By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was more like winter today than spring.  I would say it was a return to winter, but our winter has never ended.  The calendar says it’s spring, but winter has other ideas.  When I arrived downtown just before 4:00 pm, it was snowing so hard, I could barely see the buildings surrounding me.  I was parked on the Broad St Bridge, facing west towards the Times Square Bldg.  Through the heavy snow, I could just barely make out the familiar shape of a peregrine falcon on the OCSR, top SE IBeam, near the south corner.  This was one of Beauty’s favorite spots, but I could not positively ID this falcon.

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I could not see if there was a falcon in the nest box.  Ei and Joyce very nicely let me know that there was no falcon there.  Thanks so much!  At about 4:10 pm, a patch of blue sky appeared above and let the sun appear for just a few moments.  By 4:15 pm, it was snowing heavily again.  You just have to love this weather!

At 4:25 pm, I could not see the peregrine on OCSR.  Through the snow, which was coming down in very large, wet flakes, I could see Beauty at the nest box on the Times Square Bldg. and Dot.ca at the top of the building on the NE wing ledge.  He was tucked into the base of the wing and he was eating.  Every now and then the clouds would part and it would stop snowing, but it always quickly started up again.  It was 30 degrees and the winds were picking up.

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The snow again stopped for a short while and I was able to get a better view of Dot.ca up on the NE wing ledge on the Times Square Bldg.  He had food up there, but it was very small, whatever it was.  He took off with his small package of food and headed south towards the BS location.  With all the snow, I did not see him hunt, like I did the last time he did this.  It is very likely this was some small bird he had caught and brought in to the Times Square Bldg.

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While I was watching Dot.ca, Beauty returned to the top SE IBeam on the OCSR and she was preening,  Since she was settled, I decided to take a trip over to the BS location.  When I arrived there at 5:00 pm, I found Pigott eating on the south side of the west extension roof, directly across from the cubby/possible scrape.  There was some vocalization when I first arrived, but it was quiet while Pigott was eating.  I watched her while she ate.  Dot.ca was not in view and I wondered if he had returned to Beauty.

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After she finished her meal, Pigott took off and flew around the back of the building (south side) and looped around to the east end.  I drove around the loop that circled the building and found Pigott on a top window on the south side of the east extension.  She was very quiet, so I thought possibly Dot.ca was gone.  Wrong!  I looked over to south side of the building and found Dot.ca on a top window on the east side of the SE extension.  All was quiet at BS, except for the high winds whistling around the building and of course the ever present spring-time snow.  At 5:40 pm, I left Dot.ca and Pigott at the BS location to check on Beauty one more time before heading home.

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It was 5:55 pm, when I parked on the Broad St Bridge, which was mostly empty today, unlike yesterday when the BSB was filled with concert goers.

Beauty was in the same spot I left her.  On the OCSR SE side top I-Beam near the south corner.  She had her back to me, but I could see her head moving back and forth watching everything around her.

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Over two hours after starting my after work falcon watch, I had seen all three Rochester Falcons.  All were safe and I observed no aggression between any of them, making it a very nice watch!  It was time for me to end my watch at 6:00 pm.

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Goodnight Everyone!  Remember to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.  Thanks!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I arrived downtown a little before 6 pm to a packed Broad St Bridge and a line stretching half way across it.  I found one of the last spots at the east end of the bridge, near the Rochester Library.  From there, I could look back at the Times Square Bldg and the surrounding area.

It was 33 degrees at that time and the winds were gusting, making it feel like 20 degrees.  I was dressed for the weather, but many of the folks waiting to be let into the Blue Cross Arena for a concert by Green Day, were not.  Some had T-Shirts on and no jackets.  Brrrrr!  They had a long wait to get in.

From the north side of the Library, I could see Beauty at the nest box, but no Dot.ca in sight.

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At 6:20 pm, Dot.ca flew in with the winds.  I first spotted him flying over the river between the OCSR and the Radisson.  Watching a peregrine falcon fly in high winds is incredible.  One of my favorite things.  He was doing all kinds of maneuvers.  Gaining altitude, just to stoop low over the river, chasing the pigeons and pulling up just before reaching the Broad St Bridge.   He turned around, heading north down the river and approached the OCSR, flying up the side of the building,  and reaching both talons out in front of him reaching for and nailing the landing on the top IBeam on the SE side.  Wow!  I could never get enough of watching them fly like this.  I checked the nest box and Beauty was still there.

