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Archive for September, 2012

Falcon Watching Weekend – Sunday – 9/30/12

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunday, 9/30/12

I checked out KP first, no KPF.  My next stop downtown.  The downtown area was in turmoil.  I could not park anywhere that I usually did.  Aqueduct St aka the hole was blocked by a police car.  Both sides of the Broad St Bridge were marked No Parking.  People were milling about, acting lost.  I drove to the next bridge over, the Court St Bridge (CSB) and parked there.  I could see a falcon on Mercury’s heel, but I was too far for me to see who it was.  After parking, I walked over to the BSB to see what was going on.

View of TSB from Court St BridgeBuses lining BSBBus Schedule for the DayBreast Walk Down Main St.All of a sudden, the bridge was lined with city buses and people were getting in and out of them and they weren’t happy.  Guess no one notified them of the change and they were being very vocal about it.  I could see a sea of pink walking over the Main St Bridge.  Kathy O confirmed that the Breast Cancer Walk was happening this morning.  So, Main St was closed to the buses that normally use that route.  That meant that the Broad St Bridge was being used as a bus terminal, for all the folks that would normally get their buses over on Main St.  Like I said, mass chaos.

Before I got to the BSB, the falcon on Mercury’s heal took off to parts unknown.  Although I saw lots and lots of pigeons flying over the Cornhill area, so that might be where the falcon headed.

Larry O parked on the Court St Bridge for a short while.  We waved across the river. lol  I mostly stayed on the BSB.  At a little before 11 am, I saw a falcon fly up to the nest box and heard a bit of ee-chupping.  But, by the time I walked out further on the bridge to get a better view, the falcon was gone.  The nest box cameras did capture the quick visit, possibly Beauty.  Except for that, I had no other falcon sightings.

Herring Gull Fishing in RiverDuck on River

The river critters weren’t being bothered by all the hoopla.  They were going about their business.  🙂

I took a quick trip out to the BS location and found no falcons there.  It was very quiet there so I didn’t stay long.

The Powers Bldg where the other NB is LocatedThe High Falls Stack Being Covered Back downtown.  Finally, the walk was finished and everything was back to normal.  I was able to park down on Aqueduct St, and check out all the areas I couldn’t before.  No falcons were out and about.  So, I headed down to Kodak Office to see if they might be down there.  Nothing.  The High Falls Stack is completely covered in scaffolding and they have started to wrap it in heavy plastic.  Pretty soon the whole stack will be covered in plastic. 🙁

Since I was having no luck find any falcons downtown and it was getting close to the start of the Bills game (they lost to New England; Boo!) I decided to head home with a quick stop at KP.

KPM at KPKPM at KPAt KP I had better luck.  KPF was on the metal work, to the left of the red door on the east stack.  I stayed to watch her for awhile before heading home.

So, the weekend is over, but it was a wonderful two days of watching falcons and spending time with friends.  I do love my falcon watching weekends!

Falcon Watching Weekend – Saturday – 9/29/12

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Saturday, 9/29/12

I sure do love the weekends, but they always go way too fast.

KPF at Kodak Park - 9/29/12On my way downtown I always check out Kodak Park (KP), since it’s on my way.  Saturday morning I was happy to see the female we call KPF.  She was sitting on the railing in front of the red door on the east smoke stack.  I didn’t stay long because I wanted to get to the BS location to see if I could find some falcons there.

DC at BSDC at BSDC at BSI did find a falcon in the cubby (that’s what we are calling it) on the west side of the bldg.  For most of the time I was there, this Falcon had his/her back to me.  Finally the falcon turned around for a few seconds.  I wasn’t 100% sure if this was DC or Pigott, who we have not seen here for a few days.  I sent these pics out to fellow watchers and Joyce got back to me.  She is certain that this was Dot.ca. I have to agree.

So where is Piggot?  Has she migrated?  Well that is certainly a possibility.  Dot.ca is still visiting the building and just because we have not seen her, it doesn’t necessarily mean that she has left.  We’ll have to wait and see and continue watching for her.

My next stop was downtown.  I found Beauty on the top IBeam of the OCSR.  She took off and hunted over the river.  She flew back towards me and landed on Mercury’s heel.

