By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The days continue to get longer.  Sunrise at 6:58 am and Sunset at 5:47 pm.

When I left work today, it was 40 degrees and overcast.  The sun did come out for a short time during my watch.  I checked the Kodak Park (KP) smoke stacks and surrounding area and could not find the KP Falcon.  Just after I tweeted that out, I looked up in time to see a Peregrine Falcon zipping down the tree line, heading west.  It passed directly in front of me and continued towards the west end of the complex  heading northwest.  My camera was not turned on, so I grabbed my binoculars and got a very good look.  It was not the adult KPF that we have been seeing.  This was a juvenile Peregrine Falcon and based on size, a female.  I tried to locate her, but had no luck.

Pat had tweeted that both Beauty and Dot.ca were on the Time Square Bldg, so I headed there first.  When I arrived on the Broad St Bridge, Beauty was gone, but Dot.ca remained on the ledge below the northeast wing.

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While I kept an eye on Dot.ca and looked for Beauty, I watched the river on the north side of the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  The number of Red-Breasted Mergansers had increased.  There were approximately 40 of them down there today, diving and swimming and just hanging out.  It makes me very happy to see them doing so well.

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While I was watching the Mergansers, Beauty flew in from the northwest and circled the OCSR before going up into the elevator shaft.  She landed on the north ledge and I was able to see her from the BSB.

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Dot.ca took off and Beauty came out of the elevator shaft and landed on Camera #1 near the nest box on the TSB.

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I left Beauty to go check on Pigott at the BS location.  She was up on the northeast corner of the northeast extension.

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Dot.ca had joined Pigott and was on the southeast corner of the southeast extension above the tree ledge.

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Pigott flew around to the south side and landed on the southeast corner of the southwest extension.  She walked in a bit and found some cached food.

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After she found the cached food, she took off with it and landed on the east end tree ledge, just below Dot.ca.

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Fellow Watcher Kathy O joined me for a little while.  After watching Pigott eat for about 15 mins, Dot.ca took off and flew to the north side of the building.  I was pretty sure he had headed to their nighttime roosting spot.

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At approximately 5:45 pm, Pigott finished her meal and joined Dot.ca at their night roost on the north side of the building near the east end.  Pigott was 4 windows down and Dot.ca was 2 windows below her.

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It was time for me to end my watch, happy to have seen all three resident Rochester Falcons doing well, plus the juvenile Peregrine Falcon at Kodak Park.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

This morning it was raining, overcast and windy with a temperature of 40 (F) 4 (C)  There’s a high wind and flood watch in effect

Beauty was on Bausch & Lomb (B&L) eating again on the northeast corner of the north side.

She finished after a few moments and walked down the ledge to the west where I couldn’t see her so I drove to the Broad St. Bridge where I could see her.

She flew off when I wasn’t looking and I got a message from Donna saying she heard Beauty near the nest box area but couldn’t see her on cam. I turned around to have a look at Times Square but didn’t see any falcons around. I checked the entire area and came up empty so I drove over to the Radisson Hotel where I found Dot.Ca (DC) on the south ledge of the elevator shaft out of the rain but no Beauty.

DC turned around to show me his other side and it was then that I noticed a bump on the Kodak Office (KO) launchpad northeast corner.

I left DC and headed over to KO to find that it was the Beautyful one just hanging out. Funny that she wasn’t with DC but these falcons have their own ideas on what they want to do.

I stayed only a few minutes and left to check on Pigott at the Brighton site (BS). When I arrived at 8:45am she was out front on the northwest corner of the northwest extension-I think she was looking for DC. I was running out of time so I didn’t stay long with her either.

I went back downtown and checked to see if DC was still in the elevator shaft-he was gone. One last check of KO found Beauty still on the northeast corner of the launchpad.

A few seconds after I arrived I spotted DC circling above her and then it happened- the infamous SWOOP! DC swooped down on Beauty twice-she ducked and he circled around and disappeared. Carol and Kathy saw him swoop on Pigott the other day at BS so I think we can assume that this is his own style of courtship. He is a character! lol A few minutes after he left the area Beauty pooped and did some wing stretches before flying off to the southeast.

I apologize if my reports seem rushed these days-that’s because they are, I’m in the process of packing and moving so I have only so much time for everything. With that said, I ended my watch at 9:15am and left our fair city smiling after having seen all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/t8_RoKNx9uc

http://youtu.be/mpqbw6TzCxM

http://youtu.be/L1XzAEINa78

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

With temperatures up in the 40’s yesterday and today, it feels like a little bit of Spring in the air!  and the falcons are feeling it too!  Rochester is currently under a flood watch (through the weekend) and a high wind warning through late Friday evening.  If you’re watching the Rochester Falconcam cameras tonight, you might even see some lightening.  Crazy weather for sure.

