By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I stepped out the house to 77 degrees (F)  25 (C) and humid conditions once more. This is supposed to be the last day of the uncomfortable conditions.

I made my way downtown by 5:30am finding Beauty on the top arm and a juvie on the bottom arm both on the west side of the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).

The fledgling flew down to a beam on the north side and I could see the other 2 siblings on a beam above it.

< Click on my pics to view the full version

After this they were off and running, er flying! All 3 juvies took off and making lots of noise as mom joined them in their game of talon tag and just plain beautiful flying all around the FCT area. They took a break and let me catch my breath landing on the smaller tower but not for long. One at a time they took off showing great speed as they circled, but it was just the fledglings now. They would stop and land on the FCT and fly again 2 more times.

<small tower

click em

One of the kids landed on the peak of City Hall briefly while the other two landed on the roof of City Place quickly leaving my field of vision.

I took a quick ride around the block to find our fleeting falcon fledglings and when I returned I found Dot.Ca on the top arm of FCT and 2 juvies on the north side of the tower next to each other on the top red beam.

I decided it was time to go up on the roof of the Sister Cities ramp garage where I had a better view of the surrounding areas. As soon as I got up there a juvie flew right over me as the talon tag antics started up once more. These fledglings are flying like they have been doing it for years and I’ve seen no bad landings in days. They would fly and land on the City Place building a couple different times picking at food scraps and making a lot of racket. All 3 landed on Widows Walk (WW) briefly and took to the sky again.

<click em

Beauty came in landing on the northeast cube while the juvies left WW did some flying landed on FCT and disappeared. Beauty then stooped over the river and the next thing I saw (actually heard first) was the Beautyful one flying from the east followed by 3 hungry and loud juvies. There was a food exchange by the FCT to Rosetta who took it to the northeast corner of City Place and immediately mantled it.  DC flew in a minute later landing on the south side platform railing.

<Beauty Rosetta> <DC

After she rested a bit Rosetta uncovered her package to reveal it was a Mourning Dove before flying to the Crossroads building with it landing near the northwest corner of the lower roof.

Rosetta started plucking feathers and I wondered where Beauty and the other 2 kids had gone and why they weren’t swarming their sister who had the goods. 5 minutes later I watched as Voyager flew in from the north and knocked dear old dad off the railing sending him off to the south as she then flew down to the platform.

<Voyager to platform

Soon after Voyager flew north and returned with Baron on her tail feathers because she had a small package in her talons. They both flew over to City Place and landed up on the roof out of view.  At this time 2 security officers came by and questioned me saying I needed permission from the city to take pics up on the garage. I told them I had permission and they could contact June Summers. I was ready to get off the roof anyway with the heat building so I left and went to Brighton to check if Pigott was home. No such luck so I returned to downtown. Upon my return I found a juvie on the base of Mercury and one on the apparatus of the lower roof north side of Crossroads.

I ended my watch at 9am after a very fun and action filled time spent with our energetic fledglings sending me on my way with a big old smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiWG

http://youtu.be/N91-3ss2mE4
http://youtu.be/7uhpRim0iRk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Due to the high temps, I again started my Watch a little later than normal.  I arrived downtown after 6:00 pm.  As I was leaving Rte 490 on the west side of the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT), I could see one falcon on the west side on the platform railing.  I circled the tower and found two more falcons, one on the “box” on the SE side (below the platform) and one on the east side platform railing.  At first I thought it was two juvies and an adult, but it turned out to be both Beauty and Dot.ca and one juvie.  I parked in the City Hall parking lot and settled in for my Watch.  Soon fellow Falcon Watcher Kathy O joined me.  Kathy spotted a 2nd juvie on the lower communication, next to the FCT.  Now we had 4 of the 5.  Could #5 be up there too?  All was quiet.

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Yep, we were right.  A third juvie popped up with the one that had been on the west side platform railing, but now Dot.ca was gone.

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We were pretty sure the whole family was up there and just as Dana and Lou joined us we got the proof that all five were indeed on the FCT!  The juvies started to stretch and spread their wings.  Baron jumped on to the large drum on the north side of the FCT.  We watched him spread his wings and hop around.  Rosetta took off and attempted to knock Baron off.  She landed next to him for a moment and then she was off and so was Baron!  The chase was on!

