By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The Watch Reports being posted by MAK and I are literally like night and day or should I say day and night.  My side of the day is very quiet and calm.  No aggression, no swooping, no Dot.ca.  Just Beauty keeping guard over her territory.

When I first arrived downtown before 4 pm, I found Beauty on top of the Times Square Bldg on the NE wing ledge.  She was alert, keeping an eye on her surroundings.

At 4:05 pm, Beauty took off from the Times Square Bldg and flew over the river, circling back and landing on the OCSR, SE top IBeam.  This is the only flying or activity I saw for an hour and a half.

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I was parked on the Broad St Bridge, keeping an eye on Beauty.  My friends and fellow watchers Debbie H and Pat stopped by for a few minutes before heading home for the day.  We are so very lucky to have watchers that work downtown and are able to keep an eye on what is going on with the Rochester Falcons during the day and reporting what they see.  Thank you all!

Also, many thanks to our on-line watchers that tweet and text what they see on camera to the watchers on the street.  Your input is invaluable.  Thank you all.

I ended my watch at 5:30 pm, when Joyce tweeted that she was at the BS location with Brian and later Kathy O.  Dot.ca and Pigott were there enjoying a meal.  They all left at about 6:50 pm.

Larry O continued the downtown watch after I left.  He reported that Beauty remained on the same spot I left her, on the SE top IBeam on the OCSR.  He left at about 6:35 pm.

While I was watching, clouds moved in and the temperature was about 27 degrees with light snow.  Rochester is under a snow advisory tonight, expecting 1 to 3 inches of snow overnight, with a couple more possible tomorrow.  I’m so glad that spring has arrived.  🙂

On my way home, I checked out the LT location and KP and found no peregrine falcons.  There was a pair of adult Red-tailed Hawk at KP that had just flown in to the nearby wooded area just after I arrived.  Gorgeous birds.  It was a nice way to end my day before heading home.

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I wanted to leave you with a video I took on Sunday, St Patrick’s Day, 3/17/13.  In my report from that day, I mentioned that a group of starlings landed on the west end of the fire escape below Beauty when she and UT the unbanded tiercel were on the Wilder Bldg.  UT landed on the east end of the fire escape to check out these daring little birds.  Here’s the video from that day, the last day I saw UT before Dot.ca arrived.  Just click on the link below.  Sorry, it’s a little shaky.  That’s what happens when I zoom in too far.

http://youtu.be/xdswyHApfmM

Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another winterized spring morning with a temperature of 20 (F) -7 (C) to start my watch. A biting wind with blue skies and sunshine once the sun came up.

It wasn’t until 7:30am some 40 minutes into my watch that I found my first Peregrine. I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) on one of his favorite perches from last year, the northwest wing ring at the highest point of the Times Square building (TSB).

DC was looking every which way but loose either for prey or Beauty. I observed him from Broad St. next to the Democrat&Chronicle for 15 minutes and then he flew down where I couldn’t see him. As I drove around the corner to Exchange St. I could see he had gone to the ledge under the northeast wing directly above the nest box on the TSB.

Hmm, did he see Beauty coming from somewhere? I parked myself over by Keybank in the hole to observe. A few minutes later DC flew off to the northwest  and I quickly lost him behind the buildings. Just past the 8 o’clock hour I caught a glimpse of a falcon fly to the nest box. Donna and Ei verified it for me-thank you very much! Minutes later I heard a lot of vocalization coming from Beauty, then DC  came in and landed under the northeast wing. He flew off, did a few swoops at the nest box and returned to the wing ledge. He would repeat this pattern for the next 20 minutes.

The last swoopfest was a long one lasting several minutes until he gave it up and left the area. At some point Beauty left the nest box and then the search was on-it took 45 minutes to find the Beautyful one on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. Once again I parked in the hole to see her up in the bright sunshine which made her look very white and  illuminated.

I thought it a good idea to go to the Brighton site(BS) at this time since I didn’t see DC anywhere in my travels. When I arrived there Pigott was on the top roof ledge on the east side above the tree top ledge.

Minutes later she started to whine and then she dropped down to the tree top roof ledge as DC came flying in, coming to rest on the southeast corner of the top roof above the tree top ledge around 9:30am.

Click on the pics for the full version

I had to call in a prescription and as luck would have it DC and Pigott mated when I was on the phone. I glanced up and saw them by chance and was so distracted that I had to ask the pharmacist to repeat herself! lol He flew off to the east and Pigott turned around on her ledge to face the east so she could watch him. A minute later she hacked up a pellet. When I was sure DC had left the area I drove back downtown arriving just in time to witness DC swooping once again on Beauty at the nest box. I pulled over in front of the Blue Cross Arena for another round of swoopfest as he flew up under the northeast wing to watch her down below in her nest box.

