By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

As I type this report, it is a balmy 60 degrees (F) here in Rochester, NY.  During my falcon watch, it was 51 degrees and sunny. What a gorgeous day!

This was a great day for a falcon watch and what a fun watch it was.  When I arrived downtown, I spotted Dot.ca up on top of the Mercury statue.  He took off, heading south.  From the Broad St Bridge, I could see Beauty at the Times Square Bldg (TSB) nest box.

Dot.ca was on the top arm of the Jail Communication Tower (JCT).  He took off and Beauty was gone too!  I moved closer to the TSB and found Beauty on the ledge just above the nest box.

Dot.ca flew in and approached Beauty and ……. Copulation #1! (8:10 am) Let the season begin!  🙂

Beauty remained on the ledge.  Dot.ca entered the nest box and then out to the pan cam (Camera #1).

Dot.ca took off from Pan Cam and flew south.  Beauty took off and up to the ledge under the northeast wing of the TSB.  Dot.ca turned back towards the Times Square Bldg and again approached Beauty. Copulation #2! (8:37 am)

Dot.ca again flew down to the nest box and dug in the scrape, prepping it for his eggs.  lol  He then came out and up to pan cam.

Kathy O joined me at this point. We could hear a high pitched wailing coming from Beauty.

At 10:23 am, Dot.ca took off.

He circled around the Wilder Bldg and up to Beauty.  Copulation #3! No picture this time, but I did a quick video snippet.

Click here:

Beauty and Dot.ca Copulation #3 Video

Dot.ca went to the nest box and scrapped and back to Pan Cam.  Seems to be a pattern here.  lol

Kathy and I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk fly overhead.  Beauty and Dot.ca started to kak loudly, but neither of them left the building.  The hawk flew off to the northeast, and Beauty and Dot.ca were quiet again.

Dot.ca took off at 11:26 am.  He stooped towards the building on the north side of the Times Square Bldg and took a swipe at the pigeons there.  They took off, flying in all directions.  Dot.ca returned to the nest box.

At 11:37 am, Beauty and Dot.ca copulated for the 4th time during my watch.  Again on the ledge below the northeast wing.  Here is another short video.  This time you can hear Kathy and I talking.  🙂

Click here:

Beauty and Dot.ca Copulation #4

Afterwards Dot.ca landed on the southeast wing ledge across from Beauty.  That’s when we ended our downtown falcon watch.

I did check Seneca Towers, Medley Center and Russell Station, but found no falcons at any of those locations.  While I was checking out Seneca Towers from Maplewood Park I saw two adult Bald Eagles flying low over the river gorge.  No pictures because they both went below the tree line.

I’ll leave you with a picture I took before my falcon watch.  Do you see what I see!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Just a quick report.  On my watch today, I could only find Beauty and Dot.ca.

No falcons at the Brighton Site, Medley Ctr, Seneca Towers or Russell Station. Although, fellow Watchers reported falcon sightings over the past 24 hours.  Pat reported seeing a falcon on the southwest corner of Seneca Towers yesterday at 5:00 pm. Dick reported seeing a falcon on the glass peak at Medley Center earlier this morning at 10:20 am.

Yesterday, at 2:00 pm, Brian H reported the following:  “Small Tiercel just went by me on Broad St by HSBC.  He was heading NE behind RG&E.”  I asked Brian if he thought it was Dot.ca?  He thought it was too small to be DC.  So I had extra incentive to check on Beauty and Dot.ca today.  This is the time of year that wandering Peregrines Falcons can come through looking for their own territories.

At first, I could find no falcons downtown.  I drove all over looking for them.  It wasn’t until I returned to the Broad St Bridge that I finally found a falcon.  Dot.ca, with his blindingly white chest, was on the west corner of the OCSR facing south into the sun.  When I couldn’t find Beauty, I drove over to the Andrews St Bridge.  There she was!  Also on the top Ibeam, very close to Dot.ca, but on the north side.

