By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 41 degrees (F) 5 (C) when I left for my watch today with a bit of a breeze.

Beauty was on the eggs when I checked the cams but while enroute to downtown Dot.Ca (DC) came and switched with her. When I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) Dan was there and I asked if he had any action-he said no.  Thanks to Annette for tweeting that a switch was made and thanks to Donna for giving the time of the switch at 5:54am. Beauty was nowhere that we could see her.

Just before 6:30am I spotted both Beauty and DC flying from the east over the river with both landing on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. Soon after, Beauty flew to the Mercury money bag and took off quickly from there too. DC appeared to be eating on OCSR and as I was looking for Beauty he flew off. Donna said that Beauty was in the nest box as I had seen a falcon fly to it but wasn’t sure who. Dan and I were getting frustrated because we couldn’t keep up with the brief landing these 2 were doing and of course the buildings being in the way is always an issue. I couldn’t even get any pictures of them!! Dan left about 6:50am and I went to the hole to have a look around. I watched Beauty fly to the northwest wing and check the back of the ledge presumably for cached food. She was gone seconds later and went to the nest box as Donna once again let me know who was up there on the eggs. Thank you so much!

I checked from the Andrews St. Bridge (ASB) but didn’t see DC anywhere so I left for the Brighton Site (BS) I arrived there around 7:30am finding Pigott on the southwest corner of the west extension eating.

DC  was on the southwest corner of the southwest extension.

Things stayed this way for 10 minutes. I decided to tape Pigott after she finished eating and pan over to DC on his corner but when I did he was gone. He was on his way over to Pigott to mate with her which I could hear while I was trying to find them on my cameras LCD screen. The end of the video is a blurry image of them before DC left. He then went to the southeast corner of the roof above the south side vent.

He didn’t stay there for long taking wing to go to the southwest corner on the southeast extension.

Click my pics for full version

Again he stayed briefly and then he was off flying north. Pigott had been on her west extension corner the whole time. I just knew DC was going back downtown so I said goodbye to Pigott and left. I wasn’t even a quarter of the way there when Donna let me know DC was on the eggs and Beauty on Mercury. He’s a fast little flyer he is!! I didn’t see the Beautyful one on Mercury from the BSB  so I went on a search and find ride ending  on the ASB where I didn’t notice Beauty on the base of Mercury until the 3rd look with my binocs. She blended in well and the distance didn’t help any either.

I drove to the hole which was close to her but the sun was in a bad place for picture taking.

I then went up to the BSB where I could just barely see the top half of her peeking at me.

Beauty flew to the west behind Thomson Reuters and returned to the base of Mercury some 20 minutes later landing just before 9am.

Her crop seemed to have a little bulk to it telling me she had eaten at some point. I saw Pigott and DC eat earlier so I ended my watch at 9:13am content that all was well with our resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons. Shortly after I got home from my watch Beauty laid her 4th egg at 9:37am which made me forgot the frustrations of the day thus  planting a very big smile on old MAKs face! 🙂

I have links below for some videos-just click them to view

http://youtu.be/bK3FQxhkM7M
http://youtu.be/fkrpvGLrpUI
http://youtu.be/RPHukHxEC3Y
http://youtu.be/Aae9iNZUgg0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

29 degrees (F) -2 (C) and clear with a slight breeze is what the conditions were when I left for my watch.

I found Dan on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) when I got there about 6:05am and said he hadn’t had any action. I checked the cams around 5:45am and saw Beauty on the eggs so when I got downtown and didn’t see any falcons I assumed she was still on the eggs. Annette tweeted that Dot.Ca (DC) was on the eggs so I went looking for Beauty and I found her on the base of Mercury from the Andrews St. bridge. I wasn’t sure who it was from that distance so I went to the hole (Aqueduct St.) to confirm that it was indeed the Beautyful one.

I rejoined a frozen Dan on the bridge who decided to go home and warm up around 6:45am so I went back down to the hole. Beauty took off as soon as I got there flying west out of view and a couple minutes later I thought she returned to the base, but it turns out that she went to the nest box and DC was who I watched land,stretch,poop and take off to the east across the river. Thank you to Annette and Donna for helping me to get things straight this morning. After DC didn’t come back I headed to the Brighton site (BS) and spotted Pigott on the southwest corner of the west extension at 7:23am.

