By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.
10:00 am to 1:30 pm
Cold to Snow to Sleet to Freezing Rain!
I decided to start with a drive along the lake, hoping to find some wandering falcons, or maybe a Snowy Owl. No luck finding either. Although I did find these “falcons” at Braddock Bay and this beautiful Blue Jay.
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The bay was almost totally frozen over, but not quite. There were people on the ice and the open water. Ice Fishermen and Duck Hunters too.
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I drove along the lake, checking out the smaller bays and Russell Station. No falcons found. My last lake stop was Charlotte. Both the Charlotte and Summerville Piers were empty. No people or birds.
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There have been a lot of changes at the Port of Rochester. One major change is that the parking lot is now an open area of water. Not quite sure how this will all look when completed, but the parking area will be missed during the busy summer months.
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My next stop was Maplewood Park, which is across the river and just north of Seneca Towers. From there I could see a falcon on an antenna on the northwest corner of the building. I was too far away to ID this bird and it had its back to me.
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After leaving Seneca Towers, I headed south down Lake Ave. No falcons at Hawkeye. As I approached the Kodak Tower, I could see both Beauty and Dot.ca on the north side. Dot.ca was on the northwest corner of the launchpad and Beauty was on a north side arch ledge. By the time I made my way to the north end of Mill St, both had taken off and heading west. It wasn’t long before they both returned, Beauty to the northeast corner of the base of the playpen and Dot.ca to the small antenna that juts off the north side of the playpen.
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They took off again, tandem hunting to the north. First Dot.ca returned and Beauty was close behind him. They both landed on the same spots they left. Dot.ca had a successful hunt, returning with prey. It was very small and it didn’t take him long to finish his meal.
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My friend and fellow Falcon Watcher Kathy O joined me on the watch. While we were there, the weather worsened. First Snow, then sleet. At 12:45 pm, Beauty took off. She flew directly over us and stooped into the gorge, heading east. We waited for her to return, but she didn’t. Dot.ca remained on the Kodak Tower.
Kathy had to leave, so I went looking for Beauty. I found her on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.
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While I was parking my car, Beauty took off and flew over to the OCSR. She landed on the north corner of the top Ibeam.
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She took off and flew around to the south side of OCSR. I again went looking for her and could not find her. After looking around downtown, I headed back to the Kodak Tower. As I approached, I could see a falcon flying around the top of the tower. Again parked on the north end of Mill St, I could see both Beauty and Dot.ca. She was on a north side arch ledge and he was on the base of the playpen, directly below her.
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This is where I left them when I ended my watch at 1:30 pm. By the time I got home, the sleet had changed to freezing rain. Tomorrow we are under a high wind warning, so hang on to your hats!
