By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with light rain falling for most of my watch and a mild temperature of 37 (F) 3 (C)

It took a while to find a falcon this morning as nobody was at Seneca Towers and when I got downtown I drove around 3 times before I noticed Beauty flying above Xerox.

She hovered up there for a couple minutes then she put on the after burners and flew off into a stoop toward Cornhill to the southwest. Beauty was unsuccessful in her attempt to catch breakfast and ended up over on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR. I observed her from the hole parking lot.

At 8:13am the Beautyful one spotted something to the south and flew off over the river. She didn’t return and so I went looking for Dot.ca (DC).

When I didn’t find DC I decided to check out the Brighton site. As I pulled into the driveway around 8:30am I spotted a falcon on the northeast extension in on the roof a bit eating. Based on size, I believe it was a female Peregrine.

When she was finished she came out to the corner and revealed her unbanded legs and then she flew northwest.

I left and a few minutes later Larry reported seeing a falcon on the northwest extension. Downtown once again I was unable to find DC but I spotted Beauty on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT). I watched her for a few minutes from the Hochstein School of Music parking lot at Church and Fitzhugh St.

I left after 9am to check the Medley Centre. I didn’t find a falcon but I did spot a big, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk (RTH) on a light pole at the west end of the mall in hunt mode.

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She took off around 8:25am and flew east and didn’t return.

It was time to go home and when I pulled over on East Ridge Rd. I saw a  large bump of a falcon on a transformer at the northwest corner of Seneca Towers with her back to me.

I took a shot of her and then I drove around to Seth Green Drive where I could see the front of Billie. She was looking to and fro, obviously in hunt mode.

I shared space with Buffalo Billie, albeit long distance, until 10am. I ended my watch smiling after an all female watch! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/-HCgteoRVYM

https://youtu.be/-jIZlef7WRg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunshine and temps in the 40’s (F).  It was a very nice afternoon.

I’ve started to check out the west end of Kodak Park again.  This is a location where we usually see some Peregrine activity during the winter.  So far, I’ve only seen the local Red-tailed Hawks.  Today was no exception.  There was one Red-tailed Hawk near the west end of the complex.

My next stop was the Rochester Airport.  A Snowy Owl had been spotted there recently, so I wanted to see if I could find it.  Sorry to say, I had no luck.

At the Brighton Site (BS), I found a Merlin (at first I reported it as a Kestrel) hunting off of an antenna on the south side of the building.  It stooped towards the wooded area on the south side.  The first time it returned to the antenna.  After the 2nd stoop, it did not return.  I hoped that it had a successful hunt.

Larry O tweeted a reminder that he had seen a Peregrine Falcon at BS yesterday.  Today, I had no luck finding her.

I headed downtown to find Beauty and Dot.ca.  From the front of the Raddison, I found both Beauty and Dot.ca on the OCSR. Beauty was in the elevator shaft on the south side ledge.  Dot.ca was on the north side top Ibeam at the north corner.

I found a spot to park my car, where I could watch both of them.  Dot.ca was attentively watching all of the activity on the river below him.  It was like watching a cat ready to pounce.  lol

Beauty flew out of the elevator shaft and landed just to his left on the top Ibeam.

I thought that Dot.ca had flown from the building, but he popped up now and then at the north corner.  From the Andrews St Bridge, I was able to get a better view of him.

I remained for a little over an hour.  During the time I was on watch, it was very peaceful and quiet.

My next stop was Medley Ctr where I did not find any falcons.  I slowly drove around the area looking for prey remains.  I couldn’t find any.  There was a lot of Ring-billed Gull activity and a few pigeons and crows.

Seneca Towers was my last visit.  From Maplewood Park, which is across the river to the north, I was able to see both Bille and Seth on the north end window ledge.  The first picture below shows my view from Maplewood Park.

I was happy to end my watch after seeing Beauty, Dot.ca, Billie and Seth at their nest sites and that all was quiet.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a chilly breeze and a temperature of 26 (F) -3 (C)

I started my watch with Seth, who was in his usual spot on the north window ledge of Seneca Towers. I was in my usual spot on East Ridge Rd. where I can see the north and east sides of the building. Seth was intent on looking at something to the northwest near the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge.

I left him after 10 minutes or so and headed downtown. I found Beauty on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR and she appeared to be in hunt mode looking every which way.

At exactly 8am she spotted something upriver and took off to the south going into a stoop just before I lost sight of her.

The Beautyful one did not return and so I went in search of Dot.ca (DC). I didn’t go far, as I checked the OCSR elevator shaft from Bragdon St. I could just make out the shape of a small falcon tucked way in on the south side ledge. DC turned his head a few times showing the whiteness on the side of his face as I captured a couple pics of him.

The wind was coming out of the south at a pretty good clip as I watched the international flags being blown on the Sister Cities Pedestrian Bridge.

I left DC sometime after 8:30am to see if I could find Beauty but I was unsuccessful in my attempt. I stopped on the Court St. Bridge to check out the mighty Genesee River. It was flowing hard and much of the rocks and shoreline had ice but not like it should have at the end of January. This is one of the warmest winters I can remember. There were a few ducks on the south side and gulls on the north side.