A couple minutes later Pigott flew off and caught her breakfast taking it to the northwest corner of the west extensions lower roof. She started plucking feathers and suddenly stopped looking north behind me so I couldn’t see what had her attention as I was in my car facing her. She took off with her prey heading east flying real low.

I drove around the building trying to see where she went and after scanning the roof tops I found her on the southwest corner of the same lower roof on top of a light with her package.

The lighting was bad where I was parked so I drove around the building and got a different angle on my subject who was fully engaged at preparing this meal with feathers stuck to her beak and filling the air space around her.

A crow landed below her as she started vocalizing her displeasure and flew off  with the food landing on the southwest corner of the west extension. Finally she had found a place that she was comfortable with to start eating her meal.

5 minutes later at 8:10am I heard echupping coming from the cubby-now how did I miss DC go in there I thought. It happens all the time when you are focused on one bird another can sneak in under your radar easily. I was not in the right spot to see in the cubby so I drove around the building again parking where I could see Miss Pigott and the cubby. Well just as I stopped she flew off with her prey yet again and as I watched her DC managed to sneak out of the cubby for when I went to the back of the building I found him on the southeast corner of the south extension.

Only a minute passed when DC stooped down on a crow and flew out of view. It took a couple trips around but I finally managed to find Pigott eating away on the southwest corner of the west extension. I wasn’t sure who it was at first as she had her back to me but I found out 10 minutes later when DC suddenly showed up and mated with her.

DC flew off, Pigott gave her head a shake and went right back to eating and threw in a few echups as well! I managed to locate DC on the southwest corner of the southwest extension across from Pigott who started whining and echupping while she continued to chow down on what was left of her meal.

She was not letting anything get in the way of her eating!  She finished about 8:50am and went to the cubby and started echupping loudly and DC totally ignored her while he was preening.

Pigott gave up after 20 minutes and flew out of the cubby going to the southwest corner of the west extension where DC promptly flew to her and they mated again.

DC returned to the same corner he had previously vacated and Pigott remained whining on and off.

<DC>

Did I mention Pigott was whining!?

Click pics for full version

At 9:45am DC flew above the building and I saw 2 other birds-one was high in the sky and the other DC went after. It looked like a tiercel being about the same size as DC. There was no contact he just chased it out of the territory and when he returned he went in the cubby. Loud echupping echoed from in there as Pigott ignored his pleas now-turn around is fair play don’t ya know!? DC then flew out and headed north at which time Pigott turned around facing north and watched as I did. DC did not return so I went downtown to see if that’s where he went since that’s the direction Pigott and I last saw him. I found him under the northeast wing preening.

I ended my watch at this juncture-it was 10:05am. I have to smile for sometimes observing these falcons is  like watching a comedy and todays watch was no exception! 🙂

Click the links below to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWreZg

http://youtu.be/P0BkMBgnlaU
http://youtu.be/xY1vRe52eh8
http://youtu.be/ABdPZ2Ij97M
http://youtu.be/oLzuROAdA8Y
http://youtu.be/Yfv0gwdtbOQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I decided to go to the BS location first, arriving there at about 12:30 pm.  I circled the building a couple times.  All was quiet, no falcons in sight.  I started to tweet that out when all of a sudden; ee-chup ee-chup ee-chup! In flew a falcon directly into the cubby.  After checking my pics, it was Dot.ca that came flying in and I do think Pigott was already at the cubby.

Dot.ca left the cubby and landed on the SW corner of the building.  While he was there, he did a lot of preening, then took off and flew around the back of the building where I lost sight of him.

*

*

*

*

*

I circled the building and found Pigott at the edge of the cubby.  She left the cubby and landed on the SW corner of the west extension.

*

*

*

*

*

While I was watching Pigott, I was pretty sure I saw a falcon fly off heading north, so that ‘s where I headed.

I arrived downtown around 1:53 pm.  Dot.ca was in the nest box and I could not find Beauty.  Dot.ca came out of the nest box and landed on the green stripe at the top of the Wilder Bldg.  Then he flew to the top IBeam of the OCSR south corner.  DC then flew up to the Times Square Bldg (TSB) NW wing ledge.  I couldn’t see what was going on up there, but I could sure hear it.  Beauty was up there and Dot.ca had landed next to her.  By the time I walked over far enough to see them, the vocalization ended and Dot.ca took off, and went to the nest box.  Beauty remained on the ledge finishing her meal.  Not sure if they copulated or not.

