By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I was keeping an eye on the live streaming video feed most of the day.  Everything was quiet in our downtown falcons world. Beauty and Dot.ca were switching off, each taking a turn on the three eggs in the nest box on the Times Square Bldg. I even witnessed them copulating (mating) twice on the pan cam (aka Camera #1).

At approximately 5:00 pm, that all changed.  Dot.ca was on the eggs.  He stood up and started to alarm kak kak kak!  He took off fast diving down heading east.  The folks that were on live streaming video started to chat, wondering what was going on.  A few seconds later, we could see a falcon fly by pan cam and away again.  Something had entered Beauty and Dot.ca’s territory and they did not like it.  It was time for me to head downtown.

Before I left, I checked one more time to see what was going on.  Dot.ca was back inside the nest box on the eggs.  Falcon Fan NCA said she had seen a quick glimpse of a tail on camera at the Powers Bldg nest box.

When I arrived downtown, I could not find any falcons.  NCA tweeted that Dot.ca was inside the nest box, but they had not seen Beauty return.  Other falcon watchers arrived.  I was joined by Joyce and Kathy O.  We split up and searched for Beauty. I met Kathy O on Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”).  We were just getting ready to go to the Broad St Bridge, when Beauty flew in from the east and landed on the corner of the nest box platform.  We parked by the Blue Cross Arena (aka The Rochester War Memorial). From there we had a good view of the nest box.  Joyce joined us a few minutes later.

Beauty on Nest Box Platform

Beauty entered the nest box and Dot.ca flew out to land on top of the Mercury Statue.  We spotted Dan on the Broad St Bridge and joined him.

Dot.ca on Mercury

Our View from the Broad St Bridge as the Sun Set

Great Black Backed Gull Bathing on the Genesee River

We chatted with Dan for awhile.  This is his 18th year watching the Rochester Falcons!

Dot.ca took off heading west.  He ended up on the OCSR’s top IBeam at the west corner.

Dot.ca on OCSR

It was getting cold, so it was time to end our watch.  All was quiet and peaceful.  We never did see the intruder, but I had to wonder if it might have been the same female Peregrine Falcon we saw Beauty chase out of the area on Easter Sunday.  We’ll keep watching!

A huge thanks to the on line watchers that helped out with today’s watch.  NCA and Kris G, you help was much appreciated!

Oh, and we are on egg watch now!  As I type this, Beauty is in the nest box and if she does lay a 4th egg, I expect it will arrive early tomorrow morning!  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!  Easter Sunday is notoriously a day that bad things happen.  Today it was pretty much business as usual for our downtown duo.  Except for a late afternoon visit by a 3rd falcon. My falcon watch was broken into two parts.

Morning Falcon Watch

My morning watch was very quiet.  It started out very cold with temps in the mid-20’s, blue sky and bright sunshine.  Beauty and Dot.ca were very active.  Dot.ca was on the base of Mercury, prepping food for Beauty who was inside the nest box. They both did a lot of flying and Dot.ca was hunting from the pan cam (aka Camera #1) near the nest box on the Times Square Bldg (TSB). Here are some pictures I took during my morning watch.

Dot.ca prepping food on the base of Mercury for Beauty.

I moved up to Falcon Central, which is on Broad St, closer to the TSB.  Larry O and Harold stopped by for a quick visit.

Dot.ca at the nest box with his food offering.

Beauty accepted Dot.ca’s food gift and took it to the top IBeam of OCSR (west corner).  Dot.ca moved up to Camera #1 aka the pan cam.

I decided it was time to move down to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”).  From there I had a nice view of both Beauty and Dot.ca.

Beauty took off from OCSR and took a nice flight around the area.

Beauty landed on the ledge below the northeast wing on the Times Square Bldg.  Her crop was very full.  Dot.ca remained on the pan cam.

Dot.ca took off and flew up to Beauty.  They copulated (mated).  Dot.ca flew over to the OCSR and Beauty remained soaking up the sun under the northeast wing.  The new light doesn’t seem to bother her at all.