For the next 2 hours DC would repeat this pattern of swooping on Beauty then landing under the northeast wing-sometimes just a few swoops and other times many,many swoops. I couldn’t help but notice that he had his talons down as he passed over Beauty just inches from her head, which made me think that this is NOT fun and games or courtship or display flying. He wants that nest for Pigott and himself-this is my thought process about his behavior.  He mates with Pigott and then comes downtown to get a nest for her. Again just my opinion.

Remember to click the pics for full version

During one of the longer sessions Beauty came out on the deck ducking as DC flew above her like a mini missile. She didn’t look like she was enjoying herself .

Joyce and Brian pulled up next to me as I sat next to Keybank in the hole. I ended my watch at 12:30pm smiling only because Joyces’ dogs Casey and Abby gave me lots of excited to see me kisses! 🙂

I have provided links for more pics and many videos below-just click them to view

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrZcA

http://youtu.be/zUVyWSoIpd4
http://youtu.be/shKRqEW9e6Y
http://youtu.be/jtG84EQeVRE
http://youtu.be/2Phv7QMbXaI
http://youtu.be/Fh7i4p1JEpE
http://youtu.be/IF9UqPRMDUM
http://youtu.be/6MFbNIdEl_c
http://youtu.be/_in3KhuAYMw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I only had a little over an hour to watch tonight and I spent most of it watching Beauty on the Times Square Bldg.  After searching for her and not finding her, I parked on the Andrews St Bridge.  From there I had a great view of the south side of the buildings.  At approximately 4:20 pm, Beauty flew up to the Times Square Bldg landing on the base of the SE wing.  She either had food with her or she retrieved cached food up there, because she was eating.

By the time I made my way back over to the Broad St Bridge and parked my car, Beauty had finished her snack and was sitting out on the edge of the wing ledge.

Joyce and Brian joined me for awhile.  They had just come from the BS location where they saw both Pigott & Dot.ca.  Beauty was actively looking around, but she did not move from her spot during the hour I was there.  I saw no other falcons.

In fact, since UT has been gone and Dot.ca returned to Rochester, I have seen multiple falcons, but I have not seen any aggression at all during my late afternoon watches.

Kathy O and Joyce were on watch after I left and they continued to see Pigott and Dot.ca out at the BS location and Beauty downtown.  No battles were reported.

All was quiet at both locations.

I’ll leave you with some pictures of Beauty on the TSB I took during my watch this afternoon.  Goodnight and happy first day of spring everyone!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Today is the first day of spring but you wouldn’t know it here in Rochester with a temperature of 24 (F) -4 (C). The wind was busy making it feel so much colder. I think the ground hog Phil should be fired! lol

I found Beauty on the southeast corner of  HSBC just before 7:00am. As soon as I stopped the car she took off. I drove to the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) and found her under the northeast wing of the Times Square building(TSB). I went down in the hole (Aqueduct St.) to observe closer.

She had to catch herself a couple times as the wind almost blew her off! Beauty flew off  and returned a few minutes later going to her nest box.

Now I was up on the BSB cuz you can’t see in the nest box from the hole. After a few moments she left again when I wasn’t looking.

I went for a ride to try and locate the Beautyful one. After a text from Donna saying Beauty was at her nest box being very vocal I made my way back from the Andrews St. bridge(ASB). At the time I didn’t see any other falcons until Beauty shot out of the box and flew east. I drove up and stopped on the south side of the BSB to take a look at the east side for her. That’s when I saw her and another falcon which flew in from the south, flying above the river near the Rochester Convention Center. Beauty was the chaser this time as they passed overhead going west. I could hear squeeky sounds coming from one of them. They were really moving as they flew out of view behind the TSB.

At about 8:00am I decided to go up on the South Ave. Garage (SAG) where I had  a better view of the city skyline. I saw nothing for about 15 minutes and then I watched Beauty go to her nest box. Then the onslaught of the “swooper” began. More than 20 times Beauty got buzzed while on the front ledge of her nest box. Back and forth like a pendulum did this other PEFA fly. I was able to videotape most of it but from the distance and the speed my camera was having difficulty keeping its focus. The swooper finally stopped and flew up under the northeast wing of the TSB.

I left the garage immediately to get closer for pics to identify this good sized falcon. I was having deja vu as Dot.Ca(DC) did this to Beauty last year-and after Joyce had posted a pic last night that showed his leg band I wanted to confirm it.

Ah, the distinguishable heart shape on the side of the head of DC that helps to ID this big boy from Canada. After a 15 minute break the swooper was off again but this time he only swooped a couple of times before returning to the northeast wing ledge.

