By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 19 degrees (F)  -7 (C) when I left for my watch this morning with no precipitation but plenty of cold biting wind making the wind chill near 0 (F) -18 (C). This would play a big factor in my ability to take clear pics today-not only making the camera very cold and not focusing well but making me shake from the cold. I’m very disappointed I don’t have more pics for you. I spent a lot of the watch just  watching with my binocs, without my camera even in my hands.

I got an earlier than usual start today because of the events from last nite with the male that visited Beauty at the nest box. I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) at 6:40am and after a look around as well as I could in the dark i went over to the east side. I found Beauty in the same spot that I left her last nite on the southeast corner of HSBC.

She stayed up there for the next 15 minutes then stooped down the south side where I couldn’t see her due to my vantage point on Broad St. (I mistakenly tweeted the east side). I drove down to the BSB and after a few minutes I saw Beauty flying with a male(smaller) falcon on the west side between the jail and Times Square building(TSB). Suddenly they got together and touched talons then flew across the river to my south going east and I lost them when they went behind Xerox. When they resurfaced the male swooped on Beauty twice above Xerox. Then they were off to the races flying very fast back and forth across the river,up and down the east and west sides of the city-basically covering every corner of the city skyline. Things changed at this point-now Beauty was dive bombing the male giving just as good as she got. This is different than last year when Dot.Ca was after her-she didn’t retaliate then she just dodged his advances. The male was  more the aggressor for sure and the swooping and dive bombing turned into full blown stoops. At 7:30am Beauty flew to the jail tower and the male flew north out of sight.

About 10 minutes later I spotted the male near OCSR and while I was watching him Beauty left the jail tower and then i couldn’t see either one as my eyes kept tearing up from the cold. 10 minutes later I spotted one flying south of Xerox. The sun was faint behind a cloudy sky but still bright enough to give problems seeing and taking pics. A couple minutes later I had Beauty on the jail tower and the male went to the northwest corner of the Chase tower.

These are the only pics I got of the male that were clear enough to post.

I had gone up to the roof of the South Ave. garage to get closer to him and could see that he had a full crop and the front of him looked a bit dark to me not real bright white. I thought after all that flying that they would rest for a bit but 5 minutes later the male took off to the west above the river where Beauty met up with him and then they went to the west side where I lost them behind the jail. 5 minutes later the male returned to Chase for a moment then flew east behind it where I lost him. Couldn’t find Beauty either at this time. Less than 10 minutes later they appeared over Xerox and now the intensity had picked up with the speed and aggression toward each other. They stooped and dived on each other from one end of the river to the other before vanishing to the southeast. I next saw them near OCSR as they made their way farther away from me and then what I’m calling the super stoop occurred. They were high above the Federal building on Andrews St. when first Beauty followed by the male went into a supersonic stoop down toward the gorge at high falls neither one coming back up into view. Around 8:30am Beauty touched down on the southwest corner of Bausch&Lomb(B&L) then flew around Xerox a couple times and ended up landing on the west side upper roof dead center of B&L.

She seemed relaxed as she did some preening and watching over her territory. 10 minutes later she flew over to the northwest corner and started eating cached food.

After she was finished Bea uty went back to the middle of that upper roof  again. I left Beauty half hour later at 10:00am to go over to the Brighton Site(BS) as KathyO was there and wasn’t sure if  she had Pigott on a southwest window ledge.  I was able to confirm that it was indeed Miss Pigott as she did some preening.

I stayed 10 minutes and left to get back downtown. Beauty was gone from B&L so I went searching and as I made my way back  from the east side I spotted her on the top ibeam northeast side of  OCSR from the Andrews St. bridge. I went to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel for closer viewing.

She watched the male as he passed above her  and then she was off fast flying north real low like treetop low.

KathyO had made her way downtown from BS so I went north as well to check  the Lake Tower and Kodak Park sites. Nothing was seen at either site and as I was on my way back to downtown Kathy texted that she had 2. When I arrived on the BSB Barbara was there with her and we watched the Beautyful one take off from the jail tower and the male fly off the southeast corner of Chase and start to do battle again over the river.

