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Archive for April, 2013

Tuesday Evening Falcon Watch – 4/30/13

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Last day of April and first day of filming the Spiderman 2 movie in Rochester, NY.  I got a late start, arriving downtown at about 6:30 pm.  Main St and all of the smaller roads intersecting Main St were closed.  Police with barricades at every street.  Before I left home, Dot.ca had arrived in the nest box and Beauty left.  I drove down the Broad St Bridge slowly, trying to find Beauty.  There was no way to stop to look anywhere on Broad St, due to all the buses and people waiting for them.  But, on the way back, I did find Beauty.  She was on the base of the Mercury statue on the north side.

I drove around trying to find a parking spot, finally finding one on Broad St between the Times Square Bldg and the Democrat and Chronicle Bldg.  It was after 6:30 pm, so I didn’t have to feed the meter thankfully.  I parked my car and walked across Broad St. to the front of the Times Square Bldg (TSB) on Exchange.

This was my view from the front entrance of the TSB looking north down Exchange towards Main St.

My View From the TSB Looking North 4/30/13*

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From there I had a nice view of the Mercury statue and I spotted a falcon up on the money bag hand.  At first I didn’t know if it was Dot.ca or Beauty.  Rfalconcam Forum member Ei let me know that Beauty was back up in the nest box, so this was Dot.ca on Mercury.  Thanks Ei!

Dot.ca on Mercury 4/30/13Dot.ca on Mercury 4/30/13*

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Dot.ca took off and headed west fast!  By the time I got over to the north side of the TSB to see where he went, Dot.ca had returned and was up on top of the TSB on the NE wing ledge. This was directly above the nest box.

Dot.ca on TSB NE Wing Ledge - Beauty in NB - 4/30/13Dot.ca on TSB NE Wing Ledge - 4/30/13*

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I walked down to the corner of Main St and Exchange to see if there was going to be anymore filming for the Spiderman movie, but it was quiet.  While I was there, Dot.ca took off and headed west again.  This time I did not see him return.  He possibly headed to the BS location to visit with Pigott, but I couldn’t be sure.

Kathy O joined me in front of the Tim Hortons on the corner of Main and Exchange.  From there we walked around a bit to see what was going on.  There were lots of folks just walking around and enjoying the beautiful evening.  Most had their camera phones out and were clicking away.  The streets were lined with NYC vehicles of all kinds, including NYPD police cars, all kind of different vans, cabs, buses and a very cool armored truck.  Filming was done for Day 1 of 10.

Beauty and Dot.ca did not seem to be bothered at all by all the activity just down the block from their nest box.  They were used to the sounds of Rochester traffic, including lots of loud sirens.  So this was probably just another day for them.

I’ll leave you with a few pics I took this evening.  Goodnight everyone!

Looking East Down Main St - 4/30/13Looking West Down Main St - 4/30/13*

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NYPD Police Car - 4/30/13They Staged a Fight on Top of This Armored Car! - 4/30/13

Morning watch 4-30-13

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

This morning the weather was good for the Spiderman movie people-at 57 (F) 14 (C)  overcast and a mild breeze.

As I approached  the Broad St. Bridge I saw wall to wall RTS buses lined up on both sides. The sidewalks were filled with bus riders waiting for their bus. Exchange Blvd. at Broad St. right in front of the Times Square building (TSB) was blocked off so there was no way in to the hole (Aqueduct St.) which was blocked off as well from Main St. I parked on Broad St. by the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) and the Court St. bridge.

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While parked in front of the BCA on Exchange Blvd. A New York City bus for the movie went by. Dot.Ca (DC) was late coming this morning to relieve Beauty on their eggs and finally around 6:35am he showed up chirping with a little snack for her. She took it to her dining room table -the base of Mercury.

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I walked down the stairs to the hole (Aqueduct St.) and continued on to Aqueduct Park which is on Main St. across from the OCSR where I could keep track of Beauty and the movie making business. There were lots of people gathered in the street in front of OCSR including Rochester city cops and fire dept. Cars were parked on both sides of the Main St. bridge (MSB) and a couple guys were sticking fake license plates on all of them.