Like I said, Spring is in the air and for the first time this year, both Beauty and Dot.ca were at the nest box doing a little bit of housekeeping, bonding and bowing.  Here is a picture captured on the Rfalconcam Main Camera today.

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

My Watch started at Kodak Park where it has been a few days since I have seen the falcon there.  I have to wonder if this was a wintering bird and that s/he has started its migration home.  I’ll keep checking and report if I see KPF.

At the BS location, I found Pigott on the northeast corner of the east extension.  She was preening and looking about.  Dot.ca was not there.

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I left her to look for Beauty and Dot.ca downtown.  Dot.ca was on the south side top IBeam of the OCSR.  Beauty was up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the north ledge.  I could see her from the Broad St Bridge because the elevator was down.

Dot.ca took off and chased a Coopers Hawk down towards the river.  I did not see where Dot.ca went, but I did find the Coop in a tree on the north east side of the Broad St Bridge.  It only stayed there for about a minute before hightailing it out of there.

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I looked for Dot.ca, but was not able to find where he went.  He may have headed over to the BS location.

Beauty came out of the elevator shaft and landed on top of the Mercury statue.  While she was up there, the neighborhood pigeons took flight and swirled over the river on both sides of the bridge landing frequently and taking off again.  They were very uneasy, probably sensing a predator (namely Beauty) watching from above.

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The ice on the river was receding, allowing a group of about 20-25 Red-Breasted Mergansers (RBM’s) to dive and feed.  There have been many reports on the Genesee Bird List saying that the RBM’s have been struggling this Winter. Many have been found dead and dying.  Very sad.  I was happy to see this group feeding well.  🙂

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Just before the sun started to set, Beauty took off and went into the OCSR elevator shaft.  This is where I left her at the end of my Wednesday watch.

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Thursday, February 20, 2014

Again no Kodak Park Falcon found today.

When I first pulled in to the BS location, I saw a falcon eating up on the northwest corner of the west extension with its back to me.  While I was trying to find a spot to park and get a better view of this falcon, another one flew in and landed on the northwest corner of the northwest extension.  There was a bit of ee-chupping and wailing in greeting.  Finally I was able to see that it was Dot.ca who had been eating when I first arrived.  Pigott flew in from the northwest, now kitty-corner across from him.  She had a full crop.  Dot.ca finished eating and turned around so I had a better view of him.

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It was overcast and it started to rain.  So, I left Pigott and Dot.ca to head downtown to search for Beauty.  I found her tucked up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the south ledge.

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The rain picked up and it got very windy, so I ended my watch.  The coming days should be very interesting now that Spring is in the air.  At least for a day or two!  Sorry to say the cold weather will be returning soon.  That’s Winter in Rochester for you!  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays starting temperature was 31 (F) 1 (C) there was a slight breeze and it was sunny until just before the end of my watch when it clouded up

As has been her routine the past week Beauty grabbed herself some breakfast or was eating cached food up on the Bausch & Lomb (B&L) buildings northeast corner as I began my watch at 7am. I parked on Broad St. across from Midtown as has been my routine as well.

She finished up in about 20 minutes, had a few words to say and flew off to the north.

I caught up with her a few minutes later-she was under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB) perched and cleaning up after her meal.

Maybe 10 minutes later Beauty spotted Dot.Ca (DC) flying in from the southeast. She scrunched down as he flew in above her and landed on the metal grating between the northeast and southeast wings-there was some vocalization between them.

The 2 of them stayed perched looking around and at each other from time to time and both did a little preening and both had their back to me.

I left them around 8am to go check for Pigott at the Brighton site-she was nowhere to be found. While I was there, Donna reported that Beauty was near the nest box calling for DC but he didn’t join her. On my way back downtown Pat reported that Beauty was on cam 1 and DC was above her under the northeast wing so I went directly to the hole by Keybank to see for myself. Yep, they were still there-thanks Pat and Donna!

I could barely make out a fascinator (feather stuck to falcons) on Beautys’ cere in between her eyes. She must have been looking cross-eyed with that there-so cute! DC had a crazy look in his eye too!

They did some preening and stretching as they kept track of their surroundings and each other. They were spotted on cam at the nest box around 10:15am by Pat bowing to one another, so this means the new falcon season has begun!

