By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was chilly at 46 (F) 8 (C) degrees but the sun made a magnificent entrance and shone bright during my watch

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Just as I stopped and grabbed my camera this morning Seth flew off from his spot on the top north window ledge. I drove around to Seth Green Dr. where I found him on the top south window ledge.

I left him after a few minutes and headed downtown. From the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) I spotted Dot.ca on the north top railing of the Powers building across from the nest box with his back to me.

I tried getting closer but he had other ideas-he flew off before I could. I drove to Fitzhugh St. in front of the Sister Cities parking garage to check Beauty out on the northeast cube and then I went to the City Hall parking to face the Beautyful one.

Beauty did a lot of preening as she was all foofed up and pulling out lots of white down feathers-she is still molting.

I hung out with her for a while and then went searching for DC. I checked Kodak Office first but he wasn’t there. As I stopped on Verona St. on the west side of Kodak I could see him under the northeast wing of Times Square.

I flew down to Basin St. in the hole just in time to get a take off shot of DC as he left to go join Beauty on FCT.

I stopped on State St. to see that he had gone to FCT and found him on the middle arm close to the pole that holds it. Then I went to Fitzhugh St. again where I could observe both Beauty and DC.

It was clear to see that DC had food in his crop as he kept watch above his mate, Beauty who had turned around and was napping on and off.

I left them around 8:30am to go check the Medley Centre. I spent an hour there and all I saw were crows that had taken over the carousel roof, Canada Geese, Starlings, Sparrows, Gulls and a bunny rabbit that ran across a grassy area into a bush.

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When I arrived home Billie and Seth were both home to greet me. I pulled over at the end of East Ridge Rd. to watch them as they were very close to each other on the north top window of Seneca Towers.

This sight made me smile big time as I ended my watch at 10am! 🙂

Click on the links below to see videos from today’s watch

https://youtu.be/aztpZfmO4gQ

https://youtu.be/xlxKDUNdZQ4

https://youtu.be/EVUrfAs9zPI

https://youtu.be/NgnJxA1Xq-4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The sun kept peeking in and out from behind lots of clouds in the sky this morning with a chilly 54 (F) 12 (C) degrees

I started my watch at 7am on this last day of summer with Seth in his favorite spot on the top north window ledge and when I went out to the south end of the building Billie was on that top window ledge. I went out to St. Paul St. to check her out and then I drove over to East Ridge Rd. to get a different view of Seth.

When I arrived on the Andrews St. bridge I spotted a falcon on the top east side railing of the Powers building that I thought was Beauty until I drove to Corinthian St. for a much closer look. From there I could see that it was Dot.ca (DC).

I spent about a half hour with Mr.Clean and then I looked for the Beautyful one. I found her over on the southwest cube of the Frontier Communications tower. I guess she wanted a different view as this is diaganol to her favorite, the northeast cube. Since it wasn’t a work day I was able to park in the Frontier parking lot for the best angle on her.

I shared space with Beauty for a half hour as well and then I checked to see that DC was still on the Powers building before leaving for the Medley Centre mall in Irondequoit. Big Frank didn’t show up in the 25 minutes I was there. There were Canada Geese in different areas of the parking lot and it made me wonder if she had ever caught one of them since she has taken down an adult Mallard duck and a gull.

Anyway, I went home to Seneca Towers where I found Billie and Seth on the south top window ledge facing each other and catching some sun rays. I observed them from St. Paul St.

While I was taping them Seth flew off to the southeast as Billie watched him. Just as I ended my watch at 9am he returned and they exchanged a few words as he landed.

I smiled as I pulled away because I saw all of our resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons and they were safe and sound! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/pFjArrTsSb8

https://youtu.be/uQ2SdKHfnHs

https://youtu.be/5dN472e1KdM

https://youtu.be/r8t-ZTccrbM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was cloudy with a breeze and a temperature of 65 (F) 18 (C)

Just as I opened my window at the north end of Seneca Towers I heard Seth start chirping from his spot on the top window ledge. He was announcing the arrival of his mate Billie as she flew in and landed on the northwest corner. She answered him back with a few syllables of her own and less than a minute later she flew off while I was tweeting.