It wasn’t long before Voyager launched herself off the tower and joined in the chase.  Dot.ca flew in and remained high above his young ones.  Beauty stayed where she was on the SE side of FCT below the platform.  The four of us watching the young falcons tearing up the sky above us.  It was usually two that would come together, but every now and then there would be three.  We watched them and tried to snap some pictures while they were above us.  Too soon, they tired in the early evening heat and they all settled back on the FCT with their parents.  Here are some pics I took while they were flying above us.

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Larry O joined us as the juvies settled down on different parts of the FCT with Beauty and Dot.ca watching over them.  As I was heading home at about 8:15 pm, two juvies flew a little bit and then settled back down.  I was very happy to end my Watch with a sighting of the whole family, Beauty, Dot.ca, Baron, Rosetta and Voyager.  Remember to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The heat and humidity is just plain oppressive this week here in Rochester,NY. It was 76 (F) 24 (C) when I started my watch at 5:30am.

As I came off the 490 ramp to Plymouth Ave. I could see an adult on the top arm of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT), it was Beauty. I drove down to the city hall parking lot to check out the interior of the FCT and found 2 juvies on the platform. It looked like they were eating but I couldn’t say for sure. That platform serves as the dinner table for our young fledglings. Each year that she has had babies, Beauty has taken them over to the FCT for hunting training,feeding and roosting.

<check out the tail feathers hanging over the edge

The fledglings soon took off to the south toward Times Square (TSB) and as I was about to follow Dan came by. We set up our chairs in the Hochstein parking lot  but the juvies never came back and Beauty flew off to the Kodak Office (KO) launchpad so we opted to move to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB).

From there we could see Beauty on KO,a juvie on the base of Mercury and another one on the platform of FCT.

Next we spotted the 3rd juvie on the OCSR elevator shaft. It flew off and joined the one that was on the base of Mercury in a game of talon tag over the river. They finished and landed on the elevator shaft of OCSR with one of them taking off again to the west. Larry stopped by for a little while. Around 7am we saw a juvie flying across the river coming from the east side and Beauty was right behind it so we assumed there was a food exchange somewhere. Beauty went to the 2nd ibeam west corner of OCSR and the juvie continued west out of view. I left to see if I could find it and a few minutes later Dan and Larry ended their watch. i found a juvie on the Widows Walk (WW)east railing.

A robin was swooping on it and a little later when DebbieH stopped by she showed me where the Robins nest of 3 was located by her building. I found Dot.Ca on the OCSR top ibeam north corner and when I returned to WW there were 2 juvies there-1 on the west side rail (Rosetta) and 1 on the northwest corner (Voyager).

<Voyager <Rosetta Click my pics to see the full version

Both juvies took off around 8am and Debbie headed to work. I found Beauty on the jail tower and a juvie on the northeast corner of Crossroads. I then spotted a juvie on the northwest corner of Crossroads with food when the other one flew over there. They took off a few minutes later as the 3rd juvie joined them in flight as they played above the Crossroads building. 2 landed on the northeast corner then down to the lower roof on the northwest side. Baron and Voyager were the 2 up there at that time.

<Click it Baron Voyager

DC was gone from the OCSR and the 2 on Crossroads both disappeared onto the roof out of view. I left to check out the Brighton Site (BS). There were no PEFAs present but I did come across a Turkey Vulture on the east extension roof. It wasn’t there for long as it walked from the middle to the north end corner before flying off.

I returned to downtown finding 2 juvies chillin’ on the apparatus on the north side lower roof of the Crossroads building. Beauty was on the top ibeam west corner OCSR and DC on the top ibeam near the north side.

The heat was getting to me so I decided to end my watch at 10am. I’m sure all our Rochester Peregrine Falcons were down for the count as well. Tomorrow should be the last 90+ degree day as the weekend promises to be cooler with less humidity which will make this watcher smile! 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiVo

http://youtu.be/OluEGxGkRgM
http://youtu.be/Xs7QXnNXRiU
http://youtu.be/6ntwLVyfZEw
http://youtu.be/SZzxchdNbCk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The fledge watch continues as three young falcons spread their wings and command the sky above Rochester, NY.  It’s amazing the different spots we have seen them on since they left the nest box.  Tonight was no exception.  Let me start by saying we (Kathy O, Larry O and I) saw all three juvies during our evening watch.  It was a really hot day with temps in the 90’s (F).  The weather people kept saying it would feel like it was 100 degrees!  Rochester (NY) is in the grip of a true heatwave right now.  Looks like the temps will cool down a bit on Sunday.  So in the meantime, instead of going out on my usual afternoon watch, I’ve waited for it to cool down a bit.  When I arrived downtown it was only 90 degrees.  Hot and Humid.  lol

I arrived downtown at about 6:30 pm.  Kathy O beat me by about 1/2 hour.  She had tweeted out that there was a juvie on one of the antennas sticking out near the top of the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  My route into the city brings me right by the the FCT.  As I pulled off of 490, I immediately spotted something different on the FCT.  So I pulled over and parked my car and took a closer look.

