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Archive for October, 2014

Morning watch 10-25-14

Saturday, October 25th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 51 (F) 11 (C) with sunny conditions once the morning haze burned away

Click on the pics to see the full version

To my delight I was treated to some falcon flying this morning above Seneca Towers! When I started Billie and 99 were on the west railing-soon after Billie flew off looped around the north end of the building and flew down to the south end where she landed on the same antenna she was on the last time these two flew for me. 99 came off the railing and landed below her on the roof then he was off again.

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99 landed on the elevator shaft railing for a moment then did some flying for Buffalo Billie and I. When he was done he landed on a wire/cable that was attached to the antenna Billie was perched on at the south end of the building.

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99 hung on for a minute or so then did some more showing off for his girl before landing on the west side railing  near the south end. Soon after Billie flew southeast and 99 followed behind her soon there after and they didn’t return.

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I left for downtown around 7:50am but I was detained as I came across Billie and 99 at the closed Kodak  Hawkeye plant- I go right past it on St. Paul St. at Driving Park/Avenue A. They were on the railing near the nest box that’s been up there for years and to our knowledge, has never been used.

img_0022-billie-and-99-at-hawkeye img_0024-billie-and-99<Clickimg_0026-billie-and-99-location-shot img_0029-billie-and-99-at-hawkeye

I totally think they were checking it out-they both were hatched in a nest box or tray so it would only make sense for them to choose one. For all I know they may have been checking it before today. Oh boy, this story gets more and more interesting as time goes on! Just to give you an idea of how things are laid out-the Driving Park bridge and Genesee River are on the other (west) side of where I am watching.

Billie flew over to a spot on the railing closer to the nest box and then a little after 8am first Billie then 99 flew off to the west out of sight.

img_0030-billie-about-to-fly-closer-to-nest-box img_0032-shes-off img_0034-billie-closer-to-nest-box<Billie

img_0036-billie-gone-to-the-west<Billie img_0037-99-about-to-take-off-after-billie<99>img_0039-99-is-off

So now I made my way to downtown where I found Beauty under the northeast wing of Times Square (TSB). I parked over by the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) on Exchange Blvd. to get a side view of her since she had her back facing out.

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I left to get coffee and when I came back the Beautyful one was gone. I took a ride looking for them and as I got back to the TSB area I spotted Beauty back under the northeast wing so I returned to my spot by the BCA. After a minute or so, I noticed Dot.Ca (DC) on the southeast wing ring high above on the tippy top of the TSB. He was in hunt mode as he stooped 3 times and returned to the wing ring unsuccessfully.

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Beauty remained on the northeast wing ledge the whole time until 9:15am when she and DC flew south toward Cornhill.

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I had to get going so I ended my watch with a smile at 9:15am after seeing all 4 Rochester Peregrine Falcons!

Click in the links below to see todays videos
http://youtu.be/zW1SsrnZFSw

http://youtu.be/KM7367KHy9c

http://youtu.be/f2sbE_zW_Lc

http://youtu.be/NPo2XVUG928

http://youtu.be/QC9rx83u_jc







Morning watch 10-24-14

Friday, October 24th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The day started with a temperature of 48 (F) 9 (C) and it was mostly sunny

Click on my pics to see the full version

There were no falcons seen at Seneca Towers when I left for downtown this morning. After checking the east side for Beauty and Dot.Ca (DC) I spotted him under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB) and Beauty on the top ibeam south side of OCSR from the Broad St. bridge (BSB). I drove down to the hole to get closer but Beauty left while I was in transit, so I got situated over on Basin St. by the Wilder building to watch DC. At first he was feaking which led me to believe he had eaten.

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I started taping him when Beauty flew up and landed next to him-he immediately went to the back of the ledge then flew over to the southeast wing ledge.

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While I was watching Beauty around 8am she flew northeast and when I looked over to DC he was gone too. A couple minutes later as I was just about to leave I noticed the Beautyful one over on one of the fake chimneys of Irving Place (the building Widows Walk is on. She was plucking flowers and began eating prey-I thought she must have caught something when she flew off TSB but she finished pretty quick so I believe she had cached food.