Seth started preening after Billie left and I went out to Seth Green Dr. to look for her. Just as I made the U-turn I saw her land on the top south window ledge.

She settled in so I left for downtown. From the Andrews St. bridge I could see Beauty over on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT).

I drove over to the Hochstein School of Music parking lot for the best angle as she spread her wings to air out for about half a minute.

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At 7:40am the Beautyful one moved over  from the corner and got settled. I shared space with her for 10 more minutes then I left to look for Dot.ca (DC).

I found DC on the north side arch of Kodak Office. He was doing some serious preening  as he is in a molt and was pulling out little white down feathers that would float away in the breeze.

DC didn’t act like he was going anywhere so I left him to it and set out for the Medley Centre mall in Irondequoit. There were lots of birds all over the property because there was not a falcon to be found. I checked the gull by Target that Big Frank had eating yesterday and found that there was no meat left on the carcass. I stayed about 20 minutes then left for home. When I arrived on Seth Green Dr. Billie was on the southwest end of the roof-she flew off as I pulled over and went down to the northwest corner.

She had a nice full crop and took off after less than a minute while I was tweeting. That would be the second time she did that to me this morning. lol It was 9am and time to call it a watch after seeing our 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons leaving me with a smile on my face! 🙂

As always, click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/_jsRdzT66Iw

https://youtu.be/ixeLBK72fmI

https://youtu.be/9tpUwjdsps4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

This was probably the last of our very warm, end of Summer days.  It went up to 81 degrees (F).  Tomorrow afternoon/evening brings showers and cooler temps.

I arrived at the Medley Center Mall at 10:15 pm and found Big Frankie (BF) on the south side of Target.  For the next 10 minutes, she made her way down the length of the south side of the building, making multiple small flights.  I could hear small birds and thought she might be on the hunt for one of them.

She flew around to the west side of the building.  From the IHOP parking lot, I had a nice view of her up on the Target roof. Below her was a whole lot of white feathers.  I had noticed the feathers when I passed them the first time.  BF looked all around her and then flew down to the grassy area next to the building, right in the middle of all the white feathers.

She walked over to the remains of a Ring-billed Gull.  I believe it was probably an earlier kill that she made either this morning or last night.  It was fairly fresh.

For the next 1/2 hour (10:30-11:00 am), Big Frankie ate her meal as I watched from across the roadway, where only a few cars drove through. Thankfully she was out of the road and up on the grass near the building.

After filling her crop, she took off and flew around to the north side of Target.  Here’s a picture of the area where she ate.  Lots and lots of feathers!

As I was searching Medley Center for Big Frankie, I was joined by Joyce and Brian H.  Brian had seen BF flying high and heading east.  Dana also joined us.

Joyce and Brian left and Dana & I headed downtown.  We first stopped at the pedestrian bridge at High Falls.  From there, we could not see any falcons.  We split up to check the downtown area.  I finally found a falcon on the north side arch ledge on the Kodak Tower.  It was Dot.ca and he was in the shade.  I checked the rest of downtown and could not find Beauty anywhere.  It was time for me to end my watch.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A gorgeous morning for a falcon watch with sunshine, blue skies and starting temperature of 59 (F) 15 (C)

My day started with the Seneca Towers pair on their early morning roosting spot-the top window ledge at the north end of the building. Billie was preening and Seth was looking around the vicinity.

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I thought about hanging with them for a while but changed my mind and I’m glad I did for I would have missed Genesee as he paid yet another visit to his home this morning.

As I was scoping out downtown from the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) with my binoculars I spotted a falcon on the base of Mercury so I left for the Broad St. bridge. When I got there it was gone so I drove over to the east side and checked around from Woodbury Blvd. On one of the southwest corners of Legacy Tower (formerly Bausch&Lomb) I noticed a little movement like a falcon that was eating. Then it stood up and walked to the back of the ledge and feaked before flying off around 7:30am. It was Genesee!