Beauty on Mercury's HeelBeauty on Mercury's HeelShe stayed there for quite awhile before taking off and heading north down the river.  I lost sight of her behind some buildings, but I could see pigeons taking panicked flight as she passed.  It wasn’t long before she flew back to the Times Square Bldg. (TSB) carrying prey.

Beauty Base of NE Wing TSB with Prey She landed at the base of the NE wing.  Feathers soon were flying, drifting on the afternoon breeze.  Dana and Lou arrived and we watched Beauty enjoy her dinner.  When she finished, she took off, leaving the remainder of the meal on the building.  She flew over us heading north.  In the reflection of the Cross Rds Bldg, I could see her head towards the FCT area.  That was cool!  Of course we followed!

Dot.ca on bldg south of FCTWhen we got over there, we spotted Dot.ca on the building just south of the FCT.  Dana and Lou arrived first and they said that Beauty had been on the FCT when they arrived.  Both she and DC vocalized a bit and then Beauty took off heading back towards the TSB.  After awhile, DC also took off heading south.  Dana and Lou had to leave, so I headed back to the TSB,

DC on Mercury's HeelDC Wings Up on Mercury's HeelI spotted Dot.ca on Mercury’s heel (seems to be a popular spot for our falcons), so I decided to park down on Aqueduct St, aka the hole.  Beauty was up in the nest box according to on-line Watcher Donna and Shaky too.  Thanks for your help!  It’s hard for me to see her if she’s up there.

Dana returned and we settled in to watch Dot.ca, who spent a lot of time preening and turning and pooping and stretching and itching and, well you get the idea.  lol  He was there for a very long time before finally, he spread his wings and took off heading south.  We were able to see that he landed on the jail communication tower.  Donna notified us that Beauty had left the nest box, but we had not seen her leave.

We were starting to lose light, so we decided to call it a day.  Saturday was over, but there was still Sunday to enjoy!  🙂

Morning watch 9-29-12

Saturday, September 29th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As my bus approached downtown today I could see road crews working on Main St. Yay,  it was finally getting  paved. There was a lot of work going on around our fair city. The Phillipone building had painters giving the garage ceiling a fresh coat and there were city crews trimming trees over in front of City Hall.

I didn’t see Beauty on the base of Mercury until I got up on the Broad St. bridge(BSB). She was on the northeast corner where she could only be seen from the bridge.

img_2271-beauty

At first she was just standing there and then she started nibbling on something. I knew she was on the last leg (so to speak) of her prey item for she was sporting a pretty full crop.

img_2275-beauty-eating img_2282-hello-beautyful1

Beauty stayed there for about an hour as I enjoyed her company and the river dwellers as well. I so love the fall skies with all the different cloud formations especially at sunrise.

img_2277-eastern-sky-at-sunrise

Just before 8:00am the Beautyful one took off to the southeast flying right into the sun making me lose track of her.  I watched a Great Blue Heron fish in the river and had a young gull land on the bridge railing about 6 feet away from me. Nothing entertains quite like nature! I happened to look up at the right time to see a falcon fly over the Wilder building heading straight toward the Frontier Communications Tower(FCT). I strolled over to City Hall and found Beauty on the 2nd arm west side of FCT. She had her back to me so I went to the parking lot that is situated between the Frontier building and the church on Fitzhugh St. across from City Hall so I could see the front of her. I had time for a few pics and a video and then she was off again and so was I.

img_2320-below-fct-north-side img_2322-beauty-on-fct

She flew in the direction of Times Square so I walked back that way and as I got to the parking lot by the hole I noticed a bunch of Starlings all over the Mercury statue. I was just about to click the pic when they all shot off at once and in coming from behind was a pefa. It was Dot.Ca and he chased them for a bit before circling back overhead and settled over on the top ibeam of OCSR at the south corner.

img_2334-dc

Right after I tweeted that DC had arrived I got a text from Donna saying that Beauty was at the nest box. I turned around to look but I couldn’t see her so I set up by the corner of Keybank in the hole and watched DC as he turned around  and moved about a foot or so to the east of the corner with his back now to me. He was doing a lot of preening and I thought maybe he was getting his groove on to go join Beauty in the nest box for some bowing and bonding.