They made their way down river flying above and around OCSR making their way to the west side and eventually Kodak Office only to vanish in the white sky. Kathy left for the South Ave. garage and then Pat came by for a few minutes. She and Barbara left and I joined Kathy. Beauty was on the northwest corner of Chase when I got up there. At 1:00pm Beauty flew north fast and then we saw 3 near the K-tower. Beauty was being swooped on by 1 and the other just hung back not getting involved. We lost them behind OCSR and for the next 2 hours it was falconless for us.

Kathy drove over to the Andrews St. bridge to check the north side of OCSR as I remained on the garage roof. Kathy ended up finding a falcon on the northwest corner of Chase and I confirmed that it was Beauty. Joyce saw her too from wherever she was watching. Kathy rejoined me on the garage and at 3:06pm Beauty left Chase flying north.  5 minutes later we could see 2 falcons flying near OCSR and 5 minutes later there were 3 flying between the jail and Times Square building. They made their way over the river near OCSR. It looked to us like Beauty and 2 smaller falcons with one of them stooping on her as they came over by us. All 3 went behind the Hyatt where we lost them. That would be where I ended my watch as I had an appointment.

My watch was 9 hours long but honestly with all the action the time flew by.  A lot of the time I was frozen just watching what was taking place before me and not even thinking about using my camera. I have to say that even though it was a stressful day of seeing our Beauty do battle she made me smile as she survived the onslaught unscathed and still in control of her territory! 🙂

I have a few videos from the day of which I have provided the links for below

http://youtu.be/3gRhMJrmoUA
http://youtu.be/UkcZ01rKHBM
http://youtu.be/5c_aQygW5JM
http://youtu.be/zlRnahZSfy8
http://youtu.be/HOEg9DWinvg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My watch started at 11:30 am at KP where it was snowing like crazy this St. Patrick’s Day morning.  Thankfully it didn’t last too long.  Soon the sun was shining, but it was very cold with temps in the 30’s (F).  The only raptor at KP was a Red-tailed Hawk deep within the nearby wooded area.

On my way downtown, I checked the LT location and found no falcons there.

When I arrived downtown, I found both Beauty and UT on the Wilder Bldg, which is just NE of the Times Square Bldg.

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UT took off flying to the SW.  He circled back and I finally noticed him over on the disk or dish on top of the Telesca Bldg across the street from the Wilder Bldg.

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Beauty flew off once and returned to the green strip at the top of the Wilder Bldg.  UT, as usual, flew back and forth quite a bit, but usually stayed nearby.

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When UT flew to the nest box, I decided to go check the BS location.  After circling the building slowly a couple times, I could not find any falcons.  I headed back downtown and joined Dana & Lou who had arrived while I was gone.

Beauty and UT were back  on the Wilder Bldg when I returned.  At one point, a small flock of starlings, about 6 or 7, flew in and landed on the fire escape below Beauty.  UT flew down from the roof and landed on the east end of the fire escape.  The starling remained on the west end, while UT watched them, head turning this way and that.  He never made an attempt to go after them, he just watched them.

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At approximately 3:00 pm, first UT took off, flying over the river heading NW.  Then Beauty took off 5 mins later, flying low, heading north down State St.  Larry O arrived and he, Dana, Lou and I looked for Beauty and UT, but had no luck finding either of them.  At 3:20 pm, I had to end my watch.  But, that wouldn’t be the end of it.

At 5:22 pm, Donna posts a picture from the nest box on the forum.  It shows two Peregrines there, both banded.  Everyone’s first thought is that Dot.ca has returned.  Here is the picture captured by the RFalconcam Main Camera at the nest box.

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I arrived downtown a little before 7:00 pm.  All was quiet from the Broad St Bridge.  So I drove over to the Andrews St Bridge and from there I spotted a peregrine falcon flying high above the Hyatt.  That’s where I headed.  On my way, I spotted a falcon on the SE corner of the B&L Bldg.  A tweet came through and MAK had also spotted the falcon.  She thought it was Beauty, but couldn’t be 100% sure due to the bright sunlight.

