By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Got a late start today.  Since no one had seen Pigott recently, I decided to head out to the BS location first.  I arrived there around 5:00 pm.  I slowly circled the building and found her on a window on the east side of the building.  She was taking turns dozing and preening.  It was good to see her.

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At about 5:30 pm, I saw a falcon fly up to the south side of the building.  There was no reaction from Pigott.  I drove around and found Dot.ca on the south side vent.  I found a place to park where I could watch both of them.  There was no vocalization and they could not see each other.  I do not believe they knew the other one was there.  That is until Dot.ca started kakking and went after something south of the building.  That got Pigott’s attention!  He returned to the south side vent and Pigott ee-chupped and took off heading towards him.  Finally!  I kept telling them that the other was just around the corner, but they weren’t listening.  lol

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They flew together towards the west end of the building and I followed.  When I arrived on the west side I was greeted by very loud ee-chups that filled the air.  Love that sound.  They were both in the cubby for a long time vocalizing the whole time.  Dot.ca came out to the edge of the ledge and took off, flying around the building and returning to the SW corner of the NW extension.  From there, he could see into the cubby, where Pigott remained,  continuing to vocalize. (6:00 pm)

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For the next 20 minutes or so, Dot.ca and Pigott flew around the building, following each other and landing in different spots.  They both ended up back at the cubby for more “chatting” and then Dot.ca returned to the same SW corner he had been on earlier.  At 6:20 pm, he took off and I’m pretty sure he headed back downtown.  Pigott remained in the cubby vocalizing.

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Larry O and his dog Harold joined me on the watch just after Dot.ca left.  We were watching when Pigott flew out of the cubby and around the front of the building.  We found her on the south side vent.

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Larry decided to head downtown and I told him I would meet him there, since it was quiet at BS.  I left Pigott sitting quietly on the south side vent, watching over her territory.

At 7:00 pm, I joined Larry O on the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  He had checked his phone and we saw Beauty inside the nest box on the eggs.  So where was Dot.ca?  There were 100’s of some sort of swallow filling the airspace above the Genesee River on both sides of the bridge.  It was quite an amazing sight.  I don’t remember there ever being that many.  While we were enjoying the flight of the small birds, Larry spotted a falcon heading in.  We watched as Dot.ca came in for a landing on the Mercury statue’s heal. (7:15 pm)

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He stayed up there watching all the small swift birds flying around him.  He seemed as amazed by them as we were, but for another reason.  He was probably wondering if he could catch one!

It wasn’t long before he tried.  Dot.ca took off and flew directly over us heading towards the library at the east end of the BSB.  He reached the NE corner and stooped down the side of the library!  Down, Out and Up!  Whoosh!  Whoa!  The maneuvers Peregrines make are incredible. Larry and I are pretty sure he was chasing the swallows which were all around the library.  DC pulled up from his stoop and gained altitude, heading east.  He flew above the downtown buildings until we lost sight of him behind the Xerox Tower.

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Larry had to leave so I drove around the downtown area seeing if I could spot DC.  I had no luck finding him, so I returned to the BSB.  At 7:45 pm, the sun was setting and it was getting really cold.  Time for me to leave.  As I was driving down Exchange heading north, I spotted a falcon flying back towards the Times Square Bldg.  I turned around for a quick look, but couldn’t find him.

So I only saw Pigott and Dot.ca during my watch because Beauty was brooding the eggs the whole time.  All three Rochester falcons accounted for, making it a very good day!

Goodnight everyone and be sure to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I was quite surprised when I checked the temperature before leaving for my watch this morning-61 (F) 16 (C). A cold front was close and it came thru during my watch making the temperature drop 10 degrees while I was out. It was very dark and overcast too.

I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) just past 5:30am and could see no falcons in the area. I tweeted out that Dot.Ca hadn’t shown up yet at 5:45am and a few minutes later Donna let me know that he had been on the eggs since 5:28am. I missed the switch by a few minutes. So where was Beauty then-I went in search of and upon returning to the BSB I spotted the Beautyful one on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. I drove down to Graves St. across Main St. from OCSR and next to Aqueduct Park to watch.