img_2344-dc img_2345-dc-shaking-his-tail-feathers

I couldn’t seem to warm up this morning so I decided to end my watch and catch the next bus home. It was great to spend time with both Beauty and DC which is all the reason I need to keep on smiling! 🙂

Pics and videos can be seen by clicking on the links below

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrKFA

http://youtu.be/gZU3wym6GNE
http://youtu.be/wasdHxdJOs8
http://youtu.be/896zmmdN_58

Morning watch 9-28-12

Friday, September 28th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a dark and dreary morning in our fair city. When I arrived on the Broad St. bridge I could see no falcons, so I proceeded to the east side of the river. I found the distinct profile of a Peregrine on the northwest corner of  HSBC in the darkness.

img_2229-my-first-look-at-beauty-before-sunrise-on-hsbc

After the sky started to lighten up as the sun came up behind all the cloud cover I could see the dark chest of Beauty and she was eating her breakfast.

img_2231-getting-lighter-out

I could see that her crop was pretty full so I knew she was finishing her meal. She turned around showing me her back and pooped. lol This meant that she was lightening her load to take off soon and poof there she went!

img_2238-b-getting-ready-to-leave-hsbc img_2239-there-she-goes

Beauty was flying west toward the river and as I made my way back to the bridge Shaky tweeted that she was next to the main cam. She didn’t stay long enough for me to get there and as I was getting coffee at Tim Hortons on Main St. Shaky tweeted a falcon on the Frontier Communications Tower. I walked over to City Hall and had a look see but couldn’t find it. I then checked the north(back) side of OCSR on my way back to the Times Square area. I decided to walk down to Court St. and check the jail tower and bingo I spotted a falcon on the north side near the 2nd arm.

img_2241-b-on-the-jail-tower

After climbing the 3 sets of stairs to the new park by the Hall of Justice I found a sleeping Beauty and I was about ready for a nap myself!

img_2242-find-the-sleeping-beauty

Being that this was not a good angle to watch her I moved as close to the Hall of Justice as I could and set up. Beauty woke up and did some preening and well just perched there being her Beautyful self in the grayness of the day.

img_2245-beauty img_2247-b-with-a-full-crop

It started to spit raindrops down on us so I got out the umbrella and plastic bag to cover my camera and binocs. The rain started coming down harder so I decided to go find some cover and as I packed up my stuff  Beauty left and I had no idea what way she flew off to. I took a look around on my way back to the Times Square area and after not finding a falcon on any of the regular places I decided to call it and go home. As I stood waiting for my bus I couldn’t help but smile for having spent much of my watch chasing our Beautyful girl around the city and happily finding her to share space once again with the fastest animal on the planet! 🙂

Links for 3 videos below need only be clicked on to view

http://youtu.be/D2S1yuYuCv0
http://youtu.be/bMoK5zCTqfs
http://youtu.be/4gmXre9M190

Morning watch 9-27-12

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays watch was less about falcons and more about just enjoying the crisp clean fall air and surroundings.

img_2195-from-main-st-bridge

As is my usual routine of late I check around from the Broad St. bridge and then I walk to the east side of the river to check on HSBC and the Xerox-B&L area. I could find none of our feathered friends so I stopped at Tim Hortons for a cup of  coffee on my way back to the bridge and perched on a picnic table by the library for a while. After a bit I walked over to the southeast end of the bridge to take a look at the river and spotted a Killdeer down on the rocks eating bugs. They are  one of my favorites!

img_2175-killdeer

After I finished taping this little guy I looked over at the jail tower and spotted a falcon on the 2nd arm south side.

img_2171-beauty-on-jail-tower

It was too far away to ID with it’s back to me. DebbieH came by on her way to work and suggested we walk down to the new park  next to the Hall of Justice for a closer look at the tower. So off we went and as close as we were I still wasn’t sure who was perched on that tower although I was thinking Beauty judging by size and the darkness of the mustache.