5 minutes later he was at it again-a few more swoops and then he circled the TSB 2 times flew high above the Wilder building,circled OCSR and flew out of view over the river. At around 9:10am as I was looking for the swooper Donna let me know that Beauty left her nest box. As always thanks for your help! I thought if this is DC he might have gone to see Pigott at the Brighton site(BS) so off I went to check it out.  Upon my arrival Pigott was the only one there. She was on the same window I saw her on yesterday top row southeast side of building under the rooftop tree ledge. I almost always take a pic and/or video before I tweet in case the birds fly off. This time would be no exception and as I was taping Pigott she started to whine, so I looked away from my camera LCD screen in time to see a falcon land on the roof above her. Moving the camera from Miss Pigott to this PEFA I could see  it was standing next to leftover food. It started to walk with its left side showing out and as the video ran I snapped off a shot. Bingo-gotcha!

I was able to confirm Joyce with a Black over black leg band with a 13 over Y. May I introduce Dot.Ca aka DC, aka Dot, aka the swooper! I was surprised I beat him over here from downtown.  He gave me lots of leg shots.

Click pics for full version <DC  <Pigott

I stayed about 40 minutes as Pigott whined on and off with DC above her preening.  Just before I left DC started to nap.

I had an appointment to go to so I left to make a quick check downtown for Beauty.  Just as I arrived Beauty flew from the southeast wing down to her nest box. DC flew in and swooped on her a couple times and then flew up under the northeast wing of the Times Square building. I ended my watch at this time-10:35am.  Knowing that it is DC swooping on Beauty has eased my mind for he did this last year too and everything worked out. That being said, it doesn’t mean I like it-especially when I see that he treats Pigott totally different. Dot.Ca wants the penthouse nest box at 45 Exchange St. for himself and Pigott-the only problem is, Beauty won’t give it up and that my falcon loving friends makes me smile!!!  🙂

Click on the links below for the rest of my pics and some videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrZFg

http://youtu.be/3-tVyY3HSIs
http://youtu.be/npBNiom66Q8
http://youtu.be/IRQedL_dk-k
http://youtu.be/JA4FQ5i1ZX4
http://youtu.be/2t-VwT5RqTc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It’s the day before the first day of spring.  But, it sure doesn’t feel like spring.  It was cold and windy and it snowed on and off during my watch.

About one and 1/2 hours before I arrived downtown, at a little bit before 4:00 pm, a tweet came from the forum that Beauty was at the nest box and she was under attack.  When I arrived, I found her on top of the Times Square Bldg (TSB) at the base of the SE Wing.  Before I could get a picture, she took off.  Beauty flew over the river and headed north down the river.  I lost her behind the Radisson Hotel.  I remained on the Broad St Bridge (BSB) waiting to see if she would return.  I spotted one falcon high above the OCSR and one even higher.  The lower one flew towards the TSB and flew over it, well above the beautiful art deco wings at the top of the building.  How appropriate for a building that holds a peregrine falcon nest box and cameras.    Both falcons turned towards the north and I lost sight of them behind the OCSR.  I drove over to the Andrews St Bridge (ASB) to see if I could find them.

From the ASB, I looked north.  High above the Genesee Brewery, were two falcons soaring with no aggression.  To me they seemed to be a pair.  I could only follow the flight path of one, so I chose one and kept watching it until the falcon flew higher, heading north towards the lake (Lake Ontario). I kept watching until I could not see the bird any longer.  Well, that was interesting.  Was this the pair that kept coming into the city?  Were they an established pair that followed the river from the lake into downtown Rochester?  So many questions with no answers.

I returned to the Broad St Bridge and found Beauty on the OCSR, southeast, top IBeam. (5:10 pm)  She remained there for awhile before taking off and going up to the nest box, where I found her on the platform next to the main camera. (5:40 pm)

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At 6:00 pm, Beauty left the nest box and flew slowly heading east.  She seemed to be in no hurry.  Beauty flew behind the B&L bldg and I saw her pop up over the Xerox Tower.  That’s when Larry O joined me with his dog Harold.  I caught him up on what was happening.  He remained on the BSB while I went to search for Beauty.  I found her on top of the B&L Bldg on the southeast corner and she was eating.  Not sure if it was a cached meal or not.

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I left Beauty to enjoy her dinner and went back to join Larry O on the Broad St Bridge.  It was getting really cold and it was snowing intermittently.  We stayed there for awhile before it got too cold and Larry had to leave.  I was planning on heading home also, but I wanted to first see if Beauty was still on B&L eating.  She wasn’t.  I looked for her and found that she was back on the top IBeam on the OCSR.  That was 6:40 pm.

