By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As I started my watch at 7:15am the temperature was 6 degrees (F) -14 (C) the sun rose with no clouds in the way and it warmed up to 7!   LOL

Beauty gave me a break this morning and only made me make 2 trips around downtown before finding her on the west side of the south side arch of Kodak Office (KO).

Around 7:45am Dot.Ca (DC) arrived as Beauty watched him fly in from the south and land on the southeast corner of the launchpad.

At first he was facing me but I guess he wanted to warm up his back in the sun. Coupled with the cold weather making it hard to get my camera to focus and looking at his back I didn’t get a whole lot of pics of him today.

<DC  <Beauty>

DC left after 20 minutes, flying southwest and didn’t return. Beauty remained on her arch perch and I left for the Brighton Site (BS) after a few more minutes.  Arriving at BS around 8:15am I found Pigott on a top row window ledge on the southeast extension below the roof top tree. In the half hour that I shared space with this pretty Peregrine she had her back to me giving me only glimpses of her face as she preened.

Miss Pigott seemed content to stay there basking in the sun so I headed back to downtown. I didn’t find DC but Beauty was still on the south side arch of KO when I got back.

The Beautyful one was all foofed up to keep warm and seemed like she wasn’t going anywhere so I ended my watch around 9:30am. I was lucky enough to see all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons on my watch. Keep smiling everyone it makes people wonder what you’re up to! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos of our fine feathered friends

http://youtu.be/CH5xXcqB-fM

http://youtu.be/eyhgYptFMXY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Happily it was a little warmer this morning with overcast skies,windy conditions and a temperature of 18 (F) -8 (C)

Once again the first hour of my watch was falconless, prompting me to go to the Brighton Site (BS) for a falcon fix and I got it! Arriving around 8:15am I found Pigott on the southeast extension perched on a top window ledge.

10 minutes later Miss Pigott vocalized a bit as a falcon came speeding in from the east at a good clip and past us flying behind the building to the north side. I took a ride around  but didn’t find it anywhere. Pigott settled back in and I left her half hour later for downtown.

As I was searching, I spotted a falcon circling the Kodak Office tower around 9am. As I pulled over on Mill St. in the High Falls district I could see 2 falcons on the east side of the launchpad. Beauty was a few feet away from Dot.Ca (DC) who was on the northeast corner.

You must click on my pics to see the full version

About 10 minutes later Beauty hopped her way over to face DC as they both had words to say to each other. She seemed to be picking at food and at times they looked at each other and at one point they touched beaks.

A few minutes later Beauty slipped off the launchpad and flew east. I lost track of her as I was watching to see if DC would follow-he didn’t.

<DC

Unbeknownst to me Beauty had come back and landed on the playpen hidden from me and the only reason I know this is because I saw her exit from it and fly north. I followed her with my binocs until she disappeared into the gray sky. After 15 minutes passed I was getting ready to leave when the Beautyful one returned,  landing on the northeast corner of the playpen. I moved farther down the street to get her in view.

Having gotten my falcon fix for the day by seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons I ended my watch at 9:40am. Oh yeah, I was smiling for sure as I drove away! 🙂

Click on the links below to see videos of our falcons

http://youtu.be/XCgaf1YOq1Q

http://youtu.be/6b1kg8a-zo8

http://youtu.be/1H9yk0w-ntM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The days are getting longer, but staying bitter cold.  I am so ready for Spring and eggs!

Thursday – January 23, 2014

After work, I made the rounds.  Since I work right across the street from the KP location, I headed there first and found the KP Falcon on the east stack lower catwalk.

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Onward to the BS location, where I found Pigott on the south side of the building on the corner of the roof above the south side vent.  I looked around for Dot.ca, but could not find him.

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My last stop was Downtown Rochester where I found Beauty on the B&L Building.

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I looked all over the downtown area before the sunset, but could not find Dot.ca.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Started my Falcon Watch at 3:30 pm.

No Falcon found at Kodak Park. (KP)

At the BS location, I found Pigott on the south east corner of the east extension.  She was eating and her meal looked to be a freshly caught pigeon.  Feathers were flying!  The Crows were passing overhead and every now and then one would swoop in for a closer look.  One look from Pigott and the Crow continued on.  No free meals here!  lol

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I headed downtown and after checking all over, I found Beauty up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the south ledge.  For once it wasn’t snowing and there was just enough daylight to get a really good look at her.

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I looked all over for Dot.ca at both locations, but could not find him.

Hope everyone is surviving this frigid cold weather!  Be safe and stay warm!

