By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 35 (F) 2(C) when I left the house with some wind and dry conditions. Well that certainly changed as ice pellets and driving rain dominated the 6 hours I was out watching.

I checked the cams before leaving and at that time Beauty was perched on cam 4 but when I got to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) at 6:25am she was gone and I didn’t see her anywhere in the area. I took a ride over to the east side in vain as I haven’t seen her over there in a week or so and today was no different. Returning to the BSB Beauty was perched on the Mercury money bag (MMB).

Beauty was having some trouble keeping her balance as the wind was blowing pretty hard.  Around 7:30am it started raining down little ice pellets and light rain with the wind picking up as well. At 8:00am I left for the Brighton site (BS) finding 1 falcon on the east end of the south side vent. It was raining moderately by this time and the bird was scrunched down making it impossible for me to ID it.

I would find out that it was Dot.Ca (DC) 15 minutes later when Pigott showed up on the west end of the vent and the east end bird flew over and mated with her in the pouring rain.

When they were done DC flew off toward the front of the building out of my view and Miss Pigott remained on the vent. When I didn’t find DC with a trip around the building I left for downtown to see if he was there. At 9am I found Beauty taking shelter from the cold driving rain on the top ibeam  southwest side of OCSR.

I stayed an hour with no visit from DC so I returned to BS finding Pigott in the same spot I left her on the west end of the south side vent. An hour later on one of my many trips around the building I found DC on a west facing window ledge on the northwest side just out from the scrape. Miss Pigott remained on the vent.

Bigger ice pellets were falling at this point along with the rain making it hard to see. Things stayed like this for the next 45 minutes until I took a ride around to the back to see if Pigott was still on the vent-she was so I went back to the west side to watch DC. Right after I made my way back he flew to the scrape and loud echupping rang out.

While I was enroute Pigott had flown to the scrape-sneaky falcons they are! There was a couple minutes of quiet and then DC shot out and flew around to the southwest corner. Pigott stayed behind in the scrape.

Just before noon DC left BS and didn’t return so I left for downtown. When I first arrived I didn’t see any falcons from the BSB. I then drove down to the hole and spotted a falcon fly up to the deck then I didn’t see it and then a falcon flew out of the nest box. A minute later I saw a falcon fly out from the nest box and go northwest past Widows Walk and out of view. At 12:30pm I spotted the Beautyful one on the base of Mercury and she was whining.

I wasn’t able to find DC and ended my watch at this time. Once again the Rochester Peregrine Falcons put a smile on this watchers face as I left downtown! 🙂

Links have been provided below for you to view some videos if you so choose

http://youtu.be/ihUODw04YGM
http://youtu.be/flxNuaveO-Y
http://youtu.be/rvdXOOMWo38
http://youtu.be/zr8-_WGAai8

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

We got some thunderstorms during the night but they were done when I left for my watch. It was 45 (F) 7 (C) and very foggy when I arrived downtown at 6:25am.

Click my pics to see full version

I drove around and checked as well as I could, but let’s face it conditions were poor. I didn’t even notice that there was a falcon up on cam 4 until Donna let me know it was Beauty.

<Before fog lifted   and after>

At 7:05am Beauty flew to the Mercury money bag (MMB) and started whining. She would whine and wait a long time today for Dot.Ca (DC) to come a callin’!  By 8 o’clock the fog had lifted well enough to see the tops of buildings from the Broad St. Bridge where I was parked. The Beautyful one did a lot of stretching while up on Mercury and she was kept busy watching something down in the river below her.

At 8:30am I decided to go to the Brighton Site (BS) to look for DC who was very late this morning. As I arrived I could see 2 falcons doing the bookend trick in the back of the building. Pigott was on the southeast corner with some very wet feathers and DC was on the southwest corner.

<Pigott

<DC

Just after 9am Pigott took off to the front of the building and then DC flew off to the west. I drove around twice before I found Pigott as she was just leaving the window scrape on the west extension. She flew around to the southwest corner that is above the cubby on the west side. DC was nowhere to be found so I left for downtown thinking he went there.