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At 6:25 pm, Dot.ca was settled on OCSR and Beauty in the nest box on Times Square Bldg.  The line of concert goers had reached me, stretching across the entire length of the Broad St Bridge from the Blue Cross Arena aka War Memorial to the Library and the line was still growing!  Time for me to check on Pigott at the BS location.

I arrived at the BS location at about 6:40 pm and found Pigott on the east side of the building on a window directly below the tree ledge.  She was busy preening and stretching and watching over her territory.  All was quiet there and after finding all three Rochester Falcons safe and sound, it was time for me to head home at about 7:00 pm.

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I’ll leave you with a couple pictures from downtown this evening as I was watching Beauty and Dot.ca.  As always, just click on any pictures you would like to see larger.

Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays weather changed on me very quickly as it was 41 (F) 5(C) when I left the house with a little wind and very light rain. An hour after I arrived downtown the wind started howling,the temperature dropped and the rain turned to moderate snow.

I began my watch at 6:30am on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) finding no falcons anywhere in the vicinity. I drove to the east side and still found no falcons so I went back to the BSB to wait and watch. At about 6:50am Beauty showed up on the Mercury money bag which I am going to start referring to as MMB for ease of tweeting when I’m in the field.

Click on the pics for full version

Beauty and I would share space for the next 35 minutes as I was parked on Bank Place- the one way street that leads down to Aqueduct St.(the hole) from Exchange Blvd running west to east. It goes along the south side of the Philipone building running parallel with Broad St. to the south. Beauty looked above her a few times and I thought Dot.Ca had arrived but no he was staying late with Pigott today. When the weather turned ushering in a cold front Beauty who was having a little trouble holding on decided to fly over to the nest box to take cover.

Beauty and I waited another half hour or so for DC to show up and then I decided to go to the Brighton Site (BS) to look for him. As I passed the main entrance to the Blue Cross Arena I noticed some people camped out in front of it. One of our forum members Bobbie Ireland reported that the musical group Green Day was to play there, so these people obviously like them enough to endure the nasty weather conditions to get tickets.

I arrived at BS around 8:00am to find nobody was home or at least not where I could see or hear them. I hung out for half hour driving around the building periodically to check and finally I found Pigott on the east side ledge where the roof top tree grows.

Now I don’t know if she was up there the whole time back on the ledge out of sight or she could also have been in the cubby on the west side or in the broken window scrape on the west extension. She soon walked to the southeast corner and perched there.

I stayed just about 15 minutes more and after no luck finding DC after a trip around the place I left for downtown leaving Miss Pigott in a snow flurry. Rolling into downtown at 9:00am I spotted Beauty on the deck next to cam 4 so I drove down to the hole parking next to Keybank which is in the Wilder building. I observed from Basin St. a one way alley which runs east to west from Aqueduct St. out to Exchange Blvd. alongside the Wilder building.

Beauty hopped back into the nest box a couple minutes later. 5 minutes later I looked up to see a falcon fly thru from out front of the Times Square building (TSB) over the Philipone building headed east quickly leaving my field of vision. I drove up to the BSB to have a look around parking far enough out to see in the nest box. Nothing until 10 minutes later when Beauty flew up to the deck landing on the corner between the main cam and cam 4 with her back to me. At first I wasn’t sure if it was her until I spotted DC up above under the northeast wing toward the back of the ledge.

<Click it to see DC  

15 minutes later at just about 9:30am DC disappeared then reappeared in the same spot and he was eating something. I think it was cached food for he flew down to the deck with a small chunk in his talon. I could just barely see Beauty behind him and then he took off.

I don’t know if he gave his prize to Beauty or if he took it with him. Beauty ended up out by cam 4 and then went back into the nest box.

Beauty left a few minutes later and returned to the nest box with food.  DC turned up under the southeast wing and minutes later they both took off to the north.

I ended my watch at this time just before 10:00am.