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MAK & I met on the Broad St Bridge.  As we were talking, I spotted two falcons flying towards the jail communication tower.  One landed and one continued to fly, heading south.  MAK decided to go check out the falcon that had landed and I followed the flight of the smaller falcon.  This falcon headed south.  It was time to head over to the BS location.  I tweeted it out that I was headed over there and MAK tweeted that it was Beauty on the jail communication tower.

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At BS, the first thing I saw was a large herd of deer on the south side, about 8 of them.  They were chomping on the grass in the field behind the building.

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I continued circling the building and found a peregrine up on the metal structure at the top of the building on the south side.

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The whole time I was there, the falcon had its’ back to me, facing north.  A couple times it stretched and I could catch a glimpse of bands.  Was this Pigott, which I tend to believe it was, or the banded tiercel that had visited the nest box with Beauty?  Was the tiercel Dot.ca, returned from his migration?  The timing would be right.  Where was UT, the unbanded tiercel that had been with Beauty this afternoon?  So many questions that will hopefully be answered over the coming days.

I returned downtown and found MAK in the parking lot next to the Wilder Bldg.  Beauty was up at the base of the SE wing on the Times Square Bldg.  She seemed restless.  Beauty took off and MAK and I followed.  We found her on the SE corner of the HSBC bldg.  I headed home at about 7:45 pm and MAK stayed with Beauty until about 8:00 pm, reporting that she had remained on the SE corner of HSBC with the moon above her.

Tomorrow is another day and I am certain that the Rochester Falcon Watchers will be out and about checking things out and reporting what they see.

Hope everyone enjoyed their St. Patrick Day celebrations.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

When I left for my watch it was 24 (F) -4 (C) dark with no wind to speak of. There had been a dusting of snow overnite.

After checking around from the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) and finding no falcons I drove to the east side where I found Beauty on the southeast corner of HSBC.

I spent 25 minutes with the Beautyful one as she looked for a meal to fly by. She took off flying north and I followed her lead as it started snowing.  20 minutes later from the BSB I found Beauty on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR.

I drove down to the hole for closer viewing. I thought it strange I hadn’t found UT so I texted Donna to see if he had been to the nest box at all and she confirmed that he had indeed been there at 7:23am. Thank you for your help! I decided to go check on Pigott and come back to look for UT when I was done in Brighton(BS). I arrived at BS around 8:45am finding Pigott on the west end of the south vent.

There were Canadian geese on the ground and on 3 different lower roofs on the building and they all had a lot to say about something. They were quite loud as the sound echoes in the back of the building  and Miss Pigott was keeping an eye on them. They finally left us in peace when Pigott flew off the vent-most likely scaring them. She returned to the vent and I left her a few minutes later for downtown.

I was very happy to see UT  up at the nest box when I arrived on the BSB but I didn’t see Beauty around the area. Our new little tiercel was napping on and off as I watched him for a few minutes before ending my watch at  9:30am. Happy St. Patricks Day and keep smiling everyone! 🙂

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

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrYrA

http://youtu.be/skKOe1y9e94
http://youtu.be/StUQ7mp4p9g
http://youtu.be/IMxbQnLIdSY
http://youtu.be/p_DCSXRrKeQ
http://youtu.be/lJUNR_FnvIs
http://youtu.be/qwWDRiMktKU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Due to all the activity downtown (Rochester, NY), I was unable to watch Beauty and her unbanded tiercel, UT.  So, I spent the day with Pigott at the BS location.  During the time I was on watch at BS, Brian H was able to walk around the downtown area and reported the following:

1:10 pm – “1 Pefa eating at base of mercury, I started seeing feathers so I followed them, the other landed on sw top I beam OCSR.  UT now going around mercury. B eating up there.”

Later in the day, Larry O reported seeing both Beauty and UT between 7:00 and 7:30 pm.