Beauty returned to the nest box and Dot.ca returned to the pan cam.  All was quiet and peaceful Easter Sunday morning.  I left Beauty and Dot.ca to check on our other pair over at Seneca Towers.

By this time, the temps were up in the 60’s (F) (they would reach the 70’s by the end of the day).  It was a gorgeous day.  I checked out Seneca Towers from the west side of the river.  From there I had a great view of the apartment building and the river gorge.  I kept hearing the call of a Peregrine from below the treeline in front of me.  I looked and looked and finally found a falcon in a tree below me, closer to the river.  Just as I put my camera up to take a picture, the falcon took off!  Darn!  lol  This falcon headed north following the river and under the bridge.  I attempted to find it on the other side of the bridge, but had no luck.  When I returned to the south side of the bridge, I saw a falcon flying over Seneca Towers.  It landed on the window ledge at the north end of the building.  Not sure if it was Billie or Seth.  It was time to end my morning watch after checking the Medley Ctr and finding no falcon there.

Late Afternoon Falcon Watch

I really hadn’t planned on going downtown again in the afternoon. But after hearing Beauty’s repeated alarm calls on the live streaming video, I decided it was time to check it out.  So after eating my ham dinner, which was very yummy, I headed downtown to see what was going on.

When I first arrived, Dot.ca was on top of pan cam and Beauty was nowhere to be found.

I was down in the hole, when Dot.ca took off heading southeast, very fast.  I lost sight of him and headed up to the Broad St Bridge.  Fellow watcher and good friend Dan was sitting on the bridge.  He had not seen Dot.ca take off.  Lisa McK joined us and we kept watch on the area, hoping that Beauty and Dot.ca would return.  At that time of day, the sun was almost directly in our eyes when we looked west, making it hard to see.

After awhile, Dot.ca returned to the nest box. A little while after that, Beauty returned and landed on the nest box platform. They both came out.  Beauty to the base of Mercury and Dot.ca to the OCSR, 2nd IBeam down.

Dan, Lisa and I were enjoying the beautiful afternoon warmth and watching the hawks passing overhead on their migration. At first we thought this was what had Beauty and Dot.ca on edge.

A Rough-Legged Hawk passing over on its migration.

At 5:30 pm, Beauty headed back to the nest box and Dot.ca landed at the top of the Times Square Bldg on the southeast wing ring.  He flew south towards the jail communication tower.  A few minutes later, he came back with prey, landing on the base of Mercury.

We were joined by Joyce and Brian H.  All was quiet until 6:15 pm when Beauty flew out of the nest box heading south.  Now we were looking directly into the sun.  We noticed that Beauty was not alone.  A quick check of the Times Square Bldg showed Dot.ca on the ledge above the nest box.  We had three falcons!  The 3rd falcon was as large as Beauty, so another female.

They flew around each other, but we never witnessed any contact between them.  I was following one of them, and watched it fly over OCSR heading north.  We lost sight of the 2nd one when some folks approached us asking what we were looking at. Dot.ca went to the nest box.  Brian and Dan had to leave, so Lisa, Joyce and I split up looking for Beauty.  We couldn’t find her, so we returned to falcon central.  At 6:40 pm, Beauty returned to the top Ibeam (west corner) on OCSR.  She was definitely on guard, watching for the return of the other female.  Thankfully she did not return.

A 7:00 pm, Beauty finally returned to the nest box and Dot.ca flew over to OCSR to take her spot.  All was finally quiet and peaceful.  Since then, all has been quiet.  Beauty laid her 3rd egg yesterday (Monday) afternoon.  Hopefully the other female will not return.  She may have been migrating through the area and got curious about our downtown pair.  Another Easter Sunday Falcon Watch done!  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Happy First Day of Spring!  It sure didn’t feel like spring, with a temperature of 18 degrees (F) when I left the house this morning.  Brrrr!

But, the sun was shining brightly, adding a welcoming warmth while I sat inside my car.

When I arrived downtown, I found Beauty on the north side railing of Widows Walk (WW).