Both were preening and enjoying the milder weather.

I am happy to report that all was peaceful and quiet.  Well, except for the Genesee River that runs through the center of downtown Rochester.  Because of all the melting, the river was high and running fast.  After such a nice, sunny day, we are expecting heavy rain tomorrow.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

8:00 am – 1:00 pm

It wasn’t as nice a day as yesterday, but the temps did get up into the 40’s (F), cloudy and cool.

As usual, my first stop was the Brighton Site (BS).  Like the last few times I’ve been there, I found no falcons.  There were a few Crows on top of the building and lots of Canada Geese on the ground.

Next stop downtown.  From the Broad St Bridge, I saw Beauty at the Times Square Bldg (TSB) nest box on the southeast corner of the platform.  Dot.ca flew above the building heading north.  A few minutes later, she hopped/flew up to the top of main camera.

It was time to move down to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”).  From there I had a nice view of the Times Square Bldg and the nest box.

At 9:35 am, Dot.ca arrived and flew up to the nest box.  First to the platform and then in.  Beauty remained on top of main cam.

10:00 pm, Beauty joined Dot.ca inside the nest box.

A few minutes later, Dot.ca leaves the nest box.  Dana had joined me and we watched Dot.ca fly around the east side of OCSR. He came back towards us and landed on Mercury’s foot.  A few moments later, he took off again and headed for the Times Square Bldg, landing on the ledge below the northeast wing.

On Rfalconcam Archive pics, we could see that Beauty was out on the nest box perch.  Both remained where they were for over an hour.

At 11:15 am, Dot.ca took off and flew directly over us, landing on top of the Mercury statue.

All was quiet and peaceful downtown, so Dana and I decided to check out Seneca Towers and the Medley Ctr.

We decided to check out High Falls first.  There was a lot of water coming over the falls and a lot of ice.  Such a beautiful spot to visit.

As I passed Hawkeye, I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk sitting on the nest box railing.

At Seneca Towers, we saw one falcon on the northeast corner.  The falcon flew off and we headed to Medley Center.

No Falcons were found at Medley Center.

Before Dana and I ended our watch, we wanted to check out Seneca Towers one more time from Maplewood Park.  As we were driving there, we spotted a falcon on the structure below the bridge on the south side.  With all the snow we had this past week, there was no where to park close to the bridge.  So we parked at Maplewood Park and walked back on the sidewalk which was not plowed.  The snow was about a foot deep.  But we were determined.  lol

The falcon had a black over green band, but I was not able to read the #’s to positively ID it as Billie or Seth.  Based on size, we thought it was probably Billie.  She was in hunt mode, keeping an eye on everything below her and in the trees along the river. She took off and flew along the tree line, heading south.  She then circled back, flew over the bridge, back towards us and then around the south end of Seneca Towers.  We waited to see if she would return, but she did not.  It was time to end our watch.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of Beauty and Dot.ca’s visit to the Times Square Bldg nest box, captured by our Rfalconcam cameras.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

50 degrees (F) and sunshine.  It doesn’t get much better than that at this time of year.  It was very windy too.

My first stop was the Brighton Site.  Again, I found no falcons there.

Downtown I found Beauty and Dot.ca on the north side of the OCSR, top Ibeam.

At 10:44 am, Beauty took off heading southeast.  I waited to see if she would return.  When she didn’t, I drove over to the Broad St Bridge.  I arrived just in time to see Beauty flying over clutching a pigeon.  She had a successful hunt.  This is the only picture I got.

Beauty headed towards the Times Square Bldg.  I found her on a chimney on Irving Place, which is the old City Hall.  Thanks MAK for the reminder of this building’s modern name.  🙂  Feathers were flying as she prepped her meal.

Like I said earlier, it was very windy.  I believe a gust of wind knocked Beauty off of the chimney.  She flew off clutching her prey and ended up on the northeast corner of the Widows Walk Bldg on the ledge below the railing.  She finished her meal there.

