By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The air temperature was a repeat of yesterday at 7 (F) -14 (C) but the wind chill was well below zero once it whipped in. Overcast with snow falling throughout my watch-just a miserable morning.

I don’t have much to report from this mornings watch as I didn’t see much point in having the wind blow snow in my face and on my camera for very long. That’s because both Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) were in the OCSR elevator shaft with their backs to me for most of the time I watched them.

I arrived downtown just in the nick of time to see DC fly from the north side of the shaft where the Beautyful one was perched. I knew it was him because he flew across the river toward me showing his bright white chest. He made a U-turn and flew back to the elevator shaft landing on the south side ledge and then I heard echupping.

Even with all the snow between DC and I, his whiteness shown through. On the video I made of him it looks like he was feaking and had a full crop but after a few minutes of that he pooped, moved to the back of the ledge and disappeared into the darkness of his man cave. Beauty never came out and showed herself. Only one pic that I took barely shows the form of her back tucked way in on the north ledge.

That’s all she wrote-I left, stopping for coffee and never looked back. Unfortunately no falcons were at Seneca Towers when I got home at 8:45am. Keep smiling and keep telling yourself that spring will be here soon! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/MtNjck0fTgw

http://youtu.be/HNIin0k8EtY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

At 7 (F) -14 (C)  it was 16 degrees warmer than yesterday morning and the sun was shining throughout my watch. Small victories…

Click on my pics to see the full version

I had to park quite a ways down on Seth Green Dr. as the cars were backed up but when I completed my u-turn and looked to Seneca Towers I spotted a falcon flying up to the northwest corner and landing on the railing. I’m not sure who it was but I suspect 99, .as it looked very white to me. I had to shoot through tree branches making for some not so focused pics.

At 7:12am the falcon flew off down into the gorge prompting me to leave for downtown.

My first stop when I arrived downtown was to check the OCSR elevator shaft. From Bragdon Place I found Dot.ca (DC) on the south side ledge with his head behind the bottom of the elevator and his back to me. It sure is tough to identify them when they’re up in there sometimes.

I left to look for Beauty-after a couple trips I failed to find her and I returned to watch DC. Leaving again, I spotted a falcon under the northeast wing of Times Square (TSB) as I was coming back from the east side. I went down in the hole on Basin St. for the best angle to find that it was DC. He had his back to me at the start and after a few minutes he spotted something, turned around, pooped then flew off toward OCSR at 8:35am.

After checking the north side ledge of the elevator shaft I then went over to Bragdon Place to check the south side. Not only had DC returned to his man cave but he led me to Beauty, who was perched on the top ibeam north corner of OCSR with a big fat crop. Undoubtedly, she is what DC spotted which prompted him to leave TSB. It didn’t appear that he had anything in his crop.

While I was tweeting (once again most of my tweets didn’t send until after I got home) the Beautyful one left the building. I chose to leave DC and check out the High Falls on my way home. I was surprised to see how much open water was flowing down amongst the ice. The trees, roots coming out from gorge wall and the area near the observation deck were frozen from the mist of the falls settling on them. I played around with a couple of the pics in Picassa.

I ended my watch around 9:30am with a smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/pbimtvHgOd0

http://youtu.be/SCBeuJlJZSM

http://youtu.be/uSxykPIf63U

http://youtu.be/YLKwHh98qdw

http://youtu.be/wseCGbYQjro

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I didn’t think there would be a colder morning than yesterday but I was wrong-when I stepped out from Seneca Towers it was -9 (F) -23 (C). Luckily the wind was calm and it was overcast. I thought at some point the sun was going to make an appearance but that didn’t happen

Click on my pics to see the full version

I went to Bragdon Place first thing to check the south side ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft but nobody was there. I decided to bypass checking the north side until later after going over to the east side to look for Beauty as she has been on one of the northeast corners of Bausch & Lomb (B&L) eating lately first thing. And she didn’t disappoint as I pulled over on Elm St. I could see her up there filling her crop.

Beauty took her time with a nice red chunk that she had to finish up with then she had a poop for herself and started cleaning her talons and feaking.

At 7:37am the Beautyful one flew off B&L and headed northwest-I was more than ready to start the car and get some heat going as I left to see where she went.