*

*

*

*

*

After finishing her meal, she went to the nest box and Dot.ca came out, landing on the green stripe on the Wilder bldg.

Because the Broad St Bridge (BSB) was full for an event at the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) aka War Memorial, I was watching from Aqueduct St. aka the hole.  We call it the hole because your view is very restricted there.  Once the  falcons fly away from the TSB, you’re pretty much blind to where they went.

At 2:55 pm, I heard Beauty alarm kakking from the nest box.  I was watching Dot.ca’s reaction on the Wilder bldg.  He was looking all over.  First Beauty took off and flew over heading east, over the river.  As soon as Beauty passed over, Dot.ca took off and followed.  The last I saw them was as they crossed the river, flying over the Hyatt.

*

*

*

*

*

I want to take a moment here to thank all the on-line watchers that help the watchers on the street.  From where I was, I could not see Beauty and Dot.ca when they were in the nest box, so their help was invaluable.  Thanks Ei, Donna, Annette and NCAFalcon!  Things can get so confusing when there is a lot of activity going on, especially when you are by yourself.

Dot. ca returned and went into the nest box.   At 3:55, Ei reported that he was looking to the east a lot.  I had checked the downtown area and could not find Beauty.  I finally found an open parking spot on the Broad St Bridge.  From there I checked the area and found Beauty up on top of the Xerox Tower on the SW corner.  She was on a direct line-of-sight from the nest box, so Dot.ca probably had been watching her.

*

*

*

*

*

Beauty took off at 4:20 pm and flew to the nest box.  Dot.ca exited and I found him on the green stripe on the Wilder building.

*

*

*

*

*

With Beauty settled in the nest box on her 3 eggs and Dot.ca on the Wilder bldg preening, it was time for me to leave at 4:45 pm.  Just as I was pulling out of the parking lot off of Aqueduct St. I looked up and saw that Dot.ca was gone.  By the time I got home and signed in on the Rfalconcam live streaming video, Dot.ca was back on the three eggs.  Seeing all three Rochester Falcons today, made it a very nice day.  Goodnight all.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Good golly Miss Molly, Beauty laid her 3rd egg at 2:07am with temps around the freezing mark.

It was 29 (F) -2 (C) when I left for my watch with virtually no wind for a change and partly cloudy skies. I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) at 5:58am and could see no falcons although I was pretty sure Beauty was on the eggs cuz I checked the cams before I left. I waited and watched until6:40am and decided to check the Brighton site (BS) to see if  Dot.Ca (DC) was over there since he was so late showing up downtown today. I found Pigott all by herself  on the southeast corner.

I left her after a few minutes for downtown and found DC under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB) when I arrived.

He looked to be in hunt mode and soon after he took off to the west after stopping by the deck near the well wall for a few seconds.

I drove to the Andrews St bridge to look for DC and found him on the top arm north side of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT). I went to Plymouth Ave to get a closer look and make sure it was him and not UT. He flew off to the north a minute or two after I got there. I went back to the BSB where the parking wa filling up for a cheerleading competition so I went down to the hole. At 7:15am DC came flying in with food and went to the back of the northeast wing ledge to have a few bites as he started  plucking feathers to prepare it for Beauty.

5 minutes later Beauty flew up and landed at the end of the ledge and DC took off with the prey and went to the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR to finish preparing it. Beauty flew to the south corner to watch him and then they both took off.

<B> <Beauty

There was a food exchange where I couldn’t see because Beauty ended up on the east end corner of the Wilder green strip with food.

DC had naturally gone to the nest box to sit on his eggs and when Beauty finished her small meal she just kinda rested.

Larry came by for a few minutes and while he was there we watched a brave starling land like 6 feet from Beauty. We got a big chuckle out of that.

Click the pic to see full version

Larry left and I decided to end my watch at 8:30am figuring all was quiet and having seen all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons safe and sound. 3 eggs is so much a great reason to smile don’t you think?! 🙂

Click the links below for more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWreIg

http://youtu.be/iSjKId49jGU
http://youtu.be/zBsKm8rnxQI
http://youtu.be/iWDEXfleG6A
http://youtu.be/g0SCZ36IYYY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Well, I didn’t have much activity on my watch and I only actually saw one falcon.  When I arrived downtown, after visiting the Braddock Bay Birds of Prey Day, at about 3:50 pm, I found Dot.ca on the top SE side IBeam on the OCSR.  He was keeping watch over Beauty, who fellow Watcher Kathy O, confirmed was in the nest box covering her and Dot.ca’s two eggs.