img_2183-beauty

Debbie left for work and when I looked back up there was no falcon! I then got a text from Donna that Beauty had just arrived at the nest box confirming that it was the Beautyful one on the jail tower. She was only at the nest box briefly and by the time I got down all the stairs from the new park to Exchange Blvd. it was too late- she was gone. I then took a walk to the Frontier Communications Tower checking the sky and building tops along the way. No luck! I crossed over State St. to Andrews St. and walked along the river checking the north(back) side of OCSR. I went across the pedestrian bridge to the east side of the river by the Radisson Hotel up South Ave. and onward to check the Xerox area without any sightings. I made my way to the Main St. bridge which is near my bus stop and sat on a bench for a while. Lots of folks along the way asked me if I was watching the falcons and in particular Larry Sweet a guy I met back in the spring. We used to chat about the falcons a lot and I hadn’t seen him in a very long time so it was good to flag him down on his bike and visit. He thought our falcons had all split until spring. I brought him up to speed and then he had to get going.

As I looked around for falcons I decided to take pics of the view from that bench on the Main St. bridge so y’all could see what I saw. They are in my photo album from today. I never saw another falcon before leaving downtown, but I did see Beautys back for a while and I enjoyed all the sights and sounds of our fair city which is good for a smile or two!  🙂

Click the links below for a different album and video due to the lack of  Peregrines

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrJyg

http://youtu.be/hkMeAyOAKyM

Morning watch 9-26-12

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Arriving downtown in darkness I went straight over to the east side thinking I would find Beauty on her 5th column south side night time roosting spot on Xerox or on her morning hunting spot on HSBC. She was on neither so I made my way to one of my roosting spots by the Rundell Library on a picnic table. I could see the Frontier Communications tower,Mercury,OCSR and the Times Square (TSB) area. At about 7:20am I saw a pefa on the ledge right above the nest box briefly and in the blink of an eye it was gone. I then took a walk down to Tim Hortons on Main St. and while in there got a text from Donna saying that Beauty was at the nest. As soon as I walked out of  Tims I spotted Beauty as big as life on the main cam.

img_2110-old-flat-top-beauty

Donna also said that she heard the distinctive chirp of Dot.Ca (DC). I found him as well (thanks to my good friend and cam watcher Donna) under the northeast wing of the TSB as Beauty was looking up at him.

img_2124-b-looking-at-dc-above img_2118-dc

They both had their heads on a swivel looking for prey to pounce on. DebbieH came by to observe our fabulous falcons on her way to work and right after she left Beauty took off and stooped in the river. I was stationed at another one of my roosts-by He’s Chinese Restaurant on Exchange Blvd. so I quickly lost the Beautyful one behind buildings. KathyO drove by honking her horn and waving to me on her way to give Brian a lift to an appointment before she went to work. We Rochester falcon watchers are a tight knit family that help each other out in life. So I watched DC for the next 20 minutes bob and turn his head and have a nice stretch for himself.

img_2139-hello-mr-cutie img_2138-dc-stretching

As I wondered where Beauty had gone, suddenly I spotted a familiar face poking up from the base of Mercury. It was Beauty come back from her unsuccessful stoop to try her luck from there right above the river.

img_2141-beauty-on-mercury-base

I walked up to the Broad St. bridge so I could watch them both easier without having to look away from one to see the other. They both had birds flying below them and Beauty once again flew off after pigeons above me out over the river and beyond.

img_2153-beauty-ready-to-take-off img_2156-and-we-have-liftoff

I watched her until she disappeared into the southeast sky. I waited to see if Beauty would return but she didn’t so hopefully she caught something and was eating somewhere. Back down to He’s to keep an eye on DC who was still under the northeast wing of the TSB looking around for his own meal. A silly starling flew out from behind the northwest wing and made a quick u-turn when it got a load of DC right there staring him in the face!  Right after that DC scratched his head and had a look of having something to ponder.

img_2169-thoughts-to-ponder

Soon after this I decided to catch the next bus home thus ending my watch on a happy note with a smile on my face! 🙂

I have links below for a photo album and videos for your viewing pleasure. Just click ’em

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrJrA

http://youtu.be/Z1Aq3bDHs7Q

http://youtu.be/Acyn8tM61l4

http://youtu.be/AfDY0n_1o1s
http://youtu.be/UxAk5bHssrk
http://youtu.be/QPHLhkEdWY0
http://youtu.be/giOxgvmorC0