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About 7:15am I watched Beauty fly to the nest box and DC fly over to the Mercury Money Bag (MMB).

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I was told by 3 different city cops to leave Main St. As I walked up the stairs to Broad St. at Falcon Watcher Central another cop told me I couldn’t be down there as he waited til I walked thru and then he taped off the stairs. I’d had enough for a while so I took off for Brighton to find Pigott  at 7:30am. She was perched on the northwest corner of the west extension and alone when I got there.

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At approximately 8:30am Pigott vocalized and flew to the cubby as DC came flying in from behind me over the west extension going north without stopping. I got conflicting reports from Annette saying DC was on eggs and Donna who said that Beauty was on the eggs.  Then  a minute or 2 later DC showed up at the nest box-I thought how weird that he would just come over to BS to check on Pigott and not stop. I checked around the building several times but found nothing-when I left BS around 9am Pigott was probably still in the cubby or she flew out of the area while I was driving around the building.

I decided to go up on the roof of the South Ave. garage where I would have a great view of Mercury and the TSB which is about the only places the Beautyful one and DC go lately. Beauty was on the base of Mercury when I got there.

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From the garage the only movie scene I had was the intersection at Main and South Ave.-the rest of Main St. was blocked by buildings. It was weird seeing so many people on the BSB as they waited for their bus.

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Up in the falcon world things were quiet as opposed to on the ground it was busier than usual in the city. I ended my watch just before 10am with Beauty on the base of Mercury and DC on their eggs. All 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons were seen and didn’t seem at all bothered by the movie production going on below them. It was business as usual for them and for me as I left the garage smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below for more pics and videos if you so desire

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrfVA

http://youtu.be/Ov67cal1g74
http://youtu.be/UcM_Wm4r5gI
http://youtu.be/BnHKli-rVT0
http://youtu.be/gacXbvR41jo
http://youtu.be/_-vHWlnU72w

Monday Late Afternoon Falcon Watch – 4/29/13

Monday, April 29th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

When I left home, I knew that Beauty was in the nest box on the eggs.  I arrived on the Broad St Bridge at around 6:30 pm, hoping to find Dot.ca.  Joyce and Lisa McK were over at the BS location and they only had Pigott.

I decided to go down to Aqueduct St aka the “hole” for a closer look.  No falcons seen from down there either, but I didn’t have to wait for the very vocal arrival of Dot.ca.  At 6:38 pm, Beauty saw him before I did and she announced his arrival for all to hear.  Beauty flew up to the NW wing ledge on top of the Times Square Bldg and Dot.ca joined her.  They copulated and Dot.ca took off and Beauty was right behind him.  I followed Beauty’s flight to the base of the Mercury statue and missed where Dot.ca went.  Many thanks to Rfalconcam Forum member Ei for tweeting out that Dot.ca had gone into the nest box to take his turn at brooding the eggs.

I moved back to get a better view of Beauty.  She was now eating on the base of Mercury.  Not sure if Dot.ca brought food in or whether she was eating cached prey.

Beauty on the Base of Mercury with Food - 4/29/13Beauty on the Base of Mercury with Food - 4/29/13*

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As Beauty was finishing her meal, Kathy O joined me.

Beauty on the Base of Mercury after Eating Her Meal - 4/29/13Beauty on the Base of Mercury Cleaning off Her Beak - 4/29/13*

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Kathy and I stayed on watch until about 7:45 pm.  By this time, Beauty had returned to the nest box and Dot.ca was keeping watch from the money bag hand of the Mercury statue.

Dot.ca on Mercury's Moneybag hand at the end of our watch - 4/29/13*

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All was peaceful and quiet.  All three Rochester Falcons seen, making it a very good day!

