By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Just wait a week to go from one season to another here in Rochester. Oppressive heat and humidity last week with the high for a few days in the 90’s  and low’s in the 70’s. This week our highs are in the 70’s and as I commuted to the city for my watch this morning the bank clock in Mt. Morris said 48 degrees (F), that’s 9 (C)!!! What a shock to the system!

Arriving at the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) at 5:30am I found Rosetta all by herself (or so it seemed) on the east side railing where she quickly jumped down to the platform-most likely looking for food.

A couple minutes later I could hear 2 juvies vocalizing and so I checked every angle to look for the 2nd one. No luck finding 2 but there was one on the east side railing when I got around to that side again and then it flew south. I went in search of our little family and found Beauty on the northeast corner of HSBC perched on the railing. She stayed there with me for 10 minutes then kakked a bit and flew off to the west circling above Xerox and Bausch&Lomb.

I lost track of the Beautyful one as she came in and out of view. I ended up going back to FCT where all 3 juvies were playing talon tag. I drove up to the top of the Sister Cities garage for a broader view of things. A juvie landed on the support beam for the large satellite dish on the FCT but wasn’t there for long as one of its siblings flew in and tried to get it to join in a game of talon tag.

Success as all 3 Falconeers took off heading north toward Kodak Office (KO). Sure enough one landed on the west side wall of the 20th floor and another landed on the northeast corner crown of the dolphin balcony.

Click my pics for the full version

The balcony fledgling flew up briefly landing on the southeast corner of the netting that keeps birds from getting into the playpen. The 3rd juvie flew past landing on the northeast corner of the launchpad and then they both were off and circling the tower and out of view to the north. They came over to FCT quite noisily-one landed on the top arm west side and the other on the 2nd arm south side.

click it

Next I spotted a falcon on the northeast corner of the KO playpen netting-I couldn’t tell if it was an adult or juvie because of the distance. The top arm fledgling flew down to the south side railing of the FCT platform,the KO bird was gone and the railing bird flew up to the 2nd arm across from its sibling then they flew off together to KO landing on the playpen netting west side.

They didn’t stay long as 1 of them flew off circling and flew close trying 3 times to get the other to come play tag.  3rd time was the charm as they flew off talon tagging to the north. Thankfully nobody got their talons caught in the netting!

The next half hour I spent looking for our falcon family to no avail so I went over to Brighton. Pigott was nowhere to be found either so back downtown I went. As I sat on the Broad St. Bridge I was just about to tweet and ask where had all the falcons gone when I got a message from cam watcher Donna saying one was on the west side of the FCT platform railing. DebbieH walked up and we both took a ride over to City Hall just in time to see it fly off to the Widows Walk north side railing.

Deb had to get to work so I drove to the hole behind Keybank for a good angle to see the leg bands in order to ID it. Turns out this wonderous wing spreader was the lovely Voyager. While she was up there a robin and a sparrow joined her, perching on the opposite side of course! While I tweeted out her identity she flew off so I had no idea what direction she went. I took off for FCT finding who I figure was Voyager perched up on the top arm north side of FCT.

I could find no other PEFAs and called it a watch. I never saw Dot.Ca so maybe he was off with Pigott this morning or perhaps with the other 2 fledglings teaching them how to hunt. I did however see all 3 Fledglings which is reason to smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and 3 videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiYc

http://youtu.be/6_pcXwHA-4o
http://youtu.be/5pADb3QpJtE
http://youtu.be/KlgMlAC1-qs

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a much cooler day today.  A little chilly in fact.  Overcast for much of the day, but by the time I left work, the clouds were breaking up and the sun was shining.  I arrived downtown close to 4:00 pm.  When I spotted 2 falcons low on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT), I headed over there and that’s where I remained for my entire Watch which was a little over 4 hours.

At that time, the area around City Hall was very busy, but I found a parking spot on the street in front of the Frontier bldg, which the FCT sits on.  I fed the meter and found the best spot to sit, which was a bench in front of City Hall.  The sun was directly in my face, but I could see the two falcons on the lower section of the FCT.  Baron was on the south side and was crying out to Beauty who was at his level on the east side.

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Beauty started to KAK KAK KAK and she flew off low heading north.  The Kakking got louder and I walked around trying to see where she went.  To my surprise she was very low on a security camera on the NE corner of the Frontier Bldg directly across from the City Hall.  There were many people on the sidewalk there that kept looking up trying to figure out what the loud noise was.  I knew and I worried that maybe one of the young ones was in trouble.  After a few moments, Beauty stopped vocalizing and she flew back to the Frontier Comm Twr, landing on the east side a little higher than she had been.