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I drove over to the alley, also named Irving Place, to get as close as I could to Beauty.

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Beauty took off at 8:10am flying northeast once again-I heard vocalization coming from somewhere and saw a falcon shadow on the Wilder building so I drove over to the hole to have a look around.

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A few minutes later Beauty showed up under the southeast wing of TSB. She had her back facing out so I parked on Exchange Blvd. nest to the Blue Cross Arena to get a side view.

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I left to look for DC to no avail, stopping on the Court St. bridge to check out the river life below. The usual gathering of ducks and gulls enjoying the sunshine that has been missing for a few days.

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Back to my spot to watch Beauty who was looking especially lovely in the morning sun.

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I stayed with her until about 9:10am when she started dozing. I checked for DC one more time before leaving downtown but didn’t find him.

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When I got to Seneca Towers there were no falcons to be seen as I checked every side of the building. I took a pic of the east side from the Northwest Church property before heading home.

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I closed another falcon watch smiling for not only seeing Beauty and DC but because the sun was shining down on me! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos
http://youtu.be/8BvK-snywLQ
http://youtu.be/4KmQhqFwzD0
http://youtu.be/rERhmMRJWM0





Morning watch 10-23-14

Thursday, October 23rd, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

My only complaint about morning watches is this time of year there isn’t  much sun and today was no exception. Overcast, dark conditions prevailed with a temperature of 46 (F) 8 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

So yesterday I had 3 falcons at Seneca Towers and today-nada! Neither before nor after  going downtown did I see a falcon here. I’m sure they’re all out playing! 😉

My downtown watch today consisted of  Dot.Ca (DC) eating on the OCSR building. I spotted him on the southeast side 2nd ibeam down from the Broad St. Bridge. I went down to the hole-parking on Bank Place where it meets Aqueduct St. This was the closest I could get today.

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DC was on the move as he ate turning several times and when he finished eating he did a lot of feaking as he started to walk toward the south corner. He would take a few steps then feak, take a few more steps then feak-he did have a feather stuck to his cere as well. Around 8:30am I was about to tweet that DC had finished his meal and ws sporting a full crop when I got a tweet from Pat, who works in the Thomson Reuters building, saying she saw a falcon near the southwest corner. Thanks to her I was able to report that it was Beauty-she had her back to me.

img_0035-dc-with-a-full-crop img_0040-beauty3

I stayed in the hole for a bit longer and when it seemed that DC was going to remain on his ibeam I decided to drive over to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel where I could see the front of the Beautyful one and share space with her before heading home. She was snoozing on and off with a depleted crop, so I knew she hadn’t eaten yet. Perhaps DC shared his leftovers with her after I left.

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I left downtown and when I got home to Seneca Towers and didn’t find any falcons at home after checking all 4 sides of the building I called it a watch at 9:40am. Thanks for putting a smile on my face Beauty and DC! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos
http://youtu.be/p2xgvDwuzp4

http://youtu.be/DGrIaWTJtKs

http://youtu.be/_aXc6TvBeWA



Wednesday Evening Falcon Watch – 10/22/14

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P. (6:00 to 6:45 pm)

My evening watches are getting shorter and shorter.  It gets dark so quickly now.  🙁

Today the falcon activity in and around Rochester picked up, reported by Rochester Falcon Watchers throughout the day.  This morning MAK reported 3 Peregrine Falcons at the ST location.

At 4:00 pm, Dana reported the following, “RS falcon rpt- on my way home from work, I had a falcon in adult plumage on the top of antenna west side of RS? It flew south.”

Between 5 & 6:11 pm, Joyce reported seeing two falcons at ST and one at the Irondequoit Mall.

Joyce’s Tweets:

(5:02 pm) ST: Billie is on the SE corner railing.

(5:17 pm) ST: Billie flew east. Drove around block to follow. No luck, but upon return falcon on ledge above windows on south end of building.

(5:34 pm) Falcon on peak at Irondequoit Mall. Very white chest.

(5:59 pm) Falcon on peak flew west. Returned to ST to find 2. Lots of flying activity by female and tiercel. She had food and he was chasing.

(6:02 pm) Both on west side, She is on antenna and he is on railing.