7:00 pm  – “One Falcon on the base of mercury.  And the second Falcon is on the top I beam south corner of OCSR.”

7:20 pm – “UT just went to the nest box. B is still on Mercury.”

7:30 pm – “UT flew to the elevator shaft. B is still on the Mercury statue.”

The first 1/2 of my watch at the BS location was shared with fellow Falcon Watcher Dana.  When I first arrived, Pigott was on the south side of the building on the west end of the vent.  She remained there for quite awhile stretching and preening.

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It snowed quite heavily through much of my watch and it was very cold.  Thankfully spring will be here soon.  🙂

Pigott took off and flew to the front (north side) of the building, landing on the NW corner.    She took off again, this time for parts unknown.  We circled the building looking for her.  Then Dana yelled out, “Here she comes.”  Pigott was flying high over us and heading straight for the building.  She flipped around the west end of the building.  Dana had to leave, so I drove back around to the back of the building and found her, again, on the south side vent.

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Pigott remained on the vent for the rest of my watch.

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There wasn’t much activity, but I was happy to spend a few hours observing Pigott on territory.  Tomorrow I hope to get downtown to do some watching.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures I took during my watch today.  Enjoy and Goodnight!

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While checking out KP.  At first I thought they were a flock of starlings.  Image my surprise when they all took off, red & yellow “shoulder” patches blazing.  Then the unmistakable shrill trill of a flock of approximately 25 Red-winged Blackbirds.  Awesome!  A true sign of spring!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another overcast dark morning here in Rochester with a temperature of 24 (F) -4 (C) when I left for my watch. During my watch it snowed very,very lightly at times.

I managed to get downtown before 7am this morning and UT was at the nest box when I arrived as told to me by Donna as it was too dark out to see. She asked me what he was whining about and I had to say I don’t know. She said he was up on the nest box roof but I couldn’t see him as he was directly behind cam 4 and blended in well in the dark. And the street lights kept getting in my eyes-kinda like the excuse the sun was in my eyes!! lol! By the time I saw him it was 7:10am already so left to look for Beauty. I found her on the east side-she was on the southeast corner of HSBC looking for breakfast as this is one of her favorite hunting spots. Thanks Donna!

Beauty took off 10 minutes later flying southeast so I went back to the Broad St. Bridge to see if UT was still near the nest box.

I found Beauty on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR as she fooled me flying off in the complete opposite direction of where she now was! UT was up on deck near the nest box on the Times Square building.

I was in the hole (Aqueduct St.) watching when UT took off whining above me then flying past Beauty,circling above OCSR eventually landing on the south corner of the roof.

Make sure to click on the pics for a full version

The 3 of us would remain in our chosen spots until 8:30am when they both left the building and flew to the nest box. I only saw 1 of them fly up to it but one of our trusty cam watchers Shaky let me know that both Peregrines were up there. Thank you Shakymon!! Downtown was starting to get busy with preparations for the St. Patricks Day parade and a race called “Johnnys Runnin’ for the Green” so I beat feet out of there and went to the Brighton site. I found Pigott at home on the southwest corner of the west extension.

For the next 5 minutes Miss Pigott would keep watch on her territory and then fly off up to the gray structure that sits atop the building.

She stayed there all of 20 seconds then flew down to the west end of the south side vent.

She would do a lot of picking at her talons and scratching-with a full crop I might add. Must be her meal was messy and finger lickin’ good!!

I left for 10 minutes to run an errand and when I came back Dana was visiting with Pigott who was still on the south vent. I chatted with her for a few minutes and ended my watch at 10:00am. I was happy to see all 3 current Rochester Peregrine Falcons this morning and as always went home with a smile on my face! 🙂

I have provided links for your viewing pleasure below-all you need do is click and view my pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrYjg

http://youtu.be/h9PSmKOqS_s
http://youtu.be/PBGfsPPOZkk
http://youtu.be/1sNEGbYcE6Q

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Had to cut my watch short today, so I was only out from 3:45 to 5:30 pm.  During that time I saw all three current Rochester Falcons, so it was a good watch.