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While it was quiet, I searched the surrounding area, but couldn’t find anything that might have been bothering Beauty.  That was before Dot.ca flew in with food followed by Rosetta.  They both landed on the platform above and Baron joined them.

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I could see both Baron and Rosetta sharing the small prey that Dot.ca brought in, through the platform grating.

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After they finished, both settled on the platform.  I never did see Dot.ca take off since my attention was on the juvies.  Ei, a member of the Rfalconcam Forum tweeted out that there were three juvies up there, although I could only see two.  Thanks Ei!

Beauty remained on a lower part of the comm tower.  She was actively watching the area to the east, obviously in hunt mode.  Then she was off!

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Kathy O joined me just in time to see Beauty return carrying a pigeon towards the FCT.  Both Voyager and Baron were off chasing Beauty.  They all landed low on the FCT and a tug-o-war between Voyager and Beauty started.  Baron didn’t get in the middle of it, smart boy.  Mom and daughter were not giving up.  After a lot of persistence, Beauty finally pulled the pigeon away from Voyager and they both touched beaks. Voyager was hungry, but Beauty wanted to prep the food before she gave it to her.  Feathers were flying for quite awhile before Voyager again moved in and Beauty left her to her meal.  Baron flew up higher on the comm tower and watch from above.  Rosetta had never moved from her spot on the platform.

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After Beauty completes the preparation of the prey she brought in with feathers flying, she takes off and let’s Voyager eat.  Kathy O had to leave and Dan S joined me.

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Voyager ate her fill for a very long time.  When she finished, Beauty went to the leftovers and had an evening snack.

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Just before 8:00 pm, Dan and I could see all 3 juvies and Beauty on the Frontier Comm Tower.  It was so nice to see all three juvies together!

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Beauty and Voyager were very close, lower on the FCT, while Baron and Rosetta were high up.

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At 7:30 pm, I was ready to go and tweeted that out.  But, as usual, something happened to make me stay just a little longer.  No pictures sorry to say.  Dan and I were chatting when a very noisy gull flew by the Frontier Comm Tower.  It had just passed by heading south when first Baron and then Rosetta took off.  They both took turns stooping on the gull over and over again above the Hochstein School of Music Parking Lot.  Dan and I moved out to the sidewalk to get a better view.  That gull didn’t know what hit it and was so confused, not knowing what way to turn.  All three flew east behind City Hall and we lost sight of them.  It wasn’t long before both Rosetta and Baron returned to FCT.  Wow!  What a way to end my Watch.  🙂

Dan and I both left a little after 8:00 pm leaving Beauty, Voyager, Rosetta and Baron on the Frontier Communication Tower.   It was so nice to stay in one place and to see so much falcon activity tonight.

Have a nice evening everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 62 degrees (F) 17 (C) with a brisk breeze out of the northwest and no humidity when I arrived downtown this morning making it feel downright chilly!

My first stop was the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) as is my usual routine and i spotted a fledgling right out of the gate as it flew to the small Frontier tower and landed. A couple minutes later it flew over to the FCT and joined another juvie on the platform railing-one on the east side and one on the south side. The 3rd juvie was on the 2nd arm and they all took off when Beauty came in with food.

Click on pics for full version

There was a food exchange and the 3 Falconeers ended up on the small tower fighting over it! One of them took off with the food as Dot.Ca (DC) came in and landed next to the remaining 2 with food. They started a tug of war and DC left them to it. Next there were 4 in the air space around FCT and the Sister Cities Garage where I stationed myself on the roof for this busy time.

What happened next was an adrenalin starter for a juvie chased after one with food and as they were wrestling in mid air not paying attention they kept losing altitude and dropped down to near Fitzhugh St. between City Place and the garage. Just before reaching ground they broke it off and the one without food flew right up the face of the garage and above my head within 6 feet of me! It was sensational and probably the most memorable thing I’ve witnessed-falcon speaking of course!! DC then came screaming across above me flying toward Times Square chirping and the juvie followed after him then doubled back at Widows Walk and landed on the northeast corner of City Place.

Turns out this was Voyager-a lovely little flyer after her slow start leaving the nest.  She then flew over to FCT landing on the platform railing. I saw another fledgling on the small tower. Next I watched 2 juvies chasing each other with one landing behind the satelite dish one on the northeast cube and Beauty landed on the southwest cube.