(6:07 pm) Looks like Billie is preparing food. Tiercel has similar markings to one seen at Medley Center. Just caught small feather south of bldg.

(6:11 pm) Getting dark. Leaving the couple on the west side of ST.

My watch started at 6:00 pm.  As I approached Broad St, I could see a falcon on the west side of the jail communication tower on the 2nd arm down.  From a very busy Broad St Bridge, I could only see this one falcon.  I was losing light quickly, so I drove over to the Xerox Tower, hoping to find a 2nd falcon.  At 6:25, a falcon flew in and landed on the southwest corner of the Xerox Tower.  Ee-chupping vocalization filled the air.  A 2nd falcon had arrived on the south side of Xerox on the 5th column in from the southeast corner.

By this time it was too dark to see if the falcon on the corner was still there and I could just make out the falcon on the 5th column.  There was no way for me to positively ID them as Beauty and Dot.ca, but based on behavior I do believe it was.

I ended my watch at 6:45 pm.  The Rochester Falcon Watchers will definitely be out keeping an eye on things and reporting what we see.  Goodnight everyone!

I’ll leave you with a picture of the Xerox Tower showing where Dot.ca and Beauty were located this evening.

Beauty and Dot.ca on the Xerox Tower 10-22-14

Morning watch 10-22-14

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A chilly 47 (F) 9 (C) degrees with overcast dark conditions

Click on my pics to see the full version

Right off the bat, I had a falcon on the west side railing of Seneca Towers showing its back as I parked in my spot on Seth Green Drive. It flew north after a few minutes and didn’t return. It was banded and I believe it was Billie.

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Downtown now at 8am- as I waited at the traffic light at Exchange & Broad St. I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) on the head of the Mercury statue! I pulled over on the south side of the Broad St. bridge (BSB) to watch Mr. Entertainment as he thrust himself up to the money bag after a couple minutes!

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I decided to make a u-turn to the north side of the BSB to see the front of him better and before I could complete it DC flew off. I watched him as he was meeting Beauty over the river with prey in her talons. She flew to the Rundell Library, landed on a ledge below the roof line and got right to work on her meal. DC disappeared and I wasn’t able to locate him any where in the vicinity. I returned to the south side of the bridge.

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The Beautyful one was facing the other way so I drove over to the Court St. bridge for a better view.A crow flew in around 8:30am squawking at Beauty and landed above her on the roof. It then flew down and landed on the ledge she was on- (I have the crow on video-no pics) The crow walked toward Beauty then thought better of it and flew off-it was squawking the whole time, Beauty didn’t seem too concerned as she went right on eating. She was right below a B on the library-she knows her place! lol

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Next, I heard a squabble behind me on the bridge-some gulls and crows were fighting over a piece of paper in the road. Beauty had herself a good,warm meal and when she was done  she walked away from her leftovers and started cleaning up and feaking.

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Beauty pooped and went back to feaking and cleaning up and roused-then DC came whizzing in, landing next to the leftovers, grabbed them and started eating.

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DC picked those leftovers clean til nothing was left but feathers and bones. He feaked a bit then he rested a couple minutes and flew off while I was tweeting.

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Beauty had turned her back to me and seemed settled so I left her on the library in a food coma. When I stopped in my spot on Seth Green Drive at Seneca Towers I saw 1 falcon on the west side railing near the northwest corner. As I scanned the roof line I was shocked to find 2 more falcons on the top window ledge (22nd floor) at the south end of the building. I wanted to see Billie and 99 again as I hadn’t seen them for a few days but 3 was too much!

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I quickly went to the back of my parking lot to get closer to the window birds-I was able to get shots of partial leg bands. Yellow tape on the the corner bird made that one 99 and a black over green band on the other one (plus I recognized her) made that one Billie. So, who was the west side bird and were they all aware of each other because they couldn’t see each other from their locations.

