rfalconcam - FalconWatch

FalconWatch

Eyes to the Skies

Archive for July, 2015

To the Gorge III – Fledge Watch – 7/25/15

Saturday, July 25th, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

4:00 – 8:30 pm

Afternoon Watchers: Lisa McK, Joyce, Carrie, Shaky and Carol P.

Temps in the 80’s, sunshine, mix of clouds and blue sky with a light breeze.

Gorge, glorious gorge!  🙂

It seems that they love to visit it in the afternoon.  At least that’s when I’ve been catching them there.  Today they were flying in the gorge from 5:00 to 5:30 pm, and my friend and fellow watcher Lisa McK was there to enjoy it with me today.

Today started the same way as yesterday.  Beauty was up on the Kodak Tower on the south side arch ledge.  I looked around, but had no luck finding any other falcons.  It was time to head to the gorge.

My favorite bench was open, so that’s where I headed.  From there I am close to the east side of the gorge, with a sweeping view of the gorge, falls, and downtown.  Oh, and the Kodak Tower too.  I also enjoy watching all the visitors to the gorge and love talking to them.  For the first hour, it was very quiet.  Just as I saw a juvie falcon flying high over the east side of the gorge, a wedding party made their way out onto the bridge.  They were there to take pictures.  What a beautiful setting!

Juvie Flying High Over East End of Gorge -7-25-15

Lisa McK joined me on the watch.  We were also joined by our friend Ron.  He loves to walk around the city and take pictures. He asked if we thought the falcons would be here soon and we said we hoped so!  We would not be disappointed.  At about 5:00 pm, Cadence flew in and landed in the Falcon Sucking Tree.

Cadence in the Falcon Sucking Tree -7-25-15

A few minutes later, Genesee arrived and Cadence was off, joining her brother.  Watch out gulls and anything else they felt like swooping on!

We watched from the pedestrian bridge for about a minute, then it was time to head for the observation deck.  I arrived at the observation deck first, Lisa was last to arrive.  The juvies were all around us and over us.  Stooping and swooping on each other and everything else.  When Lisa was walking up the path, one of the juvies swooped on her and then a dog walking on the lawn behind us.  lol  Anything is fair game!  What a joy to see them in the gorge.

Here are my pictures from today and at the end another video.  Be sure to click on the picture to see the full version.  Enjoy!

Cadence in the Gorge -7-25-15Juvie into the Falls -7-25-15Juvie in the Gorge -7-25-15

Juvie in the Gorge -7-25-15Cadence in the Gorge -7-25-15Juvie in the Gorge -7-25-15

Juvie in the Gorge -7-25-15Genesee (Top) and Cadence in the Gorge 7-25-15Juvies in the Gorge -7-25-15

Genesee in the Gorge -7-25-15Genesee in the Gorge -7-25-15

Here is the link to my Youtube video.

https://youtu.be/PubwYKxTnLA

After about a 1/2 hour, Cadence settled in the falcon sucking tree and Genesee headed south towards downtown.  It wasn’t long before Cadence followed her brother.  Beauty was still on the Kodak Tower.  Lisa and I decided to head back to the pedestrian bridge.

It was very quiet after that.  We received a tweet from Joyce, who was downtown looking for the falcons.  At 6:14 pm, she reported that Dot.ca was on the north side of OCSR on the north corner.  So, we had all 4 Rochester Falcons seen this afternoon.  Joyce joined us on the pedestrian bridge.

At 7:15 pm, we had three falcons in view.  Both adults had moved.  Beauty was now on the Times Square Bldg, under the southeast wing.  Dot.ca was on the top arm of the Frontier Communication Tower and there was a juvie below him on the southeast corner of the platform.

Shaky and Carrie joined us and Carrie spotted the beaver swimming around the south end of the island below us.  There were two Great Blue Herons, one on the small building on the island and another that had landed on the fence on the east side of the falls.

Joyce left us at 8:00 pm.  At 8:20 pm, a juvie flew into the gorge carrying food.  We were losing light and could not tell if it was Cadence or Genesee.  For a few moments, the juvie flew around, attempting to land on different spots, including the Falcon Sucking Tree (FST) and the gorge wall.  Finally s/he landed on a spot on the wall just past the FST, but we could tell s/he was not comfortable there.  After a couple minutes of moving and adjusting the hold on the prey, s/he took off.  This time heading west across the gorge.  We all watched as the juvie flew over the buildings and finally landed low on the Frontier Communication Tower.

Lisa and I moved to the east end of the bridge so we could see that the juvie was now eating.  Carrie called out and pointed up. An adult falcon was flying over us, also carrying prey.  We are pretty sure this was Beauty.  She flew towards the Kodak Tower and landed on the south side launch pad.

Shaky and Carrie remained on the bridge, while Lisa and I drove over to the Frontier Communication Tower to see if we could ID the juvie eating there.  It was to dark to see the bands.  Beauty flew over us, heading south.

It was 8:30 pm, when we ended our watch.  Tomorrow is Sunday and I hope that the juvies will again visit the gorge. Goodnight everyone!