From the Broad St Bridge, I saw both Beauty and UT (the unbanded tiercel).  Beauty did some flying, but UT was out zooming around over the river, chasing the pigeons there and pretty much causing chaos wherever he went.  At one point, every single pigeon on the Blue Cross Arena aka War Memorial just left.  He is definitely display flying for Beauty, strengthening their bond.  I did not see any copulations, but it was reported that they did copulate on the Mercury statue about an hour before I got there.  Thanks Joyce for letting me know about that.  Also, Donna was a great help in identifying who was in the nest box at one point.  It was UT.

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While Beauty and UT were settled and all was quiet, I headed over to the BS location for a quick look.  I found Pigott on a windowsill below the tree ledge on the east end of the building.  She only remained there for about 10 minutes before taking off and heading slowly to the south.  I waited to see if she would return, but she did not.  I was very happy to have seen her.  I haven’t had much luck seeing her on my late afternoon watches lately.

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When I returned downtown, the Broad St Bridge was already filling up with cars.  There were only a few spots left and I took one of them on the north side of the bridge, facing west.  Beauty was at the nest box and UT was on the top IBeam SE side on the OCSR.  I wondered if there was another Rochester Americans (Amerks) game this evening.

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At one point during my watch, both Beauty and UT were on the top IBeam, SE side.  First time I had seen that.  He usually likes to be up on top of the elevator shaft.

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Tomorrow is the St. Patrick’s Day parade Brian H says it starts at 12:30 pm.  It will be really busy downtown, so I plan on getting down there well before the parade starts.  Once it starts, it will be hard getting around.

Enjoy the weekend everyone and Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I was happy to see it was clear when I started my watch with sun for a little while and a temperature of 21 (F) -6 (C). It started to snow just before 8am.

It took me about 10 minutes to find Beauty on the Bausch & Lomb (B&L) building northeast corner and an added bonus was that she had food up there. Feathers were a flying as she prepared her meal.

I observed her from Broad St. between Xerox and Midtown and decided to go over  by Clinton Square and as I stepped out on the curb I spotted UT on the same roof ledge as Beauty. He was further down watching her but not begging like so many other males have done in the past that visited in the winter.

Click on my pics for the full version

I then decided to go up to the roof of the South Ave. parking garage which would give me the best vantage point. By the time I drove around to go the 8 floors to the top Beauty had flown to another spot on B&L where UT couldn’t see her. She was tucked in opposite Archers corner on the northwest corner and nibbling on something when I first arrived.

I believe she probably cached her food there so UT wouldn’t eat it. After a few minutes UT flew to the corner Beauty had been eating on and Beauty flew around the north side of B&L and landed up on the northeast corner of Xerox. UT was probably looking for scraps.

<UT-Beauty>

At 7:45am they both took off-Beauty went to the nest box and a few minutes later UT landed under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB).

For those of you not familiar with our fair city I have included some labeled pics of the west side of the river in todays photo album taken from the roof of the South Ave. parking garage. I hope they help give a feel for how the buildings are situated.

Around 8am I decided to come down from the garage and park on the Broad St. Bridge(BSB). When I arrived Beauty was still in the nest box and UT had gone to the base of Mercury. He took off so I left as well to check the Brighton site. I found Pigott on a northeast corner and after circling the building I found that she was alone.

While I hung out with Pigott the snow that had been falling picked up and so did the wind. Miss Pigott never moved from her spot and was keeping an eye on her territory when I left her around 9:15am. Upon my return to downtown I found Beauty at the nest box and UT was on the base of Mercury again. From the BSB he had his back to me so I checked out the river to see if it was still raging like yesterday-it was indeed! Then I went to the hole(Aqueduct St.) to watch UT.

Just before the 10 o’clock hour UT flew off and went to the nest box.

