By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Only had time for a very short Falcon Watch tonight.  My goal?  Find all 3 current Rochester Falcons.

Here are my tweets from this evening:

7:00 am – “GM from falcon free KP! Current 29 degrees. High wind warning til 6pm. Hold on to your hats & watch the falcons fly! Woohoo! Good day all!”

5:00 pm – “DT. Beauty in OCSR elevator shaft. North ledge. Very windy!”

5:20 pm – “BS. P&BST at their nighttime roost. All accounted for. Time to head home.”

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Like I said a very short and sweet watch and I met my goal.

I didn’t arrive downtown until 5:00 pm.  There was just a bit of daylight left and I went searching for Beauty.  I found her up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the north ledge.

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While I was watching Beauty, the light was fading and I noticed that the Mercury statue was reflected on the OCSR bldg.  Just thought it was a cool affect. lol

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After spending a few moments with Ms. Beauty who seemed to be tucked in for the evening I headed over to the BS location.  By the time I got there at 5:20 pm, it was full dark.  Sunset in Rochester, NY today was 4:49 pm.

I circled the building.  No obvious bumps on any of the corners.  I parked on the north east end of the building and checked out the nighttime roosting area for Pigott & BST and there they were, both of them.  I took a few pics and then called it a night.

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I was happy to find all three current Rochester Falcons tucked into their nighttime roosts.  It was a very good day!

On my way home I passed the Mt Hope Cemetery and saw this beautiful little Christmas tree on a hill inside the cemetery grounds.  There was just something so peaceful about that little tree.

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I drove through the downtown passing through the High Falls area on my way home.

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The good news is, the weekend is here and I’ll be able to see the falcons in the daylight, hopefully!  WooHoo!

I’ll leave you with this classic picture of Mariah and Cabot-Sirocco’s 4 eyases from 2001.  Bonnie, Mr Carney, Regie & Ranger.  Ranger is still being seen in Toronto with her mate Hunter.  In all the years she has been there, none of her eggs have ever hatched.  Kind of sad.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was not near as cold out this morning as yesterday when I left for downtown. I parked on the Broad St. Bridge north side facing the Times Square building as I do every morning and waited for some action. 30 minutes went by when the aqueduct roosting pigeons came flying up from under the bridge going at a good clip and right behind them-Beauty. They all made there way upriver southbound and disappeared behind the Blue Cross Arena(BCA). 10 minutes later the pigeons made their way back and landed on the roof of the BCA. I hoped that this meant Beauty had caught one and was eating somewhere. I went for a drive to look for the Beautyful one and I found her as I stopped on the Andrews St. Bridge. She was on the top ibeam northeast side of OCSR so I left for closer viewing by the Radisson Hotel.

Judging from the bulging crop I’d say Beauty had herself a nice big breakfast. I stayed with her about 30 minutes and headed off to the Brighton site (BS) as I knew she wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. Nobody was home at BS so I got settled in to wait for them. It was very windy with gusty bursts that would create white out conditions at times. The road was drifted over in spots as well. Over an hour passed and I decided to go back downtown to make sure Beauty didn’t blow away. lol She was in the same spot as when I left her- digesting that big meal.

I stayed with her for an hour or so and then I left  to run an errand and get some lunch. I returned to BS a little after noon. FYI-when you turn into the driveway at BS you come to a one way road that goes to the right and circles around the building. The front of the building faces north and the right side is west with the east side being to your left. The back of the building faces south. Now as I came around from the back to the east side I spotted Pigott flying over the building headed north and then I saw BST on the east extension perched on a south facing window ledge.

When Pigott didn’t return I took a couple spins around the property but never found her.  I stayed about 20  minutes as I observed BST looking around a lot-most likely watching for his winter mate the divine Miss Pigott. The wind was out of the west and southwest so he was getting blown pretty good up there.

He walked down the ledge a bit then flew over to an east facing ledge below where the roof top tree grows. Now when waiting for a takeoff  shot I always get the subject in view toward the top of the pic because almost always falcons go down first when they leave a perch. Well BST went up this time so all I got was his bandless legs! lol

Anyway he would be better protected from the wind over there.