Remember to click on my pics to see the full version

Beauty kept gaping, a behavior where the head is thrown back and the bird appears to be swallowing air. Although in still shots it can look to less experienced watchers as if he’s calling, there are no sounds made during gaping and it’s actually a very different “look” than when they are vocalizing. Researchers are not sure why gaping takes place, but there are a couple theories: one is that gaping is a peregrine’s way of dislodging feathers that may get caught in the throat following preening. The other theory is that gaping equalizes the air pressure in their ears after a change in altitude or “sudden changes in barometric pressure, as when a cold front moves in” (described by Steve Sherrod in “Behavior of Fledgling Peregrines”). So I believe she was gaping because of the cold front that started coming thru around this time. She stayed up there about 15 minutes and then flew east over the river and out of my field of vision around 6:30am.

I went looking for Beauty but didn’t find her so I drove over to the Brighton Site (BS). I had no luck finding Pigott for the 2nd day in a row. Soon after I got there, camera watcher Campgee tweeted that DC left the eggs and returned kakking and shortly after Annette tweeted the same, so I headed for downtown to see what was going on. Thank you for the heads up ladies! Upon arriving on the BSB I scanned the buildings and airspace finding nothing to be alarmed about and spotted Beauty back on the top ibeam of OCSR.

Once again I drove down to Graves St. to be closer to Beauty.

At about 7:50am Beauty flew to the nest box and DC flew out taking a little flight around the area before landing on the 2nd ibeam southeast side of OCSR.

<Beauty  DC>

After a couple minutes DC flew to the northeast wing  taking off after a few seconds and going over to the southeast wing ledge before disappearing off the back side of it where I couldn’t see.

I drove over to look for him but he was gone. I then saw him a minute later on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR at 8am. DC flew off 5 minutes later when I wasn’t looking. Traffic was picking up on the BSB as people were starting to arrive for college graduation ceremonies at the Blue Cross Arena starting at 9:30am. The bridge parking would fill up quickly so I opted for going back to BS. I tried driving in from the back access road as it gives me a good view of the site but it was blocked off so I turned around and went to the main driveway into the place. 2 gentlemen stopped me and said they were parking Lilac Festival parade participants only. I asked to get thru to check for the falcons that dwell there and they let me go for a few minutes. I found DC  on the east end of the south side vent plucking feathers in a frenzied state.

5 minutes later he stopped and started scoping out the territory to the east and south. DC continued to watch in those directions and then he flew off circling the building twice before vanishing to the north out of view leaving his prey behind.

Again there was no sign of Pigott and DC certainly didn’t act as tho she was there.  I made a trip around the complex before leaving  at 8:50am but didn’t see or hear her. The local roads were being closed and I didn’t want to get closed in until the parade was over so back downtown I went. Carol tweeted that DC was on the eggs and Beauty was out. Traffic was heavy and the BSB parking was all full up when I returned. I stopped real quick and took a look around finding Beauty on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. I chose to end my watch at 9:05am and get away from the busy streets of downtown. I wish I had seen Miss Pigott-perhaps she has gone on  a mini vacation-Peregrines are wanderers after all. Keep smiling everyone for we are getting closer and closer to hatch time at 45 Exchange Blvd.-the penthouse nest box! 🙂

If you wish to view videos from my watch all you need do is click the links below

http://youtu.be/M5IhyBjybVU
http://youtu.be/Xmg8vKticME
http://youtu.be/C5KQ0wVj_QE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Warm air and dark clouds were moving into Rochester.  I decided to head downtown directly from work.  I knew I didn’t have long before the rain moved in.

I arrived downtown just before 4:00 pm and was happy to see that the Broad St Bridge (BSB) was empty, well except for a few parked cars.  For the last 10 days, all the bus traffic was rerouted from Main St to Broad St due to the Spiderman 2 filming on Main St.   So, for the last 10 days, the falcon watchers had not been allowed to park on the BSB.  It was good to have it back.

After parking on the BSB, I looked all over hoping to spot a falcon.  I wasn’t sure who was in the nest box brooding the eggs.  Many thanks to Forum Falcon Watcher Annette for tweeting out that it was  Dot.ca in the nest box.  I looked all over for Beauty, but could not find her.  So I decided to go over to the BS location.  At 4:15 pm, I circled the building a couple times and did not see or hear Pigott or any other falcons.  That is not to say she wasn’t on the building somewhere.  The Canada Geese were again honking loudly.  Time to head back downtown.