Morning Fledge Watch 7-25-15

Saturday, July 25th, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a gloomy morning with rain on and off and a temperature of 62 (F) 17 (C)

The falcons didn’t care that it was gloomy out and neither did I -we still had fun! As I stepped out on the west side balcony I could hear a juvie but it wouldn’t show itself so I walked across to the east side balcony where I could hear it louder. When it wouldn’t show itself I decided to go down to the ground for a look-as I was walking to my car 2 falcons flew above me, one was whining so at least one of them was a juvie.

On my way to my spot by the visitors parking on Seth Green Dr. I spotted a raccoon wandering the parking lot with a jar stuck on its head. I stopped and got out my car to see if I could grab it and take the glass jar off but one of the residents warned me about getting scratched and that he had called the police, so I decided since I’m on a blood thinner I didn’t need to bleed all over the place so I left it for the authorities.

From my spot I saw a juvie land on the west side railing for a couple minutes then it left as the Seneca Towers (ST) security guard came up to the car to chat about the falcons and the raccoon. I noticed 2 falcons flying south over the river through the trees as I told the guard about the juvies at ST and downtown. He left when the police arrived and I left for downtown as all was quiet at ST.

img_0002-juvie-on-stimg_0004-st-juvie

I made my way to the High Falls around 6:45am after no luck finding any falcons downtown-there were none there either. I saw a doe run behind some bushes on the south side of the pedestrian bridge and a Great Blue Heron in the river on the north side.

img_0008-gbh

I left for the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) finding Dot.ca (DC) on the west corner top I beam of OCSR with his back to me so I drove to the hole parking lot to get a front view of him. I could hear a juvie whining as DC stooped down toward the river heading south.

img_0011-dc1dc1

As I was leaving the parking lot I spotted a juvie on the lower roof of Widows Walk (WW), as I was waiting for traffic to go across to the parking lot next to Times Square my parking lot attendant buddy, Mike started flagging me that a falcon was up there. When I got over there, another juvie popped up as I was thanking Mike. Both juvies popped in and out of view before settling on either side of the northeast corner.

img_0014-juvie-on-widows-walk<clickimg_0016-dt-juviesimg_0018-genesee-sneaks-up-behind-cadence

They stayed there a few minutes then Genesee spotted something and flew off-Cadence followed suit half a minute later after cranking her head sideways watching him fly off.

img_0019-cg<Clickimg_0021-cggenesee1

cadence-watches-genesee-fly-off<Click>capture-cadence-watching-her-brother-fly-offcadence-about-to-go

Initially, they flew east only to make a U turn and head northwest over the Telesca building out of view. I made my way over to Fitzhugh St. to check the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) and there I found DC on the top arm. I ended up over on Plymouth Ave. where I could see the front of him but he left while I was checking my pics at 7:20am or so.

img_0027-dc

After a trip around downtown with no success finding a falcon I ended up back on Fitzhugh St. by City Hall as I had seen a falcon on the FCT platform railing east side from the ASB. It started raining hard as this falcon spread its wings and I was puzzled because it looked like an adult but this was juvie behavior. I was able to see the black over black left leg band proving that it was DC! He jumped over to the north side railing holding his wings out and flapping a little before fly/hopping back to the east side railing.

img_0031-dc-playing-in-the-rainimg_0032-dc1img_0033-dc3

img_0034-dc1img_0035-back-to-east-side

After a minute or two the rain stopped and DC settled in to do some preening of his very wet feathers. In the western sky a rainbow broke out. I stayed with DC a little longer and as I was leaving him to look for his family I had to stop and take a pic of some pretty flowers on the north border of the City Hall parking lot.

img_0038-rain-is-doneimg_0040-a-wet-dcimg_0041-rainbow

img_0043-city-hall-parking-lot1<Click>img_0044-pretty

I had no luck in my search and ended up at Seneca Towers around 8:30am-as I was crossing the Veterans Memorial Bridge I saw a falcon flying toward Kodak Park on Lake Ave. When I landed on Seth Green Dr.  Billie was perched on the south end top window ledge. I then spotted  Sellie on the northwest corner of the refuse shoot roof, which is located next to the elevator shaft on the ST roof.

img_0046-billieimg_0047-billieimg_0050-billie

img_0054-sellieimg_0055-sellie-is-so-cuteimg_0061-location-shot<Click

Sellie moved back away from the edge where I could only see his head occasionally. A few minutes later Bith showed up on the west side railing near the northwest corner around 9am. Sellie whined a little when his brother first arrived but evryone settled down after that.

img_0059-sellies-headimg_0063-bithimg_0065-bithimg_0067-bith

Billie and Sellie weren’t moving and Bith had his eyes shut so I called it a watch at 9:30am.

img_0071-naptime-for-bithimg_0073-location-shot<Click

I have to say that the highlight for me today was DC and his rain dance-I’m smiling right now just thinking about it! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/7F5-cHtqhlA

http://youtu.be/43Oe7qTV9qs

http://youtu.be/DyTjHq8uT44

http://youtu.be/42MZkkBER3c

To the Gorge II! – Fledge Watch – 7/24/15

Friday, July 24th, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

3:00 to 7:30 pm

Another warm, sunny day with temps near 80 degrees (F).