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At 6:30 pm, Kathy O tweeted that she was over at the BS location and that there were two peregrine falcons there.  Well, I couldn’t go home now!  I had to see what was going on out there.  lol

When I arrived at the BS location, I found Kathy on the east side of the building.  She just looked at me and said “they’re gone”.  Oh, no!  Where did they go!  lol  She explained that first one and then the other had left and that I had just missed them.  lol  So we circled the building looking for Pigott and the tiercel that had been there earlier, that Joyce had seen the night before.  I had just made a full circuit of the building and arrived back on the east side just in time to hear ee-chupping above me.  Pigott (we weren’t sure who it was at first) flew in carrying a pigeon and the tiercel was right behind her.  She landed on the tree ledge on the east side and the tiercel landed on the SE corner of the east extension.  Immediately feathers started floating down on the bitter cold winds.  The male watched as Pigott prepped the meal.

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MAK arrived and took some pics of both of the falcons.  She was hoping to get pictures of the tiercel’s bands to ID him.  The tiercel did not cooperate by showing his leg, so we’ll have to wait to find out who he is.

After MAK left, Kathy O and I remained for awhile longer, although by this point, we were staring to lose light.

The tiercel could wait no longer.  He flew over to the tree ledge and landed near Pigott, lunging in to grab a small piece of the prey.  He flew to the south end of the ledge to eat his small tidbit.  It didn’t take long, he was still hungry.

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He slowly moved down the ledge towards Pigott, who at first allowed his approach.  Closer, closer.  Then he made his move.  Kathy and I could hear the loud vocalization from above.  It got louder and louder.  There was an actual tug-o-war going on up there.  Now, I’ve seen peregrines fight over food before, but this was something I had never seen before.  I saw a wing flop over the ledge and then the rest of the peregrine followed, not just one peregrine, but two!  Kathy and I watched in amazement as both Pigott and the tiercel fell from the ledge, both holding onto the prey with their talons, neither wanting to let go.  There wings were flapping, trying to pull the food away from the other one and they were falling towards the ground below.  All the time they were falling, the vocalization got louder and louder.  Finally about 5 feet above the ground, the tiercel let go of the prey and he and Pigott beat wings hard to gain altitude.  I really thought for sure they were both coming down to the ground.

Pigott launched herself and her hard earned meal up to the top of the building, where she landed on the NE corner of the building.  The tiercel wasn’t finished though.  He landed next to her.  It was getting hard to see, but it looked like both were getting there share of the meal.  After a few moments, Pigott again took off carrying the prey back up to the tree ledge.  The tiercel landed nearby and then took off and flew around the building to the west end, leaving Pigott alone to finish her meal.

Kathy and I just kind of looked at each other and said, WOW!  That was something you didn’t see every day!

It was time to go home after that.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As the saying goes-what a difference a day makes! At 35 degrees (F) 2 (C) and less wind than yesterday it virtually felt like a heatwave this morning when I left the house. Overnite we had gotten an inch or two of  snow/sleet/freezing rain/rain and everything was slushy and no big deal.

The cloudy conditions made for a dark sunrise but it didn’t hinder me from finding Beauty on HSBC southeast corner at about 6:50am.

She was facing southwest which is not the norm as she usually faces east-that side has more pigeons flying around. I watched her for about 10 minutes and then she took off flying southwest. 10 minutes later I found Beauty on the jail tower and she was facing southwest which isn’t abnormal but it was going along with the pattern this morning.

At 7:30am Beauty flew off the tower headed north toward the Times Square building (TSB).  I was on Troup St. observing her so I drove straight away to the TSB via Exchange Blvd. On the way over Donna let me know Beauty had gone to the nest box(TY Donna) and as I approached I saw 2 falcons-1 was circling above TSB and the other around it. Pulling over in front of the Blue Cross Arena I barely had the car in park when Beauty came shooting out of the nest box coming in my direction(south) and immediately a smaller falcon was on her. Swooping at her as she went above the Democrat and Chronicle and they both continued on to the west out of view. I have no idea where the other PEFA went. I drove immediately up on the Broad St. Bridge(BSB)  and spotted 2 falcons flying fast to the north between the OCSR and Crossroads buildings.

Larry came by on his way to work and we had 2 falcons over the high falls. Then we had 1 falcon really cranking above OCSR. A couple minutes later  a male landed on the northwest corner of Chase for only a brief moment as it took off when Beauty came screaming out of nowhere from the west. She crossed the river heading right at him so he took off then she was right on him chasing to the southeast. Beauty broke it off and came back flying above us patrolling the area and then headed northwest toward Kodak Office. When she got there a falcon swooped on her and they disappeared to the north. Larry left after that for work and then I had 2 falcons fly thru from the north heading south on the west side behind the TSB. Pat walked by on her way to work stopping briefly and at that point I had lost the falcons behind buildings to the southwest. I decided it was time to go up on the South Ave. Garage(SAG) for a better view of downtown. At 8:30am Beauty landed under the northeast wing of TSB.

