By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

There was a very light fine mist falling with overcast conditions and a temperature of 35 (F) 2 (C)

I was very pleased to find both Billie and Seth on the north end of the roof at Seneca Towers (ST) this morning as I pulled over in my spot on East Ridge Rd. She was eating on one corner as he watched from the opposite corner.

They stayed like that for a couple minutes and then Seth flew over to her-she took the food and booked as he stayed to eat the scraps that were left behind.

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Seth made quick work of Billie’s leftovers and then he perched on the corner with his back to me. That’s when I decided to go downtown.

As I drove past Times Square I spotted Beauty up on the Irving Place chimney picking at food and when I went down in the hole I saw Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR. I parked on Basin St. where I could see only the Beautyful one figuring DC would end up over near Beauty and the food.

DC never did come over and after half hour or so I left her to finish her breakfast and I left to check the Brighton site (BS) on my way to walk Bella.

When I arrived at BS, I found an unbanded falcon on a corner of the southeast extension by the tree that grows on the roof.

This Peregrine did some preening, showed me her bling-less legs, tried to extract a pellet and eventually settled down in a scrunched position telling me she would be perched there for a while.

I left to get Bella (a dog I walk for watcher Jeanne) and took her to BS for our walk and when we were finished the falcon was still on the corner by the tree. I ended my watch at 10am after having no luck at the Medley Centre or Seneca Towers. I saw 5 Peregrine Falcons on this last day of 2015-surely, it will keep me smiling right thru to next year! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/miTb3hKkIkQ

https://youtu.be/m_TgHGhL74U

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Not a bad morning for December with some sun and a temperature of 37 (F) 3 (C)

This morning when I started my watch there was a falcon on the northwest corner of Seneca Towers (ST) below the railing with its back to me. I couldn’t be sure if it was Billie or Seth as it looked kinda small to me but that is usually her spot. At any rate, it was the first falcon I’ve seen at ST in a couple days so I was happy for that fact.

I had to move along as I had to be somewhere this morning. When I got downtown I didn’t find a falcon until I was crossing the Broad St. bridge to check the east side of the river. On a northwest corner of Legacy Tower I spotted Dot.ca (DC) just finishing up eating a meal. He started feaking and then had a big poop for himself as I, the pooparazzi, was on duty to catch the pic.

I drove to Broad St. next to the library to get closer, unfortunately, DC moved off the corner so I couldn’t see him as well.

I decided to go over to Elm St. for a different angle and arrived just in time to catch DC flying off to the east behind Midtown and disappear.

I checked Xerox, thinking Beauty might be on the south side column she likes but I had no luck finding DC again or the Beautyful one after a trip around downtown. I had time to check the Brighton site before ending my watch a little after 9am with a smile! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s short snippet video

https://youtu.be/Wn44lDSDILM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

About 3 inches of snow fell last night followed by sleet and freezing rain so it was a bit of a challenge to clear the windows on my car but warming temperatures helped. It was raining lightly with a temperature of 40 (F) 4 (C) during me watch

Once again, I saw neither Billie or Seth at Seneca Towers today. As I was stopped on the Broad St. bridge I thought I saw two falcons on a northwest corner of Legacy Tower (LT). I drove around to Elm St. for the best place to view them but there was only one there when I arrived. It was Beauty, and she was eating with her back to me at first but after a few minutes she turned sideways.

She was done eating within 5 minutes then the Beautyful one started feaking and cleaning herself up. Larry reported seeing no falcon at the Brighton site around this time.

Beauty flew off to the northwest just as I looked up from tweeting it was her around 8:20am or so. I drove to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. to check the north ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft first-thinking she might have gone there to get out of the elements and digest her meal. She wasn’t there but when I went to Bragdon Place to check the south side I was pleasantly surprised to find Dot.ca (DC) on that ledge and he had a very full crop.