He circled the top of the building a few times attempting to land on different spots. Genesee did come to rest on the red lights south side of the glass roof for a  nano second then flew off again circling  a couple more times before disappearing behind the building. I didn’t see him again.

I believe Genesee came home looking for cached food and found some up there on Legacy Tower then left town again. I have to wonder how many more times he’ll show up. As I’ve said before-he can come back as much as he wants as far as I’m concerned. After checking the east side I went back thru downtown and ended up on the Andrews St. bridge again where I could see Dot.ca (DC) in the Powers building nest box and Beauty on her northeast cube on the Frontier Communications tower (FCT).

I drove over to check and make sure it was Beauty since she had her back to me but when I got there she was gone and so was DC. 5 minutes later as I was pulled over on the ASB again I spotted the Beautyful one back on the FCT cube and DC was right behind her on a cross beam in the red section below the platform. You couldn’t miss his whiteness!

I left for the City Hall parking lot for a closer view of them. DC preened a bit as Beauty just stand there perched and gazing at him.

I left to go down to Fitzhugh St. out in front of the Sister Cities parking garage so I could see the front of Beauty. From there I could barely see part of DC. Beauty started napping and they both had food in their crops so I decided to leave downtown around 8:30am.

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Next stop was the Medley Centre mall in Irondequoit where Big Frank was waiting for me on the pointed glass peak roof. She was looking especially big to me this morning as she stretched out her wings and picked at her talons from time to time.

I spent about an hour with her before calling it a watch at 9:30am. I saw 6 Peregrine Falcons this morning and of course that makes me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/x_a8_bvbbNI

https://youtu.be/TVqAH48PZho

https://youtu.be/tilC_g3E6FY

https://youtu.be/nfT8ye3Jz6Y

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A chilly start with a temperature of 58 (F) 14 (C) but a gorgeous morning with bright blue skies and sunshine

I started my day with Seth who was at the north end of Seneca Towers on the top window ledge where both he and I were looking up.

I left him for downtown and arrived on the Andrews St. bridge at 7am where I spotted both Beauty and Dot.ca (DC). She was at the Powers nest box and he was on the northeast corner of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT platform railing. Now when I say things happen fast in the Peregrine world I mean things happen fast because while I tweeted out my findings they both left. Beauty ended up on the northeast cue of FCT and I wasn’t sure where DC was at that time.

Now I will post the uncropped version and you will see DC on top of the dish at the lower left part of pic, which I totally missed until I started looking thru my pics on the computer.

So I went over to Fitzhugh St. in front of the Sister Cities parking garage which is on the south side of FCT to watch Beauty. DC was not on that dish when I got over there and for all I knew he had left the vicinity.

Well after a few minutes I decided to get my binocs out and give the tower a once over look. To my surprise there was the back of a PEFA on the cross bar near the dish below the Beautyful one. Guess who? The little sneaky guy DC.

I drove down to the City Hall parking lot to see the front of Mr. White to find that he blended in pretty good from the north side of the tower as well.

DC turned around a couple times then settled on facing the sun so I went back to my spot on Fitzhugh St. where I had a front view of both Beauty and DC.

Every once in a while Beauty would look down to check on DC. They both stretched and eventually closed their eyes for a nap. It was nice to see them hanging out together.

I left them to it and headed to the Medley Centre to see if Big Frank was around but he was not. I checked St. Ann’s Home on the way home to Seneca Towers but only saw a few pigeons. Arriving on East Ridge Rd. near St. Paul St. I could see that Seth was still on the north end of the building on the top window ledge where I left him earlier and it looked like he had food in his crop.

He seemed fixated on something over near the Veteran’s Memorial bridge so I left him to check it out. From the west side balcony on my 16th floor at Seneca Towers I found out just what Seth had been so interested in-his mate Buffalo Billie was on the south side bridge ledge with her back to me.

I figured while I was out there I might as well take a pic of the west side of the river gorge so y’all could see how much the leaves on the trees have changed colors so far.