<Beauty <Voyager

Voyager left flying past the Powers building to near the OCSR and out of sight. The dish bird flew to the north side of FCT and either landed or kept flying north for I lost sight of it. Beauty was the only falcon I could see and she left a few minutes later stooping on something to the north and then there were none. A flurry of activity in my first half hour! I came down from the garage and went to the Broad St. bridge (BSB) where I spotted one of the girls on the southeast corner of the Crossroads building and she appeared to be eating.

Click the pics

She took off and flew above the OCSR and disappeared behind it to the north. I then spotted 2 juvies playing talon tag above the State St. area. I drove over to City Hall to find Rosetta on the north side railing of the platform.

Another fledgling landed on the platform and then Rosetta and the juvie flew southwest. I left for the Brighton site at this time and found the pretty Miss Pigott on the south side vent at the east end all poofed up staying warm on this chilly morning.

I shared space with Pigott for half hour as she checked out her surroundings for a potential meal. She faked me out a couple times as I thought she would take off but then would settle back down into her poofy state.

I had an early appointment so I ended my watch in Brighton at 8am. I must say it was a very quick start to my watch this morning and I’m able to say that I saw all 6 Rochester Peregrine Falcons which put a big old smiley face on me!!  🙂

Click on the links below to view my videos

http://youtu.be/D4fifvYAZzA
http://youtu.be/-OydFFd9cSQ
http://youtu.be/BIHbBXx9df4
http://youtu.be/L-LJHdFCkaY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was still in the upper 70’s (F) when I arrived downtown  a little after 6:00 pm.  Both Kathy O and Joyce were there ahead of me.  Kathy had found a juvie on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) and Joyce had an adult on the top Ibeam SE corner of the OCSR.  I checked the FCT and Kodak Office when I arrived and could find no falcons.  When I caught up with Kathy and Joyce on the Broad St Bridge (BSB), the adult was still on OCSR and there was now a juvie on the very top of the B&L building on the cupola.  It’s not very often we see a falcon up there.

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The adult took off from OCSR and and headed towards the FCT.  We lost sight of this falcon as it flew low below the platform.  The juvie remained on B&L for a little longer before taking off and flying around the Xerox Tower.  No other juvies came out to fly with this one, like yesterday.

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The juvie landed on top of Xerox on the NW corner. John and Larry O joined the Watch.  It was overcast, so the lighting was not the best and it started to lightly rain by the end of the Watch.

Kathy O spotted a falcon on the Times Square Bldg on the NE corner of the ledge above the nest box.  It looked like an adult, but we were too far away, watching from the east end of the BSB, to know for sure.

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When we looked back at Xerox, the juvie on the corner was gone.

It started to lightly rain, so at 8:00 pm, everyone decided it was time to head home.  I drove closer to the TSB to see if I could ID the falcon there.  It looked like Beauty to me and she was soaking wet.  She probably took a quick bath when she flew over towards the TSB earlier.

Since I could see no juvies, I decided to take a quick trip around the downtown area.  As I turned off of Broad St, I saw a juvie flying in from the south.  It was too late to turn around, so I continued my search. Finding nothing, I returned to the BSB.  Beauty was still on the TSB, but I could not find the juvie.  Hmmmm.  My next stop before heading home was the FCT.

There was a juvie on the SE corner of the FCT platform and after searching the rest of it, I found a 2nd juvie eating below the one on the platform.

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I was unable to positively ID any of the juvies we saw tonight, so I have no idea if we saw all 3, or just two of them.  At 8:30 pm, it was time to head home.  As I was leaving, I received a tweet from Joyce who had stopped out at the BS location on her way home.  I was glad to hear that she had found Pigott at home.

Tomorrow is another day and I plan to be out again, keeping my eyes to the sky in hope of seeing three high flying juvies!  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays starting temperature was 68 (F) 20 (C) with light rain falling and humid conditions. It cleared up after a while and the sun came out.

Arriving downtown about 5:35am I could find no falcons but after 20 minutes and my 2nd trip around in search of them I found Beauty on the northeast corner of HSBC.

At 6:04am Beauty flew north out of view. As I reached the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I could see a juvie circling the Hyatt Hotel then it flew south. I then spotted a juvie up on the the Chase building 3 columns over from the northwest corner. It flew from one column to the next until it got to the northwest corner.

