By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

SNOW was falling throughout my watch at varying degrees and the temperature was 24(F) -4(C)  The snow stopped and the sun came out just minutes after I got home. Ugh!

I arrived downtown in a flurry of lake effect snow and managed to find both Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on the Wilder green strip (WGS). He was next to the fire escape ladder and she was on the other side of it further down with her back to me.

Just some info to set up the next chain of events-every Sunday morning from 7-9am a local radio station plays Breakfast with the Beatles (my favorite band) and I listen to it on my MP3 player with my ear buds. So, I was taping Beauty and DC and while I had my camera fixed on DC holding it steady with my knee, I started tweeting out my findings. I glanced up to see that DC was gone so I set the camera on Beauty and finished my tweet. Well, let me just say that they pulled a fast one on old MAK, because later when I reviewed the tape to see what direction DC had flown off to, I could hear the sounds of mating! HAHAHA!!! Joke’s on me! While DC was gone catching breakfast I shared space with the Beautyful one who was closing her eyelids on and off.

All was quiet with the lovely snow falling around us until about 7:50am when DC came flying through above Beauty kakking. She looked up at him then settled back down. A couple minutes passed and the same thing, DC flew in kakking above us and this time he went over to the second I-beam southeast side of OCSR where he started plucking feathers from prey.

I watched DC as he prepared his catch, having a few bites for himself and then he flew off with it. I set up my camera so that it was fixed on Beauty so I could get some shots of DC giving her a food gift. I missed the whole exchange because the snow was coming down so hard-all I saw was a flurry of wings flapping through the snow with a lot of vocalizing and then Beauty flew down to the west end of the Wilder building and headed north right down Exchange Blvd. toward State St. and disappeared. DC remained on the green strip for a minute, walking back and forth as if he was looking for something, then he took off.

I went searching but was unable to find them so I went home to Seneca Towers where I had no luck finding Billie or 99. I ended my watch at 9am after waiting a bit to see if they would show up. I have to admit I got a bit frustrated  on watch this morning, but thinking about Beauty and DC mating right under my nose without me knowing puts a little smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/JC3tsoYRwoY

http://youtu.be/-r_0AYbnURk

http://youtu.be/JXLuKS4oAMQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Overcast and very dark conditions this morning with spotty rain and a temperature of 36(F) 2(C)

Dot.ca (DC) must have stored up energy in that elevator shaft over the winter because he has been non stop action during the courting season. Today was no exception, as I barely got settled in the hole parking lot before DC was ready to court his Beauty. I found Beauty eating on the base of Mercury from up on the Broad St. Bridge. I drove down to the hole parking lot and spotted DC on cam 1 and in less than a minute of arriving he started whining and flew over to the Beautyful one and mated with her on the base of Mercury at 7:10am. The sun wasn’t even up yet!

From there DC flew behind the Times Square Building (TSB) then ended up under the northeast wing. Beauty remained on the base of Mercury but didn’t eat any more. 5 minutes later DC flew out over the river and Beauty flew to cam 1.

I spotted DC landing on the southeast wing ring and immediately fly off of it and go to the nest box. Next thing I knew DC was flying to Beauty where a very quick copulation took place on cam 1 just before 7:30am. DC went to the west side railing of Widows Walk, he was gone by the time I reached  Fitzhugh St. for a better look at him. I went up to the bridge to get a front shot of Beauty before leaving to look where DC might have gone.

I didn’t find DC so I left downtown to check for Billie and 99 at Seneca Towers. However, I got a message from Donna that a food exchange took place downtown and that DC was now on cam 1. Thanks D!! Billie and 99 were in the same places I found them in yesterday-she was on the northwest corner of roof with her back to me and he was on the top window ledge at the north end of the building. There was one difference-Billie wasn’t eating today. Most of the time that I was observing them, 99 was looking at Billie.