So after close to a 6 hour watch I was successful in seeing all 3 current Rochester Peregrine Falcons-something to smile about for sure! 🙂

2 links for videos below-just click and watch

http://youtu.be/LLAToFQXJVg
http://youtu.be/tbX1d1ixHNE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Today started out in the low teens and by the time I got out of work and made my way downtown before 4:00 pm, it was 30 degrees (F).  Lake affect snow had been falling on and off throughout the day, but thankfully there was little accumulation.    Not like yesterday when I came out to find my car covered with a few inches of fluffy stuff.

Here are my tweets from today:

4:20 pm – “DT. Beauty is already tucked into the OCSR elevator shaft on the north ledge. Hard to see her. Nite Ms B.”

4:40 pm – “BS. When I 1st arrived one falcon on NE corner. By the time I went around bldg saw pefa flew to nite roost east end north side. P or BST?” – It was Pigott.

4:50 pm – “BS. P&BST here at nite roost. P on top window and BST 2 below. All 3 seen.”

5:00 pm – “DT. B off Mercury. Back iu the elevator shaft. This time south ledge. All 3 settled in for a long winters nap!”

Shaky left the following message on RfalconcamNow at 4:30 pm while I was at the BS location:

“Beauty is on Mercury.”

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After arriving downtown a little before 4:00 pm, I made my rounds to see if I could find Ms Beauty.  She wasn’t in any of her normal spots, so I headed over to the OCSR area to take a look up into the elevator shaft and there she was.  Beauty was on the north side ledge this time.

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She was tucked in tight to the back of the ledge and it was really hard to see her.  I figured she was there for the evening since it was already starting to get dark.  So, I said goodnight to Beauty and  off to the BS location I went.  Daylight was at a premium!

As I pulled up to the front of the BS location, I immediately spotted a falcon up on the NE corner of the building.  At first I wasn’t sure if it was Pigott or BST, but I am pretty sure it was Pigott.  I drove around the building hoping to find BST.

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As I drove back around towards the front of the building on the east end, I saw a smaller falcon swoop in from the east and disappear from my view on the north side of the building.  When I got to the front (north side) of the building, I spotted a falcon sitting on the top window of the area that we know is their nighttime roost.

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Driving just a bit further west and I was able to see that BST had indeed arrived and was on the window two down from Pigott’s location.

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So I was able to find all three current Rochester Falcons this evening, all tucked in for the evening.  Or were they?

While I was watching Pigott & BST, I received a tweet from Shaky, using the RfalconcamNow alert to the Watchers.  Beauty was on the Mercury statue.  Hmmmm, seems she wasn’t ready for her long winter nap just yet.  lol 🙂  It was almost 5:00 pm and already dark, so I headed home, via downtown Rochester.

Beauty was gone from the Mercury statue, so I check the elevator shaft one more time.  For the 2nd time this evening, I found her up inside the elevator shaft, but this time she was on the south ledge.  The snow was starting to fall again, lightly, so it was really hard to see her, but she was there.  This time I hoped she had her kerchief on and was settled in for the evening.  It was time for me to head home!

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I’m going to leave you with a classic picture of Mariah & Kaver feeding 5 young eyases.  Some times they had to double team to get them fed.  Well, Kaver thought he had to help and Mariah let him even though she had it all under control. 🙂  Kaver was well known for bringing in birds of the blue persuasion.  This was not this Blue Jay’s lucky day.

Remember to double click on any pictures you would like to see in a larger format.  Thanks!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a cool 12 degrees when I left the house this morning and the pigeons were late in coming out from under the Broad St. Bridge(BSB). I do wonder how wildlife can survive with such temperatures but I’m glad that they do. I find that in the dead of winter nothing cheers me more than seeing a falcon or cardinal doing their thing. And speaking of a falcon- Beauty was on the OCSR building top ibeam southeast side when the pigeons were making their daily flight from their Aqueduct roost.

She was definitely watching the activity as was I from my perch on the BSB.  About 20 minutes later she stooped on a few flying behind Thomson Reuters out of view. Beauty then reappeared empty taloned and flew up under the northeast wing of the Times Square building.

Now parked down in the hole I spent around 30 minutes with the Beautyful one before she took off very fast flying over the river to the east and out of my field of vision. So the search was on and I found her 15 minutes later as I parked on the Andrews St. bridge. Beauty was on the top ibeam northeast side of OCSR.

I drove over to Bragdon St. and spent an hour watching Beauty checking her surroundings for a meal to grab as the lake effect snow came down. There were gulls flying over the river between she and I and as one of them flew too close to her personal space she had something to say about it.