At 4:40 pm, I was back on the Broad St Bridge, facing east, when I spotted my first falcon of my watch.  I knew that Dot.ca was in the nest box, so this had to be Beauty.  She was soaring gracefully over the downtown buildings, stretching her wings and possibly on a hunt.  She flew high above the Xerox Tower before turning back towards me, heading for the Times Square Bldg. (TSB)

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Beauty flew over me and up to the TSB where she landed on the nest box platform.  Within a couple minutes, Dot.ca got off the eggs and flew out of the nest box, landing on the Mercury statue’s moneybag hand.  Beauty went directly into the nest box to take her turn at brooding the four eggs.

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The dark clouds approached from the west, behind the Times Square Bldg.  When they arrived, it started to pour.

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After it started to rain, Dot.ca took off.  I did not see where he went. (4:53 pm)

I remained on the Broad St Bridge, facing west, towards the Times Square building, waiting to see if Dot.ca would return.  He did not while I was there.  Fellow Falcon Watcher Pat  walked by on her way home.  She stopped for a few moments to chat and then went on her way.

The rain continued, so at about 5:15 pm, it was time for me to head home.  On my way home, it started to thunder and lightning.

I saw only Beauty and Dot.ca during my short, late afternoon watch.  Hopefully I will see Pigott tomorrow.

I’ll leave you with a few pics I took during my watch.

I couldn’t believe how low the Genesee River had gotten, since the last time I saw it.

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The base of the Main St Bridge is congested with all kinds of trees and limbs.  They will really need to clean up this area soon.

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Last, it was the first day of the Lilac Festival at Highland Park.  From what I’ve heard, the lilacs are blooming and ready for their many fans from around the world to view them and to smell their lovely fragrance.  I do love the Lilac Festival!  If you go, have a wonderful time!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another warm morning here in Western New York at 55 (F) 13 (C) when I left for downtown. It started out sunny but became overcast before I left for home and has since rained.

I arrived on a quiet, litter strewn Broad St. Bridge (BSB) (post Spiderman movie) finding Dot.Ca (DC) on the Mercury money bag (MMB) around 5:30am.

5 minutes later he flew to the nest box to relieve Beauty on their eggs-she in turn flew to the base of Mercury as is their regular morning ritual. I drove down to the hole (Aqueduct St.) to watch her.

Beauty did some preening and stretching but no eating as DC didn’t bring anything this morning and there must not have been any cached food on the base.

She hopped up on the green part of the base and then back down to the concrete southwest corner with her back to me so I went back up to the bridge to view her from the front.

We hung out for the next 45 minutes and then the Beautyful one flew east. I followed her as she went behind Midtown out of view and then I drove over there. I spotted Beauty on the northwest corner of HSBC and she was having a bite to eat at first. It must have been a very small bit of cached food for she was done by the time I found a place to observe.

She seemed to be in hunt mode but the pigeons weren’t willing to come out and play so at about 6:50am she flew west out of my field of vision.

I had a feeling Beauty was going to the nest box and sure enough I got a tweet from Annette that DC was off and Beauty was now on their eggs. Thanks! When I got back to the BSB at 7am I could see DC on the MMB-it sure is nice to have the bridge back after being off limits for parking during the Spiderman movie filming.

DC kept looking up while I watched him and I have no idea why because I couldn’t see anything above us. Of course I don’t have the eyesight of a Peregrine Falcon either.

10 minutes later DC waved goodbye and flew off to the southwest toward Cornhill out of view.

I then drove to the Brighton Site (BS) but found nobody to be home. I stayed about an hour but I never saw or heard Miss Pigott. I returned to downtown just before 8:30am and got a tweet from Annette that a switch had been made leaving DC on incubation duties. I stopped on Exchange Blvd. by Cornhill where you can see the south side of all the downtown buildings but saw no bumps. I turned down Broad St. on my way home to check the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) but saw nothing there either so I ended my watch at 8:35am. I had to smile for as I left downtown Annette and Donna informed me  that Beauty was on the base of Mercury hiding from me-they all like to play hide and seek with us watchers! 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiBe

http://youtu.be/YHLGbcIVoWc
http://youtu.be/HBzHXycsZp8
http://youtu.be/-ru_W4YE6lA
http://youtu.be/8KcL2XE5MIw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I didn’t know what to expect when I went downtown for my falcon watch tonight.  It was the last day of filming of Spiderman 2 and I wasn’t sure where they would be set-up.  When I arrived just before 6:00 pm, the area around the Times Square Bldg (TSB) and all the roads were open.  They were doing the last of their filming at the east end of Main St.  So getting down to Aqueduct St (aka the “hole”) was not a problem today.