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After taking a few pics, I was able to ID this falcon as Rosetta.  These juvies love to stand on small perches.

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It wasn’t long before Rosetta spread her wings and took off heading south towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  I followed the best I could.  When I got to the Broad St Bridge (BSB), I found a juvie on the base of the Mercury statue and Dot.ca up in the metal grid work at the top of the TSB between the SE and NE wings.  Dot.ca was keeping guard over his young.

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Kathy O joined me on the BSB and we settled in to watch the area.  Finally the juvie on the base of Mercury showed me her leg.  It was Voyager.

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While Voyager preened and stretched, she suddenly started to cry out and looked to the north.  We looked in that direction and saw Beauty flying towards us heading north to south following the river.  She circled gracefully above us heading towards the east.  Kathy noticed that there was a juvie flying way above Beauty, circling higher and higher.  We were witnessing a flight lesson.  Just beautiful.  They both flew out of sight.  While we continued to watch Voyager and Dot.ca a 2nd juvie flew in and landed on the base of Mercury next to Voyager.  It was Baron.  He searched around the base of the statue and found a scrap of leftover prey.  Voyager and Baron shared what they found.

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After they ate, first Baron and then Voyager took off and the chase was on!

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Kathy and I watched as both juvies flew above us chasing each other and talon tagging when they came together.  There was a lot of vocalization between the two young falcons, especially when they came together.  This is one of the things I truly love to watch.  You can’t help but laugh and cheer when they are up there.  It’s playfulness with a purpose.  Everything they do teaches them a skill they will need in the future to survive.

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They both flew over and around the buildings surrounding Aqueduct St (aka the Hole).  Baron zipped around them at high speed, coming out the other side so he could continue the chase.  Both of them headed northwest towards the Frontier Comm Tower.  I headed over there and found one juvie on the SE corner of the FCT platform.  Kathy O tweeted that she had one over on the TSB.

Suddenly, I heard loud cries overhead.  It was Beauty and she was being chased by one of the girls.  They both landed on the top arm of the FCT and the juvie continued to scream and droop her wings.  Classic behavior when the juvie wanted to be fed.  Beauty did not have food, so after a few moments, the juvie charged her.  Beauty stood her ground and the juvie finally gave up and flew over to join her sister on the SE corner of the platform.

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Larry O joined us near the end of our Watch in the City Hall parking lot.  Dot.ca came to the FCT and landed below the platform, below Beauty.  Larry left at about 8:30 pm and reported that he had seen a falcon fly up to the cupola on the Kodak Tower.  Before 9:00 pm, this juvie returned to the FCT.  In the fading light, we could see 3 falcons there (2 adults and 1 juvie).  There may have been more.  We wondered if this might be their nighttime roosting spot.

Kathy and I left a little after 9:00 pm.  Kathy texted me that she could see one falcon on the SW corner of the TSB.

It was time to end our evening Fledge Watch after seeing the whole family.  The sun was setting and it was time to head home.

Be sure to click on any pictures you would like to see in a larger format.  Goodnight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

This mornings weather was a carbon copy of yesterday only with a slight breeze. Hot and humid up and down the east coast and even north of the border in Canada!

As  passed by the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) I spotted a juvie on the northeast cube. I couldn’t ID it and after looking over the rest of the structure and not finding any more PEFAs I went north to check Kodak Office (KO). There I found an adult on the northwest corner of the launchpad.

With the distance and lack of daylight at the early hour I couldn’t ID this falcon either, but at least I was seeing falcons.  From Verona St. which is behind KO I could see the FCT and suddenly 3 falcons popped out from it and started talon tagging-I didn’t need to ID these 3 Falconeers to know who it was-our 3 fledglings of course! I lost them as they made their way toward the Times Square (TSB) area, so I drove to the hole where I could see Beauty and one juvie on the base of Mercury.

Click on my pics and the full version will appear

Out of nowhere Baron came screaming in knocking Beauty off the base. She flew around and landed again only to be chased off again by Baron so she retreated to the northeast wing ledge as Voyager and Baron started eating on the base of Mercury.