<Click on pic

At just a little after 9am 99 took off followed by Billie-they flew past me to my left heading northeast over Irondequoit. They didn’t come back and I ended my watch at 9:20am. I saw all 4 Rochester Peregrine Falcons on watch today which makes me smile every time! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/IZJ8OuClBz8

http://youtu.be/QfZ75JnpYNc

http://youtu.be/tjKtW0La8fM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

2:30 – 4:00 pm

Bye bye Winter!  Hello Spring!

The calendar said first day of Spring, but  it sure didn’t feel like Spring when I headed out of work.  Brrrr.  It had been lightly snowing earlier in the day and now it was lightly raining.

My first check was Kodak Park West.  Again no falcons seen there.

Downtown, from in front of Frontier Field, I spotted Dot.ca at the west end of the top IBeam on OCSR.

From the Broad St Bridge, I could not see Dot.ca because he was around the corner.  Closer to the Times Square Bldg, I could just see the top of his head.  Back on the Broad St Bridge, I could see that Beauty was at the nest box.  The lighting was no where as good as it had been yesterday.

I checked the Rfalconcam Archive when I got home and found out that both Beauty and Dot.ca had been in the nest box before I arrived downtown.  Here are some pictures captured by the Rochester Falcon cameras.

From Camera #4, here is Beauty’s view of where Dot.ca was located on OCSR.

I ended my watch just before 4:00 pm.  Both Beauty and Dot.ca were there, but neither of them moved from their spots; Beauty at the nest box and Dot.ca on OCSR.

All was peaceful and quiet.

Except for the Genessee River which was running hard, with lots of large pieces of ice.  No ducks or gulls on the river.

I’ll end my report with tweets sent in by fellow watcher Kathy O, who continued the watch after I left.  I did not see copulation, but Kathy did!  Enjoy the weekend everyone!

6:00 pm – DT falcon report – both Beauty and DC on base of mercury .. DC brought food with him but neither are eating.

6:09 pm – DT falcon report – oh oh oh .. Copulation on base of Mercury .. Made Beauty hungry .. She’s eating now .. DC took off.

6:32 pm – DT falcon report – Dot.ca on TSB on ledge at base of ne wing .. Beauty on base of mercury.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A dark overcast morning was on tap today with a temperature of 30(F) -1(C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

As I pulled onto the Broad St. Bridge to start my watch I spotted Beauty on the Mercury money bag (MMB). I drove down to the hole on Bank Place where it meets Aqueduct St. to watch her-it was still a bit dark out as the sun wasn’t scheduled to rise for another 20 minutes. About 10 minutes later she flew off in a blur to the north past OCSR on the river side.

I went over to Basin St. by the Wilder building as I watched Dot.ca (DC) fly in and land on cam 1 briefly then he went up to the northwest wing ring. DC didn’t stay there very long either before he flew off

Next thing I saw was DC heading toward Times Square chirping. I just barely caught a glimpse of his wings on the deck going back to the nest box. Beauty was there too, as reported to me by Donna, and I kinda thought the Beautyful one was up there by the vocalizing I heard as DC was on his way. Thanks a lot D! DC flew out and across to the MMB for about 5 minutes then he took off to the southwest. He’s a busy boy these days!

I spotted Beauty from Bank Place so I pulled over there to watch her. She was trying to bring up a pellet on and off and she did manage to get a piece out.

Beauty stayed there until 8:05am then she spotted DC and flew toward Times Square (TSB). I drove around to Basin St. where I could see DC under the northeast wing feaking, then I saw Beauty flying over the Wilder building. It was obvious that DC had given beauty a food gift as I next saw her eating on the base of Mercury.

Beauty barely got finished eating when DC came flying in to mate with her and then he flew over to cam 1 and started chirping.

This is how I left them at 8:30am to go home and check for Billie and 99. As I pulled over on St. Paul St. just past Seth Green Dr. to look at the west and south sides I spotted Billie up on the northwest corner eating. I continued on to the parking lot of Northridge Church where I can see the north and east sides. From there I could see 99 on the top window ledge and he too was eating.