I landed on the BSB at 9:30am and found that Beauty was still on the MMB. I also noticed the elevator over on the outside of the OCSR was going down and it went back up all the way to the top. They were probably testing it for an event to take place next month where people scale the side of the building for charity. Less than 10 minutes later when I wasn’t looking, Beauty left Mercury. When I looked toward Times Square I saw a falcon on cam 4 so I tweeted it was Beauty-wrong, it was DC and Beauty was in the nest box as told to me by Donna one of our cam watchers. TY  DC flew off to the north where my view was quickly blocked by buildings so I drove down to the hole and found him on the green strip of the Wilder building.

He was watching some starlings below him and I kept expecting him to dive on them but he never did. He also would whine every once in a while, which I had never heard him do before.

20 minutes later Beauty flew over to the southwest corner of the Wilder building and a few minutes later DC flew up to her and they copulated.

Don’t forget to click on the pics

DC flew off to the west when they were done and Beauty stayed for the next 20 minutes circling the Times Square building and coming to rest under the northwest wing. She was at the back of the ledge and started picking at some cached food.

When DC didn’t appear again I went to BS to check one last time and found that Pigott was by herself and still on the same southwest corner from before when I was there. The fog was starting to drop back down on the city and rain was coming soon too so I ended my watch at 10:40am thinking the falcons would hunker down for a while. Another fun watch in the books making me smile! 🙂

Click the links below if you want to see more pics and videos

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http://youtu.be/7EDHPOKQyxc
http://youtu.be/1RyFkxxBzW4
http://youtu.be/mOHHcXpKUk8
http://youtu.be/jz2cbN8id3I
http://youtu.be/AXOG8fUdXxs

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another warm start at 49 (F) 9 (C) with overcast skies and a busy breeze made for a nice watch.

I made my way downtown at 6:20am today and never saw a falcon until just before 7:00am when I spotted one fly to the north side of Widows Walk. It left while I drove to get closer so I could ID who it was. I was parked on Basin St. by the Wilder building looking toward Widows Walk when a young man named Eric stopped and asked if I was seeing anything good. Well actually I’m watching Peregrine Falcons I said, and then he started asking more questions. I gave him some important information and handed him an rfalconcam card and told him to check us out. He said he studied the environment like wetlands and such and was definitely going to have a look/see with his 18 month old son. So I found Beauty on the Mercury money bag (MMB) and drove up to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) to watch her. She stayed standing leaning forward tail up slightly and her feathers were poofy looking. All a good sign that she may be laying an egg soon.

Click the pics for a full version

Beauty flew to the nest box about 10 minutes later when she saw Dot.Ca (DC) coming from the south. He went to the southeast wing ledge and landed.

DC flew off about 5 minutes later and sometime in the next couple minutes Beauty left the nest box and flew north. A minute later I noticed something up on the money bag but it was small-I raised my binocs to look and could see that it was an American Kestrel. Never saw one on there before and lucky for the Kestrel that Beauty wasn’t around!  5 minutes later I was looking at DC up under the southeast wing and Beauty had gone back to her nest box. DC dropped off the back of the ledge to the south behind the Times Square Building and out of sight. Beauty flew to the MMB minutes after he left and began watching toward the Brighton site (BS).

I left for BS after 15 minutes or so to see if DC had gone there. Arriving at 8:30am I found Pigott on the southwest corner and DC on the southeast corner-falcon bookends.

<Pigott  DC>

DC flew off to the north about 9:00am and Pigott flew to the front of the building. I made 2 trips around and on the second I noticed movement in the window scrape. It was Pigott popping her head up and she was by herself and very quiet going back and forth between the 2 windows.

She stayed in there about 15 minutes and then she came to the outside ledge and took wing.

Pigott flew around to the back of the building and I found her on the southeast corner. I then saw DC come from the north to land on the southwest corner. Minutes later DC flew to Pigott and they mated then he flew northwest out of view.

I left Pigott on the southeast corner to go downtown and arriving just before 10am I located Beauty under the southeast wing looking south toward BS. Oh how these girls watch for their man. So the Beautyful one and I hung out for half hour or so as she seemed restless and fidgety-turning completely around a couple of times. She flew over to the money bag and stayed 20 minutes took off,circled and returned to it before taking off to the nest box when she saw DC fly in from the south and land under the southeast wing.

<Beauty  DC>

Around 11am DC flew off to the north and Beauty followed shortly after-then I saw Beauty go to the nest box area real quick and it looked like she had food in her talons. I watched DC fly in front of the Times Square building just above the nest box area and fly north again, straight up State St. and out of sight. Both falcons would elude me as I drove to the Andrews St. bridge to view the northern end of the territory. No luck in finding them when I returned to the BSB and so I ended my watch at 11:30am as 2 mounted police passed by me.