Additional Rochester News

They were quite active at the lot containing the vehicles that will be used for the filming of the chase scenes for the newest Spiderman movie over the next week or so starting tomorrow.  Many special affects vans and all kinds of gadgets that I have no idea what they will be used for.

There was no parking allowed at all on Broad St while I was downtown today on either side, from Exchange to past the Rochester Library.  All bus traffic will be diverted from Main St to Broad St.  Main St will be closed during filming.  I also noted that  they had yellow tape surrounding all the picnic tables in Aqueduct Park where we held our Falcon Watch Weekend last year.  Possibly for use  by the film crews and extras?  They also had yellow tape blocking off all the parking on the west side of State St between Church St and Main St.

I’m not sure how accessible it will be for the falcon watchers.  Time will tell.  We’ll let you know!  Should be very interesting.

I’ll leave you with a picture of just a small portion of the NYPD police cars they had in the lot when Kathy O and I checked it out during our watch today.

Spiderman Vehicle Lot - NYPD Police Cars - 4/29/13

Morning watch 4-29-13

Monday, April 29th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

51 (F) 11 (C), showery,overcast were the conditions when I started my watch.

As I was about to pull out of the driveway for downtown I got a tweet from Annette saying Dot.Ca (DC) had relieved Beauty on their eggs. When I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I didn’t find Beauty initially. 10 minutes later she appeared on the base of Mercury with her first meal of the day.

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She spent 45 minutes preparing and consuming her prey. When Beauty was done it started to rain. 10 minutes later Beauty flew to the nest box and DC went to the Mercury money bag (MMB).

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He would stay there for 10 minutes and then he flew off to the southeast.

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I decided to go check the Brighton site at this time. Arriving about 7:30am I found Pigott on the southwest corner of the southeast extension.

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Miss Pigott was there for maybe 2 minutes when she flew east with her powerful wings flapping and then all of a sudden she went into missile formation and stooped on something leaving my field of vision. I waited a while for her to return but she didn’t so I drove back downtown. Arriving around 8:30am on the BSB I could see no falcons. Annette once again reported that there had been a switch in the nest box and DC was on the eggs. I made a couple trips around looking for Beauty and as I approached from the east side I spotted the Beautyful one on the base of Mercury.

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Beauty was just hanging out looking around the territory every once in a while with a full crop.

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Everything was quiet so I ended my watch just before 9am. Seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons makes me smile every time! 🙂

Click on the links below to view a few videos if you so desire

http://youtu.be/C7BL4qJpuQQ
http://youtu.be/XDCuFxH2RKk
http://youtu.be/c3jXKd05jM4
http://youtu.be/59P-isEI8Kc

A Weekend of Falcon Watches – 4/27/13 & 4/28/13

Sunday, April 28th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I too want to start my falcon watch report by sending my condolences to my friend Jeanne for the loss of her dog Mariah.

I was out quite a bit on Saturday and out late today (Sunday).  With brooding in high gear on the eggs in the nest box on the Times Square bldg, I didn’t see much of Beauty at all while I was out.  I did see Dot.ca a lot, both downtown and at the BS location.  Pigott was out out at the BS location both days.

Saturday – 4/27/13

When I arrived downtown yesterday, I found Dot.ca on the green stripe on the south side of the Wilder Bldg.

Dot.ca on the Wilder Bldg 4/27/13*

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Since it was quiet, I headed over to the BS location and found Pigott plucking her lunch on the SW corner of the west extension.  This is a favorite spot for her to eat her meals.

Pigott plucking dinner at BS 4/28/13*

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Below her was a Groundhog munching on greens.

Groundhog at BS 4/27/13*

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After eating her fill, Pigott took her leftover meal on a trip around the building, finally caching it on top of the south side vent.