99 finished eating within a couple minutes but Buffalo Billie still had more to eat. At 8:54am 99 flew out and over to Billie-he hovered a bit wanting to mate with her but she wouldn’t raise her tail, but oh no, she wasn’t having any of that when there was still food to be eaten. She needs to have a talk with Beauty as I witnessed her eating straight through copulation with DC once. Anyway, 99 landed a few feet away from Billie as she finished up her meal and then he flew back over to the top window ledge.

Billie finally got her crop filled and started feaking as she worked her way toward 99. He kept an eye on her as she got closer and when she was done cleaning herself up she stayed perched as 99 started preening.

The way 99 was looking at her I thought he might try to mate again but when he started preening I knew the moment was lost. I left them with 99 preening on his window ledge and Billie on the roof a few feet away from him with her back to me at 9:30am. Another successful watch in which I saw all 4 of our beloved Rochester Peregrine Falcons thus sending me on my way smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

2:30 to 5:00 pm

After a hard day’s  work, it was wonderful to get out for a little falcon watching.  The sun was shining and the sky was blue, with a chill in the air.  This was the last day of Winter.  Woohoo!  Spring will be here tomorrow!

A quick check at KPW before I headed downtown.  No falcons seen there.  But, I am seeing a lot more white wash below the lower catwalk on the east stack.  I have to wonder if a falcon is roosting there overnight.  It’s too dark in the morning for me to get a good look before I head into work.  I’ll definitely keep checking that area.

When I arrived downtown, I parked on the Broad St Bridge.  This was my view.

There was a falcon on the nest box platform when I first arrived, but it was gone before I could get a picture.  Cam Watcher Donna texted that Dot.ca had been in the nest box and Beauty on the platform when I first arrived.

Dot.ca was now on the OCSR Bldg, south side top Ibeam.  I could not find Beauty at first.

It would be Dot.ca who showed me where Beauty was.  He took off and flew over the Mercury statue.

He circled back and came in for a landing on Mercury’s foot.  Wait a minute!  Something was already on Mercury’s foot.  It was Beauty!  They copulated….

and Dot.ca took off, again landing on the top Ibeam of the OCSR.

Beauty remained on Mercury’s foot.

Beauty took off and flew up to the nest box, landing on the corner of the platform.

After awhile, I lost sight of her and asked (through a tweet) if Beauty might be in the nest box.  Three cam watchers answered! Thanks Lisa, Donna and Pat!  I so appreciate the help of my fellow watchers when I’m downtown watching.  🙂

Beauty flew out of the nest box and landed on the other side of the base of the Mercury statue, where I couldn’t see her from the Broad St Bridge.  I moved my car up to “falcon watch central” for a better view of Beauty.  From my position on Broad St, just above Aqueduct St., I had a nice view of Beauty on Mercury and Dot.ca on the top IBeam of OCSR.  This was my view.

I spotted fellow falcon watcher Pat and we chatted for a few moments.

Dot.ca on OCSR.

Beauty on the base of Mercury.

This is where I left Beauty and Dot.ca when I ended my watch a little after 5:00 pm.  Another peaceful and quiet watch!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A chilly morning with a temperature of 18(F) -8(C) and sunny, bright blue skies

Click on the pics to see the full version

I spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury as I was returning from the east side via Main St. as I arrived in the hole Dot.ca (DC) flew off the Mercury money bag (MMB). As I started taping Beauty, DC flew from cam 1 (as reported by Donna)d went right over to mate with Beauty.

Beauty flew to cam 1 and DC ended up in the southeast wing ring of Times Square (TSB).

A couple minutes later DC took off heading northwest and the Beautyful one remained on cam 1.

She did some stretching and relaxing, and while I watched her my buddy Mike, who is an attendant in the parking lot by TSB stopped to chit chat and he told how Beauty and DC were on the Wilder building and how DC flew off after another falcon the same size as DC and chased it to the southwest past TSB. I said it may have been a kestrel since Carol saw one there yesterday afternoon but he insisted it was the same size and then he said Beauty flew off the Wilder building to the nest box right about 1pm. Whoever it was DC defused the situation and everything turned out just fine. Around 7:40am DC flew past Beauty who was whining and about 10 minutes later he came through kakking from the southeast heading north. At 7:49am Beauty flew off cam 1 and flew north as well.