Larry reported that Dot.ca was on the NW corner of the Powers Bldg.  So, that’s where I headed next.  From City Hall, I could see both Beauty and Dot.ca.

I could also hear the very distinctive vocalization of a very irate Kestrel.  It was buzzing between the Powers Bldg and City Hall, landing for a moment on a pointed spire.  Then back towards the Powers Bldg.  Dot.ca was off like a flash and he chased the Kestrel over City Hall and past the Frontier Communication Tower.  A moment later, Dot.ca returned, flying over me heading south.  This reminded me so much of the “kestrel runs” we all got used to when watching Mariah and Kaver over at the Kodak Tower. Kestrels were nesting in the old RG&E plant and they would constantly make runs on the Kodak falcons and vice versus. When I looked back at WW, Beauty was gone.  I reported this and headed back to the Times Square Bldg.

I met both Larry and Harold in “the hole” (Aqueduct St).  While we were chatting, Dana tweeted that both Beauty and Dot.ca were inside the Powers nest box. Beauty came out and landed on the west corner, top Ibeam of OCSR.  A few moments later, Dot.ca flew towards her and they copulated.

After Larry and Harold left me, Beauty took off and flew up to the Times Square Bldg. nest box.

Dot.ca took over Beauty’s spot on the west end of the top Ibeam on OCSR.  Beauty came out of the nest box and flew directly over me, landing on top of the Mercury statue.

It was very quiet while our downtown pair soaked in the sun and preened.  Then Dot.ca took off and flew fast heading south. Beauty took off and flew to the nest box. There was no vocalization by either of them.  I parked on the Broad St Bridge, but could not see where Dot.ca went.  I could see Beauty at the nest box.

It was time for me to end my downtown watch.  I headed to Seneca Towers and found both Billie and Seth soaking up the sun.

The gorge was alive with all types of birds, including three Turkey Vultures floating overhead.

I found no falcons at Medley Ctr.

A couple days ago Kathy O spotted something new on the Times Square Bldg. Looks like lights were installed at the top of the building under the wings.  Joyce reported today that she believes they are LED lights.  They are pointing straight up to light up the wings, so they should not bother the falcons.  In fact, most of the nest sites in Rochester are located near floodlights, including the Kodak Tower and the Powers Bldg.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

A much colder day, but with bright sunshine and blue sky.

Today I shared my watch with fellow falcon watchers Kathy O and Dana.  Lots of fun!

The only falcons we saw today were Beauty and Dot.ca.  When I first arrived, Beauty was in the nest box and Dot.ca was on OCSR on the top IBeam.  The sun was too bright to get decent pics.  Dot.ca glowed bright white.

We were forced to park down on Aqueduct St. (aka “the hole”) due to all the people parked up on the Broad St Bridge.  Because of this, we were too close to be able to see Beauty in the nest box.

After we had been there for awhile, Beauty flew out and landed on the top Ibeam near where Dot.ca was.  He came off and attempted to copulate with her.  For some reason, he failed and headed towards the Powers Bldg.  Beauty also took off and we found her on the back corner of Widows Walk (WW).  She had food up there.  Probably cached from an earlier food offering from Dot.ca that Dana had witnessed.

While we were watching Beauty prep her meal, Dot.ca flew up to her and they copulated.  Successfully this time.  Dot.ca returned to the top IBeam on OCSR and Beauty continued to eat.  We moved around to the west side of WW to get a better view of Beauty.

After she finished her meal, she headed east towards OCSR.  We found her back on the top Ibeam near Dot.ca.  Since all was peaceful and quiet, we ended out downtown watch.

From there, we checked out Medley Center and Seneca Towers, but had no luck finding anymore falcons.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The temperatures are dropping and snow was in the air.  Yuck!  C’mon Spring!  🙂

I was too tired to post a report yesterday, so here is what I saw.

Beauty and Dot.ca were settled in their spots downtown.  Beauty was in the nest box and Dot.ca was nearby on the 2nd Ibeam down on OCSR.  During the time I was there, they did not leave those spots.