For the majority of my watch, I was alone.  Larry O did join me for a short visit at the end of my watch.

When I first arrived downtown, I again found an adult (I believe it was Beauty) on the Kodak Tower, south side arch ledge.  I did drive around downtown and had no luck finding any other falcons.  To the gorge!  lol

From the gorge, I could see Beauty on Kodak and another falcon on the north side of OCSR, top IBeam, west corner.  It was a far distance away, but I do believe this was Dot.ca.

I went to my favorite bench on the pedestrian bridge and settled down for my watch.  At 4:30 pm, I went to my car to get some more water.  While I was sitting in my car at 4:40 pm, I saw two falcons pop over the top of the tree line leading up to the pedestrian bridge. Juvies in the gorge!  I quickly gathered my stuff and returned to the pedestrian bridge.  It took me a few minutes to find them.  They were both in the Falcon Sucking Tree (FST), next to each other.  I quickly checked the Kodak Tower and Beauty was still up on the arch.

Cadence and Genesee in the FST -7-24-15

At 5:00 pm, I decided to head out to the observation deck, which is close to the High Falls.  From there I had a great view of both Cadence and Genesee in the FST.

Cadence & Genesee in the FST from the Observation Deck - 7-24-15

It had been a long time since I had been on the observation deck while young falcons flew around the gorge.  Both Cadence and Genesee took off and I just enjoyed the show.  This is where I and most of the watchers love to watch the falcons fly.  Here is a short video showing just a little bit of what I was honored to witness.  Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/7QUB2Vx-JyA

Here are some pictures I took.  There was a lot of mist from the falls and bright sunshine, so my pictures are not the best.  With the weekend coming, I hope more watchers are able to enjoy seeing the falcons in the gorge. They won’t be with us much longer.  🙁

*Be sure to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.

Juvies in the Mist of the Falls -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15

Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15

Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15

Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15

Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-24-15

Larry O joined me for a short time at the end of my watch.  He was able to see one of the juvies in the Falcon Sucking Tree.  I ended by watch at 7:30 pm.

While I was watching Cadence and Genesee gracefully flying in the gorge, I couldn’t help but think about their lost brother.  I truly wish that Bronx could have been there too.

Fly Free Bronx -7-24-15

Morning Fledge Watch 7-24-15

Friday, July 24th, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The temperature when I started out today was 56 (F) 13 (C) -it warmed up quick as there was nothing but sun and blue skies again

As soon as I stepped out on the west side balcony on my 16th floor at Seneca Towers I saw 2 falcons flying-Seth and Bith.  Sellie was yelling non-stop and quite loudly on from the west side railing.  Bith and Seth buzzed Sellie a few times then Bith wasn’t seen for a while. Seth did some flying out over the river then I didn’t see him for a few minutes.

img_0002-good-morning-to-you-too-sellieimg_0006-sellieimg_0007-sellie

img_0008-sellieimg_0009-what-a-big-mouth-you-haveimg_0011-i-see-you-down-there-mak

I decided to go up to the top floor (22nd) balcony and I was greeted with a close encounter with Seth as he flew by at eye level maybe 10-15 feet away. He was looking at me as he passed by heading northwest over the river. He turned around over the trees on the west side of the gorge and flew back passing over Sellie, which made him whine even louder.

img_0013-sellie-still-yellingimg_0014-i-want-breakfastimg_0015-sellieimg_0016-im-hungry

seth<Seth img_0018-2-flying-at-seneca-towers<Click to see Seth and Bith

Sellie flew down to the south end of the roof and continued to cry for dad to bring food. At that point I went down to my car and drove out to Seth Green Dr.

img_0020-sellieimg_0021-im-down-here-dad

Bith landed on the north half of the west side railing and Seth came into the picture with food. Bith chased him and I believe there was a food exchange because all went quiet and Sellie was the only falcon I could see.

img_0025-bith<Click>img_0026-come-and-get-itimg_0027-sellie

I left for downtown arriving on the Andrews St. Bridge (ASB) at 6:35am where I spotted Dot.ca (DC) on the southeast corner of the Kodak Office playpen netting. I drove down to State St. to share space with the white little dude for a few minutes and then I left him to look for the rest of the downtown falcons.

img_0029-dcimg_0033-dc2

Unfortunately, today would be a bust on finding Beauty, Cadence or Genesee. I did find lots of foot and car traffic around the Blue Cross Arena as the Jehovah’s Witnesses are in town for the weekend. I headed over to the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge at High Falls where I found a White-tailed Buck being chased by a doe, a Great Blue Heron on a railing and a bunny rabbit as I was leaving, but no falcons.

img_0035-gbhimg_0039-buckerooimg_0043-eating-berriesimg_0044-handsome

I don’t know when DC left Kodak but I headed for home around 9am. I spotted Billie on the south end of Seneca Towers top window ledge. She was facing the sun and her front was glowing-I pulled over on St. Paul St. to observe her. She didn’t do too much so I drove down to East Ridge Rd. to check the north end of the building. Seth was facing the river on his top window ledge.

img_0048-billieimg_0059-billieimg_0054-seth

I ended my watch at 9:45am having seen all 4 Seneca Towers Peregrine Falcons and papa DC downtown. The close encounter with Seth first thing this morning made me smile the most on this day! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/kb5WoVj5Ubw

http://youtu.be/6Po1kx9NCrQ

http://youtu.be/ntAMNTWYxHA

http://youtu.be/uLvVlGAglVE

http://youtu.be/Brh5IiUsaYU

To the Gorge! – Fledge Watch – 7/22 & 7/23/15

Thursday, July 23rd, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The days are almost perfect right now.  Sunshine, blue skies, a breeze, and warm temperatures.  Loving this weather!