25 minutes later Beauty once more landed on the base only to be booted off by Baron a third time, so she went up to the money bag (MMB). He seems to really enjoy giving his parents and siblings the boot from perching spots! He’s been an unruly child right from the get go and I wouldn’t have him any other way!

15 minutes later Beauty flew down and started eating leftovers and this time Baron left her alone, but he had lots to say-always does! As a matter of fact Voyager joined in as well!

<Click them>

She had a few bites and then started feeding Baron beak to beak-I guess he just wanted some tender loving care. Meanwhile, Voyager did some walking and winging.

<Voyager click it

This only lasted a few minutes for Rosetta was on her way over and being the big girl she is, Beauty opted for the MMB to make room for her. She took over the food immediately!

<B sees R coming <R eats

Beauty would soon get a show from her offspring as they all flew off and played talon tag-one of them landed on the heel of Mercury and the other 2 knocked it off. They continued to circle around Mercury being their juvenile selves and squawking up a storm. They would repeat as one went back up to the heel and then all 3 were in the air again.

Sorry for the silhouetted pics as I was in the hole and the sun was behind them in the wrong spot. When they were done flying they all went back to the base. I then went up to the  Broad St. Bridge (BSB)with the sun at my back which shows what a difference the position of the sun makes.

click it

Beauty had joined them and soon after 2 juvies went to Widows Walk (WW) leaving 1 with mom. DebbieH joined me as I was by He’s Chinese watching the 2 on WW.

click it

Just before 8am Beauty started alarm calling and circling Mercury. Deb and I went up on the bridge where we found out a man was up on the Thomson Reuters roof. Beauty dispersed all the kids from the area then went under the northeast wing. She kept kakking on and off until the man left. All the juvies were gone and Deb went to work.

Juvie leaves WW

Back in the hole now with no juvies, I went to City Hall and found all 3 fledglings on the FCT. Rosetta was on the northeast cube, 1 was below her on the top red beam and the other on the south side railing sleeping.

<Rosetta on cube not sure who is who

I went to the Brighton site to see if Pigott was home at this time since I figured they were settled and what a surprise I got when I arrived by the cubby. Echupping was ringing out from it and after a minute Dot.Ca (DC) appeared at the front of the ledge.

Pigott started whining and after another minute passed DC flew off to the northwest.  Miss Pigott showed herself after a few minutes and then I went back downtown.

Upon my return I found DC on OCSR top ibeam near the north corner, the Beautyful one was up at the nest box and I found 1 juvie on the bottom arm of FCT as I headed home thus ending my watch at 10:30am. What a great watch that sent me off smiling! 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiVK

http://youtu.be/IFEK6g3Z-5g
http://youtu.be/nnfGPyk78D8
http://youtu.be/QafJIn-ipVI
http://youtu.be/9CHICBq10L0
http://youtu.be/A2_YIek1F2s
http://youtu.be/saGMMAabgBY
http://youtu.be/ccsoiSrlUUU
http://youtu.be/fRALGJan910

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 72 (F)  22 (C) when I started out this morning at 5:30am and when I quit for the day at noon it was 85 (F)  29(C). Humidity was high with almost no breeze and wall to wall sunshine!

It took me 20 minutes to find a falcon this morning which was weird to me since there are 5 of them. The girls Rosetta and Voyager eluded me for much of the watch but Baron would show up at every turn. I found Dot.Ca (DC)on the Kodak Office tower (KO) launchpad northeast corner. As I drove down Platt St. in the High Falls area to get as close as I could to ID the KO bird, I spotted Dan sitting down on the east end of the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge. I drove around to that side of the river and joined him. he told me he had seen all 3 juvies playing talon tag near the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT). I spotted Beauty on the northeast corner of HSBC soon after I arrived.

Click on my pics to see the full version

Meanwhile DC went up to the cupola of KO and soon after Beauty flew to the jail tower.

From  this distance it can be tricky to tell who’s who, but with a veteran watcher like Dan it can be done.  We saw Beauty stoop on something and then noticed 2 juvies playing talon tagging near FCT. DC flew south and turned it into a long stoop near the Times Square building then to the north corner top ibeam OCSR before flying off and disappearing. We had all 3 juvies talon tagging at one point near the TSB while an adult landed on the top arm north side of FCT. Larry joined us as we could see 2 juvies under the northeast wing.

In the next half hour we witnessed a female juvie stoop with great speed for a fledgling after a pigeon by the Andrews Place apartments. And we had a very long flight by Baron and one of his sisters playing talon tag all over the downtown area. DC flew off FCT and 2 juvies appeared on Widows Walk (WW).