I left him after a few minutes to see if I could find where Beauty went before leaving downtown. As luck would have it I found her on the top I-beam northwest side of OCSR with her back to me from the Andrew’s St. bridge. A quick ride over to State St. for a couple pics and then I was off to the Medley Centre.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see Big Frankie today either, but as usual, Beauty and DC put a smile on my face as I ended my watch about 9:15am! 🙂

Click on the link below to check out my short snippet video

https://youtu.be/bG3Sp_U5Ma0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was snowing lightly when I stepped out today with a cold breeze, overcast conditions and a temperature of 27 (F) -3 (C)

I didn’t find Billie or Seth at Seneca Towers at the start of my watch this morning. I spotted Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on Legacy Tower from the Broad St. bridge. DC was on Archer’s corner with his back to me and the Beautyful one was across from him on the opposite southwest corner.

I had a lot of stops to make this morning so I didn’t stay with them for very long. DC was preening when I left and Beauty was scoping out the area, most likely for breakfast.

That was it for the rest of my watch-I was unsuccessful in finding a falcon at the Brighton site or the Medley Centre. Later on as I was passing Seneca Towers I spotted Billie on the south window ledge but I had no time to stop for pics. Seeing Beauty and DC together was enough for this watcher to smile! 🙂

Click on the link below to check out a very short snippet video

https://youtu.be/-Z-Dq4j-zwY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Rainy, dark and overcast with a temperature of 50 (F) 10 (C)

I didn’t see Billie or Seth today at Seneca Towers. I searched around downtown and after not finding anybody there, I drove over to the Brighton Site (BS).  On the northwest extension at the front of the building I spotted a falcon with its back to me. I took a trip around to see if there was any other falcons on the building and when I got back around to the front the falcon was eating.

This falcon looked a whole lot like Dot.ca (DC) and it ate with wreckless abandon like DC does as well. Thankfully, he turned around when he was finished eating and showed his black over black band and it vaguely  looked like 13/Y which is his ID.

DC turned his back to me again so I left him to look for the Beautyful one downtown. I checked all of her usual spots and the last place I looked was the OCSR elevator shaft-I could barely make out the form of a big falcon on the north ledge thru the rain and darkness. She showed me her salmon colored front and then she feaked and turned her back to me, telling me she must have had a meal recently.

I left her to check the Medley Centre but I had no luck finding another PEFA on this day. I ended my watch at about 10am at a falcon-less Seneca Towers. Keep smiling everyone! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s short and wet snippet video

https://youtu.be/7fTmBEiBtIQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Our snow-less Winter continues!

I’ll start with a couple pics of Beauty and Dot.ca on the north side of OCSR that I took on December 21st.

Ok, on with my after Christmas falcon watch report.  The lighting was horrible, so I apologize for the poor quality pictures.

My friend and fellow falcon watcher Kathy O asked if I wanted to go out and look for falcons with her.  Of course I did.  It’s so rare, especially in the winter months, to have a companion on my watches.  🙂

After receiving a tweet from Larry O that there were two falcons out at the BS location, we decided that’s where we were going to start.

As we approached the building, we immediately saw two falcons side-by-side on the northwest corner of the building.  We attempted to find a spot where we could view both of them and hopefully get an ID.  I walked out onto the lawn and was able to see both falcons.

The larger female kept her back to us, and the smaller Tiercel refused to show his legs.  It did look like Dot.ca (DC).  Larry had seen DC take off from the Legacy Tower (LT) and head out towards the Brighton Site (BS).  Earlier, MAK reported seeing Beauty heading in the same direction while DC continued to eat on the LT.

Next stop, downtown to see if we could find Beauty and Dot.ca.  We drove all over downtown and could not find any falcons. Back to BS.  The two falcons were gone.

Back downtown, where we found both Beauty and Dot.ca together on the jail communication tower.

As we were driving closer first Beauty and then Dot.ca stooped straight down!  We were too close to see where they went, so the search was on.

We found Beauty on top of the Mercury statue and Dot.ca on the NW corner of the Widow’s Walk (WW).

Both were in hunt mode.  I love to watch these two tandem hunting.

There were a lot of smaller birds flitting around WW and Dot.ca was very interested.  Then a pigeon landed below him and left quickly realizing the danger from above.

Kathy and I decided to head up to the Broad St Bridge to get a better view of Beauty up on Mercury.

Soon after we arrived, Beauty took off and flew east.

A quick check of the Widow’s Walk.  Dot.ca was also gone.