It took her about an hour (11 am – 12 pm) to finish her meal.  She moved further down on the ledge and cached her leftovers. Beauty now had a very full crop!

At 12:15 pm, Beauty took off, heading towards OCSR.  From the Broad St Bridge, I could see Dot.ca flying over the river in front of the Radisson and then heading back to the north side of OCSR.  That’s where I headed.  From in front of the Radisson, I found both Beauty and Dot.ca back on the top Ibeam on the north side of OCSR.

All was quiet and peaceful downtown, so that’s where I left them to continue my watch.  As it turned out, I was only able to find Beauty and Dot.ca today.  There were no falcons found at Seneca Towers, Medley Center or Russell Station.

One more thing.  This morning, both Beauty and Dot.ca visited the Times Square Bldg nest box.  There was a lot of ee-chupping by both.  It was great to see them there!  I’ll leave you with some pictures from their visit.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Rochester, NY was hit by a snow storm on Tuesday, 2/16/16, that dumped 20+ inches of snow.

Thursday, 2/18/16

I went out for a short watch yesterday, but was unable to find Beauty or Dot.ca. Earlier in the day, the main camera at the Powers Bldg had captured Dot.ca plowing through the deep snow into the nest box. (12:57 pm).

The only falcons I found were Billie and Seth at Seneca Towers on the west side railings.

Here are a few pics I took of the Genesee River below the Broad St Bridge.

Friday, 2/19/16

Now for today’s falcon watch.  It was 41 degrees (F) during my watch.  Much warmer than it has been.

I did check out the Brighton Site, but could find no falcons there.

Downtown, I found Beauty and Dot.ca on the north side of OCSR on the top IBeam.

I parked on the Andrews St Bridge where I had a good view of both falcons and the surrounding area.  If they choose to nest on the Powers Bldg, this will be one of our better locations to watch from.

Dot.ca took off and flew over to the Powers Bldg nest box.  The cameras there did not catch his visit.

After a few moments, he flew back to OCSR and landed next to Beauty (right side).

All was peaceful and quiet downtown, so I headed over to Seneca Towers.  I found both Billie and Seth on the north end window ledge.

I also checked out Medley Ctr and Russell Station, but found no falcons at either location.  The parking lots at Medley Ctr are still a snowy mess.  Tomorrow it will be going up to 50 degrees, so a lot of this snow will start to melt!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a balmy 22 degrees (F) when I ventured out for a afternoon falcon watch yesterday.  From the Radisson, I could see Beauty on the north side of OCSR on the top IBeam.

From in front of the Radisson I could also see the Times Square Bldg (TSB) nest box and the Kodak Tower.  It was windy and the flags were whipping on the Sisters City Bridge.

I could not see any falcons up inside the elevator shaft, so I headed over to the Andrews St Bridge.  From there I could see that Dot.ca was also on the top Ibeam around the corner from Beauty.

I settled in for awhile, keeping an eye on Beauty and Dot.ca and watching the antics of the gulls and Crows on the river ice below.

Some gulls were walking on the ice, some were swimming in the frigid water and some were sleeping with their heads tucked under their wings.  I watched a Crow slowly and hesitantly walk up to a sleeping gull.  Closer, closer, WHACK!  The Crow bopped the gull on top of the head with its beak and the gull jumped up and squawked.  lol  I do believe that the Crow was checking to see if the gull was dead, looking for a meal.

The gull flew off and the Crow walked over to the edge of the ice where there were blood stains and remains of what I am pretty sure was a fish.  The Crow picked up some bits and pieces of frozen sushi and then walked towards another sleeping gull.  This one was having none of it.  The gull stood up, wings spread out, shoeing the Crow away.

All was quiet and peaceful downtown.  Beauty and Dot.ca both looked like they had full crops and they weren’t going anywhere. It was time to check out Seneca Towers.

From Maplewood Park, which is across the river, north of Seneca Towers, I could see a falcon on the north end window ledge. Based on size, I thought it might be Billie, but I was at too far a distance to tell for sure.

