot way for tomorrow’s Watcher Weekend Breakfast at 9:00 am at Aqueduct Park. Join us if you can! It’s going to be VERY warm tomorrow. Weather reports say it will feel like 100 degrees (F), so be prepared. Sunscreen and lots of water.

We all left at approximately 9:00 pm. Orion was laying on the top Ibeam of OCSR. Joyce reported that Dot.ca was out at the BS location, but while she was there, he headed back towards downtown. Joyce did not see Pigott. I found Beauty on the FCT platform on the NE corner on my way out of downtown.

Goodnight everyone and remember to keep your eyes to the sky. You just might see a young Peregrine fledgling learning to master the sky above Rochester. 🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

and what a glorious day of flying it was for our young tiercel. I missed his first flight over to the south side of the building, but I got to see the five other flights he took throughout the day.

His flights have been very strong and except for a few mishaps, he has landed very accurately. He’s young and he tires easily causing him to come in low and to bounce off the building before landing lower than he really wanted. For example, on his flight from the Cross Rds Bldg. to the Times Square Bldg, he attempted to land on the base of the SE wing, way at the top of the building, but he was too low by about a couple feet. He came up against the wall and circled to the left (south), losing altitude. He landed badly on a lower ledge (nest box level), but he was just fine. I saw him bounce up and run around and flap his wings.

I arrived just after his first flight, joining Larry and Dan out on the BSB. MAK and Joyce had gone in closer to the building on the south side. Larry, Dan and I could see flapping from the south side. Then Orion was off! He headed south first, over the D&C bldg, banked to the left, heading back towards the TSB (north). He flew past the TSB and banked left again, turning back to the south and heading straight for the TSB, landing extremely well on a very narrow ledge on the level above the nest box. I give him a 10! I was very impressed. After seeing many flights by young Falcons learning to fly, Orion quite impressed me.

Throughout the day MAK, Joyce and I stayed on watch, being joined by other watchers when they had time. Orion made a total of 6 short flights today and was fed once by Beauty on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg. Not much though.

Orion Flights:

1 – Fledge Flight from nest ledge to south ledge, same level.

2 – 2nd Flight from south ledge to east ledge above nest box.

3 – 3rd Flight from east ledge of TSB to south end of Cross Rds Bldg.

4 – 4th Flight from south end of Cross Rds Bldg. to north end of Cross Rds Bldg, for a small meal.

5 – 5th Flight from north end of Cross Rds Bldg. to the south ledge at nest box level on the TSB. Attempted to land on base of SE wing but came in too low. Rocky landing.

6 – 6th Flight from south ledge of TSB to a windowsill on the east side of the TSB near the south corner. Our friend Mark B works in these offices!

When I left around 8:30 pm, many Watchers had gathered to keep an eye on Orion. When I left, Orion remained on the windowsill. Beauty above him on the base of the SE wing. Dot.ca no where in view.

OK, this is going to be a hard one. I hope I don’t forget anyone.

Today’s Watchers while I was on watch: Larry O, Dan S, Joyce, MAK, Mark B, Debbie H, Pat, Jeff, Diane, Susan C, Brian H, Jeanne, Lynda, Carrie, Shaky, Marcia, Dana, Lou, Gayle and Carol P. I really should start writing down names.

It was a wonderful day for a fledge and Orion did darn good for his first day of flight. Tomorrow will be another day of adventure for him and his parents. Stay safe little one. The Rochester Falcon Watchers will all have their eyes to the sky looking out for you. 🙂

Oh, and on the way home I checked on KPT at KP and found him on his normal nightly roosting spot above the catwalk on the east smokestack.

Here is the link to my album of pics from today. No sign on needed. Enjoy!

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