All was peaceful and quiet, so I headed over to Medley Ctr.  No falcons found, but I did see these beautiful signs of Spring. Iris’s? Orchids?  Gorgeous!

At Seneca Towers, I was happy to find two falcons on the bridge.  Fellow falcon watcher Dana joined me and we were very happy to see both Billie and Seth.

Just as Seth took off, my camera decided it would be a great time to freeze!  So I missed the copulation shot.  But not Dana!  She sent me this compilation of copulation pics!  Nice!  Thanks Dana!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Everyone!

50 degrees (F), gusty winds and bright sunshine!

It’s been awhile since I’ve checked out the Brighton Site, so that’s where I started.  I found no falcons there.

When I arrived downtown, I could not find Beauty and Dot.ca.  The Broad St Bridge was filled up with cars and trucks for the home improvement show that would be taking place this weekend at the Riverside Convention Ctr.  When a space opened up, I grabbed it.  I was a little farther back than I usually like to park, but I had a great view of the Times Square Bldg nest box and surrounding area.

The winds were whipping with gusts over 40 mph.  I saw my first falcons at about 11:00 am.  Dot.ca was at the nest box and Beauty was on the top IBeam of the OCSR.

She flew to the nest box and joined Dot.ca there for a few moments before he flew out.  Now he was on the top IBeam of the OCSR.  This is where I left them to continue my watch.

I continued my watch, checking out Medley Ctr (No Falcons Found) and Seneca Towers.  From Maplewood Park, I could see a falcon flying high above the building and gorge.  Too far for me to tell if it was Billie or Seth.  This falcon was enjoying the high winds.  Sorry, I wasn’t able to get any pictures.

In my travels, I found a pair of Killdeer.  My first of the year.  Very nice to see them!  Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

(Daylight Saving Time – Remember to turn your clocks ahead an hour!)

It was 44 degrees when I started my falcon watch at 9:00 am.  Not as nice a day as it was yesterday, but it was sunny for most of it. I believe there is rain in the forecast for most of this coming week.  I was joined on my watch by friends and fellow watchers Dana and Lou. It was great to see them.  We mostly watched from the Broad St. Bridge.  But I moved down to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”) when they left.

While I was there, Beauty and Dot.ca copulated (mated) twice.  Dot.ca chased a Turkey Vulture out fo the area.  A Coopers Hawk flew over the Times Square Bldg.  Neither Beauty or Dot.ca paid too much attention to it.  Here are some pictures from my watch.  Enjoy!

(If you hover your cursor over a picture, it will describe what the picture is.)

I also checked out Seneca Towers and Medley Ctr.  From across the river at Seneca Towers, I saw one falcon on the northwest railing.  I was looking directly into the sun and could not tell if it was Billie or Seth.  No Falcons seen at Medley Ctr.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Happy St Patrick’s Day, at least here in Rochester, NY.  My falcon watch was spent watching Beauty, Dot.ca and all the green folk gathering for the parade.  It was bitter cold (30 degrees) when I arrived at 9:30 am but was in the high 50’s (F) by the time I left at 1:00 pm.

Some of the streets were closed for a marathon.  So I made my way down to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”) and that’s where I stayed for my watch.  It would have been too hard to move around.

Beauty was on the Mercury statue and Dot.ca was on TSB under the northeast wing.

I shared the parking lot with a group of people that were putting merchandise on carts to be sold during the parade.

Beauty and Dot.ca both took off and flew around a bit.  She landed on pan cam and they copulated.  Dot.ca flew off.

A little while later, I heard loud ee-chupping overhead.  It was Dot.ca and he had a Starling for his darling.  I love saying that! hahaha!  He landed under the southeast wing and Beauty took off.  She landed next to him and grabbed his Starling food gift. She then took off and headed north.

Dot.ca remained where he was for awhile and then flew down to the nest box and then took off.

I waited to see if they would return and watched all the green folk walk down the street towards Main St, where the parade would take place.  All of a sudden, there was very loud falcon vocalization heard by all.  I was probably the only one that knew what was going on.  lol  Beauty and Dot.ca mated (copulated) on the Mercury statue.  By the time I walked around to get a look at the statue, Beauty was on top of the money bag hand.  Dot.ca was gone.

