By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What a beautiful Easter Weekend it was, shared with many of my watcher friends, seeing all kinds of falcon activities.  I thought it might be nicer to just post a bunch of pictures from this weekend, so that you can see what we were seeing.  Enjoy!  Happy Easter!

Just place your cursor over the picture to read what it is and click on it if you would like to see it in a larger format.

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I want to thank all my watcher friends that were out and about this Easter Weekend.  Thankfully it was a very quiet and peaceful one.

Hope you all enjoyed these pictures showing what we saw this weekend.  Goodnight Everyone!!!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Happy Easter to all of the Rochester Peregrine Falcon fans around the world!

I started my watch at 6:35am with a temperature of 38 (F) 3(C) calm conditions under overcast skies. As I passed thru to the east side I saw no falcons from the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) and Beauty wasn’t on HSBC for the second day in a row. Guess I better to get up earlier! As I got back to the BSB, Annette(one of our cam watchers) reported Beauty near the nest box. Thank you Annette! 10 minutes later Beauty flew out the nest box to the money bag hand of Mercury.

She didn’t stay for long tho as Dot.Ca(DC) came cruising in from the south a few minutes later landing under the northeast wing. Beauty flew instantly to the nest box and began to echup very loudly so I could hear down in the hole by He’s Chinese Restaurant.

All was quiet for the next 25 minutes and then DC was off and flying. First he went to the the money bag on Mercury then to the west side railing of Widows Walk a minute later. Beauty then flew to the money bag followed by DC and they mated and both went to the nest box when finished.

They weren’t at the nest box for long as DC shot out of there and flew to Mercury. Beauty flew over landing on the base of Mercury and then DC dropped down with her. She started eating as he watched and tried to look like he wasn’t interested but we and Beauty know better. He has been taking cached food over to Pigott and I believe Beauty finally had enough for she left the base with her precious prey item and proceeded to take it with her everywhere she went. It was like she was luring him with it.

Beauty flew to the southwest corner of Wilder where DC joined her. She took off to the nest box with it and left after a second or two when DC flew to the southeast column across from the nest box and up one level. Beauty flew to a northwest column on the back of the TSB and DC joined her there in close proximity to each other.

Beauty flew off to Widows Walk(WW) which is right back behind the TSB and DC followed. Still with the prey under her they mated on the northeast corner of WW. He flew up to the railing on the west side and then over to the money bag. She left, tidbit in talon and landed on the southwest corner of the Wilder building before flying off to the east.

DC chased after her across the river and they did some fancy flying over Chase, Xerox,Midtown and Bausch&Lomb. She settled on the northeast corner for a bit while DC circled around a few times. I joined Larry on the BSB to see all of that and within a minute or so they came back and mated on the Mercury money bag. Beauty STILL  had that small package in her talon as they almost slipped off Mercury trying to balance. What a performance by these two this morning-had me grinning from ear to ear! The Beautyful one flew to the nest box at a little after 8:ooam DC also went up by the main cam quick then back to Mercury coming to rest on the heel this time. Beauty flew over too landing on the money bag.

Be sure to click on pics to view the full version

Beauty flew down to the base of Mercury and started nibbling again while DC tried in vane to not watch. Larry left at this time happy for the entertainment which had been displayed by our downtown pair. After 10 minutes Beauty flew to the nest box and DC first flew to WW then to the base of Mercury where he munched on a teeny tiny morsel of food that Beauty left and then he jumped up onto the green part of the base facing south toward Brighton.

DC left when I wasn’t watching and the fact that I didn’t see him anywhere plus Beauty flying over to the money bag looking south led me to believe he had gone to BS (the Brighton Site). Carol joined me on the BSB and we chatted for a few minutes then I told her I was going to check BS.

I arrived there just before the 9 o’clock hour finding Pigott on the northwest corner of the west extension.This is between the broken window scrape on the north side of the east extension and the cubby which on  the southside of the building opposite the east extension.