Before I started my watch, I had received a text from fellow Watcher Dick.  He had seen a falcon hunting over at Medley Center. He was pretty sure it was Big Frank(ie).

At Russell Station, I saw a bird up on top of one of the stacks.  It ended up being a Crow.

Driving along the lake (Lake Ontario) between Charlotte and Greece, I spotted a beautiful adult Bald Eagle flying over a very icy lake.

Further down, I spotted another Bald Eagle, this time a juvie.  Wow!  Love seeing Bald Eagles!

Today, we are under a Winter Storm Warning with a possibility of 10 to 18 inches of snow.  I won’t be able to get out until they clear up the roads.  Working on getting new snow tires.  Keep warm and safe everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a bit of a breeze and a temperature of 9 (F)  -13 (C)

I started my day with Seth on the north window ledge-he had his back to me as I pulled into the Northridge Church parking lot.

I wish I had seen Billie but I’m sure she’s just fine. I stopped on the south side of the Broad St. bridge when I saw Beauty on a northwest corner of Legacy Tower. She flew off to the OCSR elevator shaft just as I got stopped so I went over to Bragdon Place where I could see her on the south ledge. She was feaking and had a little food in her crop.

I left to look for Dot.ca (DC) and when I didn’t I returned to check the OCSR elevator shaft. The Beautyful one was still on the south ledge. DC had joined her and was perched on the north ledge with a full crop.

I shared space with our downtown pair for a bit and then I went over to the Brighton site. When I arrived the female was on the northwest corner of the northwest extension.

She was looking south mostly when she pooped and dropped off the corner out of view and came back thru to land on an east facing window on the northwest extension.

She didn’t stay there but a few seconds then off to the southeast extension where it meets the east extension and landed on the 2nd window down. Larry came by at that time to do a quick check before heading to work.

<Female

After Larry left I took a ride around the building and found the cute little tiercel (male) on the west extension where it meets the southwest extension on a top window across from the cubby where Pigott and DC used to meet for bonding sessions.

<Male

I had to get going so I left for the Medley Centre mall for my last stop of the day. Now, I hadn’t seen Big Frank(ie) in a couple weeks or better so I wasn’t expecting find her. I can’t say for sure that it was her because her back was to me but it very well may have been her who I spotted on the north side of the carousel roof.

I missed the falcon take off while I was tweeting my findings and when I looked up she was flying east and out of view. I ended my watch at 9:40am.

I will be gone for a few months as I am leaving for Arkansas tomorrow morning to support my sister while she battles Stage 4 Breast Cancer, so this will be my last falcon watch report until I return. Please keep a good thought for her and keep smiling! 🙂

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

https://youtu.be/rDt4NNOkaKQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

WOW -11 (F) -23 (C) degrees to start my watch-thankfully there was virtually no wind and the sun was shining so it made the temperature more bearable

Happy Valentine’s Day from Rochester’s very together Peregrine Falcon pairs

I started my brrr-ish day with Billie and Seth on the north window ledge of Seneca Towers facing each other like bookends. I don’t think my camera was liking the cold temps as I had a hard time getting it to focus this morning.

<Click

Onward to downtown after a couple minutes with them. I went straight to Bragdon St. to check the south ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft where I found Beauty. She flew out over the river and up to the north side ledge displacing Dot.ca (DC), who flew out and up to the south side ledge.

DC had a small bit of food he ate in about a minute. Then the Beautyful one flew out-I lost track of her as DC flew out and over to the north side ledge of the elevator shaft. I then drove over to the Radisson Hotel driveway by Main St. where I could see Beauty on the top I-beam near the south corner and DC up on the north ledge.

Happy to see our Seneca Towers and downtown Peregrines I moved on to the Brighton site (BS). I found the tiercel (male) on the top window east side of the southeast extension and the female was on the 2nd window down where the east extension meets the southeast extension.

She seemed to be awake and alert but he was napping on and off as they took in the warmth of the sun rays.