I’ll leave you with a collage of pictures of Billy down at Charlotte (Friday 1/24/14), taken by fellow Falcon Watcher Dana.  It is always wonderful to see Mariah and Kaver’s granddaughter doing well!   Thanks Dana!!!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The bank clock on State St. said it was 2 degrees  (F) -17 (C) as I arrived downtown for my watch at 7:10am. When the sun came up there were no clouds to block it but it didn’t raise the temp much

I had no luck finding a falcon downtown in my first hour so I drove to the Brighton Site (BS). Arriving there at 8am, I found Pigott on the top window of the southeast extension in the corner where it meets the east extension. She was preening in the bright sunshine.

While I was taping Pigott, a woman pulled up next to me and asked if this was where the forensics unit was-I was kind of short with her because I was taping but I had quite a chuckle after I stopped my camera, thinking maybe they could use a forensics unit for the BS building. As  in-who knows what might be in this old abandoned building with all the vagrants and vandalism that takes place! Anyway,10 minutes later Miss Pigott made a few sounds announcing the arrival of Dot.Ca (DC) who landed a couple windows to her left on the southeast extension.

He stayed only 10 minutes or so looking to and fro and then he was off to the south. DC didn’t return in the next 15 minutes so I said goodbye to Pigott, who was still preening and left for downtown at 8:30am to look for Beauty. I found the Beautyful one on the east side of the Kodak Office playpen. I got there just in time for one pic and a short video as she flew off through the smoke of a chimney stack passing above me and flying to the south.

I left to look for her on all the usual downtown perches but she was nowhere to be found by this watcher. I ended my watch at 9:30am with a smile after seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/4dkznNnGVu0

http://youtu.be/MerNwpLpl1c

http://youtu.be/IeW2N6xlZxE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a little warmer this morning from yesterday as I began my watch at 6 degrees (F) -14 (C) with overcast conditions and a fine light snow falling. The sun broke thru around 9am and the temperature rose to 11 degrees when I ended my watch at 10:30am

I arrived downtown about 7:10am-it was still a bit dark out and initially I wasn’t finding any falcons. Eventually as I made my way down Broad St. from checking the east side I spotted a falcon on Mercurys money bag (MMB). About 2 seconds later cam watcher Donna reported Beauty on the MMB-thanks for the assist! So I drove down to the hole (Aqueduct St.) for a closer look. Ah, it was good to see her up there looking around for breakfast.

Less than 10 minutes later the Beautyful one flew north and so I checked Kodak Office (KO) to find that she had gone there as has been a pattern of hers recently.

Make sure to click on my pics to see the full version

Unfortunately because of the long distance,dark overcast conditions and cold temperature my camera was not focusing very well as Beauty was perched on the west side of the south side arch of KO.

I hung out with Beauty for a while and left her all settled in to check on the Brighton Site (BS).  When I arrived at BS nobody was home, but after making a stop, I returned to BS to find both Pigott and Dot.Ca (DC) present. They had there backs to me and were on kiddie corner top window ledges-Pigott was on the east extension and DC on the southeast extension.

<DC       Pigott>

DC kept falling to sleep on and off and Pigott did not show her face much but I managed to get a couple shots of her.

<DC> <Pigott

<DC>

I spent about half hour with them and left to re-check downtown for Beauty. I stopped on the Broad St. Bridge to have a look before continuing on to see that she was still on the south side arch of KO but she was now on the west side.

<Click it

I left her to it at 10:30am thus ending my watch after having seen all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons which always puts a smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/ZIO3mv1kE_8

http://youtu.be/r2qlAgOrPTw

http://youtu.be/HWTMJLOL56c

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

There was a big fat zero on the thermometer when I walked out the house this morning-as I approached downtown the light snow looked almost like fog enveloping the tops of the buildings. The sun had to work hard to break thru the clouds and snow but it made it out for a while

My first sighting of a PEFA was around 7:30am when I spotted one taking off from Midtown as I came around from behind HSBC. 15 minutes later I found Beauty on the south side arch of Kodak Office (KO). She was on the east side of it all foofed up to keep warm as the temperature had risen to 1 degree (F) -17 (C). The cold gave me problems getting my camera to focus so I had to trash most of them but you get the picture anyway!

I left the Beautyful one to check on the Brighton site (BS) and on the way I took a pic of the sun trying to rise above the snow and clouds, plus a first for me-a snow rainbow also known as a Sun Dog.

I found Pigott on the south side vent at the west end of BS. She too was all foofed up to keep warm. She did some preening and flew off to the south after 10  minutes or so.

Little did I know that she was flying out to greet Dot.Ca (DC).  I drove around the building looking for Pigott and when I got to the south/back side of the building I spotted DC on an east facing top level window ledge on the southwest extension. He quickly flew off with a couple of his famous chirps and landed on the east end of the south side vent,his back facing out, as Pigott had returned to the west end.

<DC   <Pigott

5 minutes later DC flew south followed by Pigott a few seconds later-they disappeared beyond the tree line into a wall of snow. I left to return to downtown where Beauty was still on KO in the same spot I found her.