She was not alone for when I drove around to check the rest of the building for DC I found him on the southeast corner above the roof top tree. He flew off  almost immediately to the east at a fast rate until I couldn’t see him any more. I was too late for the show at BS for he didn’t come back-instead he returned to downtown and so did I. Carol was still on the BSB as Beauty flew to the nest box and DC to the southeast column opposite the nest box one level up. Things stayed this way for the next half hour and then DC flew to Mercury. I ended my watch at 10:15am after a smiling good time spent observing falcon games! 🙂

Click the links below for more pics and videos

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http://youtu.be/izFWIssBNlw
http://youtu.be/IDeRnnrhEkc
http://youtu.be/b7mtIj1dpUA
http://youtu.be/ulQQTKu1Qus

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I was expecting warmer temps this morning but instead it was colder than yesterday at 30 (F) -1(C) but that’s because it was clear with no clouds to hold the heat in thus allowing cold air to settle. Clear is good for it means sunshine and blue skies!

I was downtown by 6:25am and still it wasn’t early enough for when I checked HSBC where I have found Beauty every morning for a while now she has been there. Not today-that’s because Dot.Ca (DC) came a calling much earlier. When I got back to the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) he was on the money bag of Mercury and Beauty was in the nest box.

DC stooped down into the river and returned without prey to Mercury. He then went over to the northeast wing after circling in front of the Times Square building(TSB) a couple times. He took off again and next I spotted him at the back of the northeast wing ledge with food. He started plucking feathers and Beauty must have seen them floating by the nest box cuz she flew over to Mercury and started watching him.

Click the pics to see the full version

In the next half hour Beauty preened while DC ate and at some point he snuck off without me seeing him and Beauty flew to the northeast wing.

I had high hopes that he had left some of what he was eating for her but when she just perched I knew the little devil had either eaten it all or taken it to Pigott. With that in mind I went to the Brighton Site(BS) and sure enough DC was there perched on the southeast corner above the roof top tree and Pigott was on the southwest corner of the east extension and she looked to have a slightly filled crop.

<DC Pigott>

Around 8:15am Pigott and DC flew off to the north(front) side of the building and when I got to that side I saw her go into the broken window scrape echupping and DC land on the ledge outside. DC took off and Miss Pigott came out a minute later.

DC

I drove around the back of the building in time to see them finish copulating on the southeast corner. She remained whining while DC went to the northeast corner of the east extension.They both flew off and I lost track of them for a bit-as I came around by the northwest side I spotted Pigott fly out of the scrape and I followed her to the west end of the south side vent.

It had been 10 minutes since I last saw DC so I went downtown. Arriving at 9:00am I found Beauty at the nest box and DC on the Mercury money bag.

10 minutes later DC flew down to the base of Mercury and took off with a small package to the northeast wing of TSB.

He quickly flew off with his little treasure circled around the back of the TSB and went southwest toward BS. Beauty flew over to the money bag of Mercury and I headed back to BS. When I got there Pigott and DC mated on the southeast corner again.

After they finished they went to the cubby on the west side, I only knew this because as I rounded the building over there I could here very loud echupping-no visual. DC came out of the cubby minutes later and landed up on the west extension roof.

Pigott joined him soon after and they were very vocal up there. I didn’t see DC leave but Pigott came out to the edge and walked to the corner with a small item of food.

She just stood there for a minute turned around a couple times with it hanging from her beak and then she flew off with her small morsel in her left talon. When I made my way around to the north side of the  building Pigott was on the broken window scrape ledge. She flew off still with that piece of prey in her talon. Next I found DC on the southeast corner above the roof  tree and Pigott on the southeast corner of the east extension. I was getting dizzy chasing them around that building-there certainly wasn’t a dull moment! Now I’ve seen Peregrines dive on hawks,ducks,geese,crows and more in the air but today was a first when Miss Pigott dive bombed a wild turkey on the ground! It was a slow steady stoop not once but twice and each time that turkey had plenty to say about it!!

<DC Pigott>

After that Pigott and DC went to the cubby on the west side. I could hear soft chup sounds coming from there and then DC flew out to the east and returned to the cubby and then there was very loud echupping. After a few minutes of that session DC flew back around to the southeast corner on the other side of the building and Pigott came out to the southwest corner of the west extension-she was whining. About 10 minutes later they were in the broken window scrape echupping briefly then they each left. Pigott flew to the east side extension and perched on the northeast corner.