Pigott flying with food 4/27/13Pigott flying around with her leftovers 4/27/13*

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Joyce joined me, and we kept track of Pigott as she moved around the building.  Pigott had settled on the SE corner of the building.  I drove closer to her position and Joyce went to the back of the building.  Pigott took off heading north and I drove around to the north west corner of the building where I could see Pigott flying fast to the north.  She met up with another Peregrine and they battled for awhile before the intruder headed north and Pigott flew back towards the BS bldg.  Just before she arrived, a streak flew in and landed on the west side of the NW extension.  It was Dot.ca.  I thought he might have seen Pigott battling from his position downtown and flew over to support her.

Pigott flew in and landed near Dot.ca, vocalizing loudly.  She then flew into the cubby and Dot.ca landed above her.  Joyce joined me and I explained what happened.  Pigott continued to vocalize until Dot.ca flew down to the outer edge of the cubby.  She was finally mostly quiet after that.

Dot.ca flew out of the cubby 4/27/13*

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After Dot.ca flew out of the cubby, he and Pigott flew around the building quite a bit.  Lisa McK arrived to join the watch.

Dot.ca on the south side vent - 4/27/13Dot.ca at BS - 4/27/13Dot.ca at BS - 4/27/13*

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Piggot retrieved her earlier meal and carried it to the NE corner of the building where Dot.ca joined her.

Dot.ca & Pigott at BS - 4/27/13*

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Dot.ca left for downtown soon after this.  Pigott flew back to the south side vent.  That’s where she was when I left Joyce and Lisa to check out the downtown area before I headed home.

Just as I arrived on the Broad St Bridge (BSB), Dot.ca left the nest box platform and landed on the Mercury statue’s moneybag hand.

Dot.ca on Mercury - 4/27/13*

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I remained downtown for about a 1/2 hour before heading home.

Sunday – 4/28/13

I wasn’t able to get out til very late today.  I first stopped on the Broad St Bridge, downtown.  Beauty was inside the nest box brooding the eggs and Dot.ca was above the nest box on the NW wing ledge of the Times Square Bldg.

Dot.ca and Beauty at the Times Square Bldg. - 4/28/13*

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Next stop the BS location where I found Pigott on the NW corner of the building looking north.

Pigott at BS 4/28/13*

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Joyce pulled in behind me and we spent a few moments chatting.  Unlike yesterday’s gorgeous blue sky, it was overcast this afternoon and threatening rain.  Joyce had to take her dogs for a run, but then she met me downtown.

Beauty was in the nest box and Dot.ca was on the top SW Ibeam of the OCSR.  All was quiet at both locations.

Many thanks to Rfalconcam forum members Kris G, NCAFalcon and Ei for their assistance both days.  Thanks ladies!

Be sure to click on any pics you would like to see larger.

Now for the off-topic Rochester News.

If you haven’t heard already, starting Tuesday, 4/30, a film crew is in town to film a chase scene on Main St West.  The buses that normally have their scheduled route on Main St will be transferred over to the Broad St Bridge.  The watchers normally watch from Broad St, so I’m not sure how this will affect our watches for the week or so that they are filming.  We’ll have to wait and see.  Thankfully this is a slow time while they brood the eggs.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of the Spiderman chase scene vehicles parked in a lot on Exchange St.  Rochester will look a lot like New York City very soon.  Enjoy!

Spiderman Vehicles for Chase Scene NYC Cabs 4/27/13Spiderman Vehicles for Chase Scene - NYPD Cars 4/27/13*

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Spiderman Vehicles for Chase Scene - 2 NYC Buses Arrived Today 4/28/13Spiderman Vehicles for Chase Scene - Oh Look! It's the Daily Bugle Van!4/28/13Spiderman Vehicles for Chase Scene - Times Square Bldg in View 4/28/13

Morning watch 4-28-13

Sunday, April 28th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I am dedicating this watch report to Mariah a Sharpei dog, whose mom is friend and fellow watcher Jeanne-she had to be euthanized today.

It was 44 (F) 7 (C) as I started my watch and when I arrived about 5:50am there were cops blocking off the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) for the Flower City Challenge running event.