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

I arrived downtown around 2:30 pm yesterday.  The only falcon I could find was Dot.ca on the Kodak Tower’s, south side arch ledge.  Directly above the old Mariah and Kaver nest box location.

Something told me to head to the gorge, so that’s where I went.  As soon as I stepped out onto the east end of the pedestrian bridge, I was greeted by a beautiful sight.  Two young falcons were playing in the gorge.  They were flying together and taking turns going talons up.  One of them was carrying a stick.  They were practicing the talons up, food transfer maneuver. Fantastic!

Juvie in the Gorge Carrying a Stick -7-22-15 Make sure to click on this one to see the full picture.

I’m not sure which one had the stick.  I mostly just watched, enjoying the show.  I will never tire of watching juvenile falcons flying in the gorge.

After a few moments, first one and then the other landed on different spots on the east side wall.  The first one I found was Cadence on a rock not too far from the bridge.

Cadence on the East Side Gorge Wall -7-22-15Cadence on the East Side Gorge Wall -7-22-15Cadence on the East Side Gorge Wall -7-22-15

It took me awhile to find Genesee.  Finally he came into view on the lower branch of the Falcon Sucking Tree, a tree appropriately named by my good friend and fellow falcon lover Dale.  This tree seems to become a favorite spot for all our falcons to perch.  It juts out from the east side gorge wall, hanging over the river below.  What a beautiful view they must have from up there!

Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-22-15Cadence and Genesee in the Gorge -7-22-15

Genesee in the Falcon Sucking Tree (FST) -7-22-15Cadence on the East Side Gorge Wall -7-22-15

Cadence then flew over to the Falcon Sucking Tree and landed below it on the rock wall.  That’s when Joyce and then a little later, Pat joined me.

First Genesee, then Cadence left the gorge.  One juvie ended up on top of the Kodak Tower.  It was pretty quiet for awhile, with a very brisk, cool breeze.  Lots of people stopped to talk to us to ask what we were looking at.  We me some nice folks from Ohio and Tennessee.  When there are no falcons to watch, there is usually  a lot of activity to keep our interest.  I do love when someone visits for the first time.  You always hear that gasp when they see the beautiful High Falls for the first time.  🙂

At 5:46 pm, an adult flew over the gorge.  It approached quickly and stooped down towards the river.  At the last moment, it flipped up into the Falcon Sucking Tree!  At first we thought it was Beauty, then Dot.ca, then back to Beauty.  lol  With bright sunlight, it’s sometimes hard to tell which one it is.  We settled on Beauty.

Beauty in the Falcon Sucking Tree - 7-22-15

She stayed there for awhile, preening and snoozing.  About an hour later, Beauty took off and flew low around the gorge.  She landed on the gorge floor for a few minutes.

Beauty Flying in the Gorge -7-22-15Beauty Lands on the Gorge Floor -7-22-15

Beauty took off and a juvie flew up to meet her.  We believe the juvie was possibly down in a tree on the island, but can’t be sure. They flew around together for a few minutes before they both left the gorge.

It was very quiet after that.  Joyce and I ended our watch at 8:00 pm.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

I got a much later start today, arriving downtown at about 4:00 pm.  I checked all over downtown, but the only falcon I could find was again on the south side arch ledge of the Kodak Tower.  This time it was Beauty.  To the gorge!  lol

I checked the gorge wall, but could find no falcons there.  A falcon on this wall is very well camouflaged.  At 4:50 pm, Beauty came off of the Kodak Tower and flew over the gorge.  She soared overhead and circled between the gorge and the Frontier Communication Tower.  To me it looked like she was looking for (or checking on) her young ones.  She returned to the south side arch on the Kodak Tower.

Here are a couple pictures of Beauty as she flew over me.  You can really see her missing feathers due to the molt she is currently going through.

Beauty Molting -7-23-15 Beauty Molting -7-23-15

At 5:15 pm, a juvie came off of the east side gorge wall below the observation deck. So much for me checking that wall.  🙂

The juvie flew over the falls and train tracks, heading south down the river.  Based on size, I believe that this was Cadence.  She met a smaller falcon over the river.  It was Dot.ca, and he had food.  Cadence did a perfect talons up below her father (she’s been practicing) and he dropped the prey to her.  She flipped back over and carried it to the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg where she landed.  Dot.ca turned and headed back towards the east.  Beauty was still on the Kodak Tower and I could see another falcon standing in front of the nest box on the Powers Bldg.  Here is a picture showing Cadence’s flight.