It was 10:15am and there was no sign of DC so I tweeted that he may be headed downtown where Dana,Kathy and Dan were on watch from the BSB. Sure enough less than a minute later Dana tweeted that Beauty went to the nest box as DC  arrived and went to the northeast wing. Beauty and DC copulated on the Mercury money bag right after I made it back downtown to join my fellow watcher friends on the BSB. The last I saw of Beauty and DC they were flying with each other downriver to the north. Kathy and I were about to leave when CarolP came along so we stayed a bit longer to chat and I ended my watch around 11:15am. All I can say is our 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons cannot be followed on foot and sometimes by car, for they are much too active these days between the 2 sights. I’m happy to do it for they keep me smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrarg

http://youtu.be/cVjZQ7xhZS0
http://youtu.be/SPu1IkYbrr8
http://youtu.be/qHMnLi10YtI
http://youtu.be/fFHIWqwslC0
http://youtu.be/TD5ko-nwZT8
http://youtu.be/QIMw6n_SYck
http://youtu.be/ItetcVHCBGg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I was able to get out this afternoon and saw all three Rochester Falcons.

Pigott & Dot.ca at the BS location.

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Pigott was ee-chupping and Dot.ca was flying around.  She ended up taking off and flying to the cubby on the west side.  When I drove over to that side, it was quiet and I could not find either of them.  Well, at least I saw both together for a short time.

The first time I checked out the downtown area, I could find no falcons at all.  So it was time to go back and find a falcon.

After parking on the Broad St Bridge (BSB), I found a falcon up on the TSB on the SE wing ledge.  I am pretty sure it was Dot.ca.  Where was Beauty?  Fellow watcher Pat joined me for a few moments before heading home.

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Dot.ca took off and soon returned.  This time he landed on the Mercury statue and finally Beauty made an appearance going to the nest box.

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Dot.ca took off and flew around the TSB, before landing on the SE wing ledge. From there, he stooped down towards the river, past the OCSR, then back to the SE wing.  He took off again and repeated the same flight path, except this time, Beauty was hot on his tail.  I saw Dot.ca swoop up and over the top of the apartments on the corner of St. Paul and Andrews St.  While he made short stoops at something on top of the apartments, Beauty flew high above watching him.  I tried to keep an eye on them to see where they went, but someone at that moment stopped me and asked me if the birds were back.  I stopped watching B&DC and spoke with my visitor who was very interested in what was going on with the falcons.  After he left, I was not able to find either Beauty or Dot.ca.

Joyce joined me on the Broad St Bridge and Kathy O tweeted from the BS location that Pigott was there and that Dot.ca had been there for a short time and that he headed NW, which was towards the downtown area.  We never did see him return.  Kathy joined us.

For the next 1/2 hour, Beauty and Dot.ca did not return.  I had to leave, so I headed home, stopping at KP on the way home.  No falcons there.  While I was at KP, Kathy O tweeted that Beauty had returned to the nest box and Joyce tweeted that Pigott was at the BS location.

Later in the afternoon, Larry O reported both Beauty and Dot.ca at the Times Square Bldg.

So all three Rochester Falcons were seen today, which made it a very nice day!  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

One year ago today on Good Friday we lost Unity when she was run over by a car on Broad St. by the Central Library. I’d like to dedicate todays watch report to her memory.

This morning I started my watch under overcast conditions with a temperature of 36 (F)  2 (C) finding Beauty at 6:30am. She was on her early morning hunting spot -the southeast corner of HSBC.

She dropped off 2 times to stoop on pigeons only to return empty taloned. The third time she flew off she didn’t come back so I took off for the Broad St. Bridge (BSB). As I came up on the bridge Dan was just pulling up and Beauty was on the base of Mercury.

She had prey with her but after a few bites of it she stopped and started looking at the Times Square building (TSB). I had gone to the hole (Aqueduct St. ) to see the front of her to make sure it was her and not Dot.Ca (DC). I took her cue when she looked toward TSB and turned around to see DC had joined us and was under the southeast wing at 7:00am. Beauty took off for the nest box leaving her food behind. 20 minutes later Beauty returned to the base of Mercury and DC then took her cue and flew over to mate. She was ready with tail up, but he went in at the wrong angle and had to abort at the last second.

DC went to the northeast wing and Beauty started eating breakfast. I went up on the bridge to join Dan while there was a lull in the action-he was very cold and planned to go soon.

10 minutes later when Beauty had her fill, she and DC flew to the north out of view so I walked down by the Blue Cross Arena to see Beauty and DC mate on the Wilder building southwest corner. Beauty went over to the nest box deck and DC went to the money bag of Mercury when they were done.