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I went to the hole (Aqueduct St.) and could hear Beauty whining-I thought she was in the nest box but then I got a tweet from Annette saying the switch was made and Dot.Ca (DC) was on the eggs. Thank you!  I managed to spot Beauty on the base of Mercury where she was blending in with the green on the base in the predawn darkness. I went down by falcon watcher central which near the stairs that lead up to Broad St. where I could see Beauty clearly.

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Beauty does a series of wing and leg stretches every morning after a long night laying on the eggs.

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I don’t think Beauty was there more than 5 minutes when she flew to the top ibeam west corner of OCSR.

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After 15 minutes there, Beauty stooped off the back of it to the north side out of view.

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I drove to the Andrews St. Bridge to look at the north end of the territory and found Beauty on the top ibeam north corner of OCSR.

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At 7:30am I was told they were going to block me in unless I left so I did and had to exit downtown by going down alleys that had not been blocked off for the race. I left for the Brighton site to check in on Pigott.  I found her on the west end of the south side vent at 7:50am.

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Miss Pigott and I had a peaceful time with only the sound of songbirds in the background as she preened and stretched.

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Around 8am both Donna and Annette tweeted that Beauty had taken over incubating the eggs, thanks! Pigott never left that vent in the 45 minutes that I spent with her.

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My watch ended at 8:30am when Jeanne texted that she was at the vet with Mariah, so I left to be with her when the sad news was delivered. Keep smiling even if you don’t want to! 🙂

Only 2 videos today-links are below to view them

http://youtu.be/cc4QldOBz5w
http://youtu.be/f6mexL1J78U

Morning watch 4-27-13

Saturday, April 27th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The morning weather is getting better as each day passes today I started my watch 5 degrees warmer than yesterday at 38 (F) 3 (C) with little wind, very few clouds and sweet sunshine.

I’m having computer issues so I couldn’t do a thing with my pics in Picassa or put together a photo album-I hope you enjoy them just the same. You can see larger versions by clicking on the pics.

I just missed Beauty and Dot.Ca (DC) make the switch on the eggs this morning by literally seconds. As soon as I saw Beauty on the base of Mercury I knew I was too late. I had stopped by the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) on Broad St. and while I tweeted it out Beauty left so I continued up to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) where I found Dan sitting in his lawn chair waiting for me. He saw the switch but couldn’t see where Beauty went as she was on the blind side of the base for him and he missed her leave. There was a big bright moon in the morning sky.

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About half later I spotted Beauty gliding in from the east side over the river in the shape of a stealth bomber with a small package in her talons. I pointed her out to Dan as she made her way to the base of Mercury. She went right to town on plucking the feathers and boy were there lots of them floating every which way.

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35 minutes later a little past 7am when Beauty was done eating she flew to the deck and relieved DC of his incubation duties. He then flew to the Mercury money bag (MMB) where he preened a bit. He did a lot of head scratching this morning. He would soon fly off and pass right above the nest box only to return to the MMB as I captured his take off and returning approach.

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As Dan was leaving DC flew off chasing a pigeon over the river and quickly aborted it to fly back to the MMB.  Only a couple minutes later DC stooped down into the hole, which I couldn’t see from the BSB and having missed returned once more to the MMB. A minute later DC flew over to the Times Square building and came to rest under the northeast wing. He preened a little then took off fast to the east.

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About 10 minutes later I spotted DC on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR with a catch and there was a blizzard of the feathery kind all around him. There were many spider webs that were catching all the feathers, maybe they were planted there by the  crew that’s going to be filming here next week for the new Spiderman movie. lol

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At 8:17am DC flew to the deck and switched with Beauty. I thought he had taken a small chunk of leftover with him but I was wrong for Beauty went to the base of Mercury with nothing.

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I left our little darlings at this time to check the Brighton site. I was lucky to find Miss Pigott home perched on the front edge of the cubby.

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Pigott stayed there for the next 15 minutes and then flew north. I was just about to leave for downtown when Pigott showed up on the southwest corner of the southwest extension at 9:10am. She stayed there preening for the next 20 minutes of our lives and then she flew west only to return and land on a  top floor west side window  situated between the cubby and the west extension.