I thought I would be going down to Kodak Office to find Beauty on her arch but she tricked me as I stopped to check the elevator shaft for Dot.ca (DC). To my surprise I found them both on the top ibeam northeast side of OCSR. DC was on the north corner facing me with all his whiteness and Beauty was toward the middle of the ibeam with her back to me.

I was delighted to see that DC had a full crop. They stayed this way until DC decided it was time to go to his man cave. He flew up onto the south side ledge of the elevator shaft at 8am while Beauty stayed on the ibeam.

I left them after a while when I decided they were settled for naps. When I arrived home at Seneca Towers there were no falcons to be found again this morning. I’m sure Billie and 99 are just fine-I saw who I thought was 99 flying past my window yesterday afternoon, so they are around, just not when I’m looking for them. I ended my watch at just about 9am smiling and content, knowing that our downtown duo had breakfast on such a cold morning! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/dvUDyHxeLUU

http://youtu.be/Xn7Ppa_x-Bk

http://youtu.be/Ghw7xdlvJIs

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

At -6 (F) -21 (C) we missed tying the record for the lowest temperature in history on this date. That’s fine by me and also fine by me was calm wind which can make a world of difference with these sub-zero temps. It was overcast until after my watch when the sun was able to break out

Not much to report today other than my phone had more problems sending out my tweets but they eventually made it after I was home at Seneca Towers. lol I’m sorry to report I didn’t see Billie or 99 either before or after my downtown watch. I found Dot.ca (DC) right off the bat when I checked the north side ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft from the Radisson Hotel near Main St. DC was moving his head up and down leading me to believe he was eating but after seeing my video of him on the bigger computer screen it appeared he was preening.

I left DC after 10 minutes or so to look for Beauty-I checked downtown and Kodak Office (KO) a couple times with no luck but as they say: third time’s the charm. While parked on the Andrews St bridge I spotted her on the south side arch of KO so I went down to my spot on State St. just north of Platt St. to observe her.

The Beautyful one had a full crop so wherever she was when I was looking for her she was eating.  I shared space with her for maybe 20 minutes then I was ready to get home to see if Billie and/or 99 was there. As I said no luck in that department. I ended my watch around 8:30am. Keep smiling everyone! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/wn0H0M-c-AE

http://youtu.be/EZuZrC2HCEA

http://youtu.be/tLBMCEwed5k

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 0 (F) -18 (C) degrees with a wind chill factor of -21 (F) when I ventured out in the frozen tundra this morning. We got around 5 inches of snow over nite with winds of 15-20 miles per hour which created drifts all around my car. When I left downtown the temp had dropped below 0 and it was hard to tell if it was snowing or just blowing the snow around

I left early today-before 7am and once I got the lock de-icer to free my car door from its frozen state and got the snow and ice removed I was in business and ready to head downtown to check on our beloved falcons. The main roads were clear but snow packed as salt doesn’t work too good in these temperatures. Arriving around 7:15am I checked the OCSR elevator shaft and thought I could see the form of a falcon on the north side ledge. There was nowhere to park near the Radisson Hotel so I had to stop on Main St. momentarily for a quick look then I moved on to the east side. I finally found Beauty on Kodak Office on her south side arch spot.

The light kept turning on and off as the wind blew the snow on and off like a light switch in front of the Beautyful one. Amazingly, I caught her sleeping in the arctic conditions-nature is such a wonderment isn’t it?

One of the snippets on my snippet video this morning catches me saying idiot-that was for a car that almost side swiped me with no snow brushed off his car or with his lights on. A little common sense goes a long way!! Sorry, had to say that! Anyway, I don’t know if the wind blew Beauty off or what but suddenly she flew out about 10 feet and back to her arch and once back she lost her footing and had to repeat the process.

<Click it

She got settled back down and started dozing off again so I left her to check for Dot.ca (DC). I ended up finding him right where I thought he was-on the north side ledge of the elevator shaft. I stayed only long enough to get a somewhat clear enough pic of him since I had stopped in the middle of the Radisson Hotel’s driveway-there were trucks, vans and busses parked on both sides.

Once again my phone was not sending out my tweets-my first one didn’t post until after 8am and the rest didn’t go until I got home at 8:45am. When I got home to Seneca Towers I did find 99 on the top window ledge south side. He was looking around for breakfast and Billie I think as the wind whipped up the snow from the roof around him when it gusted.