I can’t always see everything because some places are good to view them on certain spots and up on the bridge isn’t the best place to be these days to keep track. When I was up there with Dan I had trouble keeping track so when he left I went back and forth between the hole and in front of  the main entrance to the Blue Cross Arena on Exchange St. All the flying around downtown last week has been replaced by staying close to the TSB and their nest box this week. Different strategies for viewing are required now and much back and forth maneuvering because of the way the buildings are situated.

That being said, I missed a food gift at the nest box from Beauty (which is backwards but oh well whatever works), and I also missed that same very dark feathered bird get cached under the southeast wing of the TSB somewhere around this time. I also heard echupping at the nest box so I imagine that’s when the food was brought over. What I did see was the last bit of Beauty and DC mating on the southwest corner of the Wilder building again then DC went to the Mercury money bag.

After saying good bye to Dan I found Beauty on the northeast column above the nest box and DC at the southeast wing. She was watching him as he had gone to the back of the wing and grabbed the cached bird.

A few minutes passed then  Beauty went up and landed next to DC which prompted him to fly off then she started eating the black feathered prey.  I found DC under the northwest wing eating something over there-so we had bookend falcons.

They finished up and Beauty went to the nest box while DC flew over to the northeast wing. Around 8:30am Beauty flew to the base of Mercury followed by DC where they mated. He then went to the northeast wing.

A minute later Beauty went to the deck by the main cam.

I could see her look up at him every once in a while and after a lull in the action I left to check on Pigott at the Brighton location around 9:15am. She was nowhere to be found so I returned to downtown after 15 minutes time. When I arrived Beauty was at the nest box and DC was on the base of Mercury. I ended my watch  a little before the 10 o’clock hour with a smile on my face thinking that there will soon be eggs. 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos from my watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrajA

http://youtu.be/4A5VLs99a9o
http://youtu.be/Fe3t8-JYekA
http://youtu.be/Y-_BHK2QjAs
http://youtu.be/vF3mup-aVi0
http://youtu.be/GcfEYqoDbbA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another short falcon watch after a very long day at work.  I arrived downtown at about 3:45 pm.  While I was parking on the Broad St Bridge (BSB), Beauty flew off of the base of the Mercury statue and chased the pigeons off of the Blue Cross Arena aka the War Memorial.    She chased them south, down the river, then turned back towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  I pulled up closer to the TSB and saw two peregrines there.  Dot.ca was on the SE wing ledge (base of the SE wing at the top of the building) and Beauty had landed on the ledge below him, also on the SE side.  For the hour and 1/2 that I was watching, I saw no more flying.  They did preen and stretch and do all the other stuff peregrines do when relaxed.

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I was more than happy to sit and watch them sit.  No aggression between these two.

During my watch, fellow watcher Pat joined me for a short while before heading home.

At 5:15 pm, I had to head home, leaving both Beauty and Dot.ca on the Times Square Bldg.  On my way home, I received a message from watcher Debbie H.  She just wanted to let me know that her friend saw Beauty & Dot.ca copulating at 2:15 pm.  Not sure where.

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At 6:15 pm, watcher Kathy O reported from the BS location – ” BS falcon report – one pefa on south vent and 4 deer in field.”

More than likely it was Pigott at the BS location.  So all three Rochester peregrines were seen this afternoon, making it a very good day.

Finally, I love the architecture of downtown Rochester, including the beautiful Mercury statue and the gorgeous art deco Times Square Bldg.  In my opinion, the most beautiful building in Rochester is the Powers Bldg.  I have always said it would make a great spot to film a Ghost Busters movie.  Here is a picture I took near the TSB.  Can anyone guess where this was taken?

Be sure to click on this pic to see the whole picture.

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When I arrived home, I was greeted by my yard squirrel.  She is always there when I pull into my driveway.  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

My watch started at 6:33am under darkness,clouds and a temperature of 33 (F) 1 (C). The wind was calm with a little light snow falling when I found Beauty at her early morning hunting spot-the southeast corner of HSBC.

Shortly after I arrived Beauty stooped down the south side of the building and returned empty taloned. 15 minutes went by when she flew off to her nest box at the Times Square building (TSB). I could barely see her up there from the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) in the predawn light. It took her longer than usual to fly over and I found out why when Ei let me know Beauty had food with her. Thanks Ei! So Beauty either caught something or grabbed cached food from somewhere on her way from HSBC to TSB. A couple minutes later I spotted Dot.Ca under the southeast wing looking down at the nest box. Suddenly Beauty flew out the nest box and DC flew after her behind the Thomson Reuters building (TR) out of my view from my spot on the bridge. I drove immediately down to the hole (Aqueduct St.) and caught the very end of Beauty and DC copulating on the southwest corner of the Wilder building.