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Around 9:30am I said goodbye to Miss Pigott and  headed for downtown. I received tweets from Annette and Shaky that Beauty was now on the eggs and DC was on Mercury. Thank you for your support!  As I passed by Plymouth Ave. while heading downtown via Exchange Blvd. there were 3 cop cars blocking traffic for a small parade of people led by a bagpipe band. Onward I went to find DC on the MMB.

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I called it a watch at 9:45am leaving Beauty and DC in a tranquil city.  Keep smiling! 🙂

I was able to upload some videos- the links are below

http://youtu.be/tS9I-d4PCOE

http://youtu.be/ah__0Sd2OsM
http://youtu.be/qMxv5GNh5Y4
http://youtu.be/Mvbphfr37_s
http://youtu.be/42wgMF9xSAk

Friday Late Afternoon/Evening Falcon Watch at BS Location – Juvenile Peregrine Seen – 4/26/13

Friday, April 26th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I wasn’t able to get out for my watch until after 6:00 pm.  Joyce and Lisa McK were at the BS location and they were watching a juvenile Peregrine that was hanging out on the south side vent.  I decided to head there instead of downtown since Beauty and Dot.ca were sharing egg brooding duties and all was quiet there.

When I arrived, Kathy O had joined Joyce and Lisa, so the four of us settled in to keep watch on this young falcon.  Joyce believes that this falcon is banded with silver on one leg and black on the other, which means he was banded in Canada.

Juvie on Southside Vent at BS 4/26/13*

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At about 6:45 pm, Pigott came in with food and landed on the SW corner of the west extension.  The juvie started to vocalize.  It was such a familiar sound to us.  Definitely a juvenile asking/begging for food.  Due to his smaller size, we believe he is  a tiercel (male) and may be the same one seen by other Watchers earlier this month.  He took off and flew up to the SW corner where he could see Pigott.  She took off and chased the young falcon to the east side of the building, but he wasn’t leaving.  Pigott ended up on the south side vent and the juvie landed just above her.

Juvenile Tiercel above Pigott at BS - 4/26/13*

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There were a lot of starlings flying around the building and one got the juvie’s attention.  He did a very nice stoop down the face of the building while Pigott watched.  I give him a 10!  🙂

Juvie stoops after a starling at BS 4/26/13*

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Click to see full picture.

He missed the starling and Pigott took off flying around to the NW corner of the building.  The juvie landed in the same spot she vacated on the south side vent.

At approximately 7:30 pm, Dot.ca flew in and the chase was on without much vocalization.  Just some high pitched squeaking sounds.  No alarm kakking.  Dot.ca chased the juvenile to the SE end of the building and they locked talons.  We watched as they tumbled towards the ground, neither letting go!  Just as they were about to hit, about a foot off of the ground, they finally released their grips and gained altitude.  We were all relieved.

Dot.ca Arrives 4/26/13*

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As they both gained altitude, the chase continued.  From east to west to north, we watch Dot.ca chase the young Peregrine out of his territory, until we could not see them anymore.  In the meantime, Pigott brought her food to the south side vent and was plucking what looked like a pigeon.  Within a few minutes, Dot.ca returned and landed on the east end of the south side vent.  Pigott did quite a bit of vocalizing as she ate her dinner.

Dot.ca flew around to the north side of the building and Pigott remained on the vent on the south side.  It was after 8:00 pm, and it was time to head home for everyone.  On my way out, I circled to the north side of the building and could not find Dot.ca.

Kathy O and I stopped downtown for a quick look from the Broad St Bridge.  Beauty was in the nest box on the eggs according to the cameras and we could not find Dot.ca.

With the weekend ahead of us, I’m sure that there will be many Rochester Falcon Watchers out and about.  I know I will be!  Goodnight everyone and be sure to click on any pictures to see the entire picture.