I left to go look for them and while I was away a food gift was offered up to Beauty who had it on the base of Mercury while I found DC to be on the deck by the main cam.

While I was taping her from Broad St. by the Blue Cross Arena, Beauty flew over to the southeast corner of Widows Walk (WW) with what was left of DC’s gift. DC moved up to cam 1

Beauty finished eating her tasty treat around 8:45am and both she and DC were taking in the warmth of the sun’s rays. I thought this was a good time to go home to see if I could catch Billie and 99 at Seneca Towers.

I landed in the Northridge church parking lot at 9am finding Billie on the northwest corner and 99 on the opposite end on the northeast corner. 99 then flew over to join Billie near the corner a few feet away from her.

99 suddenly flew off going right above Billie ,who raised her tail to mate but he passed over her and returned a bit later with food and landed on the roof above the north side windows.

Billie was whining as he left and returned. After a few minutes 99 took the food in on the roof farther where I could only see his head pop up every now and again. I left for a few minutes and when I got back Billie had food on the corner and I couldn’t see 99 anywhere. Billie flew off with what I believe was a food gift from 99 ,returned to the corner and repeated it 2 more times.

99 came in and landed on the west side railing a few feet away from Buffalo Billie who returned the last time without the food. They both flew off and returned landing on the west side railing-one near the northwest corner and the other further down. Billie ended up going down to the corner again and started eating, I love how the falcons fly around carrying a small chunk of food as if they’re teasing each other with it during courtship. Anyway, while I was watching Billie eat 99 snuck in and landed a few feet away from her.

99 walked over closer to Billie and when she was done eating she did some feaking and cleaning up and she too walked down closer to him.

It was a precious sequence that ended my watch at 10:40am after seeing all 4 Rochester Peregrine Falcons with a smile draped across my face! 🙂

Click ion the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/dBc3nMA4E1Q

http://youtu.be/Jj-sMSEzHTY

http://youtu.be/Wn3Wix9dLXE

http://youtu.be/Yk1-AAE7HxY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

2:30 to 5:30 pm

This is the time of year, where we have to keep a closer eye on the downtown nest site.  Lots of migrants are passing through. When Kathy O reported to me that she had not seen any falcons downtown yesterday afternoon, I knew I had to check on Beauty and Dot.ca after work.  Only a couple of us usually write up watch reports, but there is a great group of falcon watchers that keep an eye on the Rochester Falcons.  But first I checked out the Kodak Park West area for the falcon I had seen there yesterday.  There was no falcon seen there today.

Downtown, from the Broad St bridge, I found Dot.ca up on the Times Square Bldg (TSB) under the southeast wing.  Beauty was on the south side of OCSR on the top IBeam.

Dot.ca took off and did not return.  I went down to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”) to see if I could find him.  While there, loud falcon vocalizations filled the air.  Dot.ca flew to the nest box with food and Beauty followed.  Dot.ca flew out of the nest box area and landed on the base of Mercury, still clutching his offering.  Beauty remained on the corner of the platform.  I could see that she had a full crop, so she probably wasn’t hungry.

Dot.ca flew off with the food, heading north.  I’m sure he cached it for later.

Beauty returned to the top IBeam on OCSR.

After awhile, Dot.ca returned, zipping back and forth in front of the Times Square Bldg.  He flew to the Wilder Bldg. and landed on the green strip.

All was quiet for awhile.  Then Dot.ca became agitated and started to vocalize looking up.  I looked up to see Beauty flying after a smaller falcon, which I do believe was a Kestrel.  She flew to the nest box and Dot.ca followed.  Beauty flew out and landed on the Wilder Bldg green strip, while Dot.ca remained at the nest box.  I never did see where the Kestrel went.