I left  falconless but smiling, for I had another calm and peaceful (well as peaceful as the city gets on a work day morning lol)watch and I saw all 3 of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click the links below to view more pics and videos
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrcZA

http://youtu.be/PS1iFaVNNhQ
http://youtu.be/gDN6j1WHZsE
http://youtu.be/VBVe9TuDp5Q
http://youtu.be/eLmpJvcpHRA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Along with the warmer temperatures, comes rain to Rochester.  By the time I parked on the Broad St Bridge a little before 4:00 pm, the dark clouds were approaching from all sides.  I knew it was just a matter of time before it started raining.

I checked the downtown area before parking on the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  I could not find any falcons, but I didn’t have to wait long to see one.  At 4:10 pm, a peregrine falcon flew in from the south and landed on the NW wing ledge on the Times Square Bldg. (TSB)  This falcon stood there for just a moment and then walked into the base of the wing where I could no longer see it. I tweeted and just as I was pulling away from the curb to go to the other side of the TSB for a better look, fellow falcon watchers Joyce and Brian pulled up behind me.  I walked back to their car and explained what happened and where I was going.

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They remained on the BSB while I drove over to the west side of the TSB for a better angle.  Even from the west side, I could not see a falcon up there.  That’s when Joyce texted that they saw a falcon fly over them heading SE.  I thought that this was probably the one I had seen land at the SW wing, but I was wrong.  From in front of the Blue Cross Arena, I was finally able to see the falcon I had seen come in when I first started my watch.  It looked like Beauty and she was up there eating cached food.

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When she was through, she flew off of the TSB and landed on the Mercury statue’s money bag hand.

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Since there was no sign of Dot.ca, I left Joyce and Brian on the BSB and headed over to the BS location.  Dot.ca was obvious as soon as I pulled in.  He was up on the NW corner of the NW extension.  But where was Pigott?  There was no vocalization at all.  It was very quiet.  That’s when I saw a small flash of white from the window scrape.  There was Pigott, or at least her head. (5:00 pm)  lol

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At 5:10 pm, first Dot.ca took off and flew around the back of the building and then Pigott came out of the window scrape and landed on the same spot Dot.ca had vacated.  Dot.ca flew back to the front of the building and he and Pigott copulated on the NW corner.  She remained there and Dot.ca flew over to and landed on the NW corner of the NE extension.  Now there was a falcon on each end of the north side of the building.  That’s where they were when I left to check on Beauty one more time before heading home.  The rain had finally arrived.

Beauty was still on top of the Mercury statue, facing the river (east).  I was happy to find both locations quiet and peaceful.  No juvies or unbanded tiercels in sight.  Dot.ca continues to visit both locations and continues to copulate with both Beauty and Pigott.  We know that as of my writing this report, Beauty has not laid an egg in the nest box.  I’m not so sure about whether Pigott has laid an egg or not in the window scrape.  There is no way of knowing for sure.  The Watchers will continue to watch and report what they see.

At 6:45 pm, I ended my watch with Ms Beauty sitting on one of her favorite perches in the gentle rain.  We all will have to wait to see what happens.

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Oh, and some good news!  Both Rhea Mae and Quest have laid their 4th eggs today!  The M&K legacy continues on.  🙂

Goodnight everyone and remember to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.   Thanks!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

At 40  (F) -1 (C) it was 10 degrees cooler than yesterday to start my watch but still a nice morning with overcast skies and calm winds. Matter of fact todays watch was calm as well, which was just fine with this falcon watcher.

I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) at 6:30am and didn’t see any PEFAs so I continued on to the east side . I would repeat this twice as there were no falcons to be found until I returned to BSB  and saw a falcon fly to the nest box at 6:50am. Less than 5 minutes later Beauty flew to the Mercury money bag (MMB) and in a blur because it happened so fast, Dot.Ca (DC) mated with her as she landed for like 2 seconds and then he flew to the jail tower. Well, that’s a fine how do you do and good morning to you too DC!

10 minutes later both Beauty and DC flew west out of sight.

I drove to the Court St. bridge to have a look from there and as I turned off Court onto Exchange Blvd. I spotted Beauty up on the northeast wing ledge. I pulled over in front of the Blue Cross Arena to observe the Beautyful one as she walked to the back of the ledge and grabbed some cached food.