It was a much colder day with temperatures near 40 degrees (F).  Cold, windy, cloudy, sunny, snowy, rainy, sleety we had a bit of everything today!  Brrrr!

*

*

*

*

*

Since it was quiet downtown, and the Broad St Bridge was filling up, I decided to go check on Pigott at the BS location. (4:30 pm)  I circled the building twice, but could not see or hear any falcons there.  Just the high winds whipping through and the honks of Canada Geese.  I parked where I could keep an eye on the building, but Pigott did not show herself.  Joyce stopped for a few moments after dropping Brian H off.  I stayed until approximately 5:00 pm and then headed home, via downtown Rochester.

By this time the Broad St Bridge was totally filled up, but I found a spot to stop for a few moments.  Dot.ca remained on the OCSR top IBeam and I could not see Beauty in the nest box, but it was reported that she was there.

Since all was quiet and peaceful at both sites, I headed home at about 5:20 pm.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

What a difference a day makes! This morning the temperature was 30 degrees colder than yesterday at 36 (F) 2 (C) and cold winds. The weather conditions were changeable to say the least-overcast to start, then a snow and rain mix followed by sun and blue skies and back to snow showers. That’s spring in Rochester,NY folks!

I started my watch on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) at 6am arriving just in time to see Dot.Ca (DC) on the ledge above the nest box and Beauty fly from the nest box over to the base of Mercury as I was making a u-turn so I could face the Times Square building (TSB). I barely had the car in park when DC  flew over to mate with Beauty so I had no chance of getting any pics or video. They both flew off afterwards with Beauty going to the southeast wing and DC to the northeast wing of the TSB. I drove down to the hole as the Beautyful one went to the back of the ledge looking for cached food and when she found none she started squawking  and walked out to the front ledge. DC perched across from her went to the back of his ledge also while Beauty went to the nest box.

DC looking for Beautys’ breakfast

He quickly took action by stooping to the west behind buildings. I only knew Beauty was in the nest box because cam watcher Donna let me know. Thanks D! I went back up to the BSB for a broader view of things to see if I could locate DC. No luck but 10-15 mintes later I spotted Beauty fly out of the nest box and go low losing her behind the Philipone building only to resurface under the southeast wing with prey. I drove back down to the hole and saw DC fly to nest box so I’m thinking he brought her food.

His reward-laying on his eggs! 🙂  Well he must have decided he was hungry too for 5 minutes later he flew to the northeast wing briefly then took off out of sight only to return a few minutes later with his own meal. He would take it to the back of the northeast wing ledge to start preparing it-sending feathers every which way but loose!

Make sure to click my pics for full version

Beauty was across from him at the southeast wing still working on her breakfast. You know what they say-the family that eats together, stays together!

At approximately 7am Beauty flew west with her leftovers-I followed to see if I could find where she was caching it. I parked on the Andrews St. Bridge (ASB) to get a look at the area west and north of the TSB and I was able to spot Beauty on the south side of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) platform.

I then drove to Church and Fitzhugh streets to observe but she was gone when I got there. Donna again helped me out by letting me know she was at the nest box taking food from DC or maybe she took her cache with her when she left FCT. At any rate I drove to the BSB and could see no falcons so I left for the Brighton Site (BS). On my way Annette tweeted that Beauty was by the main cam. Thank you! I arrived at BS just before 7:30am finding Pigott on the southeast corner of the east extension.

She was very alert, looking to and fro I believe for a meal. I rarely see Miss Pigott napping as she is always actively watching her territory or whatever is going on in the near vicinity. Today was no different as she would make my neck hurt watching the positions she was putting her head in.

While I was at BS I experienced sun and blue sky, rain,snow/rain mix, ice pellets,just snow and strong wind. Yikes! Pigott flew off at 8:10am chasing a Turkey Vulture (TV) to the northwest and came back to circle the building before landing on an east extension north facing window ledge for maybe 30 seconds.

Oops-lost her head lol

She went after another TV to the east then broke it off to fly above Highland Park and eventually go north out of view. I left for downtown at this point hoping Pigott wasn’t going downtown, which is the direction she was going when I lost sight of her. As I approached the TSB on Exchange Blvd. I could see a falcon by the main cam so I pulled over in front of the Blue Cross Arena to watch. It had its back to me and I thought it was Beauty but Donna informed me that it was DC and Beauty was on the eggs.