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Once they were identified I went back out to Seth Green Dr. to try and ID the the west side railing falcon. Billie and 99 flew off the window when I was watching and after a while the railing bird stood up to show that it had no leg bands. I wondered if this could be Veteran (he had no bands) returning-we may never know since he, and I say he because the falcon looked small to me can’t be positively identified with out bands. It flew north out of sight a few minutes later and didn’t return.

img_0187-no-leg-bands img_0188-unbanded-falcon img_0189-unbanded-falcon-off-to-the-north

I had quite a watch for myself this morning as I spent 4 hours observing 5 Peregrine Falcons, ending it at about 11:30am smiling but hoping no bad battles are occurring with all the falcons in the area! 🙂

Click on the links below to see a photo album and todays videos
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqkAc

http://youtu.be/_RY8isrf3Jg

http://youtu.be/f7Xav_yfjzg

http://youtu.be/XWVSs4M8DlA

http://youtu.be/Sz86Q-COkX4

http://youtu.be/CdPDVVQGoHM

http://youtu.be/x8M-TCdil30

http://youtu.be/c2ROIdeYiCc








Morning watch 10-21-14

Tuesday, October 21st, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a bit warmer this morning but the clouds were locked in and light rain fell throughout my watch with a starting temperature of  50 (F) 10 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

Neither Billie or 99 were around again this morning-I saw Billie a couple days ago but haven’t seen 99 in a few days. I wonder if maybe he migrated  and Billie is spreading her wings. Off to downtown where I didn’t find a falcon until almost 8:30am. In my travels I came across some tents in Washington Square Park which were advocating the homeless and the need for more housing-Thanks Donna for that info!

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Parking on Bragdon Place by the Radisson Hotel I peered up thru the rain to barely make out the form of a falcon on the south side ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft. It was Dot.Ca (DC) with his back to the world.

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A couple minutes later I spotted Beauty on the 3rd ibeam north corner of OCSR while stopped on the Andrews St. bridge. I drove down to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel to check her out.

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She turned around showing my back so I returned to the east side of the river on Bragdon Place where I could have a front view of the Beautyful one and also keep track of DC in the elevator shaft.

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Beauty was looking at something below her on and off and generally seeming to be in hunt mode in between preening and rousing(shaking her feathers).

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At 8:43am Beauty flew southeast past the elevator shaft which stirred DC as he stood up,stretched, turned around and flew out and over to the top ibeam north corner of OCSR(got it all on tape). I could have wrote that script!

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I looked at his back for a while then went looking for Beauty. I was about to call it quits for the day when I spotted her on the northeast corner of the lower roof on Widows Walk. I pulled over on Exchange Blvd. in front of He’s Chinese to spend  a little time with her.

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A bunch of little birds lined the railing above her and a few minutes later 4 courageous pigeons appeared behind Beauty near the northwest corner.

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I had been taping all of them, wondering if Beauty would go after them if they flew off and right after I stopped taping I got my answer. All 4 pigeons flew off to the north and Beauty stayed right where she was-interesting. I left her to head home- checking OCSR on my way out of downtown I found DC to still be on the top ibeam north corner. After checking all 4 sides of Seneca Towers when I got there-I saw no falcons. Not liking that but still smiling because I saw our downtown Rochester Peregrine Falcons on this day! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/MlboRqU7T5E

http://youtu.be/5Q7xZsZQqws

http://youtu.be/CSRObC6YI0E

http://youtu.be/Chq3YeWVm4w

http://youtu.be/agemrJYKRrM


Morning watch 10-20-14

Monday, October 20th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Same weather as yesterday with a starting temperature of 43 (F) 6 (C) mostly overcast with a short showing of the sun

Click on the pics to see the full version

Starting at Seneca Towers the only bird I saw was a brave pigeon on the west side roof. I made my way downtown driving around for a good half hour before spotting Beauty under the northeast wing of the Times Square building. She looked to be eating something at first and when I went down to Basin St. in the hole to observe she started feaking. And, I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) under the northwest wing doing the same thing so it would seem they shared a meal this morning.

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DC soon finished cleaning up and at 8:05am flew up to the medal work between the northeast and northwest wings of  Times Square.

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It stayed this way for about 15 minutes then Mr. ants in his pants flew off, circled around back past Beauty (she was watching him the whole time over her shoulder) and landed under the northwest wing again.It was at this time the sun shone for a few minutes.