She spent the next half hour plucking feathers and eating. When she was finished she cached what was left at the back of the ledge and flew off to the MMB where she started cleaning up after her snack.

I left Beauty to check the Brighton site (BS) and when I arrived there were 2 falcons flying over the west extension. I pulled over and watched them split up with 1 flying north in the direction of downtown and the other flying south both leaving my field of vision. I drove back downtown thinking DC was the one that flew north. Beauty was alone and still on Mercury so I turned right around and went back to BS. I found Pigott on the northwest corner ay 8:15am.

I stayed about 30 minutes checking around the building a couple times and decided to return to downtown. I landed on the BSB as Beauty was still on the money bag and decided I would just stay put and wait with Beauty for DC to show up.

At around 8:50am Beauty flew to the nest box and DC came flying in to land on the MMB.

10 minutes later DC flew down to the base of Mercury and appeared to be looking for cached food. While he was doing that Beauty flew over to the Mercury money bag and then DC flew up to her and they had another quick copulation. Beauty flew to the nest box and DC to the deck-I think he went there to look for cached food because he never went in with Beauty, just stood there and then left.

<DC     Click on pics for full version <Beauty

DC did not return and Beauty flew over to Mercury coming to rest on the money bag. Around 9:30am Beauty,who had been watching a prey item below her somewhere took off, circled the Thomson Reuters building then above the Blue Cross Arena and back to the MMB.

At this point I thought I would give one more shot at BS and it paid off as I found Miss Pigott on the northwest corner of the west extension and DC in the back on the southwest corner.

<DC  Pigott>

Kelly a fellow falcon watcher stopped by and chatted with me for a few minutes and checked out the birds on her way thru around 10:00am. Almost an hour later DC flew over and mated with Pigott on the northwest corner of the west extension and then he flew to the cubby and started echupping. Pigott joined him and they both were echupping for a couple minutes then it was quiet for a bit followed by soft vocalizations and then DC flew out and left the area.

Pigott to cubby

2 minutes later Pigott came out to the edge of the cubby and whined a bit.

Pigott flew over to the northwest corner and watched in the direction of downtown. I figured that’s where DC went so I left to check downtown one last time before ending my watch. I spent 45 minutes looking but failed to find a falcon anywhere downtown so I called it around 11:45am. It was a calmer watch than any from the past few days and I did see all 3 of our falcons-2 good reasons to smile! 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrcIA

http://youtu.be/1O1R4fBQOJU
http://youtu.be/_XFdc-ZJuZw
http://youtu.be/GaHBKwQ4s04
http://youtu.be/NoMtC_A625k
http://youtu.be/9UfAeDaRPgM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What do you get when you mix peregrine falcons and high winds?  Flying Falcons!  lol

That’s what I had for much of my watch today.

It went up to 72 degrees in Rochester, NY and the wind gusts had to be 40-50 mph.  I’m just guessing, but that’s sure what they felt like.

I arrived downtown just before noon to find Beauty in the nest box and Dot.ca (I assumed) above her on the NE wing ledge.  Soon after I parked on the Broad St Bridge (BSB), Dana joined me.  She had been at the BS location before coming downtown.  Since it was quiet downtown and B&DC were on the TSB, she decided to head back to BS, while I remained downtown.  This way we could cover both areas.

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12:35 pm – Beauty took off and headed downtown.  She was flying over and around the buildings, it was hard to keep up with her.  Then Dot.ca joined her.  He ended up over the library and then over Xerox.  The next thing I knew, a Red-tailed Hawk (RTH) came in a little to close to the Times Square Bldg (TSB) and both Beauty and Dot.ca flew up to the RTH and started diving on it, taking turns, until they drove it out of the area, heading NE.

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Because of the high winds and warm temperatures, both Beauty and Dot.ca were enjoying flying high above their territory.  Also, moving through the area were lots of migrating birds, including Turkey Vultures and a group of Cormorants heading west.

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The usually graceful flyer the Turkey Vulture, was rocking back and forth, trying to control its flight.

At 1:00 pm, Beauty returned to the nest box on the TSB.