At 8:40am DC stooped on a small bird in front of the Philipone building,missed it and proceeded up to the northeast wing. I drove over to the hole to see him better and then he flew to the southeast wing and picked at leftovers a little bit at the back of the ledge and then he moved to the front.

At 9am DC flew off to the south out of view and I ended my watch at that time. All 3 resident Rochester Falcons were very comical today making me smile a lot! 🙂

Click the links below for more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWreAA

http://youtu.be/oK2RNYRbd5o
http://youtu.be/H2Y6tEw-muc
http://youtu.be/uHfK0vaHRTA
http://youtu.be/HC4wXg36tgE
http://youtu.be/cDhfroTwjc0
http://youtu.be/xI2FzWop8fo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Warmest morning yet at 66 (F) 19 (C) and a busy breeze. A cold front will be coming thru this afternoon changing that little fact and making for a cold weekend.

I landed in the hole at a little after 6am facing Mercury I saw a falcon fly to the base and start plucking feathers with its back to me. Still predawn and dark I wasn’t sure at first who it was until she turned around to face me-it was Beauty.

About this time Donna texted and thought maybe UT had been on the well wall since that’s not a spot Dot.Ca (DC) frequents. I was watching Beauty so I totally missed whoever was up there. At 6:20am I spotted DC under the northeast wing.

A few minutes later he was off and as I followed him in flight toward Mercury I saw Beauty was on the Mercury money bag (MMB). She had snuck up there while I was watching DC and then a mating occurred on theMMB. I was caught off guard and only got the end of the mating on video plus a blurry quick pic before I started recording. I played with it in Picasa and came up with this unique pic.

Beauty flew to the nest box afterwards and DC flew south out of view. I then made my way up to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) to see if I could find him and instead found my mentor Dan in his spot on the bridge. I asked for his report and he said he watched DC bring prey to Beauty at the nest box a little after 6am. I must say since the first egg came DC has stepped up with the food deliveries-he’s being a good provider. Donna texted me to say that Beauty was on the eggs so I told Dan, who got a big kick out of  the fact that someone who lives in Jersey is telling us what’s going on right under our nose! lol Dan left at 6:55am since DC was nowhere to be found and Beauty was on the eggs. I left for Brighton (BS) to see if he went there but I found only Pigott there perched on the west end of the south side vent.

She took off almost immediately and chased a crow out of the area and continued south until I could see her no longer. I waited and watched for her return for 10 minutes and then I took a ride around the building. I found Miss Pigott on the northwest corner in the front of the building at 7:30am.

I got a text from Donna 10 minutes later saying Beauty was making weird sounds at the nest box and going back and forth so I left BS for downtown to check it out. As I arrived I could see Beauty up under the northeast wing and then she went down to the deck. DC unbeknownst to me had brought food and was on the eggs as Beauty started eating on the deck by the well wall.

Click the pics for a full version

I was on the BSB at this point and after a few minutes Beauty flew off with leftovers behind the Thomson Reuters building where I lost sight of her.

I drove back down to the hole in time to see the Beautyful one flying near the OCSR and above the Wilder building and out of view. 5 minutes later DC was flying back and forth in the TSB area almost like a victory flight before coming to rest on the Wilder building green strip.

DC did a little preening, caught a nap or two but mostly he was watching prey birds in the area during the hour and 10 minutes I spent with him. I took a walk over by He’s Chinese for some pics of him from below as I stood in the alley named Basin St.

I wasn’t sure that Beauty was in the nest box until I got a tweet from Annette confirming that she was indeed. Thanks for your help and also to Donna too who always helps me out. I finished up my watch over by the Philipone building sitting on the garden box over there for the best view of DC. I really enjoyed observing him up close and personal.

I ended my watch at 10am as the sky started to spit a few rain drops with a smile on my face as all is well with our Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos from todays watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrd3g

http://youtu.be/bnH59zSCuDI
http://youtu.be/RN-2b7AFBsE
http://youtu.be/YD0K4m0k0vg
http://youtu.be/2z66hHrenDo
http://youtu.be/u_71MqxORJk
http://youtu.be/s_zyCs-ECbo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

While I was on an evening falcon watch with fellow Rochester Falcon Watchers Joyce and Lisa McK, Beauty laid a 2nd egg at about 7:40 pm.  WOOHOO!

