By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

By the time I was able to get out for my falcon watch it was 11 am.  It was overcast, but the icy sleet had stopped by that time and the temperatures had risen into the mid-30’s (F).  On my way through Greece (NY), I spotted a falcon on a church near the corner of Long Pond.  I quickly pulled into the parking lot and discovered it was a Merlin and she was hunting from the cross over to a nearby wooded area.

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My next stop was KP, where all I found was one of the resident Red-tailed Hawks on a tree.  HAWKEROO!  🙂

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I left KP and headed towards the LT location, checking all the buildings I could between KP and there.  I was passing John Marshall High School and spotted a raptor there.  I quickly turned around and went back to the school.  I have always loved the architecture of this school and thought it would be a perfect setting for a falcon or hawk.  Today it was a Red-tailed Hawk.  HAWKEROO!

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Onward to the LT location where I found no Peregrines.  It was time to head downtown to look for Ms. Beauty.  After checking all sides of the Kodak Tower, I looked towards the downtown area and found Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  She was on the NE box below the platform.

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She took off heading south towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB), in no hurry at all.  I followed and looked all over the downtown area for her.  No luck finding her, so I headed back to the Andrews St Bridge.  From there I could see that Beauty had returned to the FCT and was on the same spot she left.  Tricky falcon.  🙂

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I left Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower to see if I could find Pigott at the BS location.  She had been seen by other watchers earlier this morning.  I wasn’t as lucky.  I circled the building a couple times, finding no falcons.  But I did find two Canada Geese checking out the place.

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After circling twice, I saw a familiar car in front of me.  I joined Kathy O in the parking lot on the east end of the building.  She, with Dana, had seen Pigott on the small stacks south of the building and MAK had seen her earlier in the Pefa Tree.  We chatted for awhile before  heading out.  I went back through downtown, but could not find Beauty anywhere.  Donna did tweet that Beauty showed up on the Mercury statue for a short visit, as seen by the nest box cameras at the Times Square Bldg.

I checked out the LT location again and again could find no falcons.  Back to KP for one last look before heading home.  I was greeted by the KP Mockingbird.

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I continued my search and finally, I found KPF the KP Falcon on the north side of the west smokestack catwalk.  She was looking north.

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KPF took off, stooping over the buildings north of the stack.  I lost sight of her for a moment before she swooped back up and circled, gaining altitude and heading towards the SW, in the general direction of the LT location, where Kathy O had just tweeted from.  I tweeted out that KPF had just left KP at 3:52 pm, heading towards LT and that Kathy should keep a look out for her.  We are still trying to prove that KPF and LTF are the same Peregrine Falcon.

At 4:49, Kathy O reported that a falcon came in and circled LT bldg several times, landing on top ledge, east side, closest to north.  So KPF left KP at 3:52 pm and LTF arrived at LT at 4:49 pm.  That’s a long time for such a short distance as the falcon flies.  So, still no prove that KPF is really LTF. We’ll keep trying.

I’ll leave you with a picture sent to me from Kathy O.  She took this picture of LTF on the LT bldg just after she arrived.

Remember to click on any pics you would like to see in a larger format.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a balmy 33 degrees (F) 1 (C) when I began my watch this morning with the tiniest of snowflakes falling when I arrived downtown. While I was out there was a mix of rain,sleet and snow in varying intensity and dark overcast conditions.

I haven’t spent much time on the Broad St. Bridge lately as Beauty has been hanging out in the north and east parts of her territory. Today was no different as I found her eating on the northeast corner of Bausch&Lomb at 6:45am. I parked on Broad St. right between Xerox and Midtown.

I shared space with Beauty for the next 45 minutes as she finished her meal and took off flying northwest. She had a nicely filled crop when she departed.

Beautys pattern has been to go to the northwest side of OCSR to digest her meals and that’s exactly where I found her on the top ibeam.

I knew she wasn’t going anywhere so I took a ride a mile up the road to the Lake Tower (LT) apartment only to find it lined with pigeons and no mystery falcon. I drove to the Brighton location next and found 7 Wild Turkeys crossing the road in front of me. A couple of them flew in from the woods and a male turkey was strutting his stuff for one female in particular.

Remember you must click the pics to see a full version

As I was watching them I noticed a falcon in the PEFA tree at the back of the property. It was Miss Pigott and she was in hunt mode turning her head to and fro up and down making my neck hurt just watching her cranking hers.

It started to sleet as Pigott searched the area for a meal. I could hear a Blue Jay alarm calling and then 3 crows flew in and surrounded Pigott. One in particular was really harassing her flying at her and landing real close on a neighboring branch. Then the 2nd crow came over with the 3rd crow just watching from afar.