Morning watch 4-26-13

Friday, April 26th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another chilly start to the day with a temperature of 35 (F) 2 (C) a bit of a breeze and clear skies.

Stopped at the traffic light at Broad and Exchange Blvd. where you can see the Wilder building south side green strip I could see that nobody was there. After pulling over on Broad St. by the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) where you can see Mercury and some of the south side of OCSR I continued up to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) after I didn’t see any falcons. Facing east I check all the buildings on the east side of the Genesee River and if I find nothing I make a u-turn so I’m facing west looking at the Times Square building (TSB),Mercury,the jail tower,Kodak tower and the whole south side of OCSR. This is my usual morning routine when I first arrive.

The last 2 days Dot.Ca (DC)has showed up at the nest box to relieve Beauty of incubating duties at 6:54am while I was enroute downtown. He was 2 minutes earlier at 6:52am today as  I made my u-turn this morning just in time to see DC fly up to the deck and Beauty fly to the base of Mercury.

I had gone down to the hole (Aqueduct St.) for a better view of Beauty but when I got there I couldn’t see her so back up to the BSB  I went, finding her on the other side of the base with her back to me.

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Beauty stayed there for the next 25 minutes in which time a starling perched on the cement wall under the railing on the bridge and started singing to me.  A bit later 2 pigeons with no fear landed on the Thomson Reuters roof  right below the Beautyful one.

img_6444-starling-was-talking-to-me-on-the-bsb img_6450-pigeons-with-a-death-wish Click on pics to view a full version

At 6:25am Beauty took off fast past the south side of the TSB out of sight to the west. 3 or 4 minutes later she showed up on the base of Mercury with breakfast which was a small bird with dark wings that were flapping when she first landed but stopped soon after when she started plucking feathers to prepare it for consumption.

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Beauty finished eating and shortly there after just before 7am DC came flying over to her and they mated. It was a very quick one lasting only a few seconds and then DC flew to the northeast wing of the TSB and Beauty went to the nest box to cover the eggs.

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As I drove down to the hole DC made the short flight over to the Mercury Money Bag (MMB) staying only about a minute and leaving while I was tweeting.

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I went to the Brighton Site (BS) when DC didn’t resurface after 10-15 minutes. I arrived there at 7:20am and didn’t see or hear any PEFAs. I returned to downtown and checked all around but still didn’t find DC so once again I drove over to BS. Bingo-this time I found Pigott on the southwest corner of the southwest extension at 8:20am.

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Just a couple minutes later DC came screaming in past Pigott and to the cubby-she followed right behind him and loud echupping ensued. They were in there for a couple minutes when DC bolted out of there flying north in the direction of downtown. Miss Pigott flew across to the southwest corner of the west extension facing north.

img_6500-pigott <Click it to view full version img_6502-pigott

At 8:30am Pigott flew around the building aborted an attempt to land on a south side window and continued on to fly north. I  too headed north to downtown when she didn’t return arriving around 9am. Donna had reported that DC was on the eggs as I was enroute. As I turned onto Broad St. and stopped by the BCA I spotted 2 birds flying in front of the south side of OCSR-1 flew up into the elevator shaft (it looked like a pigeon to me) and the other definitely a falcon. I went down to the hole lickity split and found who I thought was DC at the time but it turns out it was Beauty on the 2nd ibeam south corner of OCSR.

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She left after half a minute flying west and returned a minute later coming to rest on the Mercury money bag.