Around 7:15am Larry and Dan left so I decided to go downtown to be closer to our fabulous falcon family but before I left I took pics of every direction to give you an idea of what we see from the pedestrian bridge. Check out my photo album to see them. Upon my arrival in the hole I found Baron on the north side railing of WW and DC on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR.

<click it

I would do a lot of driving around our fair city today looking for our elusive girls and busy Baron. DebbieH joined me around 7:40am as Baron flew above us headed toward FCT. After Deb left for work I went to the Andrews St. Bridge (ASB) and found DC on the north corner of OCSR top ibeam and a juvie on the 2nd ibeam west corner as another juvie flew past it and behind Crossroads. For the next hour juvies would appear and disappear in various spots and around 8:45am I found 2 of them on the base of Mercury

One of them was Rosetta and they touched beaks a few times melting my heart in so doing. This family really gets along very well and we humans could learn from them. After they left Mercury I saw Beauty on WW  just before she took off to the north.

I next found Baron on the apparatus on the lower roof of Crossroads as it was starting to get warm I fully expected to see our PEFA family to be hanging out on the north side of buildings in the shade. They were surprisingly active considering the weather.

I made my way to City Hall where I was right below the FCT and could see Baron next to the large sattelite dish,Beauty under the paltform and another juvie moving around under the platform.

I am still adjusting to find falcons in the FCT inner structure so I had some trouble finding them when they were in there but htere wad=s no problem hearing them when they squawk.  Around 10:30am it was sleepy time as I caught PEFAs with their eyes closed.

Many of the city hall workers stopped to talk about the falcons-they are very aware of them and showed great enthusiasm as I said we had 3 fledglings this year. I decided since I was having such trouble locating our fine feathered friends from the ground that I would go up on the Sister Cities ramp garage. From there I could see a more level view of FCT and I could also see the north side of the downtown buildings. I could see a fledgling on the east side of the platform and Baron on the top arm of FCT.

DC flew in from the south (behind me ) right over my head to the south side rail and as he arrived I heard a juvie crying out but couldn’t locate it. Baron left the arm and then I saw a wing pop up from the east side of the platform. DC then disappeared inside the structure.

I came down from the garage as Joyce arrived and was seeing juvies on the platform from Montgomery Alley next to Hochstein School of Music. I found DC and the 2 juvies before handing the watch over to Joyce thus ending my watch just before noon.

It was a busy morning watch that took me from one end of the territory to the other and lots in between but I came out of it smiling yet again! 🙂

Click on the links below to view a photo album and some videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiUs

http://youtu.be/a-NmVTdVo_I
http://youtu.be/2sB69fhlVS0
http://youtu.be/6nXyX-KxJqc
http://youtu.be/Yul8iYT2jOk
http://youtu.be/m8_ShJl6t2k

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Today starts a week of oppressive weather conditions as in hot and humid! With daily high temperatures in the low 90’s (F) Low 30’s (C)

I travel interstate 490 to go downtown in the morning getting off at Plymouth Ave. where the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT can be checked before going to the Times Square area (TSB). This morning I saw a falcon on the south railing as I turned onto Church St. I was surprised to see Dan sitting in his chair in the parking lot next to Hochstein School of Music at the corner of Church and Fitzhugh St. He is after all the Mayor of the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) and doesn’t usually go anywhere else in the morning.  We had all 3 juvies on the tower.

Beauty came in with food and the kids all got in a tug of war on the platform with it. Beauty retreated to the northeast corner of the platform railing.

Remember you must click my pics to view a full version

Dot.Ca (DC) flew in and was met by one of the girls with both of them landing on the top arm northeast side. All present and accounted for with the our entire falcon family on the tower. Rosetta and Voyager flew up to the south side railing after finishing up their meal on the platform. Larry joined us around 6:30am and Beauty left.

<Rosetta & Voyager     Baron>

Baron flew off the north side almost like a stoop and returned to knock DC off the top arm taking his place as DC flew across to the northwest  top arm.

A few minutes later Baron flew down and knocked Rosetta off her railing spot. He is a little spitfire!  Baron and Rosetta did some flying together and talon tagging with Baron catching her from behind and tapping her on the back side a few times. Larry and Dan left a little after 7am and the kids dispersed shortly after. Rosetta went to Widows Walk (WW) before disappearing. I drove to the BSB and found Rosetta and Voyager under the northeast wing with food and I would spot Beauty up there at the back of the ledge as well.