Cadence to Dot.ca for Food Transfer-7-23-15

I had to end my watch early today at 6:30 pm.  As I was getting ready to leave, I spotted two falcons on the east side railing of the Powers Bldg.  One big, one little.  I didn’t have time to check it out, but I hoped that it was Cadence and Genesee.

Good night everyone!

Two Falcons on the Powers Bldg - 7-23-15

Morning WOW Fledge Watch 7-23-15

Thursday, July 23rd, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Sunshine and blue skies prevailed this morning with a temperature of 54 (F) 12 (C)

I think I saw more flying by the Seneca Towers juvies today than all the rest put together-it was a WOW watch!

As I checked the north end of the building to start my watch at 5:45am Seth wasn’t on his window ledge but as I looked up there I saw 2 falcons flying and one was whining so I knew I had at least one juvie. I went out to Seth Green Dr. in my spot by the visitor parking for a broader view. There was a juvie on the west side railing near the northwest corner and one on the railing above the west side balconies. That one flew off and buzzed the other then we were off to the races.

img_0006-st-juvies

They would fly over and around Seneca Towers and daddy Seth would join the fray at one point so I had 3 flying falcons to dine on!

img_0007-st-falconsimg_0008-above-the-elevator-shaftimg_0009-seth-joins-the-boys<Click

img_0010-juvie-silouhueteimg_0012-3-falcons-above-st

They were into landing on the elevator shaft and surrounding area and the antenna at the south end of the building (or at least trying to land on antenna). Taking a break in between flight shows landing in various places. The sun was behind them as it came up so most of the pics are silhouettes.

img_0013-bith1img_0020-circling-the-antenna<Clickimg_0024-high-wire-act

img_0037-3-st-falconsimg_0032-seth-and-his-boysimg_0043-rest-time<Click

Seth showed his boys how to land on the antenna before stooping into the river gorge. One or both had food on the roof at the south end-not sure if a food exchange was made or if there were scraps found but I could see one of the juvies eating. Soon after they flew off out of view then everything went quiet.

img_0045-sethimg_0048-juvie

After about 45 minutes of action I left for downtown as the show was over here for now. Arriving on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) at 6:45am I spotted 3 falcons right away. Dot.ca (DC) was on the southwest wing ring of Times Square, Beauty was on the top east side railing of the Powers building and Genesee was on the north side platform railing of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT).

img_0053-dc1img_0057-beauty1img_0054-juvie

I went over to the City Hall parking lot to watch Genesee-he didn’t stay long before flying off to the northwest. Soon after that while I was watching Beauty from the Hochstein School of Music parking lot Cadence showed up on the northeast corner of City Place. So, in the span of about 20 minutes all 4 downtown falcons showed themselves-it doesn’t get any easier than that on watch.

img_0060-geneseeimg_0065-geneseeimg_0075-cadenceimg_0078-beauty

Cadence flew west after a few minutes and the Beautyful one was gone as well at 7:15am. For the next 45 minutes I was falconless as I searched all over downtown.

img_0082-cadence

While I was on the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge checking I could barely see DC up on the south side arch of Kodak Office (KO). I left High Falls for State St. to observe DC-he started on the west side of the arch and then he switched to the east side and after a couple minutes moved to the back of the ledge in the shadows. I had to drive over to Verona St. on the west side of KO to see him.

img_0085-dcimg_0090-dc1img_0093-dc1img_0098-dc-lurking-in-the-shadows

I couldn’t locate any other falcons downtown so I left for home, stopping on the way to check out the Lower Falls near the Driving Park bridge. They were flowing pretty hard and there was a mist rising from the river below.

img_0099-misty-lower-falls

It was just about 9am when I arrived at Seneca Towers-I pulled over on Seth Green Dr. same spot as earlier where I could see a juvie on the elevator shaft. He flew off and was joined by his brother as they flew  off to the north out of view. They came back into view a few minutes later-one of them landed on the west side railing then off again to fly with his sibling. It was break time as Bith landed on the roof above the west side balconies and Sellie above him on the elevator shaft.

img_0110-st-juvies1img_0111-bithimg_0112-sellie

Sellie flew off and buzzed Bith who walked halfway to the northwest corner before flying off. He landed on the west side railing near the corner then took off after Sellie who came whizzing through and they both disappeared to the north. Bith returned to land briefly on the elevator shaft and west side railing then he left and didn’t return.

img_0116-juvie

I ended my watch at 9:30am smiling all over the place after the fantastic fledge watch I had just encountered! 🙂

Click on the links below to see more photos and today’s videos-the snippet video has a lot of flying on it

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqkKW

http://youtu.be/mwNoU9PL3kc

http://youtu.be/DB9JT78mFLQ

http://youtu.be/GiFh4HgWk74

http://youtu.be/c67g51WfjuQ

http://youtu.be/0b2QB3z909o

http://youtu.be/W8gw3dIaF3Y

http://youtu.be/fVBkQPB-4vk

Morning Fledge Watch 7-22-15

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another morning with abundant sunshine and blue skies and a temperature of 62 (F) 17 (C)

Seneca Towers had no falcons present when I ventured out this morning and it took me a while to find a falcon downtown as well. It was about 6:15am as I made my way on to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) after checking the east side that I spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury. I pulled over and got out my car and then I noticed Cadence on the upper roof of Thomson Reuters at the northeast corner.