Needless to say I didn’t stay out there on St. Paul St. observing 99 but just a few minutes before ending my watch. It was a bit frustrating this morning but falcons once again made me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/DNgVaLkcWBk

http://youtu.be/-H4pjHzVGaU

http://youtu.be/ju-jXfrdU94

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Beauty, DC, Billie, 99 and MAK

Snow was falling throughout the watch in varying degrees with light winds and a temperature of 19 (F) -7 (C)

At first check there was nobody on either side of the OCSR elevator shaft so I moved on to the Broad St. Bridge where I thought I could see a falcon on a northeast corner. Drove over to Elm St. behind Midtown to find Beauty having some breakfast.

Beauty finished eating around 7:30am and started feaking and cleaning up before flying off to the northwest soon after that.

I went to check Kodak Office since her routine of late has been to go there after breakfast for a nap but she fooled me today and wasn’t there. I didn’t see anybody on the way over so my next check of the OCSR elevator shaft was in order. It was snowing hard enough to make it impossible for my camera to focus on anything but the flakes between it and the elevator shaft but I could see falcons on both sides with my binoculars. After a while the snow let up enough for me to get a clear pic of the Beautyful one on the north ledge and Dot.ca on the south side. I left my car and walked down the Radisson Hotel sidewalk to get the pic and shoot a video as there was nowhere to park in their driveway.

<Click it to see our downtown love birds

I left them to it as I figured they’d be up in there for some time to come. I had to pick up a few things but wanted to check Seneca Towers first and I was glad I did for I found Billie and 99 on the north side top window ledge. It was snowing much harder there and I was having trouble getting a pic of them-the video I shot shows them much better.

I saw all 4 of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons who were spending Valentine’s Day morning with their mates and putting a great big smile on this watcher’s face as I ended my watch at 9am! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/zl_As6A4Pdo

http://youtu.be/ZbwBUgmPxlk

http://youtu.be/aFj80uATUEw

http://youtu.be/QJgcz9egD2M

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Holy polar vortex! We’re in its grips and boy, was it ccccold outside today. Starting with a temperature of 2 (F) -17 (C) and a busy breeze that made it feel like -11 (F) there was a bit of lake effect snow in the air as well

I carry a light fleece blanket in my car for rescuing falcons if need be, but it also serves to cover my legs in the winter when I’m sitting in my car watching falcons. I wear a pair of gloves with mittens over them while I hold my camera by the open window-today it was so cold that I couldn’t feel my fingers for most of my watch. Even my camera wasn’t working properly because of the cold. I don’t know how wildlife survives. That being said, I’m happy to report that I saw 3 of our 4 Rochester Peregrine Falcons today and they’re all doing fine.

After checking all of downtown including the OCSR elevator shaft with no falcon sightings I drove down State St. to find both Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on the south side arch of Kodak Office. I tweeted out my findings and when I looked back up DC was gone!

A couple minutes later DC returned and landed on the southeast corner of the Launchpad. It was plain to see that the Beautyful one had eaten since her crop overfloweth, but DC was in hunt mode as he had a depleted crop.

DC flew off to the west in a hurry and returned without prey to his spot on the launchpad where he did some preening and rousing.

<Click it

At 8:32am DC flew off into a long stoop to the east toward the High Falls and out of sight while Beauty and I watched-he didn’t return this time.

I left Beauty after a few minutes as she was sleeping. I wasn’t going straight home but I did go past Seneca Towers just in case a falcon or two were there and to my delight I spotted 99 from St. Paul St. He was on the top window ledge on the south side.

99 also had an empty crop and was in hunt mode, watching everything in the immediate area. I shared space with him for about 10 minutes-I was hoping Billie would come along and join him but that didn’t occur while I was on watch.

I ended my watch at 9am smiling after a cold but productive morning that produced blue sky and sunshine after a dark start! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/uT3kkxNMOcI

http://youtu.be/jqvxvcFk5b8

http://youtu.be/30gxrymfi24

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

We got a couple inches of fresh fluff (snow) overnite. It was overcast and blustery with occasional lake effect snow squalls and a temperature of  25 (F) -4 (C)

My first stop was Bragdon Place to check the south side ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft-nobody there but I spotted Beauty on the top ibeam southeast side near the elevator shaft. I left for the hole, stopping on Bank Place where it meets Aqueduct St. where I could see that the Beautyful one was not alone on OCSR-Dot.ca (DC) was just finishing up a meal down a ways from her.