Beauty flew off 10 minutes later flying low to the west and returned then off again behind TSB a couple minutes later out of view. I believe she was hunting. Around 9:30am I decided to come down from the SAG and look for Beauty before heading out to Brighton for a look/see. I did see a falcon flying above Xerox briefly and then it was gone to the southeast. When I arrived at the Brighton Site there was on the northeast corner what looked to be a male Peregrine. It was crunched down with poofed up feathers,the chest looked too white to be Pigott to me.

It flew off after just a couple minutes heading east. When it didn’t come back I circled the building and found Miss Pigott was on the northwest corner just down from the scrape.

I circled the building to see if the male came back and then went back downtown to see if Beauty had any visitors. Phew-they’re keeping old MAK busy! I found Beauty under the northeast wing and she was looking for a tasty treat.

Beauty stooped behind the TSB out of view as it began to snow lightly. An hour later as I was driving down Exchange St.  I spotted the Beautyful one on Widows Walk south side below the railing. I quick pulled in the parking lot by He’s Chinese food in time to see her fly off with prey in her talons. She headed straight toward Mercury and I thought she was going to land on the base but instead changed direction and headed south behind the Thomson Reuters building out of view. 10 minutes later I found Beauty on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. She had a full crop but no prey so she either cached the leftovers or finished them up before I arrived.

I shared space with Beauty until 12:30am then I headed back to Brighton. I asked KrisG to let me know if  Beauty left while I was gone, as pan cam was locked on Beauty and I figured unless somebody drew her off she would just stay there and rest a while after eating. TY Kris for helping. I found Miss Pigott home alone on a top window ledge under the rooftop tree southeast side.

She too had eaten and was sporting a full crop. I left her after half hour or so as no other PEFA showed up. Returning downtown I found B to be still on OCSR. Everything seemed quiet so I ended my watch just before 1:30pm. But I wasn’t done yet for when I found out that KathyO had 2 falcons at Brighton tonight I finished up with some business and drove over to see if we could get the male ID’d. CarolP was there too when I arrived. Pigott was eating on the tree ledge and the male was on the northeast corner watching.

Unfortunately I only have the 3 pics and  no leg shots. I don’t believe this is Dot.Ca-it actually looks more like BST to me. Shoot, we really want to get this bird identified so we can close the books on that mystery and hopefully ID the downtown mystery falcons. We’ll keep trying until we do!!! Once again, seeing Rochesters Peregrine  Falcons has put a smile on this tired watchers face!  🙂

Click on the links below to view pics and videos from todays events

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrYyg

http://youtu.be/6XyfjwWdx_0
http://youtu.be/gOHDxJV5FmE
http://youtu.be/Zo0oDfyLoMA
http://youtu.be/xwPRrCng7Ug
http://youtu.be/K6zrH5bGT7Q
http://youtu.be/WtMbLsN5700

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

After reading all the tweets from my fellow watchers throughout the day, I couldn’t wait to end my work day and get downtown to help with the watch.  There was a territorial battle for the downtown nesting area.  Three falcons seen.

First I want to thank my fellow watchers MAK, Kathy O, Larry O, Joyce and Brian H for keeping their eyes to the sky and reporting what they saw today.

I arrived just before 4:00 pm.  Here are the tweets that were sent in by the falcon watchers from 4:00 pm on.  It will give you an idea of what was happening during that time.

4:00 pm – ” I see no falcons from Andrews St Bridge.” – Carol P.

4:10 pm – “Downtown Falcon watch. Difficult to see through the snow. Did not see anything from Andrews St Bridge.” – Larry O.

4:20 pm – ” DT falcon report – from south ave garage haven’t seen anything since seeing one flew off north about 1/2 hour ago .. Snowing sideways up here.” – Kathy O.

4:50 pm – “Brian & Joyce checked KO and LT – nothing seen. KathyO called it a day. CP checking city again.” – Joyce and Brian

5:10 pm – “DT falcon report – just drove around KO .. Nothing” – Kathy O

5:50 pm – “I have been sitting in my car at different spots and have seen no falcons at all. This snow sleet mix will probably keep them hunkered down.” – Carol P.

6:00 pm – “On the BSB. No birds flying. Pigeons have all gone to roost. Will stay on watch til 630 pm.” – Carol P.

6:10 pm – “Pigott is on the NW extension west side windows next to column 2 floors down.” – Joyce

6:20 pm – “Finally! One falcon on OCSR TOP Ibeam NW side near west corner.” – Carol P.

6:40 pm – ” 2 falcons at BS. 1 still on the window same location, the other flew into the scrape echupping.” – Joyce

6:40 pm – ” I do think it was B. She took off before I could get my scope out to verify. She flew over the TSB hovering there then headed DT.” – Carol P.