Just as I arrived, I saw a large Peregrine Falcon fly up to the Mercury Statue.  I parked my car and settled in to watch Beauty eating on the base of the Mercury statue.  Whatever she had was very small and might have been cached there from an earlier meal.  It didn’t take her long to finish her meal.

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Soon after she finished eating, Beauty flew up to the Times Square Bldg and landed on a very small ledge on the SE corner of the building at about the same level as the nest box, which contained Dot.ca and their 4 eggs.

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At 6:10 pm, Beauty took off heading south over the Blue Cross Arena (aka Rochester War Memorial).  I waited for her to return, but she didn’t.  Since I wasn’t sure where she went, I drove around downtown looking for her, but had no luck finding her.

When I pulled back onto Aqueduct St at 6:30 pm, two falcons were in the air, definitely male and female based on size, and there was a lot of vocalization.  It was Beauty & Dot.ca and they both ended up landing on the top south side IBeam on the OCSR.

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Beauty flew back up to the nest box and Dot.ca remained on OCSR.  A gentleman from Syracuse (sorry, I forgot your name!) stopped to talk about the architecture of Rochester.  I pointed out Dot.ca to him and he told me he was here for a convention and that he knew George M, a Syracuse falcon watcher.  Again, what a small falcon world.  As we were talking, Beauty flew by Dot.ca and headed east across the river.  I tweeted out asking if Beauty was still in the nest box, hoping it wasn’t a 3rd falcon.  Huge thanks to Ei and NCAFalcon for the assist tonight.  They let me know that Beauty had left the nest box, so it was her that flew by.

Not to pass up on an opportunity to egg sit, Dot.ca zipped into the nest box.  I walked over towards Broad St and found Beauty on the jail communication tower on the 2nd arm down. (7:00 pm)

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Since all was quiet, I decided to head over to the BS location to check on Pigott.  I arrived around 7:30 pm and found Pigott on the south side of the building above the south vent and she was vocalizing.  She took off and there were now two in the air, definitely male and female.  She chased him about the building a little bit and she ended up on the south vent and the male (tiercel) landed above her.  This was definitely an adult male.  Just as I was checking out this handsome guy, I received a tweet.  It was Ei and she reported that Dot.ca was off the eggs and Beauty was back on them.  Wow!  Dot.ca beat me over to BS.  These swift birds are totally amazing.

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They did some tandem hunting south of the building and returned to almost the same spots they had left.  As swiftly as he had appeared, Dot.ca was gone!  The next tweet I received was stating that Dot.ca was back downtown in the nest box on the eggs!

It was getting late, so I decided to check out downtown one last time before heading home.  By the time I got there, Beauty was back in the nest box.  I found Dot.ca on the Mercury statues moneybag hand.  He was watching over his territory preening.

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Beauty was in the nest box on the eggs and all was quiet.

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All three Rochester Falcons were seen during my watch and Dot.ca had visited with both Beauty and Pigott, which was nice to see.  It was time to wrap up my falcon watch and call it a day! (8:10 pm)

After 10 days of filming Spiderman 2, Rochester would return to normal.  I would think that the bus traffic will be rerouted back to Main St and the Broad St Bridge would again be open to the falcon watchers.  As much as it was a pain sometimes to get around, I thought it was a nice change.  So many nice folks, that normally don’t come downtown, did come down to see what was going on.  Downtown came to life, especially for the evening hours.  Most importantly, the falcons were not disturbed while they brooded their eggs.

So, it’s a wrap!

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The trash has been picked up and the spidey crew will move on to new locations.  Thanks for making Rochester a little more exciting these past few days.  🙂

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My friends and fellow Falcon Watchers Joyce and Brian H were out earlier this afternoon and were fortunate to be able to see some action and the star of the show himself!

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures that Joyce took today and was kind enough to allow me to post on my falcon watch report.  Thanks Joyce!

The first one is an action scene with two stuntmen fighting on top of a vehicle.

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and my favorite one of the star of the show, Spiderman!  Awesome picture Joyce!

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*Be sure to click on any pictures to see the whole picture.*

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The temperature was 59 (F) 15 (C) at the start with rain on and off in varying intensity during my watch.