Beauty had quite the full crop as I left to get closer over by the Radisson Hotel near Main St. Just as I got there around 7:30am she flew off to the west out of sight behind OCSR while DC was cleaning himself up. A minute or two after Beauty left DC took off for the north side ledge of the elevator shaft. You can see him fly up in there on today’s snippet video.

I stayed with DC for a few moments then set out to find Beauty. I didn’t have to go far as she went to Kodak Office (KO) south side arch-her latest routine. Once I pulled over on State St. and got a look at her I could see how huge her crop was-I could barely see her head over top of it and she was snoozing with her head off to the side of that fantastically full crop.

She and DC need to stuff themselves to keep warm as some brutally cold arctic air moves down from the north today called the “Polar Vortex”.  Temperatures will continue to drop as the day progresses leaving us in the deep freeze. I left  sleeping Beauty at 8:15am to rest and checked on DC in the elevator shaft of OCSR. He was still on the north ledge but he had moved to the back of it with his back to the world.

I left our downtown Peregrine pair in their food comas and when I got home to Seneca Towers there were no falcons anywhere on the building. At 8:45am another falcon watch was in the books and another smile produced by seeing falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/VtXSy-o8XAg

http://youtu.be/MjL5TDnpBFY

http://youtu.be/DpmS3tFbDIU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 12 (F) -11 (C) with calm conditions and sunny to start the day

After finding no falcons at Kodak Office (KO) or the OCSR elevator shaft I made my way up South Ave. toward the Broad St. bridge and spotted Beauty on a northeast corner of Bausch & Lomb eating. I drove to Elm St. behind Midtown for the best view and just as I pulled over she finished eating and started feaking.

I had just started to tape the Beautyful one when she flew off to the northwest. I checked the Times Square area, elevator shaft and all the usual downtown spots-no sign of Dot.ca (DC). I did find a healthy supply of food all huddled together on the Thomson Reuters building. I then went down State St. to check KO and found Beauty there on the south side arch cleaning up some more from her meal.

<Click it

After she was done she turned away from me giving me a side view. She was keeping track of some pigeons that were chasing each other around on the roof of a lower building roof to the south of the tower.

I left Beauty to look for DC but never found him. When I got home to Seneca Towers there were no falcons present and after checking the north side of the building I drove down St. Paul St. about a quarter of a mile to Seneca Park to check on the birds that reside in the pond there. There was open water  on the northwest side where they were all congregated.

I ended my watch at 9:30am with a sunny smile draped across my lips! 🙂

When I came home from walking Bella this afternoon I spotted Billie and 99 on the northwest corner of Seneca Towers. Can’t say who was who since I didn’t have my camera or binoculars but one of them was on the railing and one on the roof. Watcher Pat saw DC in the elevator shaft this afternoon also, so all 4 Rochester Peregrine Falcons were seen today.

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/1MKpgnYM6bk

http://youtu.be/Q6SWoIXCu9Q

http://youtu.be/VUMrJlkn9Ro

http://youtu.be/kUuHbcRFKKo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Overcast, dark with a hint of snow in the air and a temperature of 16 (F) -9 (C) and calm winds

When I first arrived downtown for my watch I checked Kodak Office (KO) first since Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) had been there yesterday on the south side arch. I made my rounds to check the OCSR elevator shaft, the east side of the river and all points in between with no sightings. Half hour later I made my way down State. St. to check KO again and this time they were there in the same spots as when I left them yesterday.

It soon became apparent to me that since both Beauty and DC had full crops that they had been somewhere finishing up their breakfast while I was looking for them, then sneaking over to KO without me seeing them..

Beauty was preening in between napping with her head tucked over her shoulder into her wing and DC had a poop for himself before moving to the back of the arch for his own nap.

I shared space with the Beautyful one and Whitey aka DC for an hour and then decided they would probably be there for a while so I called it quits right around 9am.

I didn’t see Billie or 99 today but seeing our downtown pair was enough to keep me smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/_3PA26lHWPo

http://youtu.be/-YwKqI2XZoM