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5 minutes later after some feaking and a poop, DC flew off heading northeast in the direction of OCSR.

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When he didn’t return I drove over to Exchange Blvd. in front of the Blue Cross Arena so I could see more than the Beautyful one’s back. She had been gaping on and off the whole time she was up there on Times Square. Gaping is the term for when they open their mouth and throw their head back-one theory is that they do this to move food around in their crop and with a full crop and having just eaten this makes perfect sense. If you watch my snippet video from todays watch there are several snippets where she is gaping.

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I shared space with Beauty for about 15 minutes then I took off to find DC-after checking all the usual haunts I went to Bragdon Place by the Radisson Hotel to check the south ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft. DC was there in the shadows where I could barely see his white face. It started to rain lightly and just as I began to video tape him he came out to spread his wings and settle down on the ledge edge with his back to me.

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I decided to head out at this time and go home to Seneca Towers-there was no sign of Billie or 99 once again. I ended my watch at 9:30am with a smile as I always do because I’m lucky enough to see our falcons every day! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos
http://youtu.be/UXLFT1M5EFw

http://youtu.be/dADp44m3O8M

http://youtu.be/YCYUDXH3q7s

http://youtu.be/3rXVSxKKLMQ

Sunday Late Afternoon Falcon Watch – 10/19/14

Sunday, October 19th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P. (5:00 t0 6:00 pm)

Arrived downtown a little before 5:00 pm.  I found Dot.ca on the Wilder Bldg green stripe and Beauty on the Times Square Bldg (TSB) southeast wing ledge.

Beauty on TSB & Dot.ca on Wilder 10-19-14*

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Dot.ca on Wilder Bldg - 10-19-14Beauty on TSB SE Wing Ledge - 10-19-14*

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At 5:40 pm, Dot.ca spread his wings and took off heading southeast over the river.  Seconds later, Beauty followed.  Neither of them vocalized.

and he's off! 10-19-14*

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Beauty returned to the southeast wing ledge on the TSB.  I went out looking for Dot.ca, but could not find him.  At 6:00 pm, I ended my watch.

During my watch, fellow falcon watcher Dana had tweeted the following:  “RS falcon rpt- juvie falcon eating on east side stack center catwalk north side.”

On my way home I checked out Hawkeye, Seneca Towers and the KP Research Labs.  No falcons seen at any of those locations.

I arrived at Russell Station just in time to see the juvie falcon take off from the center catwalk of the east stack.  She flew west and then turned back, landing on the north side of the west stack top catwalk.  It was too dark to get any pictures.

It was much colder today than it has been, with temps in the 40’s (F).  Have a nice evening everyone!

Morning watch 10-19-14

Sunday, October 19th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a chilly 40 (F) 5 (C) degrees with overcast gray conditions

Click on the pics to see full version

I started my watch at Seneca Towers where I spotted a falcon on the west side railing-it took off half a minute later. I have no idea who it was as I only got one grainy pic of it.

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I left for downtown after it didn’t return. As I was pulled over on Woodbury Blvd. I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) on the southeast corner of Xerox around 7:50am.

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I drove over to Chestnut St. by Martin Luther King Jr. Park for a front view when DC flew down to the 1st column on the southeast corner. He flew off  in a blurry stoop about 6 seconds later, flying back and forth along the south side of Xerox then landed on the southwest corner.

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I drove over to Court St. for a front view and then DC stooped again came up empty and flew back over to the southeast corner.

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I went back over to Chestnut St. and saw that he was back on the 1st column at the northeast corner once again. Now mind you, I tried taping him 3 times and he flew off into a stoop each time-the last video was only 33 seconds long! DC stooped off the column straight down the south face of Xerox went back to the southwest corner for a few seconds, then off again and back to the southeast corner after a couple laps around the building. Phew, this boy wanted some breakfast!

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DC finally gave up and flew west around 8:20am after another failed attempt down the west face of Xerox. I waited for him to appear again and when he didn’t I drove over to the Broad St. bridge where I found him under the northeast wing. At first, I thought he was picking at something and I got all excited for him, thinking he had caught something. That was not the case-he stood upright as I went down in the hole parking lot to watch.