Back to searching for our falcons!

We found them both on the Legacy Tower (the old B&L building) like bookends, one on each corner.

We were parked close to the building, so when they both took off, stooping directly over us heading west, we lost sight of them quickly.

Off we went to again search for them.  From the Broad St Bridge, we found Beauty on the base of Mercury.  Dot.ca had returned to the NW corner of the Legacy Tower.

There was a line-up of pigeons on the old RG&E building on the east side of the river.  They were all on alert!

Beauty took off!  She made a low pass over the river and the pigeons scattered! Beauty continued east and landed on the SW corner of the Legacy Tower, across from Dot.ca.

It was time for us to end our downtown falcon watch.  Both Beauty and Dot.ca were on the hunt together.

Kathy and I believe that it was Beauty and Dot.ca out at the BS location.  MAK had first seen Beauty head out in that direction and then Larry O followed Dot.ca out to that location, where he found two falcons on the building together.  When we arrived, they were both very comfortable with each other.  I just wish we had been able to get a positive ID on both of them.  Did you know that when Beauty first arrived in Rochester, we found her out at the BS location?  She spent a lot of time out there before coming downtown.

Our next stop was Seneca Towers, where we found Billie on the NW corner and Seth on the south side window ledge.

At the Medley Center, we had no luck finding Big Frank.  But, we did find the remains of her most recent meal.  Don’t worry, I won’t post a picture.  😀

I hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas!  I’ll leave you with a picture of one of my favorite birds that I see quite frequently at the Medley Ctr, a Mockingbird.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

With mostly cloudy skies there was no sun to be had this morning and the temperature was 30 (F) -1 (C)

There were no falcons present at Seneca Towers as I started out this morning. Once again I didn’t find any downtown either until I crossed the river to the east side. From Woodbury Blvd. I could see both Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on Legacy Tower (LT). She was on Archer’s corner watching him eat on the opposite southwest corner. I drove over to Court St. for closer viewing.

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At one point Beauty seemed to be eyeballing some pigeons and sparrows that were flying around by the garage roof. Just before 8:30am the Beautyful one flew off to the southeast in no particular hurry and never returned. DC turned around to watch her then turned his back to me once again to resume eating.  I watched DC for a bit longer then headed out of downtown.

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On my way to the Medley Centre (MC) I spotted Seth on the northwest corner railing. Right around that time Larry reported seeing DC fly from LT and head straight toward the Brighton site (BS) where Larry had come from-he hadn’t seen a falcon when he was there.

I stayed just a few minutes with Seth, then headed to MC where I found Big Frankie on a light pole in the north parking lot.

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Larry then reported going back to BS and finding 2 falcons there and whining was involved. I think it’s safe to say that DC is probably hanging out with the unbanded female that has been seen there for the last few weeks now. Anyway, I watched Frankie a little while longer as she was in hunt mode, then I had to get going.

I ended my watch at 9:25am with Seth who was still on the northwest corner of Seneca Towers. I was smiling after seeing all resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons except for Billie! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/tgDAK2iG6N8

https://youtu.be/SasUheraBr8

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

20 degrees cooler today from yesterday but still nice for December in Rochester at 41 (F) 5 (C)  and overcast rainy conditions

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

As I was waiting for the elevator I noticed the glow of the sun rising, so I stepped out on the east balcony to catch it before the clouds covered it up.

My last pic of decorations was on St. Paul St. on my way downtown.

By the time I got down to my car it was all gone and there was rain falling. I didn’t see Billie or Seth today on my watch. When I couldn’t find a falcon downtown in any of the usual spots I crossed the river to Woodbury Blvd. where I found Beauty on a southwest corner of Legacy Tower (LT)-the one we call Archers’ corner.

I drove over to Court St. for a closer look as Beauty was looking to and fro and shaking off the raindrops now and again.

At 8:21am The Beautyful one flew off and met Dot.ca (DC) near Xerox then they disappeared behind LT to the north. Beauty appeared again and landed on the southwest corner of Xerox to have a look around before flying over to her 5th column from the southeast corner on the south side of Xerox.