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From there I headed over to the Medley Centre Mall in Irondequoit where I saw a few pigeons, gulls and crows. No falcon but I was happy to see the regulars there after finding no birds of any kind the last couple of days. I hung out for awhile and then left for home-neither Billie nor Seth were at Seneca Towers when I got there. I ended my watch at 9:30am smiling after a nice little morning watch! 🙂

Click on the link below to watch today’s snippet video

https://youtu.be/2NEPkmlHmv8

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 23 (F) -5 (C) with wind blown light snow showers and overcast skies

As I pulled into a parking spot out in the visitor’s parking lot of Seneca Towers (ST) on Seth Green Dr. I spotted Billie and Seth on the south window ledge. After tweeting my findings and barely getting my camera rolling, Seth decided to hop off the ledge and fly southeast out of view. He didn’t come back as Buffalo Billie and I anticipated his return.

<Seth is highlighted

I stayed with Billie a few more minutes then left for downtown after checking the perimeter of ST for Seth.

Arriving downtown around 8:15am I spotted Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR as I pulled into the Radisson Hotel driveway by Main St. Once again, I barely got set before he flew off and ended up on the 2nd I-beam at the east end of it near the elevator shaft. Little did I know that Beauty was back in out of my view eating.

The Beautyful one quickly came out where I could see her and there was a half hearted bow between the two of them and then she went back to eating. He waited just so long and then moved in to try and take a hunk but Beauty wasn’t having any of that!

Soon after his failed attempt, DC flew off and back up to the top I-beam landing at the south corner and then walking over a couple windows worth. When I looked back at Beauty she was finished eating and doing some feaking so that explained why DC jumped ship.

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Half a minute later Beauty flew off and went east out of view-she didn’t return. I stayed with DC until about 8:30am then I left to look for Beauty. He was napping a bit when I left him.

I was unable to locate Beauty so I moved on to the Medley Centre mall, where to my surprise there was not a bird to be found for the second day in a row. Kind of strange as there are usually gulls flying around at the very least. Larry had reported no falcon at the Brighton site on his way to work but he did see one there later in the day around 4:15pm on the east side by the tree. I ended my watch there at 8:45am after seeing our 2 bonded pair of Rochester Peregrine Falcons, which, as you probably guessed-put a smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/l1mT56L3d78

https://youtu.be/vzEdF9li73A

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was mostly cloudy and windy with a temperature of  29 (F) -2 (C) and light snow falling. As I stepped out of my apartment to wait for the elevator I noticed a pretty eastern sky as the sun was about to come up on the horizon.

It felt good to get back in the saddle again after nearly 2 weeks away with the flu. My bird buddies, Billie and Seth were waiting for me as I pulled over in my spot on East Ridge Rd. They were on each end of the north window ledge of Seneca Towers (ST) gazing at each other.

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I left them after a few minutes as I had seen them a couple times while I was sick at home-I wanted to get downtown to see Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) whom I had not seen since January 16th. As I pulled over on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) I spotted the Beautyful one with her back to me on the top I-beam northwest side. A spot I often see her early in the morning.

I drove over to State St. for closer viewing and to see the front of her but as luck would have it she had turned away from that side so I was still looking at her back-not that her back isn’t beautyful. Luckily, she turned her head now and again so I could see her face.

I left her to look for DC but had no luck finding him so I returned to hang out with Beauty. She stretched once and started preening before I left her again around 8:15am to search for DC one more time.

Some time between my first and 2nd check of the OCSR elevator shaft DC managed to sneak in there without me seeing him, for he was on the south side ledge when I checked from Bragdon Place. He too had his back to me but I managed to get a couple pics of him showing his whiteness.

I left downtown around 8:45am leaving both Beauty and DC on OCSR. I saw no birds of any kind at the Medley Centre when I checked there and when I got home to Seneca Towers neither Billie nor Seth were home. Below are a couple pics of the Genesee River gorge where Billie and Seth hunt and hang out from the west balcony on my 16th floor.

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I ended my watch with a big smile at about 9:30am after seeing our two bonded pair of Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/wKfOcJx_KYY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a very nice day, with temps in the 40’s (F).  During my watch, it started to lightly rain and the winds picked up.  Some snow is expected overnight.

From in front of the Raddison, I found Beauty on the north side of OCSR on the top IBeam.  Now where was Dot.ca?  Within moments of asking that question, Dot.ca flew in towards the building carrying prey.  He flew directly in front of Beauty and she took off, joining him to fly together in front of the Times Square Bldg and back.  To me it looked like he was making an offering to her.  They both landed on a south side Ibeam, ee-chups filled the air.

Beauty took off and flew back around to the north side, landing on the top Ibeam.  I could see that she had a full crop, so she probably wasn’t hungry.  Dot.ca settled in to plucking and eating.  No sense letting it go to waste.  I believe that I had witnessed a bit of courtship behavior between Beauty and Dot.ca.

