Sunday Falcon Watch – 3/19/17
By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.
As we wait for Beauty and Dot.ca’s first egg….. 🙂
You may have heard that Rochester and the surrounding area has had some pretty nasty weather. First a wind storm with a recorded gust of 81 mph, that caused power outages to over 100,000 homes in the area. Then a snow storm that dumped close to 30 inches of snow. Needless to say, it’s been a little crazy around here.
So, when I heard the sun was coming out this afternoon and the temps were soaring into the 40’s (F), it was time to head out for a falcon head count.
I first checked out the BS and DSS locations. No falcons were found in either location. Could our unbanded female and her friend have headed out to nesting territories of their own? Time will tell.
Downtown I found Beauty on the base of the Mercury statue. She had a full crop, but it didn’t look like she had any food. Dot.ca was on the west corner of the top Ibeam on OCSR. I was hoping to see them mate and I was really hoping to get a video. I was lucky, after patiently waiting for about an hour.
<— Beauty on the base of Mercury.
<— Dot.ca on OCSR
I found a spot to park my car on Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”), where I had a good view of Beauty and could wait for Dot.ca to take off from OCSR. It was a long, cold wait. But finally, he took off and headed our way. Beauty was ready for him and so was I! Here’s the link to the video I was able to get.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnAy16ilOIU&feature=youtu.be
Afterwards Dot.ca headed west towards the Times Square Bldg.
I had to leave for a short while to help out a friend and fellow watcher Brian H. He said to say hello to everyone! When I returned, Beauty was up at the Times Square Bldg nest box and Dot.ca had returned to the west corner on the top IBeam of OCSR.
<— Beauty at the Times Square Bldg Nest Box.
<— Dot.ca on OCSR.
This is where I left them as I ended my downtown, Rochester Falcon Watch. I wanted to check on Billie and Seth at Seneca Towers (ST). From the parking lot at Maplewood Park, I was able to see two falcons on the building. I assumed that it had to be Billie and Seth and I was very happy to see them after all the bad weather we’ve had.
<— Billie and Seth at Seneca Towers (ST).
It was nice to get out for a falcon watch today. Especially with the sun shining! Spring will be here very soon!
I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures I took of Beauty and Dot.ca last Sunday. Enjoy!
<— Beauty on Wilder Bldg.
<— Beauty and Dot.ca mating on the Wilder Bldg.
March 19th, 2017 at 6:40 PM
amazing carol. unbeleivable that you were able to view them mating. too cute. your pics are amazing you must have the patience of a saint. thanks.* looking forward for more. take care* betty
March 19th, 2017 at 8:04 PM
Thank you Betty! We watchers are very patient folks. lol 🙂
March 19th, 2017 at 8:27 PM
so glad you finally saw Billie and Seth!
March 19th, 2017 at 9:53 PM
Pat reported seeing them the other day. We were all very happy to know they made it safely through the storms. Thank you for your comment Dot!
March 22nd, 2017 at 4:36 PM
Hi Carol, I haven’t been watching in quite a while but I do sneak a peek every so often. Please forgive me if this has been questioned and answered several times. It appears Beauty and Dotca favor the times square nest box. Isn’t there a way to move the old Kodak nest box off the Powers building and onto Seneca Towers? Is this their second or third year there? Thanks for all you and fellow watchers do!
March 22nd, 2017 at 7:24 PM
Am glad I just pulled up your “watch”Carol. I am in Michigan now as my dear sister died suddenly on March 18,following being hit by a car on St,Patrick’s Day as she was walking into grocery store.She had been discharged from ED that night and suddenly died following day. Your “watch”Has brightened up my evening.Thanks for that.
March 26th, 2017 at 10:03 PM
Hello Luzie! MAK attempted to get permission to install a nest box on top of Seneca Towers, but sadly they would not allow it. I hope you check in more often now that Beauty has laid her first two eggs! 🙂
March 26th, 2017 at 10:10 PM
Oh no Diane! I’m so sorry to hear that you lost your sister. Please accept my condolences. 🙁
I’m glad I was able to brighten your evening. Take care.
April 3rd, 2017 at 11:38 AM
Carol, I saw pictures from a photographer on a 1000 Islands river site. He has a couple pics of a Peregrine on the Barnhart Bridge in Massena, NY. Do you know if there is a resident Falcon there?
April 8th, 2017 at 4:38 PM
Hello Luzie. Sorry I just saw this. I’m not sure which falcons are there. Can you post the link?
April 12th, 2017 at 11:20 AM
Hi Carol, I don’t think the photographer knows anything about the falcon in the pictures. He called it a hawk. His photo’s are from March 7th. I tried to copy and paste the pics here but it didn’t work. Apparently they are on his FaceBook page. Can’t get a look at the legs. The photographer’s name is Chuck Larrabee. I saw the pics he posted on The St. Lawrence River Ship Watchers group on FaceBook. By the way, is Quest still around in Canada?
April 17th, 2017 at 12:49 PM
Are all our falcon watchers okay? There have been no new updates since March 19. 🙁
April 17th, 2017 at 2:39 PM
Thanks Luzie! Yes Quest is still at her nest box and has laid eggs there. She has a new unbanded mate!
April 17th, 2017 at 2:40 PM
Hi Kathleen! We’re all ok. It’s just that life has a way of getting in the way of falcon watching. I’m getting ready to post a catch-up watch report. Thanks for asking!!! 🙂