I left her to look for DC and I found him on a northeast corner of LT-he didn’t stay there for long and neither did I for when he flew southeast past Xerox I left for the Medley Centre (MC).

There were absolutely no birds at MC except for a very large PEFA with a very large appetite eating and de-feathering a gull in the north side parking lot right around 9am. It was none other than Big Frankie near where I watched her eat another gull last week sometime.

It was barely raining by this time as she dragged her prey back and forth a couple times to get a better angle for which to eat it.

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I couldn’t stay to wait for Frankie to finish her big breakfast so I left her to it and ended my watch at 9:40am with a smile! 🙂

Click on the link below to check out today’s snippet video

https://youtu.be/nRmPYEsW_J4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Unbelievable weather here in the flower/flour city with a temperature of 65 (F) 18 (C) whopping degrees and windy, partly cloudy conditions

I was quite pleased when I made the U-turn on East Ridge Rd. and saw both Billie and Seth on the north end of Seneca Towers. She had her back to me on the northwest corner below the railing and he was in his spot on the north window ledge.

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Seth did some stretching in between looking over his shoulder at his girl-he really keeps track of her very closely..

Billie turned around so I could get one good shot of the front of her, she too, stretched and fanned out her tail for me before showing her back again.

I left them a little after 8am and made my way downtown where I promptly came across Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on the base of Mercury from the Broad St. bridge. He was on the green part of the base and seemed to be having trouble with the strong wind. Beauty kept her eye on him from out on the east corner of the base.

The sun came out momentarily and it seemed that DC might have food below him as he kept losing his footing.

Suddenly, the wind lifted DC and he went backwards coming to rest on  the small ledge below and behind the Beautyful one.

Soon it would be revealed that Beauty was the one with food below her as DC was working his way over for the steal. Next, DC flew up to his mate and after an unsuccessful attempt to take her food flew off. Beauty flew off with the small package in her talons and I could hear a lot of vocalizing behind Mercury.

They reappeared over by OCSR with Beauty flying southeast and DC circling Mercury a couple times then disappearing to the north. I left to check the Brighton site before walking Bella-I had no luck finding a PEFA there or at the Medley Centre. Here’s a couple holiday sightings.

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I ended my watch with a big old smile after a warm watch in which I saw Rochester’s two pair of resident Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippet video including DC being lifted by the wind

https://youtu.be/fuzHYzaPXeY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was mostly cloudy this morning with a temperature of 39 (F) 4 (C)

When I checked the north end of Seneca Towers from the parking lot below I could see the back of a falcon on the north window ledge but there was nowhere to park so I drove out to East Ridge Rd. Naturally, it was gone when I got there so I left for downtown. From the Andrew’s St. bridge I spotted Beauty on the Mercury money bag (MMB).

I wasted no time in getting over to the Broad St. bridge where I could observe the Beautyful one at closer range.

Beauty flew off while I tweeted out that she was there so I had no idea which direction to go find her-I opted for the east side. No luck finding her or Dot.ca (DC) so I stopped at Clinton Square to get a pic of the tree and wreath in their lobby.

I eventually spotted Beauty on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT) from State St. I parked out in front of the Sister Cities parking garage on Fitzhugh St. to see the front of her as she was preening when I first arrived. I shared space with her for a while then I had to get going to go walk Bella.

I checked the Brighton site on my way as Larry had reported a falcon over there. It was still there on the northwest extension. This falcon didn’t stay for long-it kept looking to the east. Suddenly, it pooped then flew northeast. I watched as long as I could until it went out of view.

I never saw the legs so I couldn’t say if there were bands on this falcon or not. I found a decorated window across from watcher Jeannes’ (Bella’s mom) street as I was leaving to check the Medley Centre (MC).

As I was crossing the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge on the way to MC I noticed a large falcon on the north end roof of ST. I drove over to East Ridge Rd. to check her out-of course, it was Billie and she was sporting a full crop.

I stayed only a few minutes before heading to MC-once there I could find no PEFA’s. The pile of cracked corn had shrunk since yesterday as pigeons were gorging on it. I ended my watch there at 10:45am smiling! 🙂

Check out today’s snippet video by clicking on the link below

https://youtu.be/Sh9a0jU6-to