They gave up after 15 minutes as Miss Pigott stood her ground. 10 minutes later she flew north out of sight quickly. It sure was a fast hour and a half I spent with Pigott!

Right after Pigott left 2 Blue Jays,a Mockingbird and a Downy Woodpecker flew out from the trees. This was their lucky day as the crows distracted Pigott and spoiled her breakfast plans. Pigott didn’t return so I made my way back downtown to find that Beauty had held her ground too as she was still on the top ibeam northwest side of OCSR. The rain,snow and sleet mix had pretty much stopped by this time. I left the Beautyful one to check LT but there was no falcon there, so I drove to Kodak Park and found KathyO there but no falcon. Dana drove up a couple minutes later and we all chatted before parting ways. I ended my watch at 10:44am with a big old smile on my face for having had such a fun time! 🙂

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another Peregrine Trifecta.  The big surprise of my watch was, “it was snowing!”  Now that’s something I haven’t seen in awhile.  lol  Of course I’m being sarcastic.  It’s seems to be snowing all the time when I’m out looking for the Rochester  Falcons.  I, for one, cannot wait for spring.

Some snowy scenes from downtown Rochester during my watch today.

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After checking KP and not finding any falcons there, I headed straight for downtown Rochester.  It was snowing and sleeting, making it very difficult to  see the surrounding buildings and the driving a little dicey in some places.  I couldn’t find Beauty anywhere, so I headed over to the BS location.  I found Pigott on a window on the north side of the west extension.

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I didn’t stay too long with Pigott because I wanted to get back downtown to continue my search for Beauty.  I checked everywhere and again could not find her.  I ended up on the Andrews St Bridge where I had a good view of the area.  The light was starting to fade, but at least the snow wasn’t coming down as hard as it was when I first arrived.  It wasn’t long before a falcon appeared on the top Ibeam of the OCSR on the NW side.  The falcon was facing the building, so it was impossible for me to positively ID the bird.

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I am pretty sure this was Beauty, but couldn’t be 100 % sure.  Beauty flew over to the west end of the Cross Rds Bldg, just across the street from the Powers Bldg.

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I drove around the downtown area just to make sure there wasn’t a 2nd falcon.  I could not find any other falcons.  When I left, Beauty was still on the west end of the Cross Rds Bldg where she had a great view of her nest box on the Times Square Bldg. and the rest of her territory.

On my way home, I checked on the LT location and found LTF tucked in on the west side of the building.  Not a great picture due to the fading light, but you get the idea.  🙂

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So all three seen on my watch.  It’s Friday and I am so looking forward to the weekend.  Hope everyone enjoys theirs!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I started my watch with a temperature of 22 degrees (F) -6 (C) and overcast skies but pretty mellow otherwise. No snow or wind to deal with and that’s a good thing for our fine feathered friends!

It took me a while (40 minutes) to find Beauty but I managed to spot her on the tallest building in downtown Rochester. She was on the 5th column south side of Xerox.

Beauty remained up there for the next 45 minutes just looking around for a potential meal. She flew off at 7:40am heading west and then north going behind Xerox where I lost sight of her.

She looks so miniscule way up there! I drove off to find her and I didn’t have to go far as Beauty was on the money bag hand of Mercury as I made my way down Broad St. to the bridge. I barely had time to get out of my car and take a couple pics before she was off again flying north.

Be sure to click the pics for a full version

So off I went again chasing the Beautyful one until I found her on the top ibeam northwest side of OCSR.

I parked across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel on State St. and spent nearly an hour watching Beauty as she preened and looked over the area below her. She left at 8:50am flying east over the river so I did a quick check at the Lake Tower (LT) site but there was no falcon to be found.

On my way back thru I found Beauty on the south corner top ibeam of OCSR. She was scrunched down facing south as I parked down in the hole (Aqueduct St.) to observe her for a few minutes.

I left Beauty to go check on the Brighton site (BS) where I spotted Pigott on the northwest corner as I approached the site just before 9:30am.

I watched her survey the territory for 15 minutes and the she took off flying south.

I gave her 15 minutes and when she didn’t return I left for Highland Park where several of our local watchers has seen an Eastern Screech Owl. It was first found by Lisa McKeown and after our New Years toast some people went to check it out with her. Pretty much everyday since, I have gone there after checking BS to see this elusive owl. Well finally today it was there when I checked, sleeping soundly and I was elated for I’ve never seen one in the wild.