Morning watch 9-25-12

Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Just when I think they’re in a routine they switch it up on me as I found no falcons on any of the buildings near the Broad St. bridge or on the east side. But as I made my way back from checking HSBC and the Xerox area I stopped at the intersection of Broad and Clinton and looked thru my binocs to find a falcon on Times Square under the northeast wing. This falcon had its back to me but I did get a shot of it turning its head my way.

img_2061-beauty Click on the pics for full version

This was the Beautyful one! I walked down to Exchange Blvd. and set up by He’s chinese restaurant to watch Beauty. It was quite breezy this morning ruffling up her feathers but it wasn’t until she stretched that I could see for sure that it was indeed her.

img_2070-beauty img_2077-beauty

I spent the better part of an hour with Beauty before she took off. And I had to leave for a while myself to help out a friend who didn’t know her way around the city and asked if I’d drive her to an appointment.

With that taken care of I returned to my watch a little over an hour later with my friends car. Not finding any pefas I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge and spotted a white chested falcon at the north corner top ibeam of OCSR.

img_2083-dc

I was too far away to positively ID this bird so I drove over to Bragdon St. which is located by the Radisson Hotel for a closer look see. I got out the car and walked down by the river to take a couple pics and when I turned around to go back to the car there was the parking police slapping a ticket on the car! I was gone less than 5 minutes for crying out loud and it wasn’t my friend Jimmy who is another parking enforcement official (the one that told me of Jemison being down in front of the Rochester Plaza Hotel back in 2010). So it will cost me $25 for the ticket and a $15 surcharge to find out that Dot.Ca (DC)was on OCSR. UGH!

img_2089-dc img_2091-dc

When I got in the car and looked I couldn’t see DC so I took another ride around our fair city only to end up on the Andrews St. bridge once more. I got my binocs out and spotted 2 falcons on the north side of OCSR. DC was at the corner same as before and Beauty was a few feet to the right of him on the top ibeam.

img_2102-bdc img_2103-beauty-and-dotca

They weren’t really doing much of anything as I watched them for about 15 minutes before my friend called to say she was ready to be picked up. I left our downtown pair ending my watch and even tho it was an expensive one I still left downtown smiling for having seen Beauty and DC! 🙂

Just one video link today to click on below

http://youtu.be/c751jJqrhMo

Morning watch 9-24-12

Monday, September 24th, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays theme was staying close to home for our downtown pair Beauty and Dot.Ca(DC). I guess having a visit from another tiercel put things into perspective for DC cuz he wasn’t spending a whole lot of time downtown since Orion left on his life journey. Spending more time with Pigott over at BS stopped when a new tiercel,NG came to town. DC has been present in the downtown area a lot more and he has gone to the nest box with Beauty to renew their bond more than he was before too. This is a good thing!

It was a cold morning with the thermometer by my back door reading 39 degrees when I left the house for the bus. After checking the Broad St. bridge(BSB) area I went east stopping in front of Clinton Square to find Beauty on the northeast corner of HSBC.

img_1948-beauty-on-hsbc

As I made my way further east to be closer she left when I wasn’t looking so I turned right around and went back toward the river. Looking from the intersection of Broad and Clinton I could see a falcon on the base of Mercury.

img_1949-b-or-dc Click pics for full version

As I made my way closer to the BSB the falcon left Mercury and flew to the Times Square building(TSB) coming to rest under the northeast wing.

img_1954-dc

Upon arriving at Falcon Watcher Central (FWC)I was able to determine that it was DC under the northeast wing and then I got a text from Donna saying that Beauty was at the nest box.  15 minutes later DC flew up to the northeast wing ring where I haven’t seen him land in quite a while.

img_1975-dc-on-wing-ring

It’s interesting how they get in different patterns of where they hang out. You won’t see them on certain favorite perches and then all of a sudden they will frequent them and stop going to ones they were frequenting. It keeps us watchers on our toes I’ll tell ya! Anyway, DC only stayed a few minutes before he was off to perch on the top ibeam south side of OCSR.

img_1981-dc

I went down to the hole for closer viewing as Beauty returned to the nest box and then left flying south. DC also left OCSR while I was watching Beauty. I decided to get some hot coffee while there was a break in the action but before I could take one step Beauty returned to the nest box and DC went under the northeast wing.

img_1996-beauty img_2017-hello

Stationed now by He’s Chinese I could see both of them. DC flew off twice presumably going after prey and returned to the wing as he was in hunt mode giving his head and neck a good workout this morning.