<DC

I had to leave for an appointment at 9am so I ended my watch and drove off smiling after being entertained by our downtown duo! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/H0dfaDfFuU8

http://youtu.be/WT0NKIlc29E

http://youtu.be/9LGEvr8yOZw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

When I saw what the temperature was this morning I almost felt like I should change into shorts! It was 35 degrees (F) 2 (C) calm and overcast to start-the sun came out later on as I landed at the Brighton Site (BS)

On my second trip to the east side today I found Beauty on the northeast corner of the north side of Bausch & Lomb from the Inn at Broadway parking lot around 7:20am- I drove to Broad St. to get closer but she left while I was in tweeting her whereabouts. No worries for I spotted not only Beauty but Dot.Ca (DC) on Widows Walk 10 minutes later as I was driving past on Exchange Blvd. The Beautyful one was eating on the northwest corner and DC was above on the north side railing as I pulled over on Fitzhugh St.

<You must click on my pics to see the full version>

<Beauty  DC>

Every once in a while DC would look Beautys’ way but for the most part he preened with his back to me and Beauty as she ate.

Beauty finished eating and cleaned herself up by feaking and picking at her talons. Fellow watcher and good friend DebbieH came by on her way to work-we had a nice talk after a long winter season of not seeing each other. DC continues to show us his back and started preening.

<Beauty  DC>

Just before I left them, Beauty turned around, pooped, shook her tail feathers and got comfy on her corner.

Off to BS to check on Pigott-arriving there at 8:40am I found Miss Pigott on the northwest corner of the southwest extension right above the cubby. Larry had tweeted earlier that as he drove by on his way to work he saw a falcon on the northwest extension.

The sun came out from behind the clouds and washed her out as she stretched her wings. I stayed about 15 minutes and left Pigott to bask in the warmth of the sun as I headed back downtown.

Watcher from work Pat had tweeted that she could see one falcon on Widows Walk so I went there directly from BS. I found Beauty and DC in the same spots as I had left them earlier. She was on the northwest corner and he was still on the north side rail-they were preening together. I watched them from Basin St. next to the Wilder building.

You can really see the size difference between Beauty and DC  in that last pic. I left them to it and ended my watch around 9:30am. It was great seeing all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons-this makes me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view our falcons

http://youtu.be/BKbmC5TBie0

http://youtu.be/Qx-INnhWcH0

http://youtu.be/XTIMS6rnTM0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I didn’t have much time this afternoon, but after hearing that a 3rd falcon was seen downtown, I wanted to make sure all was quiet there.

Earlier today at 11:00 am, Beauty showed up at the nest box.  (Picture from Rfalconcam Main Camera.)

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At 11:23 am, Watcher Pat reported seeing three falcons flying downtown.  12:16 pm was the last time Pat reported seeing three falcons.  During the afternoon, Watchers MAK, Lisa McK and Kathy O were out keeping an eye on both Pigott at the BS location and Beauty & Dot.ca downtown.

At 4:00 pm, I found Beauty tucked up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the north ledge.  Then from the Broad St Bridge, I saw Dot.ca fly in and land on the top IBeam on the south side of the OCSR near the south corner.

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While I watched Dot.ca take off a couple times on hunt runs, three of these BIG birds passed over, heading east.

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Dot.ca took off again and then there were two falcons flying together over the river.  They both landed on the top Ibeam of the OCSR, Dot.ca on the left and Beauty on the right.

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During the little over an hour that I was downtown, I only saw Beauty and Dot.ca.

I was not able to get over to the BS location to check on Pigott.  But, fellow Watcher Larry O did report that there was one falcon seen there after I ended my watch.

This is definitely the season for wandering falcons looking for nest sites or just passing through on their migration.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Well, we have warmer temps today 28 (F) 2 (C)  with overcast skies and snowing while I was on watch

Once again I found Beauty on Bausch & Lomb (B&L) eating to begin my watch at 7:05am. The past couple days she was on the northeast corner of the east side-today it was the northeast corner of the north side of B&L. She was in on the roof a bit, kinda out of view until she finished and came out to feak (wipe off her beak) on the edge. I watched her from Broad St. across from Midtown.

After Beauty finished her meal she got cleaned up, pooped and flew off to the north. I took a ride around downtown but didn’t find her as the few flakes of snow that were flying invited their buddies making it too hard to see the tops of buildings. I left to check the Brighton site (BS) hoping I could see well enough to find a falcon there. I was successful in finding both Dot.Ca (DC) and Pigott tho it was snowing and blowing pretty good at BS around 8am. He was in the front (north side) 2 windows down on the northwest extension-she was on the west side on a top floor window kiddie corner from the cubby.

<DC   <Pigott

During the time I was at the BS location Miss Pigott had her back to the world trying to ignore the weather but she did turn her head so I could see her. The snow let up long enough at one point so that I could positively ID this pair thankfully.

<DC> <Pigott>

I left them on their windows to return to our fair city where it was snowing pretty good. I could barely see Beauty in the elevator shaft of OCSR on the south side ledge.

