By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a much cooler day today.  A little chilly in fact.  Overcast for much of the day, but by the time I left work, the clouds were breaking up and the sun was shining.  I arrived downtown close to 4:00 pm.  When I spotted 2 falcons low on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT), I headed over there and that’s where I remained for my entire Watch which was a little over 4 hours.

At that time, the area around City Hall was very busy, but I found a parking spot on the street in front of the Frontier bldg, which the FCT sits on.  I fed the meter and found the best spot to sit, which was a bench in front of City Hall.  The sun was directly in my face, but I could see the two falcons on the lower section of the FCT.  Baron was on the south side and was crying out to Beauty who was at his level on the east side.

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Beauty started to KAK KAK KAK and she flew off low heading north.  The Kakking got louder and I walked around trying to see where she went.  To my surprise she was very low on a security camera on the NE corner of the Frontier Bldg directly across from the City Hall.  There were many people on the sidewalk there that kept looking up trying to figure out what the loud noise was.  I knew and I worried that maybe one of the young ones was in trouble.  After a few moments, Beauty stopped vocalizing and she flew back to the Frontier Comm Twr, landing on the east side a little higher than she had been.

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While it was quiet, I searched the surrounding area, but couldn’t find anything that might have been bothering Beauty.  That was before Dot.ca flew in with food followed by Rosetta.  They both landed on the platform above and Baron joined them.

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I could see both Baron and Rosetta sharing the small prey that Dot.ca brought in, through the platform grating.

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After they finished, both settled on the platform.  I never did see Dot.ca take off since my attention was on the juvies.  Ei, a member of the Rfalconcam Forum tweeted out that there were three juvies up there, although I could only see two.  Thanks Ei!

Beauty remained on a lower part of the comm tower.  She was actively watching the area to the east, obviously in hunt mode.  Then she was off!

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Kathy O joined me just in time to see Beauty return carrying a pigeon towards the FCT.  Both Voyager and Baron were off chasing Beauty.  They all landed low on the FCT and a tug-o-war between Voyager and Beauty started.  Baron didn’t get in the middle of it, smart boy.  Mom and daughter were not giving up.  After a lot of persistence, Beauty finally pulled the pigeon away from Voyager and they both touched beaks. Voyager was hungry, but Beauty wanted to prep the food before she gave it to her.  Feathers were flying for quite awhile before Voyager again moved in and Beauty left her to her meal.  Baron flew up higher on the comm tower and watch from above.  Rosetta had never moved from her spot on the platform.

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After Beauty completes the preparation of the prey she brought in with feathers flying, she takes off and let’s Voyager eat.  Kathy O had to leave and Dan S joined me.

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Voyager ate her fill for a very long time.  When she finished, Beauty went to the leftovers and had an evening snack.

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Just before 8:00 pm, Dan and I could see all 3 juvies and Beauty on the Frontier Comm Tower.  It was so nice to see all three juvies together!

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Beauty and Voyager were very close, lower on the FCT, while Baron and Rosetta were high up.

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At 7:30 pm, I was ready to go and tweeted that out.  But, as usual, something happened to make me stay just a little longer.  No pictures sorry to say.  Dan and I were chatting when a very noisy gull flew by the Frontier Comm Tower.  It had just passed by heading south when first Baron and then Rosetta took off.  They both took turns stooping on the gull over and over again above the Hochstein School of Music Parking Lot.  Dan and I moved out to the sidewalk to get a better view.  That gull didn’t know what hit it and was so confused, not knowing what way to turn.  All three flew east behind City Hall and we lost sight of them.  It wasn’t long before both Rosetta and Baron returned to FCT.  Wow!  What a way to end my Watch.  🙂

Dan and I both left a little after 8:00 pm leaving Beauty, Voyager, Rosetta and Baron on the Frontier Communication Tower.   It was so nice to stay in one place and to see so much falcon activity tonight.

Have a nice evening everyone!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 24th, 2013 at 11:46 PM and is filed under Fledge Watch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.