I checked for falcons in the other locations, but found none at KP West, Brighton Site (BS), Seneca Towers (ST), Medley Center (MC) and Russell Station.  Although I did not find any other Rochester Falcons, I was very happy to see Beauty and Dot.ca together.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was cold, 22 degrees (F) according to the time/temperature sign on State St.

I found both Beauty and Dot.ca tucked into the OCSR elevator shaft.  Dot.ca on the south ledge and Beauty on the north ledge. It’s always nice to see them together.

I spent an hour keeping watch.  All was very quiet and peaceful.  The river was alive with many gulls and ducks.  Here are some pics I took during my watch.

Larry O had reported earlier that he did not see the falcon at the Brighton Site (BS).

After finding no falcons at Medley Ctr (MC) or Seneca Towers (ST), I ended my Sunday watch.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Winter has finally arrived in Rochester, NY.  This morning I woke up to a couple inches of snow and wind chills below zero. Brrr!

Over the weekend, all 6 Rochester Falcons were seen by Watchers.  Here are some pics from my weekend afternoon watches.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

On Saturday, I was only able to find Beauty and Dot.ca.  They were side-by-side on the south side of the OCSR top IBeam.  I had no luck finding any other falcons.

But, I was very lucky to be at Medley Center to witness a successful hunt by a Coopers Hawk.

I was parked in the north side parking lot.  The pigeons all took flight and I though for sure a falcon had arrived.  They were being chased by a crow sized predator, low over the parking lot, heading right toward me.  It caught one of the pigeons and landed close to my car.  Talk about being in the right place.  It was a Coopers Hawk that caught the pigeon.

After a few moments, the Coop first took the pigeon to a grassy area on the edge of the parking lot.  Then to the back of a small building no longer being used.  I was able to just get a glimpse of the hawk and prey through the tall grass.

On my way home, I drove along Lake Ontario and saw a line of Long-tailed Ducks flying over the lake.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

My first stop on Sunday was the Brighton Site (BS).  I found the unbanded female Peregrine Falcon on the north side of the east extension on a window ledge.  This is where Pigott roosted when she was here in Rochester.

Downtown, I found both Beauty and Dot.ca on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.  Both had full crops, so they may have been eating up there.

Billie and Seth were home at Seneca Towers. Both on the north end window ledge.

I had no luck finding any falcons at Medley Ctr, but earlier that day, Dana had reported seeing Big Frank(ie) in a tree across from the mall.

So, all 6 Rochester Falcons were seen over the weekend, all doing well.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast and a bit breezy, the temperature was the same from last night when I went to bed right straight thru to the end of my watch this morning.   39 (F) 4 (C)

After making my way over to East Ridge Rd. I found both Billie and Seth on the north window ledge. She was facing me and he was not!

At 7:49am Seth flew off and returned to land on the roof above Billie as she watched. He went in on the roof out of view a couple times and then he settled near the corner.

Billie took off toward the river gorge 2 minutes later and after moving to the corner Seth followed behind her-they didn’t return.

I left for downtown and from th Aqueduct St. in the hole I spotted Beauty on the top I-beam near the south corner.

At 8:13am Dot.ca (DC) flew in from the south and landed about 5 windows away from the Beautyful one. He had a full crop and started feaking so I knew he had just finished eating somewhere.

I left them to check the Brighton Site before going over to walk Bella. No falcon was seen but while I was there, watcher Larry came by with his dog Harold. We chatted and then I left. During our walk we saw a couple deer-below is a couple pics of one of them.

I also checked the Medley Centre where I only found gulls and pigeons eating from a pile of corn or crumbs of some kind in the north parking lot. I ended my watch at Seneca Towers around 10:30am with a smiling face! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/WLGOInvrRjk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a temperature of 29 (F) -8 (C) and less wind than the last few days

I started my watch at Seneca Towers where both Billie and Seth were home. I found her on the west side railing from Seth Green Dr. When I drove around to East Ridge Rd. I found Seth in his spot on the north window ledge.

When I arrived downtown in the hole, on Aqueduct St., I found Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR, 5 windows apart from each other. He had a huge crop-she did not!

I decided to get closer and went over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. and soon after, the Beautyful one spotted something to the east.

She turned around and flew off that way-DC followed a few seconds later and I never found them again.

I left to check the Brighton site (BS) before picking Bella up for her walk. The unbanded falcon flew in from the northwest and landed on the big silver structure on the roof of the building as I was pulling into the driveway. She seemed to be in hunt mode looking every direction. She ended up turning her back to me so I left to walk Bella at that time over at the Brighton Town Park.

While we were walking along the west end of the pond a falcon came flying thru chasing a gull. It dove on the gull once before reaching us and then once more over the pond before flying off to the south. The gull was fine and flew east. I thought perhaps it was our wintering friend from BS since that’s very close to there so I took a ride over and saw that the PEFA was gone. Possibility.

I went over to the Medley Centre when I was done with Bella but I didn’t see a falcon there or at Seneca Towers, so I ended my watch at 10:50am. Pat reported seeing Beauty on Crossroads at 2:35 this afternoon. After seeing 5 PEFA’s today I went up to my apartment smiling! 🙂

Click on the link below to check out today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/vxO9TUM19fA