img_0002-beautyimg_0003-cadence1img_0004-yelling-at-mom1img_0006-more-yelling

The Beautyful one left when I was looking at Cadence as she was watching all the bug catchers flitting around the area. I swear my neck started hurting just seeing her cranking her head every which way.

img_0012-watching-bug-catchersimg_0013-things-are-looking-upimg_0024-pretty-cadence

I took a look at the river and was surprised to see how low the water level was-amazing how dams and locks can control such powerful waters.

img_0027-duck-all-by-itselfimg_0029-my-cuticles-need-some-workimg_0030-you-can-see-the-flats-again<Click

Cadence left while I was checking the river on the other side of BSB. It would be 45 minutes before I found a falcon and again it was Beauty. She was on the northeast corner of City Place. I pulled into the Hochstein School of Music parking lot to watch her as she plucked feathers from prey.

img_0033-beauty-with-food img_0034-plucking-feathers img_0036-the-beautyful-one

Beauty turned her back and moved in on the roof where I couldn’t see her so I drove up to the roof of the Sister Cities parking garage. She flew off suddenly with her prey and took it over to the middle red section east side of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT).

beauty-leaves-abruptlyimg_0041-beauty-with-prey

The neighborhood robin started pestering Beauty but she wasn’t phased by it, she just stood there looking around.

get-lost-falconget-lostgonna-get-you-beauty

Cadence flew in yelling and landed on the small tower briefly then over to the small platform in the red section below where Beauty was with the food. Cadence walked around to the opposite side eventually and dropped out of view as I got kicked off the roof by security.

cadence1cadence-ready-to-leavebeauty-and-cadencetake-off

cadence-1cadence-and-beauty<Click

By the time I worked my way back down to the ground again I couldn’t locate Cadence or hear her but Beauty was eating in earnest. I could only stay a few minutes more as I had to do something, so I left Beauty at 8am.

img_0052-beauty

A little over an hour later as I drove through downtown on my way home, I checked around but there were no falcons to be found. I ended my watch at 9:30am after seeing a falcon flying over the river north of Seneca Towers. It wasn’t a watch abundant with falcons like yesterday when I saw all 8 Rochester Peregrine Falcons but it made me smile none the less! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

http://youtu.be/zDpDKe2UXzY

http://youtu.be/hRdmAvK6IyE

http://youtu.be/4s8ySwUquAw

http://youtu.be/fwLE5g1nELU

http://youtu.be/srsi5G7EkMA

Monday evening/Tuesday Morning Fledge Watch 7-21-15

Tuesday, July 21st, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a temperature of 68 (F) 20 (C)

Last night I had a mini fledge watch from the 16th floor west side balcony of Seneca Towers. I stepped out there after seeing 2 falcons fly past my apartment window. What I witnessed was Bith and Sellie knock each other off the south side bridge ledge a few times as Sellie had food and Bith wanted it. Sellie kept the food the whole time and they ended the night flying in the gorge before flying east out of sight before the sun went down.

img_0002-bithimg_0010-sellieimg_0016-bith-sneaks-up-on-sellieimg_0020-mine-and-you-cant-have-any

img_0023-sellie-flies-near-bithimg_0028-bith-takes-off

img_0029-juvie-in-the-gorge1img_0030-juvie1img_0032-juvies-flyingimg_0033-monday-sunset<Click

Now for this mornings watch-I began it with Seth on the north side top window ledge of Seneca Towers. This is getting to be a habit I don’t want to break! lol He flew northeast around 6:30am and as I waited for his return I heard a juvie whining. I left my parking lot to check the rest of the building but didn’t find any other falcons .

img_0039-sethimg_0041-hi-cutieimg_0043-now-thats-a-fan-tail

I left for downtown arriving on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) about 6:40am and spotted a falcon on the middle arm of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT). I didn’t notice that he had company on the opposite arm until I looked at my pics on the computer. By the time I got over there it was on its way to Kodak Office. I was able to ID it as Dot.ca (DC) when I got over to State St. where I was relatively closer. He was on the southeast corner of the playpen netting, not the northeast as I had tweeted. duh! My mind is going!!

img_0045-buzz-timeimg_0048-dc

DC turned around and brought up a pellet. I left him around 7am to look for his family.

img_0050-dc1img_0053-dc-extracts-a-pellet

I had no luck and so returned to KO to find that DC had switched corners and was now on the southwest corner of the playpen netting. He flew northwest after a few minutes.

img_0060-dc-switches-cornersimg_0061-dc-flies-off

I gave it another try to find falcons downtown and came up empty again but this time when I returned to KO Beauty was there on the northeast corner of the playpen. She didn’t stay long and flew northwest out of view.

img_0062-beautyimg_0067-beauty-flies-off

I checked out the High Falls gorge but the only birds I saw there were some Canada Geese down on the small island.

img_0068-high-falls-small-island

After leaving there I stopped on the ASB where I hit the jackpot-3 falcons on the east side, middle red section of FCT.

