By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a balmy 22 degrees (F) when I ventured out for a afternoon falcon watch yesterday.  From the Radisson, I could see Beauty on the north side of OCSR on the top IBeam.

From in front of the Radisson I could also see the Times Square Bldg (TSB) nest box and the Kodak Tower.  It was windy and the flags were whipping on the Sisters City Bridge.

I could not see any falcons up inside the elevator shaft, so I headed over to the Andrews St Bridge.  From there I could see that Dot.ca was also on the top Ibeam around the corner from Beauty.

I settled in for awhile, keeping an eye on Beauty and Dot.ca and watching the antics of the gulls and Crows on the river ice below.

Some gulls were walking on the ice, some were swimming in the frigid water and some were sleeping with their heads tucked under their wings.  I watched a Crow slowly and hesitantly walk up to a sleeping gull.  Closer, closer, WHACK!  The Crow bopped the gull on top of the head with its beak and the gull jumped up and squawked.  lol  I do believe that the Crow was checking to see if the gull was dead, looking for a meal.

The gull flew off and the Crow walked over to the edge of the ice where there were blood stains and remains of what I am pretty sure was a fish.  The Crow picked up some bits and pieces of frozen sushi and then walked towards another sleeping gull.  This one was having none of it.  The gull stood up, wings spread out, shoeing the Crow away.

All was quiet and peaceful downtown.  Beauty and Dot.ca both looked like they had full crops and they weren’t going anywhere. It was time to check out Seneca Towers.

From Maplewood Park, which is across the river, north of Seneca Towers, I could see a falcon on the north end window ledge. Based on size, I thought it might be Billie, but I was at too far a distance to tell for sure.

Before I started my watch, I had received a text from fellow Watcher Dick.  He had seen a falcon hunting over at Medley Center. He was pretty sure it was Big Frank(ie).

At Russell Station, I saw a bird up on top of one of the stacks.  It ended up being a Crow.

Driving along the lake (Lake Ontario) between Charlotte and Greece, I spotted a beautiful adult Bald Eagle flying over a very icy lake.

Further down, I spotted another Bald Eagle, this time a juvie.  Wow!  Love seeing Bald Eagles!

Today, we are under a Winter Storm Warning with a possibility of 10 to 18 inches of snow.  I won’t be able to get out until they clear up the roads.  Working on getting new snow tires.  Keep warm and safe everyone!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2016 at 8:54 AM 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.