Just some thoughts from what I’ve observed since DC came back from migration. The first week was spent swooping on Beauty either in the air or at the nest box. Last week was spent mating and taking food from downtown to Pigott at BS. The last couple days Beauty and DC have been playing games with food and he has finally bowed to her in the nest box with some echupping. A slow progression compared to what has taken place at BS with Miss Pigott whom we have never seen him swoop. There has been much bowing, echupping and mating since his return with Pigott which is normal Peregrine behavior. And so we continue to learn together as we await the arrival of eggs. Keep smiling! 🙂

Click the links below to view videos from my watch

http://youtu.be/xyJSkNO4omc
http://youtu.be/g26-UOnsVs4
http://youtu.be/gB9twsKPn38
http://youtu.be/tu41JVeK61U

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What a beautiful Easter Weekend it was, shared with many of my watcher friends, seeing all kinds of falcon activities.  I thought it might be nicer to just post a bunch of pictures from this weekend, so that you can see what we were seeing.  Enjoy!  Happy Easter!

Just place your cursor over the picture to read what it is and click on it if you would like to see it in a larger format.

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I want to thank all my watcher friends that were out and about this Easter Weekend.  Thankfully it was a very quiet and peaceful one.

Hope you all enjoyed these pictures showing what we saw this weekend.  Goodnight Everyone!!!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Happy Easter to all of the Rochester Peregrine Falcon fans around the world!

I started my watch at 6:35am with a temperature of 38 (F) 3(C) calm conditions under overcast skies. As I passed thru to the east side I saw no falcons from the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) and Beauty wasn’t on HSBC for the second day in a row. Guess I better to get up earlier! As I got back to the BSB, Annette(one of our cam watchers) reported Beauty near the nest box. Thank you Annette! 10 minutes later Beauty flew out the nest box to the money bag hand of Mercury.

She didn’t stay for long tho as Dot.Ca(DC) came cruising in from the south a few minutes later landing under the northeast wing. Beauty flew instantly to the nest box and began to echup very loudly so I could hear down in the hole by He’s Chinese Restaurant.

All was quiet for the next 25 minutes and then DC was off and flying. First he went to the the money bag on Mercury then to the west side railing of Widows Walk a minute later. Beauty then flew to the money bag followed by DC and they mated and both went to the nest box when finished.

They weren’t at the nest box for long as DC shot out of there and flew to Mercury. Beauty flew over landing on the base of Mercury and then DC dropped down with her. She started eating as he watched and tried to look like he wasn’t interested but we and Beauty know better. He has been taking cached food over to Pigott and I believe Beauty finally had enough for she left the base with her precious prey item and proceeded to take it with her everywhere she went. It was like she was luring him with it.

Beauty flew to the southwest corner of Wilder where DC joined her. She took off to the nest box with it and left after a second or two when DC flew to the southeast column across from the nest box and up one level. Beauty flew to a northwest column on the back of the TSB and DC joined her there in close proximity to each other.

Beauty flew off to Widows Walk(WW) which is right back behind the TSB and DC followed. Still with the prey under her they mated on the northeast corner of WW. He flew up to the railing on the west side and then over to the money bag. She left, tidbit in talon and landed on the southwest corner of the Wilder building before flying off to the east.

DC chased after her across the river and they did some fancy flying over Chase, Xerox,Midtown and Bausch&Lomb. She settled on the northeast corner for a bit while DC circled around a few times. I joined Larry on the BSB to see all of that and within a minute or so they came back and mated on the Mercury money bag. Beauty STILL  had that small package in her talon as they almost slipped off Mercury trying to balance. What a performance by these two this morning-had me grinning from ear to ear! The Beautyful one flew to the nest box at a little after 8:ooam DC also went up by the main cam quick then back to Mercury coming to rest on the heel this time. Beauty flew over too landing on the money bag.

Be sure to click on pics to view the full version

Beauty flew down to the base of Mercury and started nibbling again while DC tried in vane to not watch. Larry left at this time happy for the entertainment which had been displayed by our downtown pair. After 10 minutes Beauty flew to the nest box and DC first flew to WW then to the base of Mercury where he munched on a teeny tiny morsel of food that Beauty left and then he jumped up onto the green part of the base facing south toward Brighton.

DC left when I wasn’t watching and the fact that I didn’t see him anywhere plus Beauty flying over to the money bag looking south led me to believe he had gone to BS (the Brighton Site). Carol joined me on the BSB and we chatted for a few minutes then I told her I was going to check BS.

I arrived there just before the 9 o’clock hour finding Pigott on the northwest corner of the west extension.This is between the broken window scrape on the north side of the east extension and the cubby which on  the southside of the building opposite the east extension.