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At 1:05 pm, it looked like Dot.ca soaring over the downtown area.  He flew over to the Chase-Lincoln Tower (C-L Tower) and just hovered there, in place, not flapping his wings.  All of a sudden, he folded his wings and stooped on something at the top of the C-L Tower.  I saw a dark bird, approximately Dot.ca’s size come off , and Dot.ca chased it down the side of the building and behind the shorter buildings to the east.

At 1:20, I saw a peregrine falcon riding the winds heading SE.  I quickly texted that it might be D.C. heading back to the BS location.  At 1:25, Dana reported copulation at the BS location.  My bet is that it was Dot.ca arriving from downtown.

At 1:45 pm, Beauty was back in the nest box and there was a smaller falcon up at the NE wing ledge.  I assumed that Dot.ca was back, but with other peregrine falcons being spotted by the other watchers today, I couldn’t be sure.

Then he was gone!  Zipping back over the downtown area.

By 2:00 pm, I was seeing lots of raptors flying over downtown Rochester, including Turkey Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks and a Coopers Hawk.  The migration was in full swing today.   The high winds made it hard to take pictures.  They would literally push you, making it almost impossible to hold the camera steady.  Here is a picture showing my view on the north side of the BSB.

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A huge thank you to my two on-line watchers today, Ei & NCAFalcons (NT).  Without your help, I would have a really hard time seeing if Ms. Beauty was in the nest box or not.  🙂

Since it was very quiet downtown, I headed out to the BS location.  When I arrived there, one falcon was at the window scrape and the other one was zipping around the building.  I mean cranking.  This was definitely a banded adult male, not the juvie seen by Dana earlier or Joyce later in the day.  Pretty sure it was Dot.ca.  I found him on the east side tree ledge while Pigott remained on the window scrape.

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By this time, I was joined by Joyce.  Kelly stopped by for a quick visit before heading home.  She told us she had just come from Braddock Bay and that the migration passing near the lake (Ontario) was incredible.  She saw her first Golden Eagle and some Sandhill Cranes passed through.  Dot.ca flew over the building to the north side.  We found him eating on  the south end of the SW extension.

I watched until he finished.  He then took off again and this time flew over the building to the south side.

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I had to leave at 4:00 pm, but I told Joyce I would check the downtown area before heading home.  From the BSB, I could see Beauty inside the nest box at 4:30 pm.

I was very happy to see all three Rochester Falcons on this sunny, warm and windy Sunday.  It was definitely a very nice day!

Goodnight everyone!  Remember to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.  Thanks!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Imagine my surprise when I left for my watch with a temperature of 50 warm degrees (F) 10 (C)!!! Gad zukes I think spring has finally made it to Rochester,NY. It started out overcast and very windy with the sun breaking out eventually after my watch was over. lol

I made my way to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) by 6:30am and could see no falcons so I proceeded toward the east side. As I waited at the traffic light waiting to turn onto South Ave. I spotted Dan getting out of his car on the BSB. When I came around to the east side of the HSBC building I spotted a falcon on the northeast corner eating. Beauty usually hunts off the southeast corner but she has been known to go from this one too. Still a bit of predawn darkness lingered and overcast conditions made it dark as well so when I took my first pics I really thought I had Beauty up there.

It moved off the corner a little bit and at 6:50am it flew west toward Times Square but was soaring above Xerox for a bit before I lost it.  I pulled up next to Dan on the bridge and asked if he saw Beauty flying above Xerox and he said he had been watching Beauty on Mercury since he got there. I said whoa I had a falcon on HSBC all this time that I thought was Beauty and now we had none! Since we both had seen a falcon last on the east side I drove back over there and found a falcon back on the northeast corner. This time it gave me some leg shots and I was able to ascertain that it was unbanded.

I had confirmation from both Annette and Donna that Beauty was at the nest box. Thank you ladies-we have the best cam watchers! So I got settled in to stay with this unknown PEFA(Peregrine Falcon) until it flew off. It kept eating with its back to me for most of the time taking little moves further away from the northeast corner and it struggled with the strong winds a lot while it filled its crop. From where I was parked I could look west down Broad St. and see the brick from the Thomson Reuters building but the Times Square building (TSB) and Mercury were hidden behind the Bausch&Lomb building. This explains why neither Beauty nor Dot.Ca (DC) could see this PEFA, which is a good thing if you ask me cuz nobody gets hurt that way.

