Falcon Watch – Sunday – 5/31/09 (Part 2)
From Rochester Watcher Carol P.
I returned to the Kodak Tower at 3:45 pm. Watchers were gathered at the bench in front of the old Bru Restaurant. I joined Shaky, Carrie and Ellen. They informed me that Mariah had just taken off, heading NE over the gorge. Shaky ran out to the bridge in time to see Mariah fly out of sight over a red brick building on the other side of the gorge. Jeanne joined us.
During the lull, I walked out to the pedestrian bridge to see if I could spot Mariah. I didn’t find her, but I did find Dan S. He told me that he had just been at Midtown Plaza and saw two Falcons flying around, possibly hunting. It was quiet, so he assumed it was Beauty and Archer.
4:30 pm – Mariah returned to the K-Tower, SE corner of the playpen.
Larry O joined the Watch.
5:10 pm – Mariah again took off heading NE over the gorge. Carrie, Shaky and I hurried out to the pedestrian bridge and saw Mariah flying around the red brick building on the other side of the gorge. She seemed to be chasing pigeons or crows. We saw her land on the corner of the building.
I said my goodbyes to Carrie and Shaky and headed over to see if I could find Mariah’s location. Just as I found the building she was sitting on, she took off (of course!) heading north.
5:40 pm – I drove over to Midtown Plaza. All was quiet.
5:47 pm – Beauty jumped up onto the nest ledge, east side of MP.
5:53 pm – Beauty did a little bit of flying and then returned to the nest ledge.
6:09 pm – I drove back to the K-Tower and spotted Mariah on the SE corner of the playpen.
6:22 pm – Mariah flew off heading SW.
6:32 – 7:04 pm – Back to Midtown. Beauty was sitting on the Columbus Bldg. fire escape. No sign of Archer. Before I left, she flew off of the fire escape and returned to the nest ledge.
7:09 pm – Mariah was back on the K-Tower, SE Corner playpen. By the time I parked my car, she was gone.
7:35 pm – Back to Midtown. Now this was a little crazy to watch. Archer came in with a Starling sized, headless bird clutched in his talons. He landed on Midtown and started to pluck feathers. Beauty wanted the food. She flew to him, expecting him to hand it over. Nope! Archer grabbed the food and landed on top of Midtown, plucking again. Beauty tried again, Archer took off with the food. This went on for quite awhile.
7:54 pm – Archer finally lands with the prey on the NE corner of the lower section of Midtown, very close to the nest ledge. Beauty landed next to him and FINALLY snagged her dinner.
8:02 pm – Beauty took the prey to the B&L building and enjoyed her meal. Archer took over on the nest ledge, jumping down into the gutter.
This is defintely behavior I haven’t seen before. They were both off of the nest ledge more than they have been while incubating the eggs and it was a chilly, windy day.
It was time for me to head home. I drove by the K-Tower for one more look, but didn’t see Mariah there. Lots of activity today. Hopefully things will remain peaceful.
Carol P.