The parade started at 12:30 pm, so I walked over to Main St to check it out.  By the time I got there, Beauty was gone.  Seems our downtown pair don’t like bagpipe music.  🙂

I’ll leave you with some pictures I took of Rochester’s St. Patrick Day Parade!  Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

12:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Oh, my goodness!  What an absolutely stunning late winter day.  Temps in the 70’s, blue sky, bright sunshine and a nice gusty wind!  Perfect for falcons and their watchers!  🙂

I arrived downtown around 12:30 pm.  The city was bustling with all the worker bees and residents out on the streets enjoying the summer-like weather.  From the Andrews St Bridge (ASB), I saw my first falcon of the watch at 12:50 pm.  It was flying between the Times Square Bldg (TSB) and the Powers Bldg (PB).  I lost sight of the falcon when it flew behind OCSR.  Time to go to the Broad St Bridge (BSB).

From the BSB, I saw Dot.ca (DC) at the nest box.  Beauty was soaring high above, on the hunt.

She flew higher and higher into the clouds.  Beauty passed over me, heading north.  She stooped over the river and returned empty-taloned, landing on the south side of OCSR (top IBeam).  Then she took a walk!  Love watching them walk on their big yellow feet.  They always remind me of Groucho Marx.  lol

During all of this, DC remained at the nest box.  Beauty then flew to the Times Square Bldg nest box, joining Dot.ca inside.  I could hear ee-chupping all the way out on the Broad St Bridge.  They can be very loud!

Dot.ca did some soaring on the high winds above the Genesee River.

He then returned to the nest box, joining Beauty.  He stayed and she left.

Beauty went on the hunt again.  This time she was successful.  She caught a small bird by the Radisson and carried it to the base of Mercury.

DC watched from the TSB nest box.

Beauty ate just a bit and then cached it on the base of Mercury.

After she was done, she flew over to the Times Square Bldg and landed below the SE wing.  DC remained at the nest box.

Brian H joined me.  He was dressed for the weather.  Shorts, T-shirt (no sleeves) and no shoes!  Hahaha!  I wasn’t so brave, although it was very warm, especially with the sun shining.  Some folks stopped to ask about the falcons, wondering how they were doing.  We were happy to educate them.  lol

The migration has started, so we weren’t surprised to see two Turkey Vultures floating over the city heading north.

A Crow flew too close to the Times Square Bldg and Beauty stooped on it and gave chase.  She flew overhead and then to the nest box.  DC came out and landed on the base of Mercury.

Dot.ca didn’t stay long and did not touch Beauty’s cache.  He flew over to the top IBeam of OCSR.  At that point, all was peaceful and quiet.  In fact, I was getting ready to end my watch.  But as happens all too often, at 3:30 pm, Beauty took off from the nest box platform, flying over us.  She was heading southeast, fast!  We could see her target.  Another falcon was heading in from the south side of the Xerox Bldg.  This falcon, based on size, was another female.  She was much higher than Beauty, who was gaining altitude fast.  Brian and I looked back to verify that Dot.ca was still on OCSR.  He was.

Beauty was below the intruder when she stooped on Beauty.  Then the chase was on.  We lost sight of both falcons, as Beauty chased the other female out of her city, heading south.  Sorry, I was unable to get any pictures.

Now we (and DC) waited for Beauty’s return.  It wasn’t a long wait.  At 3:40 pm, Beauty flew in from the south, over us and up to the nest box platform.  Dot.ca had not moved from OCSR.  This is not unusual, since Tiercel’s will usually not battle female falcons, since they are so much larger.  It’s not unheard of though.

This is the time of year that we usually see migrating falcons come through the area.  Beauty and Dot.ca will hopefully keep them moving.

When I finally ended my watch at 4:00 pm, all was peaceful and quiet again.  Beauty was on main cam at the nest box and DC was on the top IBeam of OCSR on the south side.