I went up on the top floor of the South Ave. garage for the best view of downtown. The fledgling on Chase stayed quite a while and of course left when I wasn’t looking. No worries tho for when I turned around to look west across the river I saw all 3 juvies on the OCSR elevator shaft.

You must click on my pics to see full version

They hung out up there walking around and the girls got in each others air space a little while they waited for a food delivery.

Click em

Around 7:15am Beauty came flying in from the east and the kids saw her coming as the first one took off after her. Then the other two flew off together-they all followed right behind Beauty as she approached the OCSR.

Click em

Beauty landed on top of the shaft with breakfast and the fledglings flew around a bit celebrating before Rosetta broke off and went for the goods as the other 2 flew around the Times Square area and vanished behind it. They came back soon as the hunger pangs lead them to the food. I could only see 2 eating but I imagine the 3rd was there somewhere as well.

While they were eating I decided to come down out of the garage and take a spin over to the Brighton Site. As I was leaving downtown I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) on the top arm south side of the jail tower.

Unfortunately Pigott wasn’t home so I returned downtown stopping in the Cornhill section of Exchange Blvd. near Fitzhugh St. to take my usual look at downtown before entering. I could see a juvie on the elevator shaft of OCSR toward the back.

I then found the Beautyful one on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR as I drove to the hole.

Next thing I knew Beauty was off and there were 2 fledglings flying with her by the Crossroads building-they headed west out of view. 10 minutes later as I drove around looking I found Baron on the north side lower roof  of Crossroads perched on the apparatus up there with a leftover wing in his talon.

I couldn’t find any other PEFAs so I ended my watch at 9am smiling for having seen all 5 downtown Rochester Peregrine Falcons this morning! 🙂

Click on the links below to see more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiXg

http://youtu.be/hbRhJr41qVU

http://youtu.be/bgGr7YIL-bU

http://youtu.be/J6o3Fksv-Aw
http://youtu.be/gG27KusB3VU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Last night’s evening fledge watch took place over at the Frontier Communication Tower.  Tonight’s fledge watch was all high flying activity by all three juvies that we viewed from the Broad St Bridge.  Kathy O, Jeanne, Larry O and I were thrilled to see them all flying high, mostly between Xerox and the Chase Tower.  Lots of talon tagging by all three as they zipped around the tall downtown Rochester buildings.  Beauty got into the mix when she left food on top of the Chase Tower and brought in food for a food transfer later in the Watch.

During my two hour Watch (6:30 – 8:30 pm), I cannot confirm that I saw Dot.ca.  There was a lot of falcon activity and at a far distance.  It was overcast and it started to rain.

We were happy to see all three juvies doing so well.  Each day seems to bring us something new.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring!  One thing we know for sure, these three love to hang out with each other.  Here are some pictures from my evening Watch.  Enjoy!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

When I left Nunda at 4:10am this morning for my watch it was 62 degrees (F) 17 (C). When I got downtown around 5:30am the bank clock said 66 and it was mostly cloudy.

After checking the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) I determined there were no falcons present. I left to check the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) and as I was driving down State St. I heard the familiar sound of juvies in the airspace to my left. I pulled over and spotted 2  talon tagging on the north side of OCSR. They also were doing half stoops on each other where the recipient would maneuver out of the way. It kinda reminded me of when Dot.Ca (DC) first came back from migration and he would go after Beauty half heartedly not really trying to hurt her but to get a point across. It’s all relative in the Peregrine world. I watched them fly to the north toward Kodak Office but when I drove down there I could find none.

I made it to the BSB and had a look around in vain so I checked the east side. I found Beauty on the southeast corner on the railing of HSBC.

Click on my pics to see the full version

Beauty flew off when I wasn’t looking around 6am. After a tour around the city came up empty I went over to Brighton and had the same result=nobody home. It was a frustrating watch this morning as our fledglings are  starting to branch out farther from the immediate area making it difficult to locate them. When I returned to the BSB Dan was set up in his chair. He said he watched Rosetta and Baron practice stooping repeatedly off the Radisson but hadn’t seen one in the last 15 minutes. A juvie flew in and landed on the elevator shaft just before 7am.

It didn’t stay long flying off to the west toward FCT. Dan ended his watch at this point and I went searching again. 30 minutes later I found a sleeping juvie on the Crossroads roof on the east side near the southeast corner and DC was on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR.