DC flew to the railing of the Widows Walk east side while Beauty remained on Wilder. After a few minutes Beauty flew to the base of Mercury and DC went right over and mated with her, and flew up to the money bag when they were done.

Click pics for full version

10 minutes later Beauty first followed by DC flew off and returned to the base and moneybag and very quickly left again. I could here mating sounds but I could get no visual from being surrounded by buildings which is why I call it the hole. I managed to catch a glimpse of one of them on the southeast column before it flew off up Broad St. to the west.

<Beauty leaving Mercury base

I couldn’t find either falcon for 20 minutes so I went to the Brighton Site (BS) to see if DC had gone over there. Pigott was by herself perched on the south side of the east extension whining and  looking north toward downtown.

I left her to go back downtown 10 minutes later after LarryO stopped on his way to work. As I was stopped at the traffic light at Exchange and Court St. I saw DC fly to the northeast wing and Beauty to the nest box. I believe he had food with him that he cached in by the wing. Beauty flew up there and DC flew off as she walked to the back of the wing and brought a small package out to eat.

<DC  Beauty>

When the Beautyful one was done she flew to the southeast wing and faced southwest toward BS. That was my signal to get back over there to see if DC was there with Pigott. As I pulled up near the broken window scrape in the corner of the East extension top row I heard very loud echupping. I pulled over and turned on the camcorder-it was 9:00am. You could see both were up there as there was movement behind the glass and then DC shot out and flew off. I waited for Pigott to come out and then she flew off.

While they were in the scrape the geese were around the corner making a racket on their nesting lower roof on the south side of the building and across from me below the scrape on the ground was a male wild turkey courting about 6 females. Talk about love in the air!

After a couple rides around the building I found Pigott on the southwest corner whining and DC way up on one of the antennas atop the gray unit on the rooftop. I could only see him from the front of the building and he took off as soon as I spotted him, so around to the west side I went stopping by the cubby, which is on the southwest side.  I heard echupping coming from the cubby so I waited for them to come out. DC shot out in his usual manner-like a torpedo flying to the northwest corner followed by Pigott who flew to the southwest corner of the east extension. He soon flew over to her and they mated.

DC left and Pigott went to the northeast corner and looked north toward downtown. So at just before the 10 o’clock hour I went back downtown. On the way Donna (thanks) let me know Beauty was at the nest box making lots of noise meaning daddy was home. When I arrived  Beauty was on the southwest corner of  Wilder and DC under the northeast wing of the TSB. He flew to her and they copulated approximately 10 minutes after being with Pigott.

I have to wonder if he can produce semen fast enough for all this breeding to be successful. I guess we’ll find out soon enough as we are all learning together. Beauty flew off a minute later and then I spotted both of them on Widows Walk-he was on the south side of the railing and Beauty below on the southeast corner. They flew off -Beauty going to the southeast column and DC right above her on the southeast wing of TSB.

Beauty

20 minutes later they flew off circled the Widows Walk,then DC flew up under the northeast wing  and Beauty flew to the base of Mercury.

DC switched to the southeast wing while Beauty watched him from the base of Mercury. This is where I ended my watch leaving them under the care of the Rochester Mounted Police as I spotted them while waiting at the traffic light by Times Square to go home.

Well isn’t that worth smiling about! 🙂

Click the links below to view more pics and videos from my active watch this morning

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWraYg

http://youtu.be/gbftwfsMIIo
http://youtu.be/Emb63sp_ci4
http://youtu.be/UB1H_2urHSY
http://youtu.be/ScZ_0RKEmtI
http://youtu.be/1oZYW6r05sg
http://youtu.be/SE0i0JCKVc0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My falcon watch was very short today.  Just a little over an hour.

At the same time I arrived on the Broad St at 3:40 pm, both Beauty and Dot.ca flew up to the Times Square Bldg.  Beauty flew directly into the nest box and Dot.ca landed on the SE Wing Ledge at the top of the building.  Dark clouds had moved in and it was raining and hailing on and off.