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I left for the BSB so I could see Beauty better after she went to the front ledge of the nest box where I couldn’t see her from my position. I found Mr. Green Heron in the river and a Cormorant that had a feather stuck on its face. I taped them both from the north side of the BSB and then I crossed over to the south side and taped all the falls and birds that were congregated over there. I can never get enough of the sound of  the river. It really makes you forget that you are in the middle of the city. I ended my watch at this juncture as I wanted to get home and warm up. Seeing Beauty and DC hang out on the TSB for most of my watch sent me home smiling! 🙂

Click the links below for pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrJYA

http://youtu.be/rSr2C3T98cs
http://youtu.be/klZSUU-IBas
http://youtu.be/ruHaMyhXJCM
http://youtu.be/ZKMoIHYK_08
http://youtu.be/B5omo4L8WNg
http://youtu.be/NaeZlnY7qG4


Falcon Watching Weekend (9/22 & 9/23/12) A New Guy Downtown & A Mystery Girl at KP

Sunday, September 23rd, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Saturday, 9/22/12

new-guy-downtown-9-22-12So who was the New Guy (NG) that visited with Beauty for most of Saturday.  We may never know.

Dana and Larry O spent most of Saturday morning keeping watch over the downtown area and the BS location.  Both were seeing two falcons, at the same time.  Well that was interesting, since there was normally only a total of 3 falcons seen at both of these locations.  Dana tweeted out that she was unsure if she had Dot.ca or another tiercel (male).  I had lots to do Saturday morning, so I could not get downtown until noon.

I joined Dana on Aqueduct St. (aka the hole) and she pointed out the male on the ledge that was on same level as the nest box, on the south side.  I quickly got my scope out and we both took turns checking out this falcon.  Was it Dot.ca?  If so, who was out at the BS location with Pigott?

This male did not act like Dot.ca.  He flew all over the place, and he did a lot of display flying for Beauty, who was at the nest box.  Behaviorally, we suspected that this was a different tiercel visiting with Beauty.

Every time he took off and landed in a different spot, I would move the scope to keep him in sight.  Finally, I got a good look at his bands.  I quickly called Dana over to verify what I was seeing.  She saw what I did, there was no doubt, this was not Dot.ca.  This new guy’s band was black over green, while Dot.ca’s band is black over black.

We watched him all afternoon, flying from spot to spot.  He was very actively checking out the area and checking out every perch.  Some we had never seen a falcon on before.  There were a bunch of Crows flying through the area and Beauty didn’t like that at all.  She took off and chased them, new guy right on her tail.  Together they vanquished the Crows from the area.  It was a sight to see.  Beauty was more active than I had seen her in a very long time.  But, she would not allow him to enter the nest box.  That was a no no.  At one point, he came a little too close.  He landed on the ledge above the nest box, and she chased him off.  I am always fascinated by their behavior.  We learn something new every day.

Later in the afternoon, other Watchers came down to take a look at this new guy; MAK, Joyce, Kathy O, Jeanne, & Barbara.

Today (9/23/12), Dot.ca was back with Beauty and the new guy was gone.  At least for now.  The question is, will he return?  We’ll be watching.

Sunday, 9/23/12

mystery-girl-at-kp-9-23-12The Watchers were split between the three Rochester locations today.  Pigott was seen at the BS location, Beauty and Dot.ca were seen hanging out downtown, so I focused on the female at Kodak Park, aka KPF.

My first stop this morning was Kodak Park.  I parked in the lot we are allowed to watch from and immediately spotted a falcon sitting on the railing in front of the red door on the south side of the east smoke stack.  I got my scope out and tried to see if she was banded.  It was too far for me to get a good look at her legs.  I do know she has a silver band on one leg, but have no clue if there is a band or what color it might be on the other.