6:50 pm – “Both came off bldg separately and flew around. After watching both in flight, it was the male on the window and P? in the scrape.” – Joyce

7:00 pm – “Both no longer on the building. Both banded. Have no idea who is who. I’ll try to do some comparisons when I get home, but have no computer.” – Joyce

7:00 pm – “Cant be sure but I do think this is Ms Beauty gracefully patrolling her territory from above. I believe she landed on the south side of B&L” – Carol P.

7:10 pm – “BS: One returned to same window on NW side then flew to P’a night roost NE inside corner 4 floors down. Has ti be P.” – Joyce

7:11 pm – ” BS: Tiercel doing display flying. Harrassed a gull that came too close to building. At first I thought not another falcon.” – Joyce

7:20 pm – “Leaving B I think somewhere on B&L. All quiet finally. Heading home for some dinner.” – Carol P.

7:20 pm – “BS: one PEFA settled in on inside NE extension, now 5 floors down & 2nd PEFA on NW extension outer end 2 floors down on single window. Nite.” – Joyce

At the end, Joyce and I had 3 falcons, two at BS and one downtown that I am almost positive was Beauty.

I started my watch before 4:00 pm, but it wasn’t until 6:20 pm that I saw a falcon.  I drove around the downtown area and sat in my car in different locations, hoping to see a falcon.  Finally I did.  From the Andrews St Bridge, I spotted a falcon on the OCSR on the NW side top Ibeam.  This was a larger falcon, so based on size and behavior, I do believe it was Beauty.

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Did I mention that the weather had taken a turn for the worst?  It was snowing and sleeting the whole time I was on watch and it still is as I write this.  This made it hard to see and take pictures.  But I thought a few bad pics were better than none.  lol

Beauty took off and hovered over the Cross Rds Bldg,   She then circled the Times Square Bldg, turned towards the east and headed towards Xerox.  I saw Beauty floating above the Xerox bldg for a few moments.  She then headed towards the Chase Lincoln bldg. and past it, back to the OCSR.  I drove over to the Broad St Bridge and parked just in time to see her repeat this flight path, again heading in front of the Chase Lincoln bldg and between the Xerox and B&L bldgs.  I watched her do some stooping maneuvers between the buildings and then she was high above Xerox again.  This time she stooped down to the B&L bldg and it looked like she landed on the SW side where I could not see her.

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It was good to see her patrolling her territory and flying extremely well, after what went on this morning and afternoon.  At the same time I was watching Beauty checking things out, Joyce was at the BS location with two banded falcons, Pigott and a tiercel.  Joyce will check her pictures to see if she can ID the male.

I was loosing what little light I had and it was still sleeting and snowing, so at 7:20 pm I decided to call it a watch and so did Joyce.  I left Beauty somewhere on the B&L bldg and Joyce left Pigott and a banded tiercel at the BS location.  Three Rochester Peregrine Falcons seen during our watch.

Here’s hoping that tomorrow will be a more peaceful day for the Rochester falcons!  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 19 degrees (F)  -7 (C) when I left for my watch this morning with no precipitation but plenty of cold biting wind making the wind chill near 0 (F) -18 (C). This would play a big factor in my ability to take clear pics today-not only making the camera very cold and not focusing well but making me shake from the cold. I’m very disappointed I don’t have more pics for you. I spent a lot of the watch just  watching with my binocs, without my camera even in my hands.

I got an earlier than usual start today because of the events from last nite with the male that visited Beauty at the nest box. I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) at 6:40am and after a look around as well as I could in the dark i went over to the east side. I found Beauty in the same spot that I left her last nite on the southeast corner of HSBC.

She stayed up there for the next 15 minutes then stooped down the south side where I couldn’t see her due to my vantage point on Broad St. (I mistakenly tweeted the east side). I drove down to the BSB and after a few minutes I saw Beauty flying with a male(smaller) falcon on the west side between the jail and Times Square building(TSB). Suddenly they got together and touched talons then flew across the river to my south going east and I lost them when they went behind Xerox. When they resurfaced the male swooped on Beauty twice above Xerox. Then they were off to the races flying very fast back and forth across the river,up and down the east and west sides of the city-basically covering every corner of the city skyline. Things changed at this point-now Beauty was dive bombing the male giving just as good as she got. This is different than last year when Dot.Ca was after her-she didn’t retaliate then she just dodged his advances. The male was  more the aggressor for sure and the swooping and dive bombing turned into full blown stoops. At 7:30am Beauty flew to the jail tower and the male flew north out of sight.

About 10 minutes later I spotted the male near OCSR and while I was watching him Beauty left the jail tower and then i couldn’t see either one as my eyes kept tearing up from the cold. 10 minutes later I spotted one flying south of Xerox. The sun was faint behind a cloudy sky but still bright enough to give problems seeing and taking pics. A couple minutes later I had Beauty on the jail tower and the male went to the northwest corner of the Chase tower.