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During the time I was there, they took off once, heading NW and then both returned to the TSB.  Beauty to the nest box and Dot.ca to the NE wing ledge this time.  Beauty was eating on the platform in front of the nest box.  It was reported this afternoon that Dot.ca brought her a food gift and that they did a little bit of bowing to each other at the nest box.  Both bonding behaviors.

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I wasn’t able to get out to the BS location, but my fellow Falcon Watcher Kathy O stopped there on her way home after work and found Pigott at 6:20 pm on the east side of the building on the tree ledge.  So all three Rochester Falcons were seen this evening safe and sound.

On my way home, while I was waiting at the light at the intersection of Broad St and Exchange, I took this picture, looking up at the top of the Times Square Bldg.

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Have a nice evening everyone!  Goodnight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

My watch started out at 32 degrees (F) 0 (C) with a brisk  chilly wind and just a few clouds passing thru at 6:35am. I made my way to the east side just in time to watch Beauty take off from the southeast corner of HSBC.

And so I was off and running with what turned out to be another busy morning watch. Beauty had gone straight to the Times Square building (TSB) and to her nest box as Donna so nicely let me know on my way over. Thanks!  When I reached the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I could see Beauty in there and Dot.Ca (DC) under the northeast wing.

The sun was peeking over the horizon just enough to cast a rosie shadow on the TSB and DC. As is his pattern, DC kept an eye out for possible prey and on the territory occasionally looking down at the nest box area. He took off  at 7:15am when Beauty went to the southwest corner of the Wilder building. I was parked by Keybank at the time, which is connected to the Wilder building. Beauty flew off and went to Widows Walk and started to pick and pull on a leftover pigeon wing. I don’t know where DC had gone.

She finished up her tasty treat and turned her back to me, so I drove over to Broad St. and parked in front of the Ebenezer Watts building where DebbieH works for a better view of the Beautyful one.

Beauty flew off to the southeast wing of the TSB and after checking around for DC I decided to check the Brighton site since it had been over half hour since I last saw him. I found Pigott all by her lonesome on the northwest corner of the east extension.

DC may very well have been there before I arrived as it only takes him a couple minutes to fly the 2.7 miles from downtown. Miss Pigott was mostly looking west/northwest which is the direction downtown is from there. I stayed 30 minutes and left when DC didn’t show up in that time frame. He seems to be spending more time downtown the last couple days and I hope Pigott doesn’t get impatient and decide to pay a visit downtown. I got back downtown by 8:45am to find DC under the southeast wing at which point Donna and Ei confirmed Beauty to be in the nest box. Thank you ladies!

I parked down in the hole again to observe and 10 minutes later DC flew off after a starling on his way to the money bag of Mercury.

He barely touched down then flew off to the east directly into the sun blinding me so I lost him. While I drove up to the BSB for a better view of things Beauty flew to the money bag and DC to the base of Mercury.

As always you must click on my pics to see the full version

DC flew off a minute later followed by Beauty who went to the nest box. I didn’t see where he went as I followed Beautys’ flight. On a hunch I drove back down to the hole and found DC over on Widows Walk eating, I couldn’t have seen him there from the bridge.

DC finished off his snack, wiped off his beak a few times and flew to the southeast wing. As he passed by the nest box on his way, I heard the familiar sound of his chirp for the first time since he has returned from migration, and I wondered if it was heard on the cams. Some how I missed both of them leave the TSB then at about 9:15am I watched DC chase Beauty (tight on her tail feathers) to the nest box and fly up under the southeast wing of the TSB.

They were off again flying out of view toward Mercury and as I got  past the Thomson Reuters building to see, I caught the tail end of them mating on the money bag.  Beauty went to her nest box and DC up to the northeast wing. 10 minutes later Beauty flew back to the Mercury money bag while DC remained on TSB. After 20 minutes she flew to the southeast wing and DC flew off the northeast wing. I found him on Mercury a minute later as Beauty flew down to the nest box. DC flew off Mercury passing by the nest box on his way up to the northeast wing. Busy,busy,busy!!