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I shared space with her for the next 20 minutes and then ended my watch at 9:35am. Thanks to Annette and Donna for their help watching the cams to let me know who is on the eggs. After not seeing Miss Pigott since Tuesday it was good to find her this morning. I left with a smile on my face as I was able to say I saw all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below if you wish to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrfMg

http://youtu.be/q7F7B1qxnHc
http://youtu.be/XUjHMSVkOgk
http://youtu.be/WCCwB9uIpOshttp

http://youtu.be/efVdbe4BT_g
http://youtu.be/N-dNkaVrBNc

Thursday Afternoon Falcon Watch – 4/25/13

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My watch started at about 3:45 pm.  It was a gorgeous afternoon, but I knew it wouldn’t last.  Clouds were moving in.  I looked all over for Beauty, knowing that DC was in the nest box on the eggs.  I ended up in Aqueduct St aka “the hole”, called that because you are surrounded by buildings and lose sight of the falcons pretty quickly when they fly overhead.  Today was no exception.  A few minutes after I parked my car, Beauty came flying in from the NW.  She flew over me and then up to the Times Square Bldg (TSB) landing on the SE corner of the ledge above the nest box.  Loud ee-chupping filled the air as Beauty and Dot.ca vocalized together.  (4:00 pm).

Beauty on the TSB 4/25/13*

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Beauty took off and flew over me heading west.  I lost sight of her quickly, so I did not see where she went.   I drove up to the Andrews St Bridge (ASB) to check out the area from the north and found Beauty on the base of the Mercury statue.  I quickly tweeted that she was there and then made my way to the Broad St Bridge (BSB), where I was soon joined by Joyce and Brian. (4:10 pm)

Beauty on Base of Mercury 4/25/13Beauty on Base of Mercury 4/25/13*

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From the Broad St Bridge (BSB), we watched as Beauty preened and stretched.  She was just soaking in the sun and keeping an eye on her nest box.  Brian, Joyce and I were enjoying the sunshine too, watching Beauty and all that surrounded us.  There is so much to see.

The Genesee River was much lower than it had been in a long time, leaving some of the rocky areas exposed.  This gave this group of Pigeons a chance to take a bath in the cold, clear water.

Pigeons Bathing on the River 4/25/13*

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Looking north down the river, we noticed that the whole length of the Main St Bridge is loaded with trees debris, lots and lots of trees!

Trees Caught Up Against the Main St Bridge 4/25/13Trees block the base of the Main St Bridge 4/25/13Trees block the base of the Main St Bridge 4/25/13*

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Oh, and we now have new garbage receptacles on the Broad St Bridge.  🙂

New Garbage Pails on Broad St Bridge 4/25/13*

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During our Watch, we spotted 4 Turkey Vultures soaring over the Xerox Tower.  As the clouds moved in and the temperatures dropped, Brian spotted a Broadwing Hawk and an Osprey moving north to south and over the downtown area.

A Group of 4 Turkey Vultures Soaring Above the Xerox Tower 4/25/13Broadwing Hawk and Osprey Migrating over Downtown Rochester 4/25/13Osprey Flying Over Broad St Bridge 4/25/13*

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Beauty remained on the base of the Mercury statue until about 4:55 pm.  We didn’t see her take off, so we thought that she might have walked around to the other side of the base and out of sight.

Beauty on the base of the Mercury Statue 4/25/13*

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Joyce and Brian had to leave, so I drove around looking for Beauty and could not find her.  I drove over the the BS location at 5:15 pm and did not see or hear any falcons over there.  Back downtown at 5:40 pm.  Beauty had taken over the brooding of the eggs at 5:15 pm, so I drove around the downtown area looking for Dot.ca.  I had no lucking finding him.  Joyce tweeted that she was out at the BS location and Dot.ca was not there either.  At approximately 6:00 pm, it was time for me to head home.

I want to thank RFalconcam Watchers NCAFalcon and Braveheart for the assist this afternoon.  I am unable to check to see if there is a falcon in the nest box while I’m downtown, so your assistance is much appreciated.  Thank you!

Also, just to let you know, Rochester Falcon Watchers Joyce and Lisa McK were at the BS location after I left and they saw Pigott on the vent on the south side of the building.  So, all three Rochester Falcons were seen this afternoon, making it a very good day indeed!

I’ll leave you with this picture I took on my way over to the BS location.  I do love spring flowers!

BE SURE TO CLICK ON ANY PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE LARGER.

Spring Flowers 4/25/13


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