So I drove downtown and got myself all cinched in by He’s Chinese to wait for Dot.Ca (DC) to come relieve Beauty on egg duty. Yesterday we waited a little over an hour and a half. Today I waited over 2 and a half hours when I decided to go to the Brighton site (BS) to look for him and when I left I knew DC would show up. Sure enough half way there Donna informed me that DC was on the eggs and she thought he brought food for Beauty. He’s a funny little man that DC! lol Not only did I miss the switch but I was out of luck finding Miss Pigott at BS as well. What can ya do but go with it right!? I went back downtown finding Beauty at about 8:45am on the base of Mercury.

I was viewing from the Court St. bridge and she had her back to me at first. I took advantage of the lull in the rain and shot a video of the river while I waited for Beauty to turn around for me.  And she did-at least one of our falcons was cooperating for me. lol

Beauty took off when I wasn’t looking but I found her easily as I made my way down Court St. to Exchange Blvd. she was straight ahead on the jail tower 3rd arm down on the southeast side. I drove over to Troup St. for the best place to observe her.

I stayed there for the better part of an hour while she mostly preened making herself Beautyful. At 10am I went back to BS and happily after the 2nd trip around found Pigott on the front edge of the cubby. Only her tail feathers were showing when I spotted her and as I got ready to take a pic she moved in where I couldn’t see her. I’m sure DC told her to mess with MAK this morning! haha I  waited 15 minutes to see if she would come out and play but she didn’t so I returned to downtown for one last look/see.  No luck finding Beauty and I never did see DC on my watch, tho he gave me a chuckle I left for home at 10:35am smiling! 🙂

Links for 4 videos are below for you to view-just click em

http://youtu.be/TFeI70mqLsw
http://youtu.be/3khtLRs5MqM
http://youtu.be/YUo-iaF5CXQ
http://youtu.be/6KWS4RsEpaY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Well you knew all this spectacular weather had to come to an end.  When I arrived downtown a little after 6:00 pm, I was greeted by a big clash of thunder and pouring rain with temperatures in the mid 60’s (F).  I found an open parking spot on Broad St on the south side of the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  From there I could see the back and south side of the TSB and the Mercury Statue.  While I waited out the rain, I saw no falcons.  Aqueduct St was blocked, so I couldn’t park down there like I did yesterday.

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Before it started raining, Joyce and Lisa McK had been at the BS location watching Pigott, who was quite vocal and active this afternoon.  So I decided to check out the downtown area and to brave the busy Rochester streets.  Kathy O texted me saying that she was over on the Andrews St Bridge (ASB), so as the heavy rain lessened, I headed over there to join her.  From there we could not spot any falcons.  We knew that Beauty was inside the nest box and since it was quiet, we were again on the move, finding a couple of parking spots over on Plymouth Ave, near Main St.  From there we could walk around the area.

Spiderman 2 filming was finished for the day, so we were free to wander down Main St.  I really wanted to check out Pindle Alley, which had been decked out as Chinatown yesterday and this morning.  What a mess!  Veggies, mostly cabbage, were strewn about everywhere!

We left Pindle Alley and made our way down Main St to Exchange/State St.  From there we had a good view of the nest box on the TSB and the Mercury statue, which was currently occupied by Dot.ca.  We were going to get a closer look, but he spread his wings and took off heading towards the TSB.  We lost him behind the Wilder Bldg and were unable to find him.

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So with Joyce and Lisa McK reporting seeing Pigott, Dot.ca on Mercury and Beauty in the nest box on the 4 eggs, all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons were accounted for during my watch, making it a very good day indeed!

Only one more day of filming Spiderman 2 in Rochester, so hopefully things will return to normal soon.  Although, I will miss meeting all the people that have come downtown to see all the activity.  It’s been fun!

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from Pindle Alley (a narrow alley between the Powers Bldg and the Sisters City Garage – Between Church and Main) aka Chinatown.  Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another warm morning in Rochester  as I started my watch at 5:35am with a temperature of 56 (F) 13 (C) and mostly cloudy skies. The rain is to arrive later with somewhat cooler temperatures.

The daily road closure map for the Spiderman movie said that Exchange Blvd. down to Court St. and Broad St. from Plymouth Ave. to South Ave. would be closed. Thank goodness that was incorrect as I drove down into the hole (Aqueduct St.) for the 2nd day in a row to wait for Dot.Ca(DC) to relieve Beauty on their eggs.

As I sat by He’s Chinese I spotted a large falcon whom I thought was Beauty fly above me and out of view past the Wilder building-I never saw her leave the nest box or return to it so I wasn’t positive. Minutes later Ei let me know that Beauty had left the nest box right about that time and Campgee tweeted it out as well-thanks for your help. A minute or two later DC flew to the back of the northwest wing on the Times Square building (TSB). I couldn’t say if he brought prey with him or he had cached food up there but he was definitely eating.