img_0069-cadence-beauty-and-genesee-from-asb

I went to the City Hall parking lot to observe as Cadence had food and Genesee wanted some because he was whining very loudly! Beauty was in the background watching when to my surprise, Genesee walked away from Cadence instead of trying to take the food from her. So we all watched Cadence pluck feathers and eat breakfast.

img_0070-3-on-fct-from-city-hall-parking-lot<Click>img_0072-genesee-moves-away

I moved down to Fitzhugh St. below the tower for a better view of the 3 of them. Genesee made his way around to a spot closer to mom, occasionally whining. He was blocked by a beam but I could see Cadence and the Beautyful one.

img_0075-from-fitzhugh-st-below<Clickimg_0076-beauty-preeningimg_0082-location-shot

Cadence finished eating, pooped and walked away from the leftovers. Beauty slinked over and started eating while Genesee moved over a little when Cadence got closer to him.

img_0097-beauty-takes-over-the-food<Click>img_0098-beauty-eats-after-cadence-finishesimg_0101-3-on-fct<Click

I had to get something to eat myself so I left them to most likely rest for a while. When I got home to Seneca Towers I saw Billie on the west side railing from Seth Green Dr.

img_0107-billie-from-seth-green-dr

I went up to my 16th floor apartment, grabbed something to eat and a chair then went out on the west side balcony to see what I could see. After checking to make sure it was Buffalo Billie on the railing I turned my attention to the north. Both juvies were on the south side bridge ledge until Seth flew in with food-Sellie flew off after Billie who flew past and Bith got the spoils. Seth flew off to the northeast. It all happened so fast I had a hard time keeping track!

img_0111-billie-from-west-balcony-16th-floorimg_0112-buffalo-billieimg_0113-2-juviesimg_0115-looks-like-bith-got-the-spoils-this-time

I ended my watch at 10am smiling after a falcon filled watch that included all 8 Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see videos from last night and this morning

http://youtu.be/ToCYgPyojN4

http://youtu.be/yeM6Tc2eaQo

http://youtu.be/VUoiFCzB1c0

http://youtu.be/ntGk4MVBQ0U

http://youtu.be/27DIXJ3h7-Q

http://youtu.be/GCJZ1XuloYw

Morning Fledge Watch 7-20-15

Monday, July 20th, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another warm start to the day but less humid with a temperature of 71 (F) 22 (C) and ample sunshine and blue skies

I’m getting quite used to starting my day with Seth at the north end of Seneca Towers (ST) as I find him perched on the top window ledge most mornings and today was no exception.

img_0003-seth1

I heard a juvie around 6am but couldn’t see it so I left the parking lot to go check all sides of the building but had no luck finding it. I parked over on East Ridge Rd. near St. Paul St. to observe from a distance where I could see a broader field of vision. 20 minutes later a juvie came flying in whining and landed on the north side railing.

img_0007-seth1img_0009-a-juvie-arrives<Click it

Around 6:30am Seth dove down toward the river and there was a “like father, like son” moment as the juvie did the same. Dad returned to his window ledge. Juvie returned to northwest corner.

seth-takes-a-diveimg_0013-juvie-flies-offimg_0014-seth-returningjuvie-flies-in<Click

10 minutes later Seth flew out over the bridge made a U-turn then returned to window ledge. After taking off the juvie returned as well, coming to rest on the northwest corner of the railing.

img_0016-sethimg_0018-seth-off-againimg_0019-and-back-again

img_0021-seth-loves-to-watch-his-boys<Click>img_0023-seth-and-son

At 7am or so the juvie flew off when I wasn’t looking-I too, left to check out downtown. I arrived on Fitzhugh St. just in time to see Cadence on the north side of the lowest red section of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT). She flew west right after I got a shot of her.

img_0024-cadence

I headed north on Plymouth Ave. and spotted Cadence circling the Kodak Office tower (KO). She landed on the northwest corner of the playpen briefly, then took off and disappeared to the north side of KO.

img_0025-cadence

I drove to Frankfort St. in time to see Cadence land in the netting that Kodak put up around the playpen to keep Mariah and Kaver away from where their nest box once was up there during exterior building renovations. There’s no need for it now and they really need to take it down. Anyway, she got out of it and landed on an apparatus that I thought was inside the netting (as I tweeted and explained in a video) but after examining my pics can see that it is actually on the outside of netting.

img_0028-cadence-at-ko-playpenimg_0032-cadenceimg_0033-location-shot

I’d like to send a shout out to anyone who works at Kodak or has any kind of clout with people in charge to please ask if that netting can be removed before we have an incident.