When I arrived downtown a little after 6:00 pm, I found Beauty standing on the nest box platform in front of the scrape where her one egg was.  She took off and flew low heading east.  I was watching from the Broad St Bridge (BSB) and did not see her come out over the river.  So I drove closer to the Times Square Bldg (TSB) and saw a tail sticking out on the NE wing ledge of the TSB.  At first I wasn’t sure if it was Beauty or Dot.ca or the unbanded tiercel that visited now and then.  So, down to Aqueduct St I went.  From there, I could see that it was a tiercel up there and later determined that it was indeed Dot.ca.

*

*

*

*

*

It was a warm evening with temperatures near 70 degrees (F), and the winds were gusting to close to 30-40 mph.  Dot.ca was having a really hard time hanging on up there!

While I was watching from the parking lot just off of Aqueduct St. (aka the hole), a tweet came in from Joyce.  She was up on the BSB, but soon joined me.  Right after Joyce arrived, Lisa McK pulled up on my other side.  It was nice to be able to chat with them from inside my car.  It was really windy out there.  Beauty came out on the nest box platform next to the main camera base for a few moments and then went back into the nest box.

At about 7:00 pm, we split up.  Lisa went over to the BS location.  When she first arrived, Pigott was soaring above the building and then landed on the NW corner of the west extension.  Joyce headed north to check out the Hawkeye plant, where she and Brian had spotted the unbanded tiercel a few days ago, and some of the taller buildings in that area.  She had no luck spotting any falcons.  I drove up to the BSB, but was still unable to see Beauty inside the nest box.

Since it was quiet downtown, I left Dot.ca and Beauty on the TSB and made my way over to the BS location, where I found Lisa and Pigott.  Lisa had to leave, so I spent a little while watching Pigott on the NW corner of the west extension.  Like Dot.ca she was struggling to remain up on the corner in the high winds.  It wasn’t easy for her, as she almost had to take flight a few times.  But she was determined to remain where she was and she did.

*

*

*

*

*

Just about the time Beauty had laid her 2nd egg (thanks Ei for the tweet!), I was on my way down town to check on Beauty & Dot.ca one more time before heading home.  I didn’t read Ei’s tweet until I was parked on the BSB.  From there I could not see Beauty, since she was laying on both of her eggs.  I could not find Dot.ca.

*

*

*

*

*

I only stayed for about 15 minutes, leaving just after 8:00 pm.  It was getting dark, but it was still warm and very windy.  I took a few pics in the low light of the Times Square Bldg and the nest box holding Beauty and her two eggs.  Goodnight everyone!  It’s a very happy day!

REMEMBER TO CLICK ON ANY PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE LARGER.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Not a bad start to the day at 47 (F) 8 (C) although a short light rain shower came down soon after I arrived downtown.

Dan was on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) when I arrived at 6:05am and he left when it started raining-he doesn’t like to watch from inside his car. I was informed by Donna that Beauty was in the nest box and at about 6:15am Dot.Ca (DC) showed up landing at the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB) briefly and then he went to the nest box. DC flew to the Mercury money bag (MMB) soon after and some time after that Beauty flew to the base of Mercury without me seeing.

Thanks to Donna who was helping me out on the nest box comings and goings. I must also thank Joyce and Annette for their tweets this morning as well. It’s a great help when you’re by yourself trying to watch more than one falcon. I went to the hole to have the best view of them. So Beauty started whining to DC and he obliged by flying down to mate with her. Beauty remained on the base and DC went somewhere out of view-probably hunting for breakfast.

A few minutes later the Beautyful one flew to the northeast wing, walked to the back of it I assume looking for cached food as this is a favorite food cupboard for these two. Her crop was pretty depleted and she came back up to the front of the ledge with no snack.

She dropped down to the deck and at 7:00am DC showed up with food leaving it for her and then flying across the way to the MMB. I went back up to the BSB and Beauty managed to sneak over to the base of Mercury while I was watching DC.  She landed on the northwest corner which is the only spot not visible from the bridge. Donna let me know she left the nest box so I went back to the hole on a hunch that she was over there eating and sure enough that’s where I found her. DC flew to his egg in the nest box a couple minutes later to sit on it according to Donna and he only stayed a minute or so before flying back to the MMB.