I left for the Brighton site arriving there at 9:35am and as I drove down the entrance road I spotted the back of a pefa on the northeast corner of the east extension. Driving around to the east side as the road is one way around the building I came up to see the front of this falcon and discovered it was Pigott.

Miss Pigott had a nice full crop so I knew she wasn’t looking for prey-she was looking for BST to come flying in. She is one gorgeous gal and even in the dark overcast conditions she was looking great. I stayed with her for a half hour  before ending my watch. As I drove thru downtown on my way home I didn’t see Beauty in my travels. So our resident female falcons were the reason for my smiling face today. 🙂

Click on the 4 links below to view videos of  Beauty and Pigott

http://youtu.be/l_2aF0yrcJU
http://youtu.be/NKuOuWDqRJU
http://youtu.be/jAvp9NFTLeU
http://youtu.be/K_p6kUiOLWg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Joyce (wnyfalconfan)

What a great way to ring in 2013…with members of my “3F Club” – Family, Friends, & Falcons. And, I was lucky to have a special bird-of-prey sighting on the first day of the New Year.

Click on each thumbnail for full view, or see photos in my Picasa album.

I was so glad that I could make it downtown for the Watcher’s Annual New Year Toast. Nothing (except a blizzard) was going to keep me away, even with a broken ankle. It took me 2 hours to get ready, and when I arrived I was happy to see so many participants joining in the tradition (as mentioned in Carol and MAK’s reports). I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh cold air, even though others were freezing by the time Steve and I arrived.

Beauty was on OCSR during our gathering. Thanks B for being on the I-beam facing us!

Many headed out to check the Brighton Site (BS). Found Pigott on the south side. No sign of the BS Tiercel (BST).

Pigott was eating.

She had a full crop and took off chasing a bird to the south.

She flew back right overhead and landed on the SW extension corner.

As Pigott settled back in on a SE extension windowsill, Lisa offered to show us where she found an Eastern Screech-Owl. This was the first time I have seen one in the wild. It is a gray morph and was sleeping in a tree cavity. Such a cutie!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Well half hour after I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) for my watch I got a text from Donna that Beauty had been on and off  Mercury briefly at around 7:19am . I was there and completely missed her. Fun falcon games I say! The bridge pigeons hadn’t stirred yet from their roost under the bridge so I thought everyone was sleeping in. Not so because shortly afterward they came flying up and over the bridge real low and fast like they do every morning so as not to be caught by Beauty. I knew she wasn’t around cuz they came back up on the south side and landed on the Blue Cross Arena to perch. That was my cue to go look for the Beautyful one. I found her on the northeast side of the OCSR building top ibeam as I parked on the Andrews St. Bridge. I drove to Bragdon St. for closer viewing and pics.

Beauty stooped off the ibeam after something and immediately returned to the same spot to hang out. I was kinda boxed in where I was and had a small field of vision for any direction except to the north.

I watched her for the better part of an hour then left to check on the Brighton Site(BS). I was pleasantly surprised to find both Pigott and BST on the east extension. She was on the top row of windows and he was one floor below her on a window ledge both windows facing the south with their backs to me.

Pigott  BST

I spent about 45 minutes with them as they looked over there shoulders on and off and preened.

BST  Pigott

Satisfied that they were just going to stay put for a while I left for home but as I drove thru downtown I spotted Beauty on the top ibeam of OCSR on the southeast side this time. Naturally I had to stop and check her out so I drove over to the Main St. Bridge to snap a couple pics and a video of her and then I ended my watch.

I left our fair city smiling for having seen our 3 current Rochester Peregrine Falcons this morning! 🙂

Links for 3 videos are below-click them to view

http://youtu.be/j3P4te4QzE0
http://youtu.be/kMkJ8Uir9JY
http://youtu.be/BoFHNMo8k54

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Happy New Year! Today the Rochester Falcon Watchers gathered on Broad St in front of the Blue Cross Arena where we made our yearly toast to a successful falcon season in 2013.  This has become a tradition for us over the years.  I can’t remember what year we started.  Each year it becomes more techie thanks to Shaky.  This year he recorded the whole thing on his IPhone so that the folks on the RFalconcam UStream could watch the festivities live.  We’ve come a long way from using radios for keeping in contact with each other on Fledge Watches to where we are now, leaving tweets that other Watchers and folks on the forum can read.  So, today we all gathered and toasted to a successful 2013.