Be sure to click on my pics to see larger versions

DC ate his share and then he flew down to the deck by the well wall with leftovers for Beauty.

He barely touched down when Beauty whipped out to grab the food from him and take it over to the base of Mercury to start chowing down. She was obviously a very hungry girl!

The Beautyful one finished eating around 7:30am cleaned her beak off on the edge of the base  a few times.

I left the hole to watch Beauty from Broad St. next to the Blue Cross Arena for a few minutes. She did some leg and wing stretches for our viewing pleasure.

I stayed half hour or so before leaving for Brighton to check on Pigott. I got there at 8:25am to find Miss Pigott eating on the south side vent. She had her back to me and was toward the back of it on the west end.

She finished eating soon after I arrived and walked to the west edge of the vent to do a little clean up and then walked back over to stand over her leftovers and contemplate where she was going to cache them.

She finally decided and took off over the top of the building with food in her talons. I spotted her fly out from the roof on the west side above where the cubby is as I made my way around the service road and there was no longer anything in her talons as she disappeared to the east.

Pigott didn’t return so I went back downtown passing by Highland Park I couldn’t resist taking a pic of this horse.

I found Beauty on the base of Mercury where I left her. I decided to end my watch at this point and tweeted it out. I started packing up my equipment and glanced back at Mercury to see that DC was now on the money bag. Quick-that’s what these falcons are as they did a switch while I wasn’t looking. I got my camera back out took a couple pics and a video of DC and then I left for real. In the last series of both Beauty and DC each of them had a bird flying by behind them which I thought was kinda funny.

<Beauty  DC>

Once again I left for home  with a smile on my face for having seen all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiA4

http://youtu.be/5yS9_Z_7_Zo
http://youtu.be/JBIB-7ErKX4
http://youtu.be/XiB4QbZw2YU
http://youtu.be/nYpJegWIfVQ
http://youtu.be/BMO5utMVkZc
http://youtu.be/IV-gQjnfSDo
http://youtu.be/SluKNSDXhQI

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a stunningly beautiful and warm day today with temps in the mid to high 70’s (F).  Early May doesn’t get much better than this in Rochester, NY and it’s about to come to an end.  Cooler temperatures and very much need rain is heading our way tomorrow afternoon.  The Spiderman folks couldn’t have planned a better stretch of weather for their filming.  Only two more days left.  They wrap up on Thursday, May 9th.  As much as it has been a nuisance getting around downtown for my late afternoon/evening falcon watches, I’ve kind of enjoyed meeting so many new folks, both Rochesterians and visitors.  Today Brian and I met a very nice young lady from Pittsburgh.  She is a member of the Spiderman crew with a tie-in to our Rochester falcons.  More about that later.

When I first arrive downtown at about 4:30 pm, I was able to park on Aqueduct St (aka the hole).  I found Beauty on the south side of the nest box.  I quickly tweeted out that she was there and asked if Dot.ca was inside the nest box on the eggs?  I quickly got answers from Lisa McK, Ei, Joyce and Ruth.  Thanks ladies!  It is so nice having your help.  🙂

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I had to run a quick errand and when I returned to Aqueduct St. at approximately 5:30 pm, I found Dot.ca on the OCSR, 2nd IBeam down near the south corner.  Beauty had taken over brooding duties on their four eggs.

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Brian H joined me at 5:45 pm and when we looked up at OCSR, Dot.ca was gone.  A few minutes later, we found him on the green stripe at the top of the Wilder Bldg.  Since everything was quiet, we decided to head over to Main St. to check up on what was happening with the Spiderman filming.  There was a lot of activity on Main St west of State/Exchange St.  A car was on fire and three NYPD police cars were speeding down Pindle Alley, which was now “China Town”.  They stopped filming around 6:30 pm and allowed us to walk down Main St, which was very interesting.  I’ll add a  couple pics at the end of this report.

After checking out Main St, Brian and I returned to Aqueduct St. and found Dot.ca over on the Mercury statue’s money bag hand.

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Dot.ca was hyper vigilant, keeping an eye on his downtown territory and keeping the Crows out of his airspace.  He chased one of the Crows into the trees in Aqueduct Park.  At about 7:15 pm, Dot.cat took off and flew to the east side of the OCSR and around the back (north side).  We did not see him come back around.  It was getting late and I wanted to take a quick trip over to the BS location to find Pigott, so I dropped Brian off at his apartment and headed out there.