During the time I was there by myself, she didn’t move too much from this area.  Later in the afternoon, I was joined by Joyce and Dana.  They took lots of pics, so hopefully we might get a clue to KPF’s identify.  KPF took off a a few times, the last time, she flew over us heading southwest.   Too bad new guy can’t find KPF.  lol 🙂

During the afternoon, I did go downtown to check on Beauty and Dot.ca and found them sitting a few feet apart on the top Ibeam of the OCSR on the north side.

High Falls Stack 9/23/12On my way downtown, I noticed that the High Falls stack is nearly covered in scaffolding.  Probably not too long before they start taking it down.  🙁

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and that you all kept your eyes to the sky!

Morning watch 9-23-12

Sunday, September 23rd, 2012

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

After a chilly 44 degree start this morning it turned out to be a beautiful sunny first full day of Fall! I got off the bus in darkness at about 6:15am and wondered if the new tiercel(NG) would still be around.

Since it was still dark out I thought I would walk straight over to the east side to look for Beauty on either Xerox or HSBC. Standing by Clinton Square I found her on the northeast corner of HSBC with a star in the eastern sky behind her and breakfast under talon.

img_1800-beauty-with-her-star-behind-her img_1812-beauty-prepping-her-meal

As the sun came up it was interesting how her colors changed as the sun got higher and brighter. Beauty took some time to prepare and consume her meal as I stood below watching. I wasn’t ready for her abrupt departure when she flew off to the west slipping behind Midtown where I couldn’t see her. I knew she wouldn’t be back cuz this is her early morning spot for hunting and eating then she starts her day over near her nest box somewhere. Today was no exception as I found her at the nest box with another falcon under the northeast wing of the Times Square building(TSB). This I could see from the intersection of South Ave. and Broad St.

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Once I got to the middle of the bridge the action picked up when I saw another falcon fly in front of the the one under the wing. One of them landed under the southeast wing and the other flew by it and around the back of the TSB while Beauty remained by the nest box. As I was crossing the street the wing bird left so when I got down to Falcon Watcher Central(FWC) I only had Beauty at the nest box. She flew off to the north and a couple minutes later a falcon landed under the northeast wing. As far as I could tell it was NG.

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I shared space with him for half hour watching  by He’s Chinese which is located below the Wilder building on Exchange St. He then took off heading south really fast.

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Turns out that would be the last time I saw NG. I watched him until he became a dot and disappeared into the southern sky. When I took my binocs away from my face I saw the flash of a set of wings go to the nest box but I couldn’t see in it from my location. I walked back up to FWC as both Donna and Jeanne let me know Beauty and Dot.Ca(DC) were at the nest box bowing.  Thank you to all the cam watchers that help us in the field. Your help is greatly appreciated! 3 minutes later DC flew from the deck over by Crossroads and returned to the TSB landing under the northeast wing.

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For the next hour and a half it remained Beauty at the nest box napping with DC above her under the northeast wing preening and looking around his territory and sneaking in some shut eye as well.

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Dana and Lou joined me and a few minutes later DC flew off chasing after a Blue Jay above Broad and Exchange Blvd. They both flew over the Thomson Reuters parking lot and as the building got too close DC broke off the chase and the poor Blue Jay hit the building and dropped to the parking lot. DC came back thru and tried to scoop it up on the fly but cut that off as well when the Blue Jay got slid toward the little cement wall in the front of the parking lot. He left it and flew west out of view and that was the last we saw of him.

Dana,Lou and I walked up on the Broad St. bridge for a better view and Aaron came by for a photo op. He found the Green Heron in the river below the Thomson Reuters building. It blends in so well and is so small to find. As I was chatting  with Aaron Dana yelled that Beauty was flying. The Beautyful one flew out over the river and vanished behind the OCSR.. Dana and Lou left to take a look around and I left Aaron to catch my bus home.

It would seem that NG may have moved on and so this is how it will probably go all winter if DC doesn’t migrate. Hopefully ending just as quietly with the next possible suitors that come to town which should make for a smile by having no blood shed. 🙂

Click the links below for more pics and videos

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http://youtu.be/Y69rcTcK__8
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