Friday Afternoon Falcon Watch – May Day! – 5/1/15
By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.
2:45 to 3:45 pm
I only had about an hour to go downtown and watch the falcons. It was a beautiful afternoon; sunny, blue skies and temps in the mid-60’s. When I left work, Dot.ca had just taken over incubation duty in the nest box. From Broad St (Falcon Watch Central), I found Beauty on the OCSR top Ibeam, south corner.
Beauty took off and headed for the nest box.
Beauty entered the nest box and Dot.ca flew out, landing on the west end of the top IBeam on OCSR.
While I was watching Dot.ca, I was being serenaded by a beautiful Purple Finch. Love these little ones!
A line of Turkey Vultures flew by to the north, one passing behind Dot.ca who remained where he was.
Dot.ca (DC) never made a move to go after the Turkey Vulture, but when a Crow came to close, it was a whole different story. DC took off and chased the Crow, caught up to it very quickly over the Blue Cross Arena (aka Rochester War Memorial) and SMACK! That Crow never knew what hit it. The Crow recovered from the hit and flew back towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB). Dot.ca continued to chase and dive on it, until the Crow went down on the roof of the condos that are directly across the street from the TSB. Dot.ca flew towards the nest box, turned and headed towards Mercury and turned again. He was searching for the Crow. When he didn’t find it, he headed back over to the top Ibeam on OCSR. I assume that the Crow was in hiding. Here are some of the pictures I got of Dot.ca and the Crow.
When I ended my watch at 3:45 pm, Dot.ca was back on guard duty on OCSR and Beauty was in the nest box incubating the eggs that will soon hatch. All was peaceful and quiet. Just how I like it!
During my watch a UFO aka strangely shaped balloon floated over. I just liked it. lol
May 1st, 2015 at 9:02 PM
Got some amazing shots of DC & that crow, Carol! I don’t blame DC, crows are bad dudes! lol Hope this good weather holds out for a while longer! Sure will make hatching nicer for our pefas! 🙂
May 1st, 2015 at 9:29 PM
Thanks Pat! I am so loving this weather after that long, cold, snowy winter. Dot.ca does NOT like Crows!
May 2nd, 2015 at 7:27 AM
To MAK, Hope you have a speedy recovery and will soon be back with your wonderful morning reports of the Rochester Falcons. I am not from Rochester but have always loved the pictures and your colorful comments. God bless you!
May 2nd, 2015 at 11:10 AM
Thank you Glenn, unfortunately my surgery turned out to be a much bigger deal than was anticipated so my recovery will be way longer. You can be sure I will be back at it as soon as I can. God bless you too! 🙂
May 2nd, 2015 at 1:30 PM
Another flying object.Do love the color of it though. Great pictures as usual of DC and the crow.He is a wonderful protector of Beauty and the eggs.HAPPY SPRING, at last!!!
May 2nd, 2015 at 3:37 PM
Wow, that’s what I call a proverbial “swift kick.” Yikes! Awesome shots, Carol!
May 2nd, 2015 at 4:39 PM
Great pictures, I love the purple finch and the craw pictures.And the first two bigger pictures.And the way you describe it.Greetings
May 2nd, 2015 at 6:07 PM
Crows can be vengeful and attack in groups – a murder of crows! I wonder if that has been known to happen? I am wary of crows!
Thanks, Carol, for your observations. They are always excellent.
May 3rd, 2015 at 6:58 AM
Thanks to all the rest of you falcon watchers for making this site the best one I have found. I really enjoy all the pictures and the way you follow the falcons all year long. No doubt most of you are still in the workforce so it is really wonderful to give so much of your time to this.
May 3rd, 2015 at 10:42 AM
Now that’s what I call an action shot of DC and the crow. One of your finest Carol!
May 3rd, 2015 at 11:41 AM
Let us not bad-mouth crows. They are some of the smartest birds on the planet, and their “murderous ways” are not any different from the falcons taking the bright songbirds or parakeets for their dinner.
May 4th, 2015 at 10:37 AM
Thanks Allison..I was having a bad time with all the denigration of the crows..I find them an entertaining group to watch.They communicate with each other loudly and effectively, I’ve noticed .They are very smart and help clean up..Considering how many species we (humans) have made extinct, I think we should be more understanding of other species who are just trying to survive..(I do wish they would leave this particular pair alone, though!)
May 5th, 2015 at 1:19 PM
Thanks everyone for the nice comments. 🙂
I very much respect the Crow. A very handsome and smart creature.
May 5th, 2015 at 1:21 PM
Hatching has started! A pip has appeared in one of the eggs! Woohoo!
May 6th, 2015 at 6:09 AM
I see half a shell near the front of the nest area!! Whoopee!!!
May 6th, 2015 at 9:08 AM
Now I see white fluff peeking out under the breast of Beauty AND she is watching it ,too!! Oh, what fun!
May 6th, 2015 at 9:21 AM
Hi June! We have one hatch (yesterday afternoon) and one on the way soon. Beauty just showed off a pipped egg a little while ago! 🙂
May 6th, 2015 at 11:28 AM
Eyas #2 arrived just a short while ago!