Beauty left some food behind for the kids and flew over to the northwest wing with her food package, picked at it a bit then cached it to the back of the ledge.

Our 3 young fledglings flew around a bit before settling on the Widows Walk railing. They spent quite some time up there together before Rosetta left.

<click them>

Baron spent quite some time with his sister Voyager on WW  as she liked to jump down to the roof and explore as Baron watched.

DC flew in and landed on the southeast wing ring and Beauty was on the jail tower before joining DC to look after the kids landing under the southeast wing.

Meanwhile Voyager and Baron remained on WW and Rosetta flew past dad squawking before going to roof of OCSR. Voyager would fly off WW followed by Baron.

I next found a Baron on the FCT east railing and Voyager went back to WW. Rosetta vanished and so did DC and Beauty. A while later Rosetta showed up under the northeast wing. Baron flew in and knocked her off. It was getting really hot with the sun peeking thru the clouds on and off so everyone settled in the shade. DC to northeast side of OCSR top ibeam, one of the juvies to the northwest top ibeam pancaked out and one juvie to roof of Crossroads. I left to check for Pigott at the Brighton Site. She was on the front ledge of the cubby for the 3rd day in a row.

I went back downtown in search of our falcon family but I could only find one fledgling on the top ibeam near the west corner of OCSR. I ended my 8 hr. watch just before 2pm as I decided everyone was hunkered down in the shade due to the heat. The kids continue to amuse and make me smile as I savor every moment spent with them! 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiUO

http://youtu.be/3au6-ZLpQzg
http://youtu.be/8bFOH5aA-7c
http://youtu.be/nE1aqg-V1m0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

This weekend turned out to be a wonderful mixture of  Falcon Friends and Falcons Flying.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  I have to go through the Guest Book which Lynn from NH so nicely supplied to list the names of the folks that attended this year’s Falcon Watch Weekend.  There were a lot of old friends and new.  Thanks to all that were able to make it to Rochester (NY) this year.

The juvies are flying high and fast.  All three are doing incredibly well.  For the next month or so, they will continue to learn how to be Peregrine Falcons before heading out on their own. This is the fun part.  lol

Here are a few pictures from this weekend. Click on any pics you would like to see in a larger format and hover your cursor over a picture and it will describe what it is.  If my internet had not gone down last night I would have had these pics out earlier.  Enjoy!

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and my favorite picture of the weekend.  The whole family together on the Frontier Communication Tower.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

This morning I had the pleasure of fledge watching with Dan,Donna,Bonnie,Ei,Paul,Ricardo,Dana,Carol,Lisa and Joyce. The juvies were mixing it up over by the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT),City Place and Widows Walk. As is the usual pattern of Beauty, she brings her new fledglings to FCT for some lessons so I will more than likely be watching from this area of downtown for the next few weeks.

The bunch of us went up to the top floor of the Sister Cities Ramp Garage to observe our young fledglings as they put on a great show above us talon tagging and playing  like juvies do. Our out of town guests started to leave for home around 9am and as it was getting very hot out the falcons hunkered down in the shade for a long rest period.

This afternoon I checked on Pigott around 4pm just like yesterday and found her at the front edge of the cubby once again with her back to me. At first she wasn’t moving at all and I got a little nervous but she finally started to preen and I think her tail feathers are looking better-less tattered at least from a perching position. I’d like to see her in flight to check her out better.

After a quiet afternoon I ended my watch over at FCT with 2 juvies on the platform railing. I’m happy to say that all 3 fledglings are continue to improve and stick together in the air. Watchers Weekend was a blast meeting people in person whom I’ve only known by their computer names up until now. All 6 Rochester Peregrine Falcons were seen today which should make us all smile!

Click on the links below for more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiTS

http://youtu.be/wUd4576u8OQ
http://youtu.be/82mgN9TjE50
http://youtu.be/YQn61ak8Z_w

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

What a wonderful time  we had with all our visitors today.  The falcons did not disappoint either.  Giving us some lovely overhead aerial displays and playing with each other and their parents,talon tagging and food exchanges.  They’ve discovered the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) and Widows Walk.  Each day we’re seeing different things from them as they broaden their horizons.  Some very high flying was observed by at least one juvie with the Beautyful one.  A very nice day all around spent with many smiling faces! 🙂

Click on the links below for a photo album and videos of todays watcher weekend fledge watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqiS0

http://youtu.be/-J_qPkV7Wfw
http://youtu.be/I640u821gWY
http://youtu.be/O5ttfliNmCw