Around this time Larry had arrived on the BSB and tweeted that both Beauty and DC were over there mating on Mercury and stooping and so on.  Meanwhile, I watched the unbanded bird finish eating about 8:10am then it pooped and preened itself a bit. Larry signed off about this time. 10 minutes later the unbanded falcon walked farther down the ledge turned its back to me and stepped forward so I could only see tail feathers and seconds later it went further in on the roof and then I couldn’t see it at all. I drove as far down Broad St. as I could to put distance between HSBC and myself but still could not see the bird. Next, a falcon appeared hovering above HSBC and circling back and forth like it was looking for something up there. I didn’t know if it was Beauty or DC and they had the unbanded bird trapped on the roof or if it was the unbanded PEFA. I watched it soar high above riding the strong winds over to the Xerox area and then I lost sight of it.

I left for the BSB and found a falcon above Xerox when I got there- so I just watched as it never flapped a wing just soared high above the river to the south above Cornhill and beyond until it disappeared in the gray sky. I have no idea who it was but less than a minute later I turned to see Beauty approaching the Mercury money bag (MMB) from the east and then she landed on it.  It was 8:35am.

She had her tail fanned out presumably to fight the wind and took of to the north a couple minutes later. 10 minutes later DC flew in above Mercury then to the northeast wing of the TSB. I drove down to the hole parking next to He’s Chinese to observe as he was facing the north.

I had seen a PEFA on a light pole north of the city yesterday afternoon so maybe he was watching for that. Man they’re all coming to Rochester these days! At this time Donna let me know Beauty was in the nest box. TY  For the next 45 minutes or so DC preened in the wind and ignored Beautys on and off vocalizations from below in the nest box. I was planning to take a ride over to the Brighton site (BS) when Dana pulled up next to me just before 10:00am. She said she was going over to BS so I decided to end my watch instead. Staying a few more minutes I sent out my last tweet that Beauty was in the nest box and DC was under the northeast wing and right after that Dana tweeted that she had 2 falcons at BS flying with each other. Well how could I end my watch now!?

I left Beauty and DC to go over to BS. I went in from the back so I could watch from a distance and not miss any of  the action.  The first thing I saw was a falcon flying high above the building making lots of ground with its wings spread out and absolutely no flapping for several minutes. Then I witnessed a very fast dive on the west side to the front of the building and out of view. Next up a falcon flew from the south(back) side around the west side and I couldn’t tell if it went to the cubby or the scrape and disappeared.   A few minutes later I spotted one flying fast-wings a flapping the whole time headed toward downtown. A minute later a PEFA was flying east of the building. I drove closer and parked on the service road that leads out of there behind BS and could see where Dana was parked. It wasn’t until this time that I saw 2 falcons flying at the same time and then I joined Dana. She told me what she had witnessed and I told her what I had seen and then I left checking downtown before ending my watch at 11:15am. No falcons were present downtown.  I saw all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons and then some-plus after all the spectacular flying I witnessed how could I not leave smiling! 🙂

Links for my album and videos are below-just click and view

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http://youtu.be/IHAx46tvPm0
http://youtu.be/lCVwU4D73ds
http://youtu.be/u6n93aXfWRc
http://youtu.be/3LSRamqyWZE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

One year ago today, April 6, 2012, we lost a beautiful female peregrine falcon by the name of Unity.

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Fly Free Unity!

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Today’s Watch 4/6/13

Watching from the Broad St Bridge at around noon were Dan S, Dana, Joyce, Brian H, Kathy O, Lynda & Tim and me, Carol P.  Beauty & Dot.ca copulated on the Mercury statue at about 12:10 pm.  Dot.ca settled on Mercury’s moneybag hand and we weren’t sure where Beauty ended up.

At about 12:30 pm, Dot.ca took off and headed south.  We all thought the same thing, it was time to visit with Pigott.  But, Beauty joined him and they flew together over the Cornhill area.  There were some stoops involved and it looked like they were doing some tandem hunting.  We finally lost sight of them.

At 1:00 pm, neither Beauty or Dot.ca had returned.  Kathy O and I decided to make a trip out to the BS location.  About half way there, Lisa McK tweeted from BS that she had two falcons there.  We joined Lisa and we were able to ID the two falcons as Dot.ca and Pigott.

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They did quit a bit of flying and chasing Turkey Vultures and landing on different parts of the building, including the two possible scrapes.  At about 2:45 pm, they copulated on the west side of the NW extension.

