Falcon Watch – Saturday – May 30th (9:30 am – 4:30 pm)
I arrived downtown around 9:30 am. Mariah was up on the Kodak Tower, SE corner of the launchpad. All was quiet for the next 1 1/2 hours. She did ee-chup now and then. Turkey Vultures and Crows were near the tower.
Marcia joined me a little before 11:00 am. We decided to check out Archer and Beauty over at Midtown Plaza.
Watchers Diana R, Dana, Lou, Lisa McK and Dawn joined us. We stayed there for awhile, witnessing 2 changing of the guards on the nest ledge.
At 12:05 pm, Dawn called from the end of the pedestrian bridge near Kodak Office. She was with Dan S and they saw Mariah flying around the communication tower with another Falcon. She returned to the K-Tower and the 2nd Falcon headed downtown.
At approximately 12:15 pm, Archer flew over the Xerox Tower, kakking. He landed for a moment before taking off and landing on Midtown.
We believe that it was Archer that flew over to the Kodak Tower to non-aggressively fly with Mariah. Beauty remained at Midtown on the eggs.
At 2:30 pm, we headed back to the Kodak Tower. Kathy O had been keeping watch over there. We joined her.
Mariah vocalized with ee-chupping quite frequently while we watched. She chased the Crows off a few times. Marcia had her scope, so we were able to get a good look at Mariah. She looks good.
Around 3:00 pm, Mariah flew off the tower and landed on the east side on the 16th floor. There must have been leftovers on the ledge, because she pulled out a pigeon sized bird and started eating. By the time she had finished, her crop was huge. It was great seeing her eat and this was evidence that she was successfully hunting. Dana joined us.
At 4:00 pm, Mariah took off and flew east, out over the gorge. About 5 minutes later, she returned to the K-Tower trailed by a 2nd, smaller Falcon. We assume it was Archer visiting again.
Mariah landed on the east side of the launch pad and the smaller Falcon flew high above her. There was a bit of vocalization, but it wasn’t an alarm call. There seemed to be no aggression by Mariah or the other Falcon.
The 2nd Falcon then flew off towards downtown, leaving Mariah on the Kodak Tower.
So, what’s going on? Is Archer keeping Mariah from flying too close to Midtown Plaza, meeting her and flying back with her to the K-Tower? This is a first for all of us, so we’ll all keep Watching and reporting what we see.
When I left at 4:30 pm, Mariah was still on the east side launch pad. Kathy O drove downtown and reported seeing either A or B eating on a building north of Midtown Plaza.
Kathy O was the only Watcher downtown this evening. She reported that when she left at 7:45 pm, Mariah was dozing on the SE corner of the K-Tower launch pad and either Archer or Beauty was up on top of the Xerox Tower. All was quiet.
The weather is going to be much cooler and windy tomorrow. Hope more Watchers are able to make it downtown to help us keep an eye on this situation.
Carol P.