She was not alone for when I drove around to check the rest of the building for DC I found him on the southeast corner above the roof top tree. He flew off  almost immediately to the east at a fast rate until I couldn’t see him any more. I was too late for the show at BS for he didn’t come back-instead he returned to downtown and so did I. Carol was still on the BSB as Beauty flew to the nest box and DC to the southeast column opposite the nest box one level up. Things stayed this way for the next half hour and then DC flew to Mercury. I ended my watch at 10:15am after a smiling good time spent observing falcon games! 🙂

Click the links below for more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrbFA

http://youtu.be/izFWIssBNlw
http://youtu.be/IDeRnnrhEkc
http://youtu.be/b7mtIj1dpUA
http://youtu.be/ulQQTKu1Qus

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I was expecting warmer temps this morning but instead it was colder than yesterday at 30 (F) -1(C) but that’s because it was clear with no clouds to hold the heat in thus allowing cold air to settle. Clear is good for it means sunshine and blue skies!

I was downtown by 6:25am and still it wasn’t early enough for when I checked HSBC where I have found Beauty every morning for a while now she has been there. Not today-that’s because Dot.Ca (DC) came a calling much earlier. When I got back to the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) he was on the money bag of Mercury and Beauty was in the nest box.

DC stooped down into the river and returned without prey to Mercury. He then went over to the northeast wing after circling in front of the Times Square building(TSB) a couple times. He took off again and next I spotted him at the back of the northeast wing ledge with food. He started plucking feathers and Beauty must have seen them floating by the nest box cuz she flew over to Mercury and started watching him.

Click the pics to see the full version

In the next half hour Beauty preened while DC ate and at some point he snuck off without me seeing him and Beauty flew to the northeast wing.

I had high hopes that he had left some of what he was eating for her but when she just perched I knew the little devil had either eaten it all or taken it to Pigott. With that in mind I went to the Brighton Site(BS) and sure enough DC was there perched on the southeast corner above the roof top tree and Pigott was on the southwest corner of the east extension and she looked to have a slightly filled crop.

<DC Pigott>

Around 8:15am Pigott and DC flew off to the north(front) side of the building and when I got to that side I saw her go into the broken window scrape echupping and DC land on the ledge outside. DC took off and Miss Pigott came out a minute later.

DC

I drove around the back of the building in time to see them finish copulating on the southeast corner. She remained whining while DC went to the northeast corner of the east extension.They both flew off and I lost track of them for a bit-as I came around by the northwest side I spotted Pigott fly out of the scrape and I followed her to the west end of the south side vent.

It had been 10 minutes since I last saw DC so I went downtown. Arriving at 9:00am I found Beauty at the nest box and DC on the Mercury money bag.

10 minutes later DC flew down to the base of Mercury and took off with a small package to the northeast wing of TSB.

He quickly flew off with his little treasure circled around the back of the TSB and went southwest toward BS. Beauty flew over to the money bag of Mercury and I headed back to BS. When I got there Pigott and DC mated on the southeast corner again.

After they finished they went to the cubby on the west side, I only knew this because as I rounded the building over there I could here very loud echupping-no visual. DC came out of the cubby minutes later and landed up on the west extension roof.

Pigott joined him soon after and they were very vocal up there. I didn’t see DC leave but Pigott came out to the edge and walked to the corner with a small item of food.

She just stood there for a minute turned around a couple times with it hanging from her beak and then she flew off with her small morsel in her left talon. When I made my way around to the north side of the  building Pigott was on the broken window scrape ledge. She flew off still with that piece of prey in her talon. Next I found DC on the southeast corner above the roof  tree and Pigott on the southeast corner of the east extension. I was getting dizzy chasing them around that building-there certainly wasn’t a dull moment! Now I’ve seen Peregrines dive on hawks,ducks,geese,crows and more in the air but today was a first when Miss Pigott dive bombed a wild turkey on the ground! It was a slow steady stoop not once but twice and each time that turkey had plenty to say about it!!

<DC Pigott>

After that Pigott and DC went to the cubby on the west side. I could hear soft chup sounds coming from there and then DC flew out to the east and returned to the cubby and then there was very loud echupping. After a few minutes of that session DC flew back around to the southeast corner on the other side of the building and Pigott came out to the southwest corner of the west extension-she was whining. About 10 minutes later they were in the broken window scrape echupping briefly then they each left. Pigott flew to the east side extension and perched on the northeast corner.

