By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

As we wait patiently for Beauty to lay her first egg………

*Be sure to click on the pictures to see them full size.*

My watch started at the Seneca Tower (ST) location at 9:15 am.  From Maplewood Park, I could not see any falcons on the building.  As I was driving towards downtown, MAK tweeted that she had seen both Billie and Seth this morning.

Downtown, from the Broad St Bridge (BSB), I found Beauty at the Times Square Bldg (TSB) nest box.  I was unable to find Dot.ca (DC) at first.

<— Beauty at the TSB nest box.

<— My view from the Broad St Bridge.

At 10:15 am, DC flew up to the nest box platform.  Beauty took off.  I was too far away to see if Dot.ca brought Beauty a food gift.  By the time I arrived in the hole (aka Aqueduct St) for a closer look, DC had taken off and was now on the top IBeam of OCSR.  He was looking very white in the sunshine.

<— Dot.ca on OCSR.

Dot.ca and I waited patiently for Beauty to return.  She did, at about 10:50 am.  Beauty landed on the TSB nest box platform with a very full crop.

<— Beauty on the TSB Nest Box Platform.

<— Click to see this pic!

A few minutes later, Beauty walked into the nest box and Dot.ca took off heading west.  I next time I saw him, he was circling above, keeping their territory clear.

I ended my watch at about 11:00 am.  Beauty will hopefully, soon lay her first egg!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

*Be sure to click on any pictures to enlarge them.*

It was a beautiful, end of Winter, Sunday morning.  Lots of sun and blue sky.  A wonderful day for a falcon watch.

I left my house at about 8:30 am and first checked out the DSS and BS locations.  I had no luck finding a falcon at either.  Yesterday, Joyce and Brian H had reported seeing an unbanded juvie Peregrine Falcon at the Brighton Site.

On my way downtown, fellow watcher Larry O, was texting that he was watching Dot.ca hunting from the top of the Times Square Bldg.  He also had Beauty at the nest box.  By the time I arrived and parked on the Court St Bridge (CSB), Larry was gone.  But, Dot.ca was still up on top of the Times Square Bldg (TSB) on the SW wing ring.  I could not find Beauty.

<— DC hunting from the top of the wings on the Times Square Bldg.

I moved down to the “hole” (aka Aqueduct St.), where I had a nice view of DC and the nest box.  At 9:24 am, Dot.ca took off and flew down to the nest box, where Beauty joined him.

<— Beauty and Dot.ca meet at the TSB nest box.

While Beauty watched from the platform, Dot.ca entered the nest box and did some scraping.  Ten minutes later, Dot.ca flew out of the nest box and ended up on the ledge under the NE wing, which was directly above.  Beauty took a turn doing some pre-egg preparation on their scrape.

<— Dot.ca on the NE wing ledge.

An hour later, they both remained where they were.  The pigeons were quite active during this time, flying here and there.  Dot.ca watched with interest from above.

<— The neighbors.

I had a nice view of Beauty, when she moved out of the nest box.  At this point, all was very quiet and peaceful.

<— Beauty and Dot.ca on the Times Square Bldg.

Ten minutes later, Dot.ca took off when I wasn’t looking.  I had no idea where he went.  Beauty remained in front of the nest box, throwing her head back every few seconds, attempting to rid herself of a pellet.

At 11:00 am, Dot.ca returned, carrying a food gift for Beauty.  It was a small, dark bird.  Beauty vocalized her approval quite loudly and grabbed DC’s offering.  She took off and landed with it on the SW corner of the Wilder Bldg.  Feathers were flying almost immediately.

<— Dot.ca brings a food gift to Beauty at the nest box.

Dot.ca remained at the nest box, patiently waiting for Beauty to finish her meal.

<— Dot.ca on TSB and Beauty on Wilder.

It took Beauty only 15 minutes to finish.  She turned towards the TSB and vocalized to Dot.ca above.

<— Beauty finished her meal.

Dot.ca was quickly off!  He flew to Beauty and mated with her on the corner of the Wilder Bldg.