These are the only pics I got of the male that were clear enough to post.

I had gone up to the roof of the South Ave. garage to get closer to him and could see that he had a full crop and the front of him looked a bit dark to me not real bright white. I thought after all that flying that they would rest for a bit but 5 minutes later the male took off to the west above the river where Beauty met up with him and then they went to the west side where I lost them behind the jail. 5 minutes later the male returned to Chase for a moment then flew east behind it where I lost him. Couldn’t find Beauty either at this time. Less than 10 minutes later they appeared over Xerox and now the intensity had picked up with the speed and aggression toward each other. They stooped and dived on each other from one end of the river to the other before vanishing to the southeast. I next saw them near OCSR as they made their way farther away from me and then what I’m calling the super stoop occurred. They were high above the Federal building on Andrews St. when first Beauty followed by the male went into a supersonic stoop down toward the gorge at high falls neither one coming back up into view. Around 8:30am Beauty touched down on the southwest corner of Bausch&Lomb(B&L) then flew around Xerox a couple times and ended up landing on the west side upper roof dead center of B&L.

She seemed relaxed as she did some preening and watching over her territory. 10 minutes later she flew over to the northwest corner and started eating cached food.

After she was finished Bea uty went back to the middle of that upper roof  again. I left Beauty half hour later at 10:00am to go over to the Brighton Site(BS) as KathyO was there and wasn’t sure if  she had Pigott on a southwest window ledge.  I was able to confirm that it was indeed Miss Pigott as she did some preening.

I stayed 10 minutes and left to get back downtown. Beauty was gone from B&L so I went searching and as I made my way back  from the east side I spotted her on the top ibeam northeast side of  OCSR from the Andrews St. bridge. I went to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel for closer viewing.

She watched the male as he passed above her  and then she was off fast flying north real low like treetop low.

KathyO had made her way downtown from BS so I went north as well to check  the Lake Tower and Kodak Park sites. Nothing was seen at either site and as I was on my way back to downtown Kathy texted that she had 2. When I arrived on the BSB Barbara was there with her and we watched the Beautyful one take off from the jail tower and the male fly off the southeast corner of Chase and start to do battle again over the river.

They made their way down river flying above and around OCSR making their way to the west side and eventually Kodak Office only to vanish in the white sky. Kathy left for the South Ave. garage and then Pat came by for a few minutes. She and Barbara left and I joined Kathy. Beauty was on the northwest corner of Chase when I got up there. At 1:00pm Beauty flew north fast and then we saw 3 near the K-tower. Beauty was being swooped on by 1 and the other just hung back not getting involved. We lost them behind OCSR and for the next 2 hours it was falconless for us.

Kathy drove over to the Andrews St. bridge to check the north side of OCSR as I remained on the garage roof. Kathy ended up finding a falcon on the northwest corner of Chase and I confirmed that it was Beauty. Joyce saw her too from wherever she was watching. Kathy rejoined me on the garage and at 3:06pm Beauty left Chase flying north.  5 minutes later we could see 2 falcons flying near OCSR and 5 minutes later there were 3 flying between the jail and Times Square building. They made their way over the river near OCSR. It looked to us like Beauty and 2 smaller falcons with one of them stooping on her as they came over by us. All 3 went behind the Hyatt where we lost them. That would be where I ended my watch as I had an appointment.

My watch was 9 hours long but honestly with all the action the time flew by.  A lot of the time I was frozen just watching what was taking place before me and not even thinking about using my camera. I have to say that even though it was a stressful day of seeing our Beauty do battle she made me smile as she survived the onslaught unscathed and still in control of her territory! 🙂

I have a few videos from the day of which I have provided the links for below

http://youtu.be/3gRhMJrmoUA
http://youtu.be/UkcZ01rKHBM
http://youtu.be/5c_aQygW5JM
http://youtu.be/zlRnahZSfy8
http://youtu.be/HOEg9DWinvg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My watch started at 11:30 am at KP where it was snowing like crazy this St. Patrick’s Day morning.  Thankfully it didn’t last too long.  Soon the sun was shining, but it was very cold with temps in the 30’s (F).  The only raptor at KP was a Red-tailed Hawk deep within the nearby wooded area.

On my way downtown, I checked the LT location and found no falcons there.

When I arrived downtown, I found both Beauty and UT on the Wilder Bldg, which is just NE of the Times Square Bldg.

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UT took off flying to the SW.  He circled back and I finally noticed him over on the disk or dish on top of the Telesca Bldg across the street from the Wilder Bldg.

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Beauty flew off once and returned to the green strip at the top of the Wilder Bldg.  UT, as usual, flew back and forth quite a bit, but usually stayed nearby.