Anyway, back to my watch as I left Cadence to look for her family members. I wouldn’t find another falcon until just before 9am when I was stopped on the Court St. bridge. I watched as Dot.ca (DC) flew in from the east and landed on the east side top railing of the Powers building and behind that on the top arm of FCT another falcon. I went down to the end of Aqueduct St. where it meets Main St. for the best view of the east and south sides of Powers.

img_0035-dcimg_0036-mrcleanimg_0038-dc

He soon flew off to the east right straight down Main St. past me out of view. I left for FCT to see who was on the top arm. I pulled over on Fitzhugh St. in front of the Sister Cities parking garage to find that it was a juvie but I never did get a clear enough shot of the leg bands to determine if it was Cadence or Genesee.

img_0039-juvie-on-fctimg_0040-sure-is-sunny-up-here

The juvie turned around to show me its back so I drove down to the City Hall parking lot to have a look. It did some stretching then turned around again. I started checking pics on my camera for a leg band shot but it flew off while I was doing that. I decided to end my watch at this time-9:30am.

img_0047-im-all-shook-upimg_0053-this-is-my-best-sideimg_0055-stretchimg_0066-hows-this-pose-mak

I’m not seeing all of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons on watch these days but I’m grateful for seeing any of them as they put a great big smile on my face when I do! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/5o8fi5XDfc4

http://youtu.be/L4BTChSUdns

http://youtu.be/Ha3nhtzStko

http://youtu.be/uIqOHdrFX-w

Morning Fledge Watch 7-19-15

Sunday, July 19th, 2015

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was very humid out with on and off light rain at the start, then sun and clouds with a temperature of 72 (F) 22 (C)

I started my watch today from the west side balcony of my 16th floor at Seneca Towers. Billie was up on the west side railing. Both juvies flew past whining very loud and she took off with them as they turned east when they reached the south end of the building.

img_0005-billieimg_0007-billieimg_0008-billie2

I then made my way down to my car and checked the north end where I found Seth on his top window ledge. It started to rain a bit when I left for downtown at 6:15am.

img_0020-sethimg_0021-hi-buddyimg_0025-seth

As I was driving down Seth Green Dr. a rainbow came into view so naturally I had to stop and take a pic or two.

img_0026-rainbow-this-morningimg_0027-make-a-wish

Arriving on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) around 6:30am I found Dot.ca (DC) on the north corner top I beam of OCSR with his back to me. Not sure at the time which adult it was I drove down to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel for a closer look.

img_0032-dc-from-asbimg_0033-dc1

I took a ride around looking for the rest of the family  and while on the east side I saw a falcon circling Xerox then it disappeared. The crews were done with Court St. bridge from yesterdayand were now on the Broad St. bridge (BSB) to clean up the log jam there. Once again from the ASB I saw falcons-one on the Powers top east side railing and one on the northeast corner of City Place. I drove to the Hochstein School of Music parking lot where I was able to identify Cadence as the City Place bird.

img_0037-falcon-on-powers-from-asbimg_0038-cadence-on-city-place-from-asb

img_0039-cadence1img_0044-cadence1img_0045-cadence<Clickimg_0046-cadence

She hung out there with me until somebody flew in with food-she took off and I saw them meet above City Hall then go out of view. Cadence then returned with the food and took it to the Frontier Communications tower (FCT) in the lower white section on an east side beam. I had to go to the City Hall parking lot to see her as she began plucking feathers and started eating.

img_0048-off-to-pick-up-breakfastimg_0054-almost-dropped-itimg_0058-cadence

Suddenly out of nowhere DC came flying in and landed next to Cadence with food of his own. Cadence started screaming and moved over to another beam with her food. They both started eating and after a few minutes she moved back over by dad, mantled her food and began squawking again. DC finished eating moved away from his daughter then flew off to the south.

img_0064-dc-arrives-with-his-foodimg_0070-cadence-moves-away-from-dadimg_0075-eating-across-from-dadimg_0076-youre-not-getting-mine-dad

img_0078-eat-somewhere-else-dadimg_0080-cadence-mantling-food<Clickimg_0083-cadence-down-low-on-fct

There was a robin buzzing both Cadence and DC when he was there. They paid absolutely no attention to it as they were intent on eating. At 8:15am I decided to go back to the school of music parking lot where I could see the Beautyful one on Powers and hopefully be able to see the front of Cadence-success on both counts.

img_0087-beautyimg_0091-cadence-has-a-foot-in-her-mouthimg_0093-cadence-eatingimg_0094-cadence

img_0096-she-likes-her-meat-rareimg_0099-having-a-look-aroundimg_0100-location-shot-from-music-school-parking-lotimg_0103-hey-girl

I left them around 8:30am and headed home for Seneca Towers. From East Ridge Rd. I could see Seth very clearly as he was facing out from his north end top window ledge and looking white. Just like yesterday he seemed to be hiding from his boys who after a few minutes started whizzing around the building. They passed dad from the side and top, flying high and low as they chased each other round and round coming in and out of view.

img_0104-watching-his-kids-perhapsimg_0107-seth-watching-something-belowimg_0112-juvie

capture-juvie-flies-over-dadjuvie-flying-over-stjuvies-chasing-each-other<Clicknear-elevator-shaft1

Bith and Sellie settled down after maybe 10 minutes straight of playing -when I didn’t hear or see them I called it a watch at about 9:30am. What a fun time I had as well, which of course, made me smile! 🙂

Click on the pics below to view today’s videos

http://youtu.be/aicMFsQM_ZY

http://youtu.be/llUk1BQbUzg

http://youtu.be/XDZ3yYTZrr0

http://youtu.be/4XXKfkTUrKQ

http://youtu.be/N7pg0LR5dzs


Sponsored By

Times Square
powered by Shakymon