I was thrilled to have seen all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons on my first watch in a month as I returned from a stay in Arkansas yesterday, but there was a bonus 4th falcon sighting after I ended my morning watch at 9:20am. I was running some errands that brought me near the Kodak Park (KP) power plant about 90 minutes later, so I stopped to have a look/see. On the east side stack, lower catwalk I spotted a falcon whom I believe is probably the one that’s been seen there since I went away in December. First from Mt. Read Blvd, then from parking lots on the KP premises.

The smoke from the stacks kept blocking my view so I had to take my shots in between. Judging by size I would say this is a male but from that distance looks can be deceiving.

Not bad at all for a welcome home watch that made me smile from start to finish! 🙂

Click on the 5 links below to view todays videos-sorry they are not in focus for the most part, because of the very cold conditions

http://youtu.be/vrTE94L80lQ

http://youtu.be/oBA3UanINo4

http://youtu.be/OwmA7lyCXpU

http://youtu.be/nxDDOQ8L28c

http://youtu.be/YTVRuu-ighA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunrise at 7:35 am.  Sunset at 5:06 pm.

Currently (9:30 pm) 5 (F) degrees; feels like -7 (F) degrees.

Other Falcon cities:  Buffalo – Currently 4 (F) degrees.  Toronto – Currently -2 (F) degrees.

During my short late afternoon watch the sign downtown said it was 6 degrees.  Plus it was snowing, making it hard to see up into the elevator shaft of the OCSR.

But first I checked Kodak Park after leaving work.  I could find no falcons there. (3:30 pm)

My next stop was the BS location.  I first found Pigott on a west facing window on the southeast extension.  As I was taking a couple pictures of Pigott, Dot.ca arrived, landing on the southwest corner of the southeast extension. (3:50 pm)

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Dot.ca took off and I was not able to find him again.

My last stop was downtown Rochester.  I ended up looking up into the OCSR elevator shaft.  It was snowing, making it very hard to see.  I was just able to make out one falcon on the north side ledge. (4:20 pm)

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I cannot be sure it was Beauty, but it probably was.

Be careful of this extreme cold everyone!  Keep warm and be safe!  Goodnight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

During my weekend falcon watches, I found all three Rochester Falcons, Beauty, Dot.ca and Pigott.  I also saw the falcon that has been hanging out at Kodak Park.

Here are some pictures from my weekend watches.  Enjoy!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

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Cold air will be moving into Rochester over the next few days.  Keep warm everyone!  Goodnight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

When I walked out of work today, there was this very strange, bright orb in the sky.  Is this what the sun looks like?  It had been so long.  lol

Sunrise at 7:37 am. Sunset at 5:00 pm.

It was 33 (F) degrees during my watch.

I found all 3 Rochester Falcons during my hour Watch.  Pigott was on the north side of the northwest extension at the BS location.  Dot.ca was on top of the Times Square Bldg on the southeast wing ring.  Beauty was on the Frontier Communication Tower on the top arm looking south towards the Times Square Bldg.

Pigott at the BS location.

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Dot.ca on the Time Square Bldg SE Wing Ring.

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Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower, top arm.

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So, all three Rochester Falcons were again accounted for this mid-January day.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The temperature was 31 (F) degrees when I started and it dropped to 30 (F) degrees when I was leaving the downtown area at 4:50 pm.

Sunrise at 7:37 am.  Sunset at 5:00 pm!  Yay!

When I got out of work, I did my normal falcon watch route.  1st Kodak Park, no falcons seen.

Next I headed over to the BS location.  I found both Pigott and Dot.ca on the east side of the building.  Dot.ca was eating on the east end higher roof.  Pigott flew in and landed next to him.  She grabbed the food and there was a short tug-o-war.  Dot.ca was able to get a piece of the meal.  He then flew up to the tree ledge to continue to eat.  Pigott finished eating first and flew up to ledge above Dot.ca.  A Crow flew too close and Pigott took off and chased it through the trees on the northeast side of the bldg.  There was no vocalization.  The Crow narrowly escaped by diving into the wooded area with Pigott hot on its tail.

She broke off the chase and returned to the east end roof she had been on when I arrived.  Dot.ca finished his meal and just watched as Pigott walked around the roof, picking at leftovers. She flew around the building and ended up on the tree ledge to the right of Dot.ca.  This is where I left them to go downtown to look for Beauty.  Here are some pics of Pigott and Dot.ca

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I left Pigott and Dot.ca at BS and headed downtown to look for Beauty.  I found here up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the south side ledge.

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It was getting close to 5:00 pm and the sun was setting, so it was time for me to end my watch.  I did check out the Charlotte area and Russell Station on the way home, but could not find Billie or any other falcons or Snowy Owls.  I was very happy to have seen all three of the Rochester Peregrine Falcons.  Goodnight everyone!