<— Beauty and Dot.ca mate on the Wilder Bldg.

Afterwards, Dot.ca took off leaving Beauty on Wilder.  I have no idea where he ended up.

It was time for me to end my watch.  I left Beauty, soaking up the sun on a cold, winter morning.  Spring will be here before we know it!

<— Beauty on Wilder.

On my way home, I did check out Seneca Towers from Maplewood Park.  I was not able to find either Billie or Seth.  But I wasn’t worried, since MAK had reported seeing both of them this morning.

I’ll leave you with a falcon mute! 🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a cold morning (temps in the 30’s), but the sun and clouds were taking turns across the sky.  Except for my frozen fingers, it was an almost perfect morning for watching the Rochester Falcons.

My first stops were at the DSS bldg and the Brighton Site (BS).  I found no falcons at either location.

While I was driving, I received a text from Ei.  Dot.ca was currently at the Times Square Bldg nest box.  At 9:30 am, I found Dot.ca on top of the pan cam (camera #1), just where Ei reported seeing him on camera.

*Click on any pictures to enlarge.*

At 9:40 am, Dot.ca took off, heading north.  He landed on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.  His soft wailing filled the air.  I kept thinking Beauty had to be nearby.

I drove over to the Andrew St Bridge, where I had a better view of DC on Cross Rds.  At 10 am, I looked away for just a second.  Looked back and he was gone.  Poof!  With my broken down binocs, I finally found a falcon.  There was one on top of the Mercury Statue.  Off I went.

From Broad St, I had a nice view of Beauty on top of Mercury and Dot.ca, who was sitting on the platform in front of the Times Square Bldg (TSB) nest box.

At 10:20 am, Beauty flew up to the TSB nest box and both she and Dot.ca entered the nest box.

This is the only picture of Beauty and Dot.ca bonding inside the nest box, captured by our main camera.

Five minutes later, Beauty and Dot.ca left the nest box and landed on the Wilder Bldg green stripe.

<— Beauty on Wilder

<— Dot.ca on Wilder

At 11:05 am, Beauty couldn’t resist taking off and chasing a flock of pigeons that flew too close.  Off she went!

A minute later, Beauty returned and landed on top of the fire escape ladder at the top of the Wilder Bldg, just above Dot.ca.

At 11:40 am, Beauty took off from the top of the ladder, over the top of the Wilder Bldg heading north.  Dot.ca knew she left and kept looking up for her.

About 10 minutes later, I spotted Beauty flying high above in the ozone.  I caught this one picture of her soaring above.  So beautiful.

Dot.ca took to the sky.  Following Beauty.  They were either on a hunt or on patrol of their territory.  It was a wonderful way to end my Sunday morning watch.  🙂

Oh, one more thing.  On my way home, I stopped at Maplewood Park to check out Seneca Towers (ST).  Sadly, I saw no falcons while I was there.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Yet another winter storm is hitting the east coast.  Thankfully we won’t be getting too much snow here from this storm.  But others are being hit hard.  Keep safe and warm everyone!

Now that watchers have witnessed Beauty and Dot.ca mating on the Frontier Communication tower, we can officially say, let the season begin!  Our dynamic duo have also been seen over at the Times Square nest box.  They have been quite busy over there, digging out a very large scrape.  Last year, Beauty laid her first egg on March 23rd.

A few of the Rochester Watchers have been out, keeping an eye on the Rochester Falcons.  Both pairs have been seen over the winter months; Beauty & Dot.ca and Billie and Seth.

Here are a few pictures from my Winter Watches over the past month.  Enjoy!

*Please click on any pictures to enlarge them.*

2/17/18 (Billie and Seth at Seneca Towers – From Maplewood Park.)

2/17/18 (Beauty and Dot.ca on the Kodak Tower.)

2/23/18 (Beauty and Dot.ca on OCSR, Mercury, Wilder and Powers Bldg.)

2/24/18 (Beauty on Frontier Communication Tower, just after mating with Dot.ca.)

3/3/18 (Dot.ca in the Times Square Bldg nest box.)