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Speaking of coming in for a landing.  I caught this Dot.ca shadow when he came in for a landing.

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Just after they copulated, Pigott went to the north side of the west extension and found some cached food which she started eating.  Dot.ca joined her for a moment and then flew to the NW corner of the NW extension.  Dot.ca then took off.  My guess he was headed downtown.  Pigott moved in on the roof, where I couldn’t see her and all was quiet.  Next stop, downtown to check on Beauty.

I arrived downtown at about 3:30 pm and found Beauty in the nest box and Dot.ca above her on the NE wing ledge.

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At a little after 4:00 pm, it was time for me to go.  It had been a beautiful day with all three Rochester Falcons seen, making it a very good day indeed!

I’ll leave you with a few pictures I took today.  As always, remember to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.

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Plus, help with an ID please.  I think this is a Fox Sparrow?

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I started todays watch on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) at 6:40am with a temperature of 30 (F) -1 (C)  virtually no wind, bright blue skies and the sun at my back.

All I needed was a couple of falcons to make it complete-I didn’t have to wait for long as Beauty flew in and landed on the Mercury money bag (MMB) about 8 minutes later.

10 minutes later she flew to the nest box as Dot.Ca (DC) arrived at the southeast wing.

He didn’t stay put for long as a crow flew below him by the Democrat & Chronicle and he dropped off to hit it with a thump and send it on its way.

Remember to click on my pics to see full version

DC circled around the back of the Times Square building (TSB) and flew over to the MMB. Now I was parked down in the parking lot between the Wilder and Philipone buildings and in the way of a garbage truck trying to empty dumpsters -so I moved  and that’s when DC decided to fly off. I did however catch Beauty fly from the nest box to the MMB where she began preening.When DC didn’t show back up I left for the Brighton site(BS) where I found Pigott around 7:30am on a west side corner above where the cubby is located.

She too, was preening and scratching. No DC here so I went back downtown after waiting a bit.  Beauty was still on the MMB and there were cars starting to fill up the BSB so I parked next to the Blue Cross Arena to watch Beauty and people.

I asked a couple what the event was today and they said it was a running event for “No Boundaries”. By the way I didn’t see DC anywhere around there either. I watched Beauty until 8:30am or so and then I got impatient waiting for DC to show up. This was not normal and I wondered if he was trying t0 drive that unbanded Tiercel(male) from yesterday out of his territory so I went back to BS. I found Pigott on the southwest corner and I thought by herself until I spotted a PEFA on a top window ledge on the west side just out from the cubby. He flew off before I could get a pic and went to the northwest corner of the west extension.

It was 9 o’clock and for the next 15 minutes they both preened occasionally looking at each other as they were absolutely in each others line of vision. I wasn’t so lucky as the west side of the site runs close to a facility which we have been given strict instructions not to point binocs or cameras at by security. We don’t even go on that property to watch and I was too close to see both Pigott and her gentleman caller so I watched him while I could hear her whine very lightly on and off.  I started getting antsy wondering where DC was so I drove around checking the grounds in case he was down from a battle somewhere. I was way out on the service road near where I watched the battle yesterday and could see both falcons so satisfied that DC was not down anywhere I pulled over and watched from there. Soon after the male flew off  to the north and didn’t return while Pigott flew over to the northwest corner of the west extension. 10 minutes later I watched a falcon fly over to Pigott and they mated!  I think my eyes about popped out of my head thinking it was this new unbanded male so I immediately drove over. As I made my way around to the west side near the broken window that we believe may be a scrape from last year I spotted a falcon fly to it and go in followed by Pigott.

Pigott going to scrape

A very loud and lengthy echupping session took place with non other than DC shooting out thru the broken window afterwards. Luckily I was taping at the time so I know it was him. He flew the southwest corner where I got pics and could see that it was him because up til then I thought this was the rogue male. Phew, I was very relieved to see that it was DC.Pigott came out a couple minutes later going to the southeast corner.

<Pigott> Click em

<Pigott   DC>

I thought of fellow falcon watcher Brian as a balloon flew behind DC  because he always gets a big kick out of seeing balloons in the air when he’s out and about.  Suddenly I was put back into the here and now when DC took off and mated with Pigott on the southeast corner.

DC flew off to the west leaving the area and Pigott moved to the southwest corner of the west extension.