It was 10:15am and there was no sign of DC so I tweeted that he may be headed downtown where Dana,Kathy and Dan were on watch from the BSB. Sure enough less than a minute later Dana tweeted that Beauty went to the nest box as DC  arrived and went to the northeast wing. Beauty and DC copulated on the Mercury money bag right after I made it back downtown to join my fellow watcher friends on the BSB. The last I saw of Beauty and DC they were flying with each other downriver to the north. Kathy and I were about to leave when CarolP came along so we stayed a bit longer to chat and I ended my watch around 11:15am. All I can say is our 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons cannot be followed on foot and sometimes by car, for they are much too active these days between the 2 sights. I’m happy to do it for they keep me smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrarg

http://youtu.be/cVjZQ7xhZS0
http://youtu.be/SPu1IkYbrr8
http://youtu.be/qHMnLi10YtI
http://youtu.be/fFHIWqwslC0
http://youtu.be/TD5ko-nwZT8
http://youtu.be/QIMw6n_SYck
http://youtu.be/ItetcVHCBGg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I was able to get out this afternoon and saw all three Rochester Falcons.

Pigott & Dot.ca at the BS location.

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Pigott was ee-chupping and Dot.ca was flying around.  She ended up taking off and flying to the cubby on the west side.  When I drove over to that side, it was quiet and I could not find either of them.  Well, at least I saw both together for a short time.

The first time I checked out the downtown area, I could find no falcons at all.  So it was time to go back and find a falcon.

After parking on the Broad St Bridge (BSB), I found a falcon up on the TSB on the SE wing ledge.  I am pretty sure it was Dot.ca.  Where was Beauty?  Fellow watcher Pat joined me for a few moments before heading home.

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Dot.ca took off and soon returned.  This time he landed on the Mercury statue and finally Beauty made an appearance going to the nest box.

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Dot.ca took off and flew around the TSB, before landing on the SE wing ledge. From there, he stooped down towards the river, past the OCSR, then back to the SE wing.  He took off again and repeated the same flight path, except this time, Beauty was hot on his tail.  I saw Dot.ca swoop up and over the top of the apartments on the corner of St. Paul and Andrews St.  While he made short stoops at something on top of the apartments, Beauty flew high above watching him.  I tried to keep an eye on them to see where they went, but someone at that moment stopped me and asked me if the birds were back.  I stopped watching B&DC and spoke with my visitor who was very interested in what was going on with the falcons.  After he left, I was not able to find either Beauty or Dot.ca.

Joyce joined me on the Broad St Bridge and Kathy O tweeted from the BS location that Pigott was there and that Dot.ca had been there for a short time and that he headed NW, which was towards the downtown area.  We never did see him return.  Kathy joined us.

For the next 1/2 hour, Beauty and Dot.ca did not return.  I had to leave, so I headed home, stopping at KP on the way home.  No falcons there.  While I was at KP, Kathy O tweeted that Beauty had returned to the nest box and Joyce tweeted that Pigott was at the BS location.

Later in the afternoon, Larry O reported both Beauty and Dot.ca at the Times Square Bldg.

So all three Rochester Falcons were seen today, which made it a very nice day!  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

One year ago today on Good Friday we lost Unity when she was run over by a car on Broad St. by the Central Library. I’d like to dedicate todays watch report to her memory.

This morning I started my watch under overcast conditions with a temperature of 36 (F)  2 (C) finding Beauty at 6:30am. She was on her early morning hunting spot -the southeast corner of HSBC.

She dropped off 2 times to stoop on pigeons only to return empty taloned. The third time she flew off she didn’t come back so I took off for the Broad St. Bridge (BSB). As I came up on the bridge Dan was just pulling up and Beauty was on the base of Mercury.

She had prey with her but after a few bites of it she stopped and started looking at the Times Square building (TSB). I had gone to the hole (Aqueduct St. ) to see the front of her to make sure it was her and not Dot.Ca (DC). I took her cue when she looked toward TSB and turned around to see DC had joined us and was under the southeast wing at 7:00am. Beauty took off for the nest box leaving her food behind. 20 minutes later Beauty returned to the base of Mercury and DC then took her cue and flew over to mate. She was ready with tail up, but he went in at the wrong angle and had to abort at the last second.

DC went to the northeast wing and Beauty started eating breakfast. I went up on the bridge to join Dan while there was a lull in the action-he was very cold and planned to go soon.