It was again quiet.  But not for long.  Beauty started to vocalize and look up at the nest box.  Dot.ca was on his way down to her and I witnessed my first copulation of 2015.  Beauty remained at the east end of the green strip and Dot.ca went to the west end. This is where I left them at the end of my afternoon watch.  All was peaceful and quiet.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Man, that wind was cold today as the temperature was 26(F) -3(C) There were snowflakes on and off and overcast conditions

Click on the pics to see the full version

I was contacted by fellow watcher and friend Kathy Olney last night that she had been downtown yesterday afternoon for quite a while and didn’t see either falcon so I was anxious to find Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) this morning. No problem finding DC as I spotted him right off the bat under the northeast wing of Times Square plucking feathers from prey(TSB) from the hole about 7:10am.

A few minutes later DC flew off with his prey to the second I-beam southeast side of OCSR. I drove over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. to watch him. He started picking at his catch and about 10-15 minutes later stopped eating. At the time I thought it was Beauty that was whining but it turned out to be DC and I’m pretty sure he was calling for Beauty because he wanted to give up his leftovers as a food offering to her.

DC started chirping and at 7:41am he flew toward TSB-I watched him vanish and then I drove over to Basin St. in the hole where I spotted him on the deck by the main cam. He chirped for quite a long time looking around for his mate to give her his food gift.

He gave up and flew off with his small package at 7:50am whining the whole time and I was starting to get a bit concerned that Beauty hadn’t shown herself. He took it to a ledge on the north side of TSB for a very brief moment then flew over to the east side of Widows Walk.

DC didn’t stay there for long either as he took the prey into the middle inside of the railings and flew out from the west side heading northwest.

I thought perhaps he had gone to Kodak Office to look for his Beautyful mate but I didn’t find either one of them there. The angst was building as time went on and no sign of Beauty. I called cam watcher Donna to see if she had Beauty when she checked the mornings archives on rfalconcam. She said that Beauty had been on the deck at 6:52am, so I was relieved to know that she was seen on cam but I wanted to see her on watch as well just to make sure all was okay. I came back to the Times Square area and spotted DC on the base of Mercury from Broad St. by the Blue Cross Arena.

I had been out for an hour and still no Beauty sighting so I left DC to go search some more. I checked and re-checked and came across DC now on the third I-beam south corner of OCSR. After watching him nap for a few minutes I set out again after Beauty.

After failing to find her once again I decided to go to the hole and just watch DC who was still on the third I-beam sleeping, and wait to see if she showed up. I didn’t have to wait at all because right up on the Wilder building’s green strip was our Beauty with her back to the world just before the 9 o’clock hour. Big PHEW!!!

I had mentioned while taping her that she likes to hang out here when she is close to egg laying time. So, one of these days in the next couple weeks or so we’re going to see a nice shiny red egg in that bowl she and DC have been working on in their nest box pea gravel. When I came home this afternoon from walking Isabella (falcon watcher Jeanne’s dog) Billie and 99 were up on the top window ledge south side of Seneca Towers at close proximity to each other. So not only did Beauty ease our minds by showing up but I saw all 4 Rochester Peregrine Falcons today-more than enough to make me smile and thankful! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/UMfNGhNaeIY

http://youtu.be/JqsZBwdtALQ

http://youtu.be/EeKzDvfNX5Y

http://youtu.be/e6_zS1uAIEw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The starting temperature today was 42(F) 6(C) with calm winds and overcast skies-it went down as the day went on and the wind picked up considerably as a cold front is making its way through

Click on the pics to see the full version

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

As I pulled over on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I spotted Dot.ca on the Mercury money bag with his back to me-I went down to the hole and he flew off as I arrived there. I made a couple trips around downtown and finally spotted Beauty on the Wilder green strip (WGS) from Aqueduct St. around 7:45am

10 minutes later she flew south and came back to land on the southeast wing ledge-half a minute later DC came flying in chirping and Beauty flew out to meet him above the Philipone building. Lots of vocalizing took place when they landed on the deck and DC gave the Beautyful one a food gift.