<Beauty  <DC>

About 7:20am DC stooped off the back of Mercury down into the river but returned without a catch to the MMB. Beauty then took off with her leftovers and while I tried to keep track of her DC  left. I took a ride to the Andrews St. Bridge (ASB) to check the north end of their territory and spotted Beauty on the top ibeam of the OCSR near the elevator shaft so I believe she probably cached her food up there. She took off right after I found her. Donna let me know Beauty was at the nest box so I decided to go to Brighton (BS) looking for DC whom I couldn’t locate.  I made it to BS just before the 8 o’clock hour and found Pigott by herself on the northwest corner of the west extension.

I shared space with Miss Pigott for the next hour and a half in which time she preened,scratched, stretched and practically turned her head 360 degrees in the process.

Pigott also pooped and when I checked my LCD camera screen it looked yellow to me. I’ve only seen white poop so I’m hoping there’s nothing wrong with her.

On the larger computer screen it doesn’t look as yellow so maybe the lighting made it look that way.  Larry stopped by on his way to work to say hi and then he was off at some point while I was there. I returned to downtown about 9:30am checking from both the BSB and ASB I didn’t find any falcons but Joyce and Donna let me know Beauty was on her egg so I ended my watch at that time. Our Rochester Peregrine falcons are in a normal pattern and all is well in the PEFA world here in Rochester at the moment and that my falcon loving friends makes me smile!  🙂

Check out the links below for more pics and some videos from my watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrduA

http://youtu.be/cWs98-bVqsI
http://youtu.be/nnBKkq0pUpQ
http://youtu.be/ff2hWSn-awU
http://youtu.be/C7dQchv67zc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Yes, we have an egg!  Woohoo!  Here’s a picture of Beauty and her first egg, taken by the Rfalconcam cameras on 4/16/13.

*

*

*

*

*

Ok, on with my evening Watch Report.  Earlier, on live streaming video, I had seen Dot.ca visit the nest box and lay on the egg.  It was for only a few minutes, but it was good to see.  It was also reported that he had brought food to Beauty throughout the day.

I arrived downtown a little after 6:00 pm.  I parked on the Broad St Bridge (BSB) and from there I could see Beauty up at the nest box.  She was on the perch in front of the scrape, guarding her egg.  No tiercels were in sight.

*

*

*

*

*

At 6:35 pm, Beauty left the nest box and flew towards the OCSR, landing on the west end of the top IBeam.

*

*

*

*

*

A Kestrel flew in and landed on the south end of the Cross Rds Bldg at about 7:00 pm.  When it first arrived, Beauty vocalized just a bit, ee-chupping.  Other than that, there was no reaction to the arrival of the Kestrel.  After about 5 minutes, the Kestrel took off and headed east.  Again, no reaction from Beauty, except to watch the Kestrel fly by her.

*

*

*

*

*

Since there were no tiercels downtown and all was quiet, I decided to head over to the BS location.  I found Dot.ca on the SW corner of the SW extension.  I could not see or hear Pigott.  At 7:30 pm, Dot.ca took off heading east and around the building, heading north.

*

*

*

*

*

That’s when I heard soft chupping (falcon vocalization) sounds coming from the cubby.  I drove around the building and found Pigott sitting on the lip of the cubby.  She flew the short distance to the SW corner of the west extension.  I watched her for a few moments as she looked north.  This made me wonder if Dot.ca had perhaps gone downtown to visit Beauty and his egg.  So, at 7:35 pm, I decided it was time to head home, but first a quick trip downtown to check one more time on Beauty.

*

*

*

*

*

On my way downtown, I received a tweet from Rfalconcam Forum member Ei saying Beauty had returned to the nest box.  Thanks so much Ei and a big thanks to all the camera watchers that help us out when we’re on a watch.  It is so helpful!  That’s exactly where Beauty was when I arrived on Broad St.  I checked the area to see if there were any tiercels nearby, but found none.  All was peaceful at both locations and I saw all three Rochester Falcons.  It was time to head home. (7:55 pm)

On the recent evening falcon watches, we have been seeing some really pretty cloud formations with gorgeous lighting.  I’ll leave you with a few pics of a cloud formation I saw during my watch.  My pictures don’t do the colors justice.  They were so vibrant and beautiful.  I’d never seen a cloud formation like this one.  Goodnight everyone and remember to click on any pictures you’d like to see larger.

*

*

*

*

*