10 minutes later when Beauty had her fill, she and DC flew to the north out of view so I walked down by the Blue Cross Arena to see Beauty and DC mate on the Wilder building southwest corner. Beauty went over to the nest box deck and DC went to the money bag of Mercury when they were done.

I can’t always see everything because some places are good to view them on certain spots and up on the bridge isn’t the best place to be these days to keep track. When I was up there with Dan I had trouble keeping track so when he left I went back and forth between the hole and in front of  the main entrance to the Blue Cross Arena on Exchange St. All the flying around downtown last week has been replaced by staying close to the TSB and their nest box this week. Different strategies for viewing are required now and much back and forth maneuvering because of the way the buildings are situated.

That being said, I missed a food gift at the nest box from Beauty (which is backwards but oh well whatever works), and I also missed that same very dark feathered bird get cached under the southeast wing of the TSB somewhere around this time. I also heard echupping at the nest box so I imagine that’s when the food was brought over. What I did see was the last bit of Beauty and DC mating on the southwest corner of the Wilder building again then DC went to the Mercury money bag.

After saying good bye to Dan I found Beauty on the northeast column above the nest box and DC at the southeast wing. She was watching him as he had gone to the back of the wing and grabbed the cached bird.

A few minutes passed then  Beauty went up and landed next to DC which prompted him to fly off then she started eating the black feathered prey.  I found DC under the northwest wing eating something over there-so we had bookend falcons.

They finished up and Beauty went to the nest box while DC flew over to the northeast wing. Around 8:30am Beauty flew to the base of Mercury followed by DC where they mated. He then went to the northeast wing.

A minute later Beauty went to the deck by the main cam.

I could see her look up at him every once in a while and after a lull in the action I left to check on Pigott at the Brighton location around 9:15am. She was nowhere to be found so I returned to downtown after 15 minutes time. When I arrived Beauty was at the nest box and DC was on the base of Mercury. I ended my watch  a little before the 10 o’clock hour with a smile on my face thinking that there will soon be eggs. 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrajA

http://youtu.be/4A5VLs99a9o
http://youtu.be/Fe3t8-JYekA
http://youtu.be/Y-_BHK2QjAs
http://youtu.be/vF3mup-aVi0
http://youtu.be/GcfEYqoDbbA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another short falcon watch after a very long day at work.  I arrived downtown at about 3:45 pm.  While I was parking on the Broad St Bridge (BSB), Beauty flew off of the base of the Mercury statue and chased the pigeons off of the Blue Cross Arena aka the War Memorial.    She chased them south, down the river, then turned back towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  I pulled up closer to the TSB and saw two peregrines there.  Dot.ca was on the SE wing ledge (base of the SE wing at the top of the building) and Beauty had landed on the ledge below him, also on the SE side.  For the hour and 1/2 that I was watching, I saw no more flying.  They did preen and stretch and do all the other stuff peregrines do when relaxed.

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I was more than happy to sit and watch them sit.  No aggression between these two.

During my watch, fellow watcher Pat joined me for a short while before heading home.

At 5:15 pm, I had to head home, leaving both Beauty and Dot.ca on the Times Square Bldg.  On my way home, I received a message from watcher Debbie H.  She just wanted to let me know that her friend saw Beauty & Dot.ca copulating at 2:15 pm.  Not sure where.

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At 6:15 pm, watcher Kathy O reported from the BS location – ” BS falcon report – one pefa on south vent and 4 deer in field.”

More than likely it was Pigott at the BS location.  So all three Rochester peregrines were seen this afternoon, making it a very good day.

Finally, I love the architecture of downtown Rochester, including the beautiful Mercury statue and the gorgeous art deco Times Square Bldg.  In my opinion, the most beautiful building in Rochester is the Powers Bldg.  I have always said it would make a great spot to film a Ghost Busters movie.  Here is a picture I took near the TSB.  Can anyone guess where this was taken?

Be sure to click on this pic to see the whole picture.

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When I arrived home, I was greeted by my yard squirrel.  She is always there when I pull into my driveway.  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

My watch started at 6:33am under darkness,clouds and a temperature of 33 (F) 1 (C). The wind was calm with a little light snow falling when I found Beauty at her early morning hunting spot-the southeast corner of HSBC.