I returned to downtown around 10:30am and noticed on my way thru that Beauty was still on the south corner of OCSR. Subsequently I checked both the LT and Kodak Park sites without finding a PEFA at either place so I ended my watch at 11:00am. I certainly had reason to smile today after seeing Beauty,Pigott and my first Eastern Screech Owl!  🙂

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was cold and snowy  during my late afternoon watch as it usually is lately.

It was a Peregrine Falcon Trifecta.

First, I found the LT Falcon (LTF).  I do believe, based on size, that this is a female.  The Peregrine Falcon females are called falcons and the males are called tiercels.

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Next stop downtown Rochester.  I had no luck finding Beauty, so I headed out to the BS location where I found Pigott on the east end of the building below the tree ledge.

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I didn’t stay long at BS because I wanted to continue to look for Beauty downtown.  Finally I found her on top of the Xerox Bldg on the south side, 5 columns in from the SE corner.

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There wasn’t much activity by the three falcons I saw tonight, just a little flying by LTF.    The light was fading and all three seemed to be settled in for the evening.  I was just glad to see them all and that all remained peaceful.

I’ll leave you with a couple more pictures from the winter storm that hit Rochester back at the beginning of February.  Be sure to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a cold morning when I left for my watch-the temperature was 16(F) -9(C) and about an inch of snow had fallen over nite.  It was overcast for the most part of my watch with light snow showers and a few flurries. The sun shone for maybe 20 minutes while I was at the Brighton location (BS) and then in and out while at the Lake Tower(LT) site.

I found Beauty after checking on the east side 15 minutes into my watch on the Bausch&Lomb building. She was on the northeast corner dining on breakfast.

Beauty finished up her meal and flew north rather hurriedly at about 7:15am.

I thought perhaps she saw the LT falcon so I headed north as well. Shooting straight down State St. to the Kodak Office tower (KO) I found Beauty on the south side arch above the old Mariah&Kaver nest site. It was snowing moderately and she had her back to me at first so I wasn’t sure it was Beauty until she turned around. That Beautyful salmon colored chest showed thru the snow very well.

I left her to see if the mystery falcon was at LT which it was not so I returned and spent half hour or so with the Beautyful one as she caught some winks and just hung out. I made my way over to BS and found Pigott at home-it was the first time I’d seen her in a few days although she had been seen in the evenings. Miss Pigott was on one of BSTs favorite window ledges-south facing,3rd set down on the east extension in the corner.

Make sure to click the pics for a full version

Pigott was very alert-watching the trees below for a potential meal and preening for 30 minutes. She then flew off to the southwest as the sun was shining bright only to return 10 minutes later in a snow flurry. She came to rest on an east facing window top row below the roof top tree ledge.

I left for another check of downtown finding Beauty still on KO sound asleep when I first arrived. Considering the size of her crop I totally could see why she was asleep. It’s called a food coma!

I had to be going soon and decided to check the LT apartment before ending my watch. To my surprise I saw the head,shoulders and bright white  bulging crop of our mystery PEFA on the front (east) side of the building on the top row of windows.

I started in the Aldis parking lot and ended up in the Brown Square Health Center parking lot as I tried to get a look at more of her body. I stayed  as long as I could with her hoping she’d give me a leg shot so I could see if she was banded. Unfortunately she stayed hunkered down to the back of the ledge. I took a few pics of the Lake Tower apartment building and one where you can see how close the Kodak Office tower is to this location.  I like to give you a feel for what I’m seeing on my watches so you get a better perspective.

It was a good watch having seen 3 Peregrine Falcons and tho I couldn’t see if the mystery falcon was banded I still had plenty to smile about as I left downtown today!  🙂

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P

A quick check at KP after getting out of work (3:30 pm).  No falcons found.  Actually no birds at all, including Pigeons.  It was starting to snow and it was bitter cold.

My next stop was downtown Rochester where I found Beauty on the OCSR, SE side of the top I-Beam.  She was facing the building.  Crows were streaming through, mostly between the Times Square Bldg and the OCSR.  Many of them veered off and swooped down to where Beauty was located.  They were checking her out, but not engaging her at all.  Just checking her out and moving on to their nighttime roost.  I have always found it fascinating to watch the behavior of the Crows.  They would aggressively attack Red-tailed Hawks, but mostly leave Peregrines alone.  They knew better than to provoke the fastest creature on the planet.  🙂

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As always at this time of day, the Pigeons lined the roof of the Blue Cross Arena aka War Memorial.  The hundreds of Crows passing overhead, vocalizing, seemed to make them a bit uneasy.  They took flight quite frequently while I was watching from the Broad St Bridge.  Always coming back to land on the Blue Cross Arena roof.  Beauty was watching everything.