And that’s all she wrote-a nice falcon watch that ended at 9am as I saw all 4 of our resident PEFA’s, which as you know, always produces a smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/vMPdJ48_pNw

https://youtu.be/6mC82gz5Wpk

https://youtu.be/CmyoV-mBi-Y

https://youtu.be/XZEzYDOhu8Y

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 52 (F) 11 (C) with bright blue skies and sunshine after the sun came up

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I found Seth on the north end top window ledge as Billie flew from the northwest corner. I went around to my spot on Seth Green Dr. to find Billie on the south end antenna just before she flew off to the southeast.

I then spotted an unbanded male falcon on the Hawkeye railing in hunt mode. He pooped and stretched then flew off to the south out of view at 7:46am.

As I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge downtown I spotted Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam north corner of OCSR with his back to me at first and Beauty over on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications Tower. DC moved to face me before I left to check out the Beautyful one but she was gone when I got over there.

I failed to find Beauty again and as I left downtown I saw that DC was still on OCSR. I checked the Medley Centre but no Big Frank today. I couldn’t stick around as I am shuffling off to Buffalo with Joyce this morning. I ended my watch at 9am smiling after seeing all 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons and a bonus unbanded tiercel! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/NFOQURxyUkw

https://youtu.be/p-aCCMnj8Ho

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Yay the rain has gone and the sun came out this morning with a temperature of 54 (F) 12 (C)

As I started my watch at the north end of the resident parking at Seneca Towers Seth was on the north side railing. Struggling to keep his footing with the busy breeze that was blowing.

A couple minutes passed then Billie floated in for a landing on the north side below the railing near the northwest corner.

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Half a minute after Billie joined him Seth flew off assisted by the wind like Billie was when she came in for her landing.

I left around 7am for downtown. I made one trip around and ended up on State St. watching Dot.ca (DC) who was perched on the southeast corner of the Kodak Office launchpad.

He turned around a couple times did some stretching and pooped.

DC flew off in a big hurry to the northeast at 7:26am and didn’t come back so I left to do a search .

I never found Beauty but from the Andrews St. bridge I spotted DC up in front of the Powers building nest box.

Pat tweeted that she had seen 2 falcons fly out from the elevator shaft of OCSR and were chasing each other with one screaming, possibly a third one was seen as well. I was already running late for an 8am appointment so I couldn’t go check things out. However, I ended my watch smiling after seeing 3 out of our 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/jqI_32NAXhY

https://youtu.be/NEdgLR-EP4Y

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

9:30 am – 3:00 pm

Dark, overcast, rainy and downright chilly!  I believe Joyce said it was 55 degrees (F) during our watch.

After receiving MAK’s tweet at 8:53 am that Big Frank(ie) (BF) had caught an adult duck for breakfast, I got ready as quickly as I could to join her.  I’ve seen pics of Peregrine Falcons with ducks, but have never seen it in person.  By the time arrived at the Medley Ctr Mall at 9:30 pm, MAK had reported that BF finished eating and left.  MAK was gone too.  Oh, well.

I drove around the mall and found Big Frank on the east end of the mall on the “E” on the Sears sign.

There was a small hole to the left of the sign with a pigeon in it.  A pigeon hole!  Big Frank was very interested in this little hole and the pigeon.  🙂

Joyce joined me as it started to rain even harder.  At 10:55 am, BF took off and flew over the mall roof.  We found her on the glass peaked roof.

I found the duck where MAK said it would be.  It was in the parking lot directly in front of the entrance leading into the carousel bldg.  There isn’t much traffic at this mall, but there are quite a few people that still use it.  So Joyce and I decided to move the duck to a safer spot.  This is why I carry disposable gloves with me at all times.  I put the duck on a grass median at the center of the south side parking lot.  It is in a spot where BF could retrieve it if she wants to.

Dana joined us on the watch.  Big Frank took off and flew low over the mall roof heading west.  We found her on a light pole between the old Macy’s store and Target. (11:35 am)

She took off again, heading east, back towards the mall.  She was chasing a pigeon.  We found her back on the glass peaked roof.  At 11:58 am she took off again, flying low over the mall roof.  This time she made contact with a pigeon and it flew down to the roof.  She followed.  Dana and I both drove around the mall trying to find her.