Shortly after I arrived Beauty stooped down the south side of the building and returned empty taloned. 15 minutes went by when she flew off to her nest box at the Times Square building (TSB). I could barely see her up there from the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) in the predawn light. It took her longer than usual to fly over and I found out why when Ei let me know Beauty had food with her. Thanks Ei! So Beauty either caught something or grabbed cached food from somewhere on her way from HSBC to TSB. A couple minutes later I spotted Dot.Ca under the southeast wing looking down at the nest box. Suddenly Beauty flew out the nest box and DC flew after her behind the Thomson Reuters building (TR) out of my view from my spot on the bridge. I drove immediately down to the hole (Aqueduct St.) and caught the very end of Beauty and DC copulating on the southwest corner of the Wilder building.

DC flew to the railing of the Widows Walk east side while Beauty remained on Wilder. After a few minutes Beauty flew to the base of Mercury and DC went right over and mated with her, and flew up to the money bag when they were done.

Click pics for full version

10 minutes later Beauty first followed by DC flew off and returned to the base and moneybag and very quickly left again. I could here mating sounds but I could get no visual from being surrounded by buildings which is why I call it the hole. I managed to catch a glimpse of one of them on the southeast column before it flew off up Broad St. to the west.

<Beauty leaving Mercury base

I couldn’t find either falcon for 20 minutes so I went to the Brighton Site (BS) to see if DC had gone over there. Pigott was by herself perched on the south side of the east extension whining and  looking north toward downtown.

I left her to go back downtown 10 minutes later after LarryO stopped on his way to work. As I was stopped at the traffic light at Exchange and Court St. I saw DC fly to the northeast wing and Beauty to the nest box. I believe he had food with him that he cached in by the wing. Beauty flew up there and DC flew off as she walked to the back of the wing and brought a small package out to eat.

<DC  Beauty>

When the Beautyful one was done she flew to the southeast wing and faced southwest toward BS. That was my signal to get back over there to see if DC was there with Pigott. As I pulled up near the broken window scrape in the corner of the East extension top row I heard very loud echupping. I pulled over and turned on the camcorder-it was 9:00am. You could see both were up there as there was movement behind the glass and then DC shot out and flew off. I waited for Pigott to come out and then she flew off.

While they were in the scrape the geese were around the corner making a racket on their nesting lower roof on the south side of the building and across from me below the scrape on the ground was a male wild turkey courting about 6 females. Talk about love in the air!

After a couple rides around the building I found Pigott on the southwest corner whining and DC way up on one of the antennas atop the gray unit on the rooftop. I could only see him from the front of the building and he took off as soon as I spotted him, so around to the west side I went stopping by the cubby, which is on the southwest side.  I heard echupping coming from the cubby so I waited for them to come out. DC shot out in his usual manner-like a torpedo flying to the northwest corner followed by Pigott who flew to the southwest corner of the east extension. He soon flew over to her and they mated.

DC left and Pigott went to the northeast corner and looked north toward downtown. So at just before the 10 o’clock hour I went back downtown. On the way Donna (thanks) let me know Beauty was at the nest box making lots of noise meaning daddy was home. When I arrived  Beauty was on the southwest corner of  Wilder and DC under the northeast wing of the TSB. He flew to her and they copulated approximately 10 minutes after being with Pigott.

I have to wonder if he can produce semen fast enough for all this breeding to be successful. I guess we’ll find out soon enough as we are all learning together. Beauty flew off a minute later and then I spotted both of them on Widows Walk-he was on the south side of the railing and Beauty below on the southeast corner. They flew off -Beauty going to the southeast column and DC right above her on the southeast wing of TSB.

Beauty

20 minutes later they flew off circled the Widows Walk,then DC flew up under the northeast wing  and Beauty flew to the base of Mercury.

DC switched to the southeast wing while Beauty watched him from the base of Mercury. This is where I ended my watch leaving them under the care of the Rochester Mounted Police as I spotted them while waiting at the traffic light by Times Square to go home.

Well isn’t that worth smiling about! 🙂

Click the links below to view more pics and videos from my active watch this morning

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWraYg

http://youtu.be/gbftwfsMIIo
http://youtu.be/Emb63sp_ci4
http://youtu.be/UB1H_2urHSY
http://youtu.be/ScZ_0RKEmtI
http://youtu.be/1oZYW6r05sg
http://youtu.be/SE0i0JCKVc0