By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another cold day, with temps in the 40’s.  But there was this unfamiliar bright light in the sky.  I think they call it the sun.  🙂

I checked downtown first, having no luck finding a falcon until I checked out the Times Square Bldg for the 2nd time.  On my 2nd trip to the Broad St Bridge, I found a falcon on the northeast wing ledge.  I believe it was Beauty and but she had her back to me, so I couldn’t be sure.

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While I was tweeting, she took off.  A few minutes later, I spotted a falcon on the jail communication tower 2nd arm down and it was in hunt mode.  As I was watching, the falcon took off and stooped low over the Cornhill area.

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When the falcon did not return, I drove over to Cornhill to see if I could find it.  No luck.  Again I looked all over the city looking for a falcon.  This is the sign out in front of the Strong Museum of Play showing the three 2014 inductees into the toy hall of fame.

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While I was in front of the Radisson checking out the OCSR elevator shaft, I spotted a falcon on the northeast corner of the platform on the Frontier Communication Tower.  There was a 2nd falcon below the platform on the southeast box.  Over to City Hall I went for a closer look.  It was Beauty on the southeast box and Dot.ca on the northeast corner of the platform.

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Beauty was preening and seemed settled, but Dot.ca was actively watching everything around him.  He was in hunt mode. Dot.ca stooped off the tower, heading north.

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A few seconds after he took off, Beauty followed.  Dot.ca was swooping over pigeons getting them to take flight. They were tandem hunting!  Beauty returned to the southeast box she had vacated.  Soon after, Dot.ca returned to the 2nd arm of the communication tower.

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Dot.ca was still on the hunt.  He took off again, this time stooping low over the City Hall parking lot.  I waited, hoping he would be successful, and he was!  Dot.ca flew back towards the communication tower clutching a small bird.  Success!

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He landed on the large white drum, just below the platform.

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As Dot.ca was prepping his meal, he looked up and started to kak-kak-kak!  He took off, leaving is meal.  Something definitely had his attention.  He was gaining altitude quickly.  A Red-tailed Hawk came into view overhead.  That’s what Dot.ca was after!  As Dot.ca closed in on the hawk, the hawk attempted to leave the area, quickly.  But not quickly enough for Dot.ca.  He escorted the hawk to the east.  Here are a few shots of Dot.ca and the Hawk.

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That was the last of Dot.ca I saw during my watch.  Beauty remained on the communication tower watching Dot.ca vanquish the hawk.

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I stayed with Beauty until another hawk floated overhead.  This time it was her turn.  She started to kak-kak-kak and took off. The hawk flew east and Beauty followed.

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It was time for me to go search the city for falcons again.  I could not find Dot.ca, but I did find Beauty on top of the Mercury statue.

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It was time for me to end my watch.  I left Beauty on Mercury and looked for Dot.ca on my way out of the city.

A quick check at ST and I found a falcon on the ledge above the windows at the north end of the building.

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At Russell Station, I didn’t find a falcon, but I did find fellow watcher Dana there.  While we were chatting, this squirrel made his way across a wire carrying a big nut.  Smart squirrel!  It was a nice way to end my weekend watch.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 9th, 2014 at 8:58 PM and is filed under Falcon Watch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.