<Click it to see DC fly off      Pigott>

I left Miss Pigott and returned to downtown for my last check there before ending my watch at 10:30am from the Andrews St. Bridge. I could find no falcons before leaving but I was all smiles anyway for all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons had been seen safe and sound on my watch! 🙂

As always click the links below to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrbvg

http://youtu.be/CGeNL49Pyos
http://youtu.be/YzhIkhcewhU
http://youtu.be/N8WrorZ_oNc
http://youtu.be/80ZMH5lB2Tg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I like quiet and I like peaceful.  Both describe my watch tonight.  After a very dramatic day yesterday, with Pigott’s brief visit to the TSB downtown nest box, this kind of watch is very welcome.  🙂

I arrived downtown just before 4:00 pm and parked on the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  At first, there were no falcons or falcon watchers in sight.  Soon after I settled in for my watch, Joyce pulled in behind me.  She had been at the BS location for much of the early afternoon with Pigott and Dot.ca.

It was a little after 4:00 pm when I saw a peregrine falcon fly in from the east.  It was Beauty and she was carrying prey towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  She landed on the SW wing ledge at the top of the TSB.

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She didn’t stay long.  I believe she cached her meal, tucking it in close to the base of the SW wing.  She flew out and landed on the SE wing ledge.

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At 4:20 pm, Joyce returned to the BS location and I remained downtown parked on a very busy BSB.  There was an Amerks game tonight and Amerks fans were filling all the parking spots on the bridge.  Kathy O joined me for awhile, getting one of the last parking spots.

Joyce tweeted the following from the BS location:

4:35 pm – BS – 2 here on south side. One on roof above vent. Other on SE corner.

4:45 pm – BS – more mating, then P flew to scrape while DC did circle around building. Both back where they started.

Downtown at 4:50 pm, Beauty vocalized just a bit and flew over to the NE wing ledge.  She ran up to the base of the wing and pulled out some cached food, which she started eating.

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Beauty flew into the nest box at 5:05 pm, the same time Dot.ca arrived.  He first zipped around the building a few times and then landed on the SE wing ledge.

Again I want to thank all my virtual watcher friends who confirmed that Beauty was in the nest box.  At this time of day, I am facing directly into the sun and it is very hard to see.  So tonight I thank Donna, Ei,  & NCAfalcon!

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Joyce’s Tweet at 5:10 pm.- “BS echupfest – P & DC were at scrape. P on SE corner again preening. DC gone. Their bonding doesn’t disturb nesting geese.”

I questioned Joyce about when Dot.ca left the BS location, just to make sure we didn’t have the unbanded male that MAK saw earlier on her watch.  Joyce confirmed that Dot.ca had more than enough time to get downtown between when she saw him leave and I saw him arrive.

Dot.ca took off at 5:25 pm and returned to the SE wing ledge just about the same time Kathy O joined me on the BSB.

At 5:46 pm, I tweeted that Dot.ca stooped off of the SE wing ledge heading north.  I never saw him come out the other side of the Cross Rds Bldg.  Just a few minutes later, Joyce tweeted that Dot.ca had arrived at the BS location.  It’s amazing on quickly he can go back and forth between the two locations!

At 6:00 pm, Kathy and I reported that Beauty left the nest box and landed on the SE wing ledge.  At the same time, Joyce and Lisa McK reported that Dot.ca and Pigott had copulated.  This was the 3rd time that Joyce had witnessed this on her afternoon watch.

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With the sun directly in my eyes at 6:30 pm, I was not able to see where Beauty was.  It was time for me to leave, but on my way out I checked the downtown area, but couldn’t find her.

Joyce stayed for another hour at the BS location and reported the following:

7:35 pm – “BS echupfest – P & DC were at scrape. P on SE corner again preening. DC gone. Their bonding doesn’t disturb nesting geese.”

7:40 pm – “Both are perched on opposite corners south side. Had so much fun watching P & DC this afternoon. DC is truly a sky dancer.  Nite all!”

So the late afternoon watch turned out to be a very quiet one, for which I was very happy.  Quiet is good!  Even Buddy thinks so!  🙂

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I’ll leave you with this very peaceful picture of Rhea Mae sleeping on her and Tiago’s two eggs she laid recently.  Could #3 be on its’ way?

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Goodnight Rhea Mae and everyone!