I ended my watch with a smile for having seen all 3 of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons safe and sound! 🙂

Click on the links below to view a photo album and a few videos from my watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrYYA

http://youtu.be/wHASd5q6Bh8

http://youtu.be/pKqhxSNgpzE
http://youtu.be/6UI3KpcCMAE
http://youtu.be/gBpdnEe4p5U
http://youtu.be/p8b0dFofY98
http://youtu.be/oUZR1RpZzqY

By Rochester Falcon Watch Carol P.

It was bitter cold and very windy when I started my watch today around 3:45 pm, with temps around 30 degrees (F).  Brrrrr!

My first 2 stops were KP and the LT locations.  No peregrines seen at either location.  Next stop downtown Rochester (NY).

From the Broad St Bridge (BSB), I found a falcon on the SE top IBeam of the OCSR.  It was facing the building, so I was not sure if it was Beauty or UT (the unbanded tiercel/male).  I drove around the downtown area, but was unable to find a 2nd falcon.  Back to the BSB, where the falcon remained on the OCSR.  It was time to go check on the BS location.

I drove around the building at the BS location a few times, but I could not find Pigott or any other Peregrines.  A 1/2 hr later, I was on my way back downtown.  The falcon on OCSR was still there.  Lisa McK joined me on the BSB and Pat walked by on her way home.  Finally, I noticed that there was a peregrine on the base of the Mercury statue.  It was Beauty and she was eating.  I looked over at the falcon on the OCSR.  Well, now I knew it was UT.  He took off and flew up to Beauty.  I thought he was going to join here and attempt to share some of her meal.  At the last second, he veered off and headed east across the river towards the Radisson.

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After finishing her meal, Beauty took off and flew over to the OCSR, landing on the SE top IBeam.

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UT flew in from the east side of the river and past Beauty on the OCSR.  UT put on a really nice flight display for Beauty, continuing to bond with her.  He landed on the river side (east side) of the Thompson Reuters Bldg.

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First UT and then Beauty took off and headed west, towards the Times Square Bldg.  I could see that UT was at the nest box, but I wasn’t sure where Beauty went.  I tweeted, asking the on-line watchers if she was also in the nest box.  Shaky & Joyce immediately came back telling me that only UT was up there.  I drove down onto Aqueduct St (aka the hole) and found Beauty on the east end of the green strip at the top of the Wilder Bldg.

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Well, this was promising.  I had seen many copulations between Beauty and Archer in this exact spot.  I kept looking back and forth between Beauty and UT.  They both seemed settled and I was thinking about calling it a watch.  That’s when UT launched himself from the nest box platform.  He flew directly down to Beauty and before I knew it, I was witness to a successful copulation between them.  There had been many attempts before this that were not successful.  Sorry to say, I did not get any pictures.  But, I did get a short video snippet.  Just click on this Youtube link if you would like to view it.

http://youtu.be/uPvDHlO94_A

Afterwards, UT flew up to the top of the OCSR elevator shaft and Beauty followed and landed on the top SE IBeam.  It was time for me to call it a watch and head home.

Before I end my report, I just wanted to let you all know that Lisa McK reported the following from the BS location at approx 7:30 pm – “Pigott is home for the night.  Tucked in the corner by the east extension on the south side.”

So all three current Rochester falcons were seen by the Watchers this afternoon.

Goodnight everyone!

I’ll leave you with a picture of the flag at the top of the Powers Bldg straight out in the high winds.

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

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Brr, winter is back with a vengeance today! It was 18 cold degrees (F) -8 (C) when I left for my watch with a bitter wind. And it snowed on and off in varying degrees of intensity.

Upon arriving on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) it was a great way to start my day when I spotted UT (unbanded tiercel) on the Thomson Reuters building. He was on a top floor  river side window ledge.

He kept half sleeping as he would close his right eye and keep his left eye on his surroundings.

True to form he didn’t stay long-flying off after 10 minutes going northwest.  UT would double back and go to the nest box. I wasn’t able to locate Beauty in the first hour of my watch but I was told that she had been in the nest box with UT minutes before I arrived downtown for my watch. I left to check the Brighton site (BS) confident that Beauty was ok and just hiding from UT and I. After seeing the unidentified male at BS yesterday with Pigott, I planned to go there earlier than usual. I found Miss Pigott on the west end of the south side vent.