Even thru the snow she’s Beautyful with her salmon color chest! She obviously was going to wait out the weather so I ended my watch at 9am with a smile after having seen all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see our beloved falcons in the snow

http://youtu.be/Yr2oNW0ZV_w

http://youtu.be/4zpu1bMfm1U

http://youtu.be/zUqK1PNIH_s

http://youtu.be/FTfrswC3U_g

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunrise at 7:03 am.  Sunset at 5:43 pm.  Temperature during my watch was 20 (F) degrees.

But, the sun was shining and it wasn’t snowing!  Yes!

I was not able to find the KP Falcon today.

At the BS location, I found both Pigott (left) and Dot.ca (right) on the west side roof of the northwest extension.  They were just a few feet apart from each other.  I could see that Pigott’s crop was full, but since Dot.ca’s back was towards me, I couldn’t see if his was or not.  They were just sitting together, looking at each other and keeping an eye on their surroundings.

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I left Pigott and Dot.ca and went to search for Beauty .  After checking all over downtown, I was not able to find Beauty.  All was quiet.

Looks like we’re going to get some more snow tonight, but then the temperatures should start to rise a little bit.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another frigid morning with a starting temperature of 2 degrees (F) -17 (C) with clear skies and calm winds-yes the sun shone bright today

I spotted Beauty on the northeast corner of Bausch & Lomb (B&L) at 7:05am and she had something to eat up there. I parked first on Euclid St. behind the Hotel Cadillac.

I decided to go over to Broad St. by Xerox for a closer view while the Beautyful one finished up her breakfast. The Xerox flag was flying!

After she cleaned up following her meal Beauty flew off to the north.

<Click it to see Beauty in flight

I caught up with Beauty at 7:40am-she was on the southeast side top ibeam of OCSR. I parked in the hole to observe.

She turned around as the sun started hitting her so I drove to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. so I could see the front of her Beautyful self. The sun was lighting her up like  nobodys business!

I left her to digest her recent meal and headed over to the Brighton Site (BS). Arriving there at just before 8:30am I found Pigott on the northeast corner of the east extension chomping away at something. Dot.Ca (DC) was on the southeast corner of the southeast extension.

<Pigott  <DC

A couple minutes later he flew over behind Pigott to the north and ended up landing on a top east facing window ledge on the southeast extension.

Minutes later Pigott finished up eating did some feaking and flew off to the east. DC echupped softly as she took flight and watched as she returned to the same corner she had left. She then vocalized a little and pooped.

Miss Pigott, always the entertainer gave a series of hand signals then flew over to an east facing window 3 floors down on the same side as DC on the southeast extension.

She didn’t stay there for long before flying across to the east extension and coming to rest on a top floor window ledge. DC was napping on and off remaining on his window.

<DC   <Pigott

DC had a full crop so I figured they would just hang out in the sun and digest their meals. I returned to downtown at 9am finding Beauty was still on the southeast side of OCSR top ibeam. As I stopped she flew off to the northeast side top ibeam where i found her after going to my spot by the Radisson Hotel at Main St.

With all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons accounted for and having eaten I ended my watch around 9:30am with a smile! 🙂

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

http://youtu.be/7IsitqA4t9c

http://youtu.be/3CAZSmU0oz0

http://youtu.be/Oiqqg2yDzJg

http://youtu.be/fIgbUDOtGIM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

So much snow and cold temperatures.  I cannot wait for a SUNNY day to watch falcons!!!

Here are some pictures from my falcon watches over the past three days.  Enjoy!

Friday, February 14, 2014

Pigott and Dot.ca at BS.

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Saturday, February 15, 2014

My day started out with a Merlin enjoying lunch on a telephone pole in Greece (NY).

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KP Falcon and KP RTH at Kodak Park

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Dot.ca on Kodak Office Tower

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Beauty tucked into the OCSR elevator shaft, north ledge.

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First Pigott and then Dot.ca at BS location.  Both had food.  Kathy O and Lisa McK joined me here.

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Sunday, February 16, 2014

KP Falcon on the east stack.

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Dot.ca again on the SE corner of the launch pad on the Kodak Office Tower.

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Hey!  I found Beauty outside of the OCSR Elevator Shaft!  Woohoo!  🙂  Beauty was on top of the Mercury statue.

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At the BS location, I found Pigott on the SE Corner of the East extension with a very full crop.

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After leaving Pigott at BS, I drove through a very busy downtown Rochester.  As usual, there was something going on at the Blue Cross Arena (aka Rochester War Memorial).  Beauty was still on the Mercury statue, and Dot.ca was still in the same spot on the Kodak Tower.

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Hope everyone had a nice weekend!