Back up to the BSB I went and 20 minutes would pass before Beauty flew out the nest box with DC right after her. They flew over the river by the Radisson Hotel and then Beauty landed on the Mercury money bag. DC came up behind her, they copulated, then he flew to the northeast wing of the TSB. They both flew off when I wasn’t looking and I called it a watch at 11:00am. Beauty and DC seem to be getting more settled with each other as time goes on. They’re keeping me on my toes and keeping a smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below for more pics and videos from this very active watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWraQA

http://youtu.be/sDQyd6KqppM
http://youtu.be/3-Hk9HMd4o8
http://youtu.be/Dd1pHK-Ql5A
http://youtu.be/T8KTP3jIAyI
http://youtu.be/uCs2ewIKDgI
http://youtu.be/RC93JvDtiLY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Arrived downtown at my normal after work time at a little before 4:00 pm.  I searched all over and found absolutely no falcons anywhere.  Hmmmm.  Where did they go?  Since I couldn’t find any falcons downtown, I headed over to the BS location.  Pigott was in one of her favorite spots on the SW corner of the west extension near the nook, which we believe will be their chosen scrape this year.  She had her back to me and she was looking north, towards downtown Rochester. (4:30 pm)

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Her soft vocalizations filled the air.  I have really come to love hearing her “sounds”.  It’s amazing how many different vocalizations peregrine falcons make.  Some of the Watchers have learned to recognize their different alarm calls.  Did you know that their alarm call for another peregrine is different than the one they use for other threats, like hawks.  It’s quite amazing.

Five minutes after arriving, I found Dot.ca on the SE corner of the building.  Before I could take a picture, he flew to the front/north side of the building.  Pigott took off and flew in the same direction.  By the time I drove around to the north side, both were gone.  It was very quiet.  I waited a little while to see if they would come back.  They didn’t.  Time to head back downtown.  On my way I received this tweet from NCAFalcons, a member of the forum: “B at box 4:35.  Arrived very vocal. DC is under SE wing TSB per Patsy.”  Thanks NCAFalcons and Pat.  Your tweet and the tweets of all the other online watchers to the watchers in the field are very helpful.  Now I knew where Dot.ca headed and that Beauty had returned to the nest box.

When I arrived, Beauty flew into the nest box and Dot.ca was up on the SE wing ledge at the top of the Times Square Bldg (TSB).

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It was a beautiful afternoon, with temps in the mid-40’s and blue skies.  I parked down on Aqueduct St. aka the hole, where I had a view of the TSB and the surrounding area.

At 5:55 pm, Beauty came out of the nest box and went to the top IBeam at the south corner of the OCSR.  Five minutes later, Dot.ca joined her and they copulated.  It caught me by surprise, but I was able to get a short video snippet of them.  The quality’s not very good, not like Joyce’s awesome series of pictures from the other day.  If you haven’t had a chance to check them out, please do.  You won’t be disappointed.

Here is the link to the B&DC copulation video that I put on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/jwQuMTjQ9jk

Afterwards, Dot.ca went back up to the TSB’s SE wing ledge and Beauty flew off to the west.  I found her on the SE corner of the Widows Walk preparing prey she had either just caught or had cached there. (6:05 pm)

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At 6:20 pm, Dot.ca joined Beauty on the Widows Walk and just watched her eat.  He made no attempt to take her food, he just watched.  A few minutes later, Dot.ca took off and headed NW.  Beauty continued to eat.  The next time I saw Dot.ca, he was soaring high above, either hunting or patrolling the territory.

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Beauty finished her meal and flew over to the money bag hand on the Mercury statue.

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Beauty took off and flew up to the SE wing ledge on the TSB at 6:25 pm.

I spotted Dot.ca flying high and fast, heading south at 6:30 pm.  Fellow watcher Kathy O was out at the BS location, so I tweeted that he was probably coming her way.  At 6:35 pm, This tweet came in from Kathy O, “he is here.”  Well, they are the fastest creature on the earth.  lol

At 6:40 pm, Kathy O tweeted; “BS falcon report – one on south vent with fresh food .. Feathers flying .. Second on west extension  rooftop.”  So both Dot.ca and Pigott were at the BS location and they were prepping prey for a late afternoon meal.

I stayed until 6:50 pm, watching Beauty up on the TSB.  She was looking south, like Pigott had been looking north when I first found her at the BS location in the beginning of my watch.

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I am happy to report that I saw absolutely no aggression between Beauty and Dot.ca this afternoon.  They copulated the one time during my watch and he did not try to steal her food, like he had done the other day.

Larry O arrived downtown after I left and reported that at 7:35 pm, Beauty was still on the TSB on the SE wing ledge.

Goodnight everyone!!!