I left them after a few minutes and headed off to check the Medley Centre but on my way through downtown I spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury, so naturally I had to stop for a couple shots of her.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see a falcon at the mall and so I ended my watch there at 8:40am. Dana reported seeing the BS pair preening at 10:45am on the southeast extension and at 3:08pm she saw a falcon perched in a tree to the south of BS. I would have liked to see Big Frankie but I’m sure she was out eating a gull somewhere and doing fine. Seeing 6 Peregrine Falcons in Rochester is certainly a good day and worthy of a great big smile! 🙂

Check out the link below to see today’s love birds <3

https://youtu.be/Or7ojSV8gvk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Let’s face it folks-cold is cold, as it was -1 (F) -18 (C) when I started at Seneca Towers with very windy conditions and light snow being blown around. Downtown was -2 (F) -19(C)  The Brighton site came in at -3 (F) -19 (C) and the Medley Centre in Irondequoit was -4 (F) -20 (C)

Needless to say I did my watch as quick as I could to get back home in my toasty apartment at Seneca Towers. Unfortunately, I didn’t see Billie or Seth this morning-I hope they have a place they go to get out of the harsh elements for the most part.

When I arrived downtown I went straight over to Bragdon Place to check the OCSR elevator shaft south side. Nobody there but I could just make out the top of Beauty on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR. I drove around to the Radisson Hotel driveway by Main St. where I could see her better and check the north side ledge of the elevator shaft. She was gone when I got there and I could see Dot.ca (DC) on the north side elevator ledge.

I didn’t see the Beautyful one around the area so I went back over to Bragdon Place where I could barely see her on the south ledge of the elevator shaft. My camera was having a hard time focusing and just like yesterday she showed up better on my snippet video than in the pics.

Satisfied that I saw our downtown pair I headed over to the Brighton site. I spotted the male on the same top window ledge that I’ve seen him before on the east extension where it meets the southeast extension. The female was on the 5th window down out at the east end of the east extension.

The male was antsy-he flew out and back to the same window he had been on, then off again flying past the female this time and one of them vocalized.

I believe he wanted to get more protection from the wind for he then flew over to the southwest extension and landed on the east side of it on a top window ledge. The female was sleeping so I left to check the Medley Centre in Irondequoit but I didn’t see a falcon there or at Seneca Towers when I got home at 9am. I would feel better if I had seen Billie and Seth but I’m sure they’re just fine. 4 Peregrine Falcons seen was surely enough reason to smile on a brutally cold morning! 🙂

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

https://youtu.be/coOzlgFRW6I

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a chilly start at 12 (F) -11 (C) degrees with mostly cloudy conditions.

I could see that Billie and Seth were on the north window ledge of Seneca Towers as I pulled into my spot on East Ridge Rd.

<Click

I stayed with them for a few minutes then moved on to downtown. I had a full day planned so I didn’t have a lot of time for my watch today. As I pulled over on the Andrews St. bridge I spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury.

<Click

I then drove to the Broad St. bridge to see the front of the Beautyful one from a much closer place. She was looking over the vicinity.

At 7:56am Beauty spotted something and flew off over the river to the north of OCSR.

I drove over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. to check the OCSR elevator shaft and from there, I saw who I reported as Beauty, on the top I-beam north corner of OCSR. I then checked from Bragdon Place-nobody was in the elevator shaft and so I decided to go over to State St. where I could see the front of the falcon on OCSR. Turns out it was Dot.ca (DC)-leading me to believe that it was him that Beauty spotted from Mercury.

Now I was wondering where Beauty went off to but I never did find her again. While I was tweeting DC left OCSR and I didn’t find him again either. Larry reported one falcon over at the Brighton site as I ended my watch at 8:35am and Lisa reported 2 falcons there around 11am. I was happy to have seen our downtown and Seneca Towers Peregrine pairs this morning, that my falcon loving friends put a smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/e1jCyL6UW-E