It was very quiet at the BS location and I quickly found Pigott sitting on the ledge of the cubby at 7:45 pm.  She was checking out the Canada Geese that were walking and honking loudly below her.  Just as I was leaving at 8:00 pm, Pigott flew to the SW corner of the NW extension.

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I was very happy to see all three Rochester Falcons on my watch today.

OK, now for the story of Melinda and what a small falcon world it really is.  She is a member of the Spiderman crew that just happened to be standing at the barricade we were watching from.  I got to talking with her and found out she was from Pittsburgh, PA.  She really like Rochester and I told her about the Rochester falcons that were nesting on the Times Square Bldg.  She said “falcons”!  She then went on to tell Brian and I about being at the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh and how they had falcons there too!  One day she had been walking near there and someone yelled out “DON’T MOVE!”  She of course did move and turned around because she was startled.  Just in front of her was a very large Peregrine Falcon, by the name of Dorothy (she found this out from the falcon watcher that had warned her).  I told her we had Dorothy’s daughter Beauty sitting on 4 eggs on the next building over from where we stood.  She was so excited to learn this.  Brian handed her an Rfalconcam card and she said she would check it out.  Now talk about a small falcon world!  lol

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I’ll leave you with a couple pics I took while wandering up and down Main St with Brian H.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Today the starting temperature was 51 (F) 11 (C) and could be the last nice day for a while as rain is in the forecast tomorrow with cooler temps moving in. It will be more like spring the next week or so. Saw just a sliver of the moon on my way down Maple St.

Arriving downtown this morning around 5:30am I was pleasantly surprised that Exchange Blvd. wasn’t blocked and I could get to the hole (Aqueduct St.) so I went straight over there to watch for the first egg switch of the day. I had a long wait for Dot.Ca (DC) was doing other things first thing this morning.

1 1/2 hours later I saw a tiercel fly in from the east above the Thomson Reuters and Philipone buildings up to the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB)and disappear. I tweeted that it was DC but I’m not so sure it was him. I was too close to see the back of the ledge from the hole so I drove up to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) but there was nobody under any of the wings. I checked around the east,west and north side of the territory without finding a falcon so I went to the Brighton site. Bingo-as I approached the site I could see a large falcon on the northwest corner. When I pulled down the service road it vanished. I stopped on the west side near the cubby and out of the corner of my eye I spotted somebody on the northwest corner which was kinda behind me. I cranked my head around and took the first falcon pic of the day at 7:40am. Good morning Miss Pigott!

Click on my pics for a larger version

I thought we were alone and started to back up to have an easier angle in which to observe but as I was in the process DC came blazing in from the southwest and mated with Pigott. I couldn’t stop and get the camera focused on them in time as they both flew off out of view immediately afterwards. I drove to the south side (back) of building and found Pigott on the west end of the south side vent but DC was nowhere to be found.

She was back on it a bit eating at first and when she was finished she walked over to the side where I had a better view of her.

The reason I didn’t see DC is because he had left for downtown as I received messages from both Donna and Annette saying that he had finally relieved Beauty and was on the eggs. Thank you very much ladies!  I stayed with Pigott for 10 more minutes and then I left for downtown.  I went to the Court St. bridge where I could see the Beautyful one on the base of Mercury, and let me tell ya the feathers were flying!! She was all business getting to this meal after such a long sit on the eggs.

Beauty turned away from me after 10 minutes so I drove over to the hole to share space with her. She was done preparing and now eating her long awaited meal.

She went for the first leg and gulped that down and then the second one. I don’t know how they swallow them but they manage it. GULP!

When Beauty was finished dining she flew off and I next saw her soaring high above the river drifting east until I lost her in the big Beautyful sky! I resurfaced from the hole to have a look around for her but she was nowhere in sight. I chose to end my watch at that point around 9:15am. Tho it was less than 10 seconds that I saw DC over at BS it still counts as I saw all 3 of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons putting a smile on this watchers face! 🙂

To view more pics and videos all you need do is click on the links below

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrf_g

http://youtu.be/AiyMK9mXzaQ
http://youtu.be/dmkE-93STx8
http://youtu.be/sADX_ay_R9E
http://youtu.be/RSZZ9WOTTmE