Both juvie and DC took off when I wasn’t watching. Ugh! DebbieH stopped by on her way to work and just before she left 2 falcons flew in from the east side crossing the river. One landed on top of the elevator shaft and one flew up in the elevator shaft on OCSR. Seconds later a juvie flew in and landed on top of the shaft next to its sibling.

<I believe the one on the right is Rosetta

A minute or two later the PEFA that went up in the elevator shaft (adult I think) came shooting out stooping on a pigeon down behind Thomson Reuters and the 2 juvies on the shaft followed behind. All three went out to the jail tower with 2 landing on it and the other circling before disappearing to the southwest. I drove to Troup St. to ID them but they were gone by the time I got there. As I was leaving I got a text from Donna saying she thought DC was on the FCT as the falcon on the camera looked real white. As I made my way down Plymouth Ave. I could see a falcon but again by the time I got there it was gone. Just one of those days!

I went up on top of the Sister Cities garage to have a quick look around but didn’t see anything so I drove right back down again cuz you don’t have to pay anything when you’re in there a short few minutes. As I pulled onto State St. from Church St. I saw a juvie on the Crossroads building north side railing.

At 9am it flew off  and I ended my watch. This was not one of the more exciting watches as in recent days but I did see all 5 downtown Peregrines and that is more than enough to make me smile! 🙂

Only 1 video link below to click and view today

http://youtu.be/LLKylIvtgW0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I and many of the Rochester Falcon Watchers spent many hours this weekend watching the young juvies tear up the sky above Rochester.  I cannot say enough about how quickly they are learning the skills they will need to survive in the future.  They are incredible!

We have seen quite a few food transfers from the adults to the juvies.  I have seen missed transfers in the past, but so far, this group has handled the talons up and grab maneuver quite nicely.  Sometimes Beauty will hang on a little longer and they will lose altitude before she releases it to the juvie, who hangs on to the food and takes it to a spot where they can eat.

I would have to say there were many highlights this weekend, but my favorites were when Rosetta first chased a Pigeon and then a bunch of Crows as they flew by the Fronter Communication Tower (FCT).  She chased them towards the Times Square Bldg and returned with two on her tail!  That didn’t bother her at all.  She just turned around and gave chase again.  lol

Watchers out during my weekend watches include: Kathy O, Dana, Joyce, Dan S, Larry O, Kris G, Bill, Jeanne and Lou.

Sorry that I don’t have more time to leave a detailed report, but I wanted to share some pictures from this weekend.  They will tell the tale better than I can.  Just hover your cursor over any picture and it will describe what the picture is and remember to click on any pics you would like to see in a larger format.  Enjoy!  Goodnight!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I didn’t check the temperature today when I left for my watch but I can say without a doubt it was cooler than the last few days and a bit less humid. Overcast skies made for a dark and dreary morning.

As I got to the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) I found 3 PEFAs. 1 on the north side platform railing, 1 below it on a beam and I could see the tail feathers of one on the platform. It was too dark for taking pics and after not finding any more I opted for the top of the Sister Cities Garage. Shortly after I arrived I saw a juvie fly over City Place to the south and I didn’t see any others until Beauty flew in from the east and landed on the 2nd arm down on the FCT.

Soon I was seeing all 3 fledglings flying like champs around the City Hall FCT area. Beauty was gone from the arm and a juvie landed on the smaller Frontier tower. Baron flew in landing on the northeast corner of City Place before taking off quite vocally and landed on a north side beam of FCT. Both juvies then took off with one returning to the small tower.

Our 3 juvies flew off playing talon tag and one by one landed on Widows Walk for a brief rest period.

Baron and Voyager took off leaving Rosetta to fend off the Robin that has been buzzing them when they are on Widows Walk.

She flew off after the robin and then joined her siblings in a game of talon tag over by the FCT. As the 3 of them were flying  west behind the tower suddenly Beauty came flying in going east and she had a package in her talons. One of the girls got the food exchange and they all vanished behind City Hall going toward the river. I next spotted Beauty on the jail tower a couple minutes later and 10 minutes later a juvie flew over my head from behind and landed on the northeast corner of City Place.

This juvie seemed to be in hunt mode as it was watching everything that moved. It took off flying over to the church roof and left soon after flying out of view.

Since I could see no falcons I decided to go to the Brighton Site (BS). Pigott was home and in hunt mode. I found her on the southwest corner of the southwest extension and a couple minutes she flew to the west extension roof.