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Around 8:40am DC flew off over the Wilder building out of my view and a few seconds later he returned with Beauty. She landed under the southeast wing and he came to rest on the northeast wing ring of Times Square.

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5 minutes later DC was gone again-I missed him leaving. The Beautyful one remained under the southeast wing looking around. She had a feather stuck to her beak, we call it a fascinator.

img_0041-beauty-has-a-facinator img_0045-beauty

I left Beauty to look for DC and see if he had caught food but I couldn’t find him. I left downtown and checked Hawkeye on the way home to Seneca Towers (ST)-nobody there but I did find who I think was Billie (judging by size) on the east side railing of ST. That’s a tough side to watch from as the route 104 expressway is over there, so I went to the Northridge Church parking lot at St. Paul St. and East Ridge Rd. This is probably a greater distance to view from than at the visitor parking on Seth Green Dr. where I watch the falcons on the west side. Billie flew off as I was taping her and returned to land on the southeast corner of the railing.

img_0056-billie img_0059-billie img_0060-billie img_0063-billie-has-left-the-building

She flew off to the southwest out of view immediately and never came back. I ended my watch at 9:35am after a very busy and exciting morning, which of course, put a smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos-some of which are short ones
http://youtu.be/OPgVUlld–s

http://youtu.be/bC0FnX1rHQo

http://youtu.be/bFBu1gwLl-Y

http://youtu.be/73lfbQQykBA

http://youtu.be/Ict4HrFTyhs

http://youtu.be/mUZ34dtYVk4

http://youtu.be/qgq-plWnBOw




Saturday Afternoon Falcon Watch – A Most Excellent Watch! – 10/18/14

Saturday, October 18th, 2014

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What an exciting watch today!  It was so nice getting out when I had more than an hour of daylight.  Love the weekends!  I don’t remember seeing both Beauty and Dot.ca so active and together like they were this afternoon. It was a blustery day with dark clouds, rain on and off, wind and temperatures falling from an early morning 54 degrees.  When I left to go out for a falcon watch, I really didn’t expect to be out for very long.  Boy, was I wrong.  My watch lasted over 3 hours from 1230 to 4:00 pm.

My first stop was the BS location, which many of the watchers are keeping an eye on.  Although Pigott is gone, we still may get winter visitors.  I stayed there for about 30 minutes, but headed downtown after seeing no falcons there.  Lots of Canada Geese were in the area, even one with a neck band.  I reported the band # to the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Bird Banding Laboratory.  It can take up to 6 weeks to get an answer.  I’ll let you know if I hear anything.  It’s always interesting to hear the history of a banded bird.

It was raining when I parked on the Broad St Bridge.  Both Beauty & Dot.ca were on the OCSR south side top IBeam.  They are really staying close to each other now.  The rain let up a little bit and I got out of my car to check out the river.  I’ll post pics at the end of this report of what I saw there.

YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY OF MY PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM

A Blustery Falcon Watch 10-18-14*<— A blustery day seen from the Broad St Bridge.

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About a 1/2 hour after I arrived, Beauty took off and headed south down the river.  She then headed north and then west. Pigeons were flying and Beauty was in hunt mode.  Dot.ca remained on the OCSR.  I went to look for Beauty and found her on the green stripe at the top of the Wilder Bldg.

Beauty on Wilder Green Stripe 10-18-14Beauty on Wilder Green Stripe 10-18-14Beauty on Wilder Green Stripe 10-18-14* <— Beauty on the Wilder Green Strip.

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Dot.ca on top IBeam of OCSR 10-18-14* <— Dot.ca on OCSR Top IBeam.

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Both started alarm kakking and both took off chasing a bird north past the OCSR.  I wasn’t sure what they were after, but my not-so-clear picture shows that it may have been a gull.  Looks like webbed feet to me.

And She's Off! 10-18-14* <— Beauty takes off after alarm kakking!  They’re Fast! I’m lucky I got her big yellow feet!

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Falcon After Gull I Think 10-18-14Falcon After Gull I Think 10-18-14* <— Same pic zoomed in.  Falcon Going After Gull???