While I was looking for Big Frank, Larry O pulled up next to me.  We chatted for a few moments before he had to leave.

Dana found Big Frank on a security camera on the south side of the mall at 12:10 pm.  Joyce rejoined us.

From here, BF was looking down at the trees below.  There were a lot of small birds flitting about in them.

At 12:55 pm, Big Frank flew down and through the trees.  She then zipped up to the roof just above them.

The whole time I was on watch at the Medley Ctr, Big Frank was in hunt mode.  I find that very interesting since she caught and ate part of a duck just before I arrived.

She took off again and at approximately 1:40 pm, we found her eating on the corner just east of the carousel building.  I don’t believe whatever she had was a pigeon.  It was smaller.

It had been raining off and on most of the time we were there.  We watched Big Frank as she ate her meal.  She finished at 2:50 pm and took off heading east.  We lost sight of her as she passed over the tree line.

We waited to see if she would return.  She didn’t, so I ended my watch at 3:00 pm.  What a wonderful way to spend a cold, rainy day!

Joyce did check downtown on her way home and found both Beauty and Dot.ca.  Beauty was on the Kodak Tower and Dot.ca was in the OCSR elevator shaft.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another chilly start with fog and a misty rain falling and a temperature of 56 (F) 13 (C)

I started my morning with Billie and Seth whom I found on the south end of the building on the top window ledge. Seth started out a couple feet away from Billie and then he walked over to the opposite corner.

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It seemed to be too breezy for Seth so he flew off and Billie followed right behind him. They initially went west but then made a U-turn and headed east out of view.

I headed downtown and found Dot.ca (DC) on the south side of the OCSR elevator shaft. Good thing is super white or I wouldn’t have been able to see him up there in his dark man cave with a misty rain falling.

I left him after a brief stay to look for Beauty. I found her on the east side of HSBC with her back to the world. She flew off to the south after 15-20 minutes at 7:38am.

When the Beautyful one didn’t return I went to the Strong Museum of Play parking lot to check buildings to the south but never found her again. I then returned to check on DC but he was gone from the elevator shaft. As I was leaving downtown I came across DC on the south side arch of Kodak Office-soon after he flew southwest and didn’t come back.

I headed over to the Medley Center a little after 8am and found Big Frank (BF) on one of the glass peaked roofs from the north side parking lot. I started to tape her when she flew off to the west out of sight.

I then drove around to the south side of the mall where, to my surprise, I found her on the ground in the parking lot near the entrance to the mall where the carousel is located mantling prey. At first I thought it was a pigeon but then she revealed it to me-a female Mallard Duck and it was still alive!!!

The poor duck put up quite a fight but BF eventually delivered the killing blow and started plucking feathers. She moved it a couple times, dragging it across the pavement like she wanted to fly off with it but decided it was too heavy for that and started eating again.

BF spent about 40 minutes eating and when she had her fill she flew off to the west at 9:08am.

It was misting pretty hard at this time so perhaps that’s why Big Frank left when she did and landed on the roof just west of where she had been. A very nice gentleman, Dick Colt, joined me at this point to watch. BF cleaned up a bit then flew off at 9:12am heading north.

Dick and I chatted for a few minutes then he left and I made a quick trip around the mall but didn’t find our duck hawk as they are also called. I ended my watch at 9:25am as my blood sugar was low and I had to get home to eat something. I must say that our newest addition from Canada to the Rochester falcon scene surely is giving us watchers a lot to see and putting a great big smile on this watchers face! 🙂

As always click on the links below to see today’s videos. I must warn those of you who have a weak stomach that the videos of Big Frank are graphic

https://youtu.be/AsmLQM5YPm0

https://youtu.be/av_NnDJWAWU

https://youtu.be/AhhIKzLUmMk

https://youtu.be/Y3gLyJIJilw

https://youtu.be/449SCG1-OKg