Toasters included: Brian H, MAK, Kathy O, Lisa McK, Dana, Lou, Dan, Larry O & Harold (his dog), Jeanne, Joyce, Steve, Lynda, Tim, Shaky, Carrie, Suzanne, Don, John and me, Carol P.  I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone.

Brian was the first one to arrive.  He texted at 12:25 pm “Aunt B has shown up.  Yea.  She’s just come to top I beam OCSR.”

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I arrived soon after this.  It was a bitter cold day and we decided to wait under cover at the Blue Cross Arena.  At least we could get out of the cold wind.

During the time we were waiting, Beauty took off and flew towards the Times Square bldg where she engaged in battle with a Red-tail Hawk that flew way too close to her nest site.  She did some amazing flying and maneuvers as she drove the RTH from the area.  She ended up returning to the OCSR top Ibeam, SE side.

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Over the next hour, all the Watchers arrived, including Joyce who had recently broken her ankle.  We decided to join her at the bottom of the stairs because it would have been almost impossible for her to climb them with all the snow and ice.  This is where we did our toast.

While we waited, I missed a call from Barb from LA and Donna from Florida, who called to wish us all a Happy New Year.  Sorry ladies!  Happy New Year to you also!

Lynda brought a wonderful layered jello that looked way to pretty to eat!  Thanks Lynda!  That deserves a big Nom Nom!  🙂

Also, a very big thanks to Kathy O for supplying the drinks and New Years Eve napkins!

After we toasted, because it was so cold, everyone said their goodbyes and headed out.  Some of us decided to head over to the BS location to check on Pigott & BST.  While we were there, we were only able to find Pigott who moved around the building a few times while we were there.  No sign of BST, who had been seen by MAK early this morning.  So all three current Rochester Falcons were seen today making it a very good first day of 2013.

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Lisa McK then took us to a spot in Highland Park where she had found a Screech Owl.  She has been keeping an eye on it and we were all able to see the little one this afternoon.  From the road, we had a pretty nice view of the little owl sleeping in a small hollow in a dead tree in the wooded area.

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By this time it was 3:00 pm and I had to leave, first dropping Brian off at his apartment.

It had been a wonderful day spent with my Watcher friends.  Very nice seeing everyone!

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from today’s Watchers Toast gathering.  Remember to click on picture you would like to see in a larger format.  Thanks!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Happy New Year to all the Rochester Falcon Fans around the globe!

After a 15 minute wait on the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) for Beauty to show her Beautyful self the year started out with a pigeon chase upriver. And that was the end of it- I lost her in the pre-sunrise sky to the south of the city in Cornhill.  I looked around and with not a sign of her made the call to go check the Brighton Site(BS). As I was approaching BS I spotted a falcon circling the building and as I drove in it disappeared on the east end. When I made my way around to that side of the building I  noticed a Peregrine on a window ledge 3 floors down from the roof tucked up tight to a column on the east extension. It was BST and he had his back to me.

I almost missed him and when I stopped to watch I could see that he was struggling to stay awake.

45 minutes later Pigott came flying in from the north as the snow shower that was falling  picked up in intensity and landed on the southeast corner  near the tree that grows up there on the roof.

There was no vocalization between them as BST was napping. Miss Pigott just perched up there not doing much of anything  for 30 minutes other than convincing herself to take cover over on a top window ledge near BST on the east extension.

I left them to it and returned to downtown to  search for Beauty. I looked everywhere including the elevator shaft but it was snowing too hard to see if she was up in there. So I ended my watch and went home until 12:30pm when it was time to return and meet the Rochester Falcon Flakes for our New Years toast on the BSB. Carol and Brian were there when I arrived and Beauty was on the top ibeam of OCSR.

Watchers that joined in the celebration are as follows:CarolP,Brian,Lynda and Tim,Dan,Jeanne,Suzanne and Don,KathyO,Dana and Lou,LarryO with his dog Harold,Shaky and Carrie,Lisa,Joyce and Steve and yours truly MAK.

As usual click on the pics for a larger version

We got a nice display from Beauty as she flew after a Red-tail Hawk over the Times Square building area and then returning to the OCSR building where she remained for the entire toast watch. I just love it when the falcons cooperate for our get togethers! It was fun hanging out in the cold with everyone and as you can see there were smiles from everyone!  🙂

Links for more pics and 2 videos are below-click them to view

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrSSA

http://youtu.be/2qc4we44_ochttp://youtu.be/uq0ODyjFRrM