Morning watch 5-12-13
By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK
This mornings temperature was 20 degrees cooler than yesterdays at 41 (F) 5 (C) with a blustery cold wind and changing conditions. Sun at times but mostly cloudy with rain on and off.
I started my watch at 5:35am and just as I got downtown one of our cam watchers, Campgee (thank you for your help) tweeted that a switch had taken place at the nest box. Dot.Ca (DC) was on the eggs and so it was up to me to find Beauty who has changed her routine from going straight across to the base of Mercury first thing in the morning. I found her on the top ibeam southeast side of the OCSR.
I started out parked in the hole (Aqueduct St.) and chose to go down to Graves St. by Aqueduct Park for closer viewing as Beauty was in hunt mode and also did some preening and stretching.
Click on the pics to view the full version
Beautys first departure came around 6:10am as she flew off across the river to the east side.
I went up to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) to take a look and saw the Beautyful one soaring above Xerox. She drifted north and started hovering above the Chase building before dropping back behind it out of sight. I then drove to the east side looking for her but didn’t find her so I returned to the bridge. From there I spotted Beauty back on the top ibeam of OCSR again at 6:15am. I went back down to Graves St. to observe as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds.
At about 6:50am Beauty dropped off into a fast stoop down toward the river out of my sights for a short time before returning to OCSR without any breakfast.
Beauty did some more preening and rousing(shaking her feathers) and I saw a bunch of her small white down feathers go sailing off in the wind. At about 7:10am she flew off around to the end of OCSR by the elevator shaft and then north disappearing behind OCSR.
Click pic to see it all
Once again I drove up to the BSB and spotted Beauty flying high on the east side. I continued on to the east side and got glimpses of her above HSBC and then circling above Xerox before drifting west toward the river. Back to the BSB where I watched Beauty riding the wind until I lost her in the sun. I found her once again on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR at 7:30am.
From Graves St. one more time I spent the next 15 minutes with Beauty when she flew off and circled above the hole where I had driven up to trying to follow her. She came to rest under the southeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB)for a few seconds and then she was gone behind the building from my field of vision. I left for the Brighton site (BS) arriving there a little after 8am-several trips around the complex came up empty. I had to leave for a while and when I returned there still was no falcon to be seen at BS.
At 9:52am I received a tweet from Annette (thanks) that Beauty was now on the eggs back at the TSB nest box and DC was out so I stayed to see if he would come to BS. Sure enough about 10 minutes later he came flying in from the south above me. He circled above the building a few times obviously looking for Pigott and then he left without stopping to land anywhere heading north. I returned to downtown where I found a full BSB from another college graduation ceremony at the Blue Cross Arena. I had a look around finding no falcons and then ended my watch at just about 10:30am. I haven’t seen Pigott since Thursday 5/9 and then it was only her tail feathers, but she has been seen so she’s ok but just not showing herself to old MAK. That’s ok cuz I’m a patient girl and next time I see Miss Pigott it will be a smiling affair! 🙂
Just 2 links for videos today below-just click em to view
May 12th, 2013 at 11:05 PM
Pigott sure is playing hard to get! Nice that you got to see B and DC, and that all is calm at the Times Square scrape. Thanks, MAK, for braving the elements…even when there aren’t really supposed to be any!
May 12th, 2013 at 11:41 PM
Good to hear from you Barb-I always enjoy your comments! 🙂