On my way home, I stopped at Seneca Towers for a quick look.  I did see a falcon eating on the bridge, but by the time I got turned around, it was gone.  From Maplewood Park, I could not see any falcons on Seneca Towers.

During our watch, Brian called Dan to let him know what was going on.  Dan told us that he had been out that morning and had seen Beauty and Dot.ca copulate.  So nice to talk to Dan.  He said to say hello to everyone!

We are expecting rain all day today (3/10), but tomorrow it should clear up.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

8:00 am to 1:30 pm

It was a very cold, morning.  When I left my house, it was 19 degrees.  But the sun was shining and it was Sunday.  My favorite day to Falcon Watch.

As I was going out to my car, I was greeted by the beautiful song of a gorgeous red Cardinal singing to his lady.  Spring was in the air!  When his lady took off, he followed.

It was after 8:00 am, when I met up with Larry and Harold on the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  Larry pointed out Dot.ca (DC) on the top arm of the jail communication tower (JCT) and Beauty on Camera 1 (aka pan cam) on the Times Square Bldg (TSB).

First DC, then Beauty took off heading west.  Larry had to leave, so I headed over to Aqueduct St, aka “the hole”.  While I was down there, Dot.ca flew up to the base of Mercury and copulated with Beauty.  I didn’t even know she was there!

They both took off.  Beauty landed on pan cam and I found Dot.ca on the base of Mercury.

I moved up to the Broad St Bridge and watched Dot.ca until he took off.  Then I moved up to Falcon Watch Central, which is on Broad St closer to the Times Square Bldg.  From there I had a nice view of the Times Square Bldg and Powers Bldg.

Beauty remained on the TSB pan cam for a long time.

While I was watching Beauty, I was visited by this House Sparrow.  Ok, they’re cute too.  🙂

Dot.ca returned and flew past the TSB, heading west.  Beauty followed.  I found them both on the Widows Walk (WW).  Beauty was on the NW corner and Dot.ca was on the NE corner.

While I was watching Beauty and Dot.ca, I was being watched by a couple of the neighborhood pigeons.

Dot.ca started to walk towards Beauty.  When he reached her, he took off and flew back, attempting to land on her to copulate. It was a near miss.  Dot.ca kept going, heading south.  A few moments later, Beauty followed.  I drove around, trying to find them.  Finally I spotted Dot.ca up on top of the Times Square Bldg on the northeast wing ring.

A jet flew overhead.  I just thought it was cool.  lol

Dot.ca spread his wings and took off.  He flew east towards the river and then returned to the Times Square Bldg, landing below the NE wing.

It had been quite awhile since I had seen Beauty.  Finally she returned and landed on pan cam.  Dot.ca took off and flew directly into the nest box.  There was a bit of vocalization between them.

A few minutes later, Dot.ca flew out of the nest box and landed on top of the Mercury statue.  Beauty remained on pan cam.

Beauty flew towards Mercury and landed on the base, below Dot.ca.

Beauty took off heading south over the river.  She was on the hunt.  All the river pigeons took flight.  They were swirling around while Beauty chased them and stooped on them.  Dot.ca joined her on a tandem hunt.

It was an unsuccessful hunt.  Beauty returned to pan cam and Dot.ca landed above her below the NE wing.

All was quiet and peaceful in our downtown falcons world so I ended my watch to go check on Billie and Seth at Seneca Towers. Sorry to say, I could not find them.

Later in the afternoon fellow watcher Joyce reported seeing both Billie and Seth at Seneca Towers.  Here are her tweets.

5:32 pm – ST- Seth on NW corner railing and Billie on NW corner of roof extension above windows. It’s obvious to tell these two apart!

5:34 pm – ST- from Church driveway saw Seth fly off. Up went Billie’s tail and yippee, saw my first mating of the season. No pics. Just enjoyed view.

So, our two resident pairs were seen today.  Copulation seen at both locations. Spring is definitely in the air!

Oh, and one more thing.  I heard my first Red-winged Blackbirds today!  They’re back!