Thursday Late Afternoon/Evening Fledge Watch – All 5 Seen – Juvies Doing Well – 7/25/13
By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.
This afternoon was much nicer than it was yesterday, not as cool. The falcons were very active yesterday, not so much today during my watch. There was still a lot of flying by the juvies and all the Rochester Falcons were seen, Beauty, Dot.ca, Baron, Rosetta and Voyager. Oh, and Joyce saw Pigott at the BS location before heading downtown to join me for a falcon watch.
When I first arrived a little before 4:00 pm, I could see a juvie on the 2nd arm down on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) and one eating on the platform floor near the NW corner. Ei, who was keeping an eye on the RFalconcam cameras reported that there was a 2nd falcon on the platform railing on the west side. I was unable to see the 3rd falcon. Thanks Ei for letting us know there was a 3rd one up there.
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I parked in the City Hall parking lot and could see two of the three. Joyce was parked in a nearby alley. The juvie on the 2nd arm down took off and headed SE passing on the south side of the OCSR. After the first one left, the other two popped up on the north side of the platform, one on the railing and one on the floor. The one on the railing hopped and winged his way down the railing. I could make out the lower juvie following from below. When the lower one would catch up, the juvie on the railing would turn his head (yes, it was Baron) in all different directions, staring down at his sister. He finally jumped down to her level and they continued to play.
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Joyce joined me then and let me know that the female that flew towards OCSR was up on top of the elevator shaft.
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Baron then took off heading NW where we lost sight of him. We couldn’t see the 3rd one on the platform, so we weren’t sure if she was still up there or not.
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Joyce needed to get something to eat, so I headed over to the Broad St Bridge to take a look at the juvie on the elevator shaft. She was still there, but not for long. So far, I had not seen an adult.
I decided to get out of my car and check out the river below. All the usual suspects were there except for one “mystery bird”. Well, at least to me it was a mystery bird. A gorgeous little shore bird. Here are a few pics. Can you help me ID this little one?
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Joyce joined me on the bridge just as the falcon on top of the OCSR elevator shaft left. We watched the shore bird for awhile longer before heading back over to the FCT, parking in the City Hall parking Lot.
Two juvies were in sight on the FCT and one took off, heading north. S/he was on a mission, heading straight towards the Kodak Tower. We noticed that Beauty was there and the juvie landed next to her on the launch pad. Beauty had food and the juvie took it to the east side, while Beauty moved over to the SW corner. That’s how they remained for a long time. During that time, Dan S joined Joyce and I.
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Dot.ca flew in from the south and landed for a moments on the FCT. Then he was off, heading back to the south. We couldn’t see where he went. The juvie on the platform vocalized and took off and followed Dot.ca. This juvie broke off the chase over the river, just north of OCSR and then started to circle higher and higher, eventually heading NW.
Joyce was able to ID the juvie on the top arm of the FCT as Voyager. It was time to head home at about 7: 30 pm. I left Joyce and Dan sitting in their lawn chairs in the City Hall Parking Lot. On my way home, I stopped by the Kodak Tower for a closer look at Beauty. The juvie that had been eating was gone! They are tricky that way! lol
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I received a text from Falcon Watcher Lynda. She was wondering if anyone was around. I told her where to find Joyce and Dan. She did! Joyce left a tweet that She and Dan had been joined by Lynda and Grace. It was time for me to head home. I was very glad to have seen all five this evening and that Pigott had also been seen. Woohoo! Goodnight everyone! Tomorrow is Friday and another weekend of falcon watching is almost upon us.