They crack me up because it’s almost like they’re racing each other to the deck as that last pic shows it was a photo finish! Once they landed I lost sight of them and Donna reported that she thought there was a food exchange. I saw DC flew out the nest box and come right over to the WGS, where unbeknownst to me, Beauty was right above me and they mated. I never saw her leave the nest box but there she was as I was parked on Basin St. underneath her. I wasn’t able to get my camera focused in fast enough to photograph the mating session and when they were done all I could see was Beauty’s tail. I had to move back over to Aqueduct St. to see that Beauty did indeed have a small offering of food from her mate. DC flew over to the southeast wing ledge on Times Square.

While Beauty ate, DC cleaned himself up as he had a full crop and obviously had eaten the lion’s share of the prey bird before handing over the rest to his mate.

Around 8:15am Beauty finished off DC’s leftovers and flew away while I was taping DC. A few minutes later I spotted Beauty on the southeast corner of Widows Walk and seconds later she was gone. DC flew down to the deck chirping and disappeared to the nest box.

DC came back out where I could see him and soon after flew off heading east.

I decided to go up on the bridge to have a look around and as I turned I spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury and DC was on his way over to her-I knew what was about to happen. I pulled over next to the Blue Cross Arena and got my camera focused in just in time to get the tail end of a mating session at 8:34am.

I had to get to another appointment this morning so I left Beauty in the afterglow, checking on my way out of downtown for DC but I didn’t find him.

I stopped by Seneca Towers but neither Billie nor 99 were there. Beauty and DC are in full swing with their courtship rituals and eggs aren’t too far off now. I believe she laid her first egg on April 8th last year so it’s getting close folks-stay tuned and keep smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/OTXsZ4DfhRk

http://youtu.be/N0R5K0hARPg

http://youtu.be/2n-yTPvyVA4

http://youtu.be/AqiPjrtZzvg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Today’s starting temperature was 32(F) o(C) with partly to mostly cloudy skies and light winds

Click on pic to see the full version

After stopping on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) for a look/see I made the U-turn to check the east side and when I did I spotted Beauty on a southwest corner of Legacy Tower (LT). She had her back to me so I drove over to Elm St.

She wasn’t there for long as she flew off while I was tweeting. I went back to the BSB where I saw the Beautyful one at the nest box. I tweeted it out and then I got reports from Donna, who said both Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) had been to the nest box and Shaky saying Beauty was there. Thanks!

I no sooner tweeted that and looked back up to see that Beauty was now on cam 1 so I headed down to the hole to watch her.

I’m sure she was looking for DC as she was very alert looking around at everything that moved. The sun came out for a few minutes and made her look that much more pretty and at 7:43am Beauty turned, spread her wings and flew north.

I caught up with Beauty on Kodak Office (KO) as I made my way down State St. She was on the northeast corner of the launchpad facing north.

Beauty turned to the south, so I moved to the south side of KO. She flew south at 8:09am.

When I reached Times Square (TSB) I found Beauty on the column above the nest box-I parked in front of the Blue Cross Arena on Exchange Blvd. for the best view of her.

5 minutes later Beauty turned around so I went over to Basin St. in the hole to see why she turned-DC was on a north side ledge at the back of TSB with fresh prey.

Beauty watched DC as he prepared the food-feathers were flying and I guess she got impatient for she vocalized something to him then flew east. I had to leave to get ready for an appointment but when I got to Seneca Towers and saw Billie and 99 on the west side of the building I had to stop for a few moments to watch them. He was on the railing and she was on the roof below him.

I was on my way at just before 9am ending my watch after seeing all 4 Rochester Peregrine Falcons doing their thing and making me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/vZlN09EDhkQ

http://youtu.be/kOUUQslzUNo

http://youtu.be/8s7kljobmK4

http://youtu.be/RoTSnKJsTU8