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At 4:30 pm, Beauty took off and flew first over the river heading NE.  She “U-turned” and headed back towards the OCSR and past it towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  I lost her behind the buildings between me and the TSB.  Beauty eventually came back into view, flying towards the OCSR and landing just to the right of where she took off from.  Time for me to check on the BS location, where I hoped to find Pigott.

and find her I did.  She was sitting on a window on the south side of the east extension and it looked like she had a pretty full crop.

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This was one of BST’s favorite spots.  I have been wondering if the Tiercel I saw fly through and greet Pigott on Saturday was BST on the start of his migration.  It made sense that he would head north.  It’s too bad he wasn’t banded.  We might have been able to ID him and let the folks at his home territory know where he was wintering.  Of course we will never know for sure.

It was time for me to head home.  On the way I stopped one more time downtown and found that Beauty was still on the OCSR top I-beam, but she had moved to the east end near the elevator shaft.  This was the 2nd day I had seen her in this corner spot.  Was this her new nighttime roosting spot?

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On the way home I checked the LT and KP locations and found no Peregrines at either spot.

Tonight we are expecting some snow and wind.  Not much snow, probably just an inch or two.  Not like the foot of snow we had in the beginning of February!

I’ll leave you with a couple of pics I took in the gorge right after that storm.  Be sure to click on any pics you would like to see in a larger format.  I’ll put the rest in an album to share with everyone soon.  Goodnight all!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Upon arising today the temperature was 21(F) -6(C) and quite breezy making the windchill near zero(F) -18(C). That’s downright cold!!

I spotted  Beauty on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR at 6:45am as I was coming back from a trip on the east side to look for her. I drove down to Aqueduct St. (the hole) first and then to Graves St. for closer viewing.

I watched Beauty keep an eye on her territory,preen,stretch,nap and poop until 8:20am and then I left her to check the Lake Tower(LT) apartment for our mystery PEFA.

I knew as soon as I saw pigeons roosting all over the ledges that there wasn’t a falcon anywhere close by so I forged my way over to the Brighton location next. Unfortunately there was no PEFA on the building or surrounding trees so after waiting about 15 minutes I left at 8:55am. I do hope to see Miss Pigott tomorrow. I decided to go to the power plant at the Kodak Park (KP)location to see if I could find a falcon. My route took me thru downtown so that I could see Beauty was still on OCSR in the same spot as when I left her. It also took me past LT where the pigeons remained scattered all over the window ledges. KP was also without a falcon so I watched 6 crows chasing each other from pole to pole. As I was leaving I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk in a tree on the edge of the woods.

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I made my way back to downtown by 10:00am finding the Beautyful one was still on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. By this time the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds on and off.

She had been preening and one of the white down feathers that came off her got lodged up on the top of her head making her look silly. I was parked down in the hole again so my field of vision was limited as Beauty flew off to the south scaring up the pigeons that were roosting on the roof of the Blue Cross Arena as she passed thru.

When I saw that they went back to get settled once more I drove up to the Broad St.Bridge to look for Beauty. I noticed her flying over the river near the Radisson Hotel a few minutes later as she came out of nowhere to fly back to the top ibeam of OCSR. I watched a few more minutes and ended my watch at 10:25am. Beauty, as always made me smile today! 🙂

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I saw Beauty and the LT falcon this afternoon.  Larry O saw a falcon at BS.

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Today when I left for my watch the temperature was 36 (F) 2(C).  That’s 24 degrees warmer than yesterday with rain in the forecast. As I got closer to downtown I could see that it was going to be a beautiful sunrise sky.

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I arrived downtown at 6:36am. I could find no falcon in any of the usual spots so I checked the Lake Tower apartment. No sighting there either. It wasn’t until 7:10am as I was coming from the east on Broad St. that I spotted Beauty on the northeast corner of Bausch & Lomb. She was eating most hardily.

Beauty finished up her meal showing a full crop and left the building when I wasn’t paying attention just before 8:00am.

I left to look for Beauty and found her 7 minutes later as I was parking on the Andrews St. Bridge. She was on the top ibeam northwest side of OCSR out of the pouring rain that was coming down.

I left her after a brief few minutes thinking she would just stay there to digest her meal and catch a few winks. I then traveled to Brighton and was unsuccessful in finding a PEFA there. I ended my watch at 8:45am. Keep smiling people whether you want to or not! 🙂

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