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When they didn’t return, I headed over to the Andrews St Bridge.  From there I could see that both Beauty and Dot.ca were up on the Times Square Bldg’s (TSB) southeast wing ledge.  Back to Broad St to Falcon Watch Central, where I had a good view of both of them.

Beauty & Dot.ca Together on TSB SE Wing Ledge 10-18-14* <— Both B&DC on TSB southeast wing ledge.

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At 2:05 pm, both started to alarm kak and again they headed north.  This time they chased off a much larger bird, a Red-tailed Hawk.

B&DC After a Red-tailed Hawk 10-18-14B&DC After a Red-tailed Hawk 10-18-14* <— Same pic zoomed in.  Both B&DC vanquish a RTH!

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After chasing off the Red-tailed Hawk, they both headed east, over the river.  Tandem hunting by B&DC caused all the gulls and pigeons to go into panic flight.  The sky was filled with them.

Gulls & Pigeons in Panic Flight 10-18-14* <— Gulls and Pigeons in Panic Flight.

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First Dot.ca returned to the TSB southeast wing ledge.  Beauty flew over a few minutes later.  She landed next to Dot.ca and he took off, flying northwest.

Dot.ca to the TSB Southeast Wing Ledge 10-18-14Beauty Flew Over Me Heading Back to TSB 10-18-14*

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Dot.ca returned to the TSB northeast wing ledge, across from Beauty.

Beauty on TSB SE Wing Ledge 10-18-14Dot.ca on TSB NE Wing Ledge 10-18-14*

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A Cormorant flew over and I wondered if either Beauty or Dot.ca would react.  Neither did.

Cormorant Flew Over - No Reaction From B&DC 10-18-14*

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Dot.ca moved from the northeast wing ledge to the metalwork between the wings.  Just a little closer to Beauty.  lol

Beauty and Dot.ca on TSB 10-18-14Beauty and Dot.ca on TSB 10-18-14Dot.ca on TSB Between the Wings 10-18-14*

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Dot.ca flew off to the north and returned to land next to Beauty on the TSB southeast wing ledge.

Dot.ca Joined Beauty on the TSB SE Wing Ledge 10-18-14Beauty Off Again on a Hunt Over the River 10-18-14*

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Beauty took off again, heading east over the river.  A cloud of Pigeons rose below her after she passed.

Beauty and the Pigeons 10-18-14*

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I watched her fly further east and soar above the Xerox Tower.   Dot.ca remained on the Times Square Bldg, but he was keeping an eye on his mate as she hunted.  Beauty returned empty-taloned and again landed next to Dot.ca.

Beauty Returns to Land Next to Dot.ca on the TSB 10-18-14*

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These two are working as a team to guard their territory and to hunt.  So nice to see.  They both took off together and flew over the Wilder Bldg, heading towards the Cross Rds Bldg, where they both started stooping on something.  At first I thought they were tandem hunting, trying to scare up a pigeon, but after checking my picture I believe they may have been chasing off a Coopers Hawk.  Boy, so many intruders today!

B&DC Chasing Off A Coopers Hawk??? 10-18-14* <— I think they chased off a Coopers Hawk from the Cross Rds Bldg.

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After chasing off the hawk, they again returned to the Times Square Bldg.  At about 4:00 pm, I ended my most excellent falcon watch, wishing them good hunting.

On my way home I checked out Hawkeye, Seneca Towers, the Kodak Research Labs, Charlotte and Russell Station.  I found no falcons at any of those locations.

I’ll leave you with some pictures I took during my watch, other than falcons.  The river was alive with ducks and gulls.

Juvie Ring-billed Gull on the Broad St Bridge -10-18-14Banded Canada Goose 10-18-14*

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Mallards Enjoying the River 10-18-14The Genesee River 10-18-14*

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When I stopped to check out the Kodak Park Research Labs, I could see the beautiful fall colors along the Genesee River, looking north.  Absolutely gorgeous!

Fall Colors on the Genesee River 10-18-14Fall Colors on the Genesee River 10-18-14*

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Fall Colors on the Genesee River 10-18-14Fall Colors on the Genesee River 10-18-14


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