She flew off 10 minutes later immediately going into stoop formation after a robin who narrowly escaped to the top of a tree. Miss Pigott then flew around to the east side of BS landing near the roof top tree.

10 minutes later she flew back to the west extension near the northwest corner before flying off to the south out of view.

I drove back downtown for one last check and found only one falcon-Dot.Ca who was on the northeast corner of Crossroads.

<click it to see DC

Seeing DC completed my watch as I saw all 6 Rochester Peregrine Falcons which made me smile! 🙂

I will not be out for a watch tomorrow as I’m in paradise spending time with my family. My sister and niece are here from Arkansas for the week so I’m taking a day off.

Click on the links below to view my photo album and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiWk

http://youtu.be/tmyEG4fyINs
http://youtu.be/xd3CgYdRxHE
http://youtu.be/wHVUzs1boNs

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sorry for the lateness of this report.  A very intense storm system moved through Rochester last night and I didn’t want to get on my computer.  Lots of folks with no power this morning.  Our friends in Toronto were hit first and sent out warnings that it was heading in our direction.  High winds, falling temperatures (much welcomed), heavy rains and thunder and lightning.  Crazy storm!

Again due to the heat, I did not get downtown until approximately 6:0o pm.   My first stop the Frontier Communication Tower  (FCT).  I found Voyager on the north side railing of the platform.

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I only got a few quick pictures before she took off, heading east.  I followed heading towards the Andrews St Bridge.  From there I witnessed a fantastic air show by all three juvies over the river.

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After they settled, Kathy O joined me and we decided to watch from the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  Dana, Joe B (aka Viper) and his family joined us there and we found two of the juvies on top of the OCSR elevator shaft.

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We could not find the 3rd juvie.  A storm was approaching fast from the north.  It was still really steamy and hot.  Here is a few pics of the storm approaching from the north.

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The storm was getting closer and closer and we we could see lightning in the clouds.  That’s when one of the juvies from the top of the elevator shaft took off and flew fast to the SE.  We looked in that direction and spotted what had her attention.  It was Beauty coming in from the SE carrying a very large pigeon!  The juvie flew up to Beauty and went talons up! and grabbed the pigeon.  For awhile both Beauty and the juvie were holding on, neither letting go.

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Finally, Beauty released the pigeon and the juvie, female for sure but we could not positively ID her, flipped back over.  She got a good good grip on her “prize”.  The pigeon was almost as big as she was, but she flapped hard heading back towards us and over the river.  She was losing altitude, but was able to clear the TR Bldg.  The whole way, Beauty remained close by following her young daughter.  We lost sight of her as she flew over the TR bldg.  Beauty landed on the Mercury statue.  It was time to move.  We drove down to Aqueduct St (aka the hole) and found the juvie with the pigeon safely landed on top of the northeast end of the Wilder bldg.  Whew!  She made it!

Now you know why the juvie’s talon tag.  All that practice helped her successfully complete this food transfer.  Again playfulness with purpose.  lol

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Larry O joined us there for a short while.  The storm was on top of us by this time and we noticed something strange.  The course of the Genesee River had reversed!  Instead of flowing from south to north, it was now flowing north to south, and there were white caps.  I’ve seen this happen closer to the lake, but never up this far into the city.  That was pretty incredible!

Beauty and the two other juvies were flying around, landing on the Times Square Bldg, Cross Rds Bldg and OCSR.  One of them actually visited the nest box for the first time since leaving it.  The two other juvies left the one with the food alone.  She had finally gotten the hang of how to prep her food.  Feathers were flying.  That’s when the sky opened up and it started to pour.  All the Watchers left except for Kathy and I.  The juvie on Wilder dragged her food to the NE corner of the building and then started to dance in the rain.  Flapping wings and prancing around until she got up the corner and we lost sight of her.  The temps dropped into the 70’s, from close to 90 (F).  It felt so refreshing after all the hot oppressive air we have had over the past week.

When we left a little after 9:00 pm, we had two juvies in sight.  One on the south end of Cross Rds and one on the top IBeam of the OCSR.  We were pretty sure that the one that had been eating was hunkered down on the Wilder Bldg.   Beauty had been there before being chased off by one of the juvies.  Oh, and before I forget, Kathy O had stopped at the BS location before coming downtown and had seen Pigott there.  DC is the only one I can’t say for sure was there, but knowing him, he wasn’t far away.

It was a wonderful stormy evening falcon watch.  Young Watcher Joe B was so excited to see a food transfer!  I am sure he will never forget it!