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When UT flew to the nest box, I decided to go check the BS location.  After circling the building slowly a couple times, I could not find any falcons.  I headed back downtown and joined Dana & Lou who had arrived while I was gone.

Beauty and UT were back  on the Wilder Bldg when I returned.  At one point, a small flock of starlings, about 6 or 7, flew in and landed on the fire escape below Beauty.  UT flew down from the roof and landed on the east end of the fire escape.  The starling remained on the west end, while UT watched them, head turning this way and that.  He never made an attempt to go after them, he just watched them.

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At approximately 3:00 pm, first UT took off, flying over the river heading NW.  Then Beauty took off 5 mins later, flying low, heading north down State St.  Larry O arrived and he, Dana, Lou and I looked for Beauty and UT, but had no luck finding either of them.  At 3:20 pm, I had to end my watch.  But, that wouldn’t be the end of it.

At 5:22 pm, Donna posts a picture from the nest box on the forum.  It shows two Peregrines there, both banded.  Everyone’s first thought is that Dot.ca has returned.  Here is the picture captured by the RFalconcam Main Camera at the nest box.

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I arrived downtown a little before 7:00 pm.  All was quiet from the Broad St Bridge.  So I drove over to the Andrews St Bridge and from there I spotted a peregrine falcon flying high above the Hyatt.  That’s where I headed.  On my way, I spotted a falcon on the SE corner of the B&L Bldg.  A tweet came through and MAK had also spotted the falcon.  She thought it was Beauty, but couldn’t be 100% sure due to the bright sunlight.

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MAK & I met on the Broad St Bridge.  As we were talking, I spotted two falcons flying towards the jail communication tower.  One landed and one continued to fly, heading south.  MAK decided to go check out the falcon that had landed and I followed the flight of the smaller falcon.  This falcon headed south.  It was time to head over to the BS location.  I tweeted it out that I was headed over there and MAK tweeted that it was Beauty on the jail communication tower.

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At BS, the first thing I saw was a large herd of deer on the south side, about 8 of them.  They were chomping on the grass in the field behind the building.

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I continued circling the building and found a peregrine up on the metal structure at the top of the building on the south side.

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The whole time I was there, the falcon had its’ back to me, facing north.  A couple times it stretched and I could catch a glimpse of bands.  Was this Pigott, which I tend to believe it was, or the banded tiercel that had visited the nest box with Beauty?  Was the tiercel Dot.ca, returned from his migration?  The timing would be right.  Where was UT, the unbanded tiercel that had been with Beauty this afternoon?  So many questions that will hopefully be answered over the coming days.

I returned downtown and found MAK in the parking lot next to the Wilder Bldg.  Beauty was up at the base of the SE wing on the Times Square Bldg.  She seemed restless.  Beauty took off and MAK and I followed.  We found her on the SE corner of the HSBC bldg.  I headed home at about 7:45 pm and MAK stayed with Beauty until about 8:00 pm, reporting that she had remained on the SE corner of HSBC with the moon above her.

Tomorrow is another day and I am certain that the Rochester Falcon Watchers will be out and about checking things out and reporting what they see.

Hope everyone enjoyed their St. Patrick Day celebrations.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

When I left for my watch it was 24 (F) -4 (C) dark with no wind to speak of. There had been a dusting of snow overnite.

After checking around from the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) and finding no falcons I drove to the east side where I found Beauty on the southeast corner of HSBC.

I spent 25 minutes with the Beautyful one as she looked for a meal to fly by. She took off flying north and I followed her lead as it started snowing.  20 minutes later from the BSB I found Beauty on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR.

I drove down to the hole for closer viewing. I thought it strange I hadn’t found UT so I texted Donna to see if he had been to the nest box at all and she confirmed that he had indeed been there at 7:23am. Thank you for your help! I decided to go check on Pigott and come back to look for UT when I was done in Brighton(BS). I arrived at BS around 8:45am finding Pigott on the west end of the south vent.

There were Canadian geese on the ground and on 3 different lower roofs on the building and they all had a lot to say about something. They were quite loud as the sound echoes in the back of the building  and Miss Pigott was keeping an eye on them. They finally left us in peace when Pigott flew off the vent-most likely scaring them. She returned to the vent and I left her a few minutes later for downtown.

I was very happy to see UT  up at the nest box when I arrived on the BSB but I didn’t see Beauty around the area. Our new little tiercel was napping on and off as I watched him for a few minutes before ending my watch at  9:30am. Happy St. Patricks Day and keep smiling everyone! 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrYrA

http://youtu.be/skKOe1y9e94
http://youtu.be/StUQ7mp4p9g
http://youtu.be/IMxbQnLIdSY
http://youtu.be/p_DCSXRrKeQ
http://youtu.be/lJUNR_FnvIs
http://youtu.be/qwWDRiMktKU