I took a drive around to see if there was any other PEFA but could see none. I spent an hour with Pigott in the snow and wind barely able to see her at times. She preened,napped,pooped and looked over her territory for a meal.

I left for downtown determined to find Beauty at 9:10am. From the BSB I spotted a falcon high above Xerox and followed it as it flew north over the Hyatt before turning west and crossing the river. I lost sight of it when it flew behind the Crossroads building. I drove over that way but didn’t find it so I returned to the BSB finding Beauty on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR.

I drove to Graves St. but there was nowhere to park so I stopped and took a pic, then I went over by the Radisson to observe.

Beauty had her back to me from there so I drove to the hole (Aqueduct St.) to finish up with my watch. The Beautyful one did a little preening and a little napping in the half hour I shared space with her.

I don’t know where UT was but I had seen him earlier so I knew he was ok as I ended my watch at 10:00am.  I wouldn’t be done looking for falcons for the day though. At 1:05pm as I had just started writing my morning watch report I got a text message from KrisG saying that MarkB, who works in the Times Square building had reported a PEFA fight over the river on the livestream chat. I told her I’d go downtown and check on Beauty and UT.

Half hour or so after looking everywhere I spotted UT fly up to the nest box-one down and one to go. Another couple trips around downtown failed to locate Beauty so I went back to the BSB and waited. Thankfully, Beauty came flying in from the east and landed on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. I went to Graves St. for closer viewing and within a couple minutes she turned from showing her back to showing her front as UT came flying in to attempt to mate with her. Nobody has witnessed him giving her a food gift yet(doesn’t mean he hasn’t) but I’m thinking perhaps she isn’t going to mate with him until he can show her that he can provide for a family. Time will tell as we shall have to be patient to see what happens. I saw all 3 current Rochester Peregrine Falcons today which in itself is enough to make me smile, but I was also happy nobody was injured in the battle that occurred earlier! 🙂

Click the links below to view 3 videos from my watch this morning

http://youtu.be/2cHDkT_mF6M
http://youtu.be/ejzUv8wLR24
http://youtu.be/PQ4DDQGuTJw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Watchers out while I was out on watch today: Lisa McK, Barbara & Pat.  Kathy O was out later with Lisa McK at the BS location.

Winter has arrived, again.  This afternoon, the winds geared up and were gusting.  Just north of downtown Rochester, there were ominous, dark clouds.  Some of the largest snow flakes I ever remember seeing were falling from the sky.  I checked the LT location on the way, but saw no falcons.  Oh, and before I forget, I’m pretty sure I saw a peregrine eating on one of the KP buildings this morning.  Of course it took off before I could take a picture.

As I approached Rochester, the dark clouds remained to the north.  The sun was shining by the time I reached the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  I saw a falcon up at the nest box and with the help of Ei and Lisa McK, I knew it was Beauty.  So where was UST.  I searched, but could not find him.

Finally, UT made an appearance, which brought Beauty off of the nest box perch.  She and UT, flew gracefully together over the river between the OCSR and the Radisson.  Beauty landed on the top IBeam, SE side of the OCSR.  UT landed on a window on the west (river) side of the Radisson.  He didn’t stay there long.  Off he went, flying past Beauty’s position and on.  I lost him for a short while before he turned landing at the top of the OCSR elevator shaft.  Their bonding behavior continues.

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It was time to visit the BS location, where I hoped to find Pigott at home.  I knew no falcons were there when a Turkey Vulture (TV), floated over the building and then headed NE unchallenged.  I circled the building three times, checking every nook and cranny with my window open, just in case there was any vocalization.  There was none.  After about 45 mins, It was time to head back downtown.

I again parked on the north side of the BSB facing west, towards the Times Square Bldg.  This gave me a great view of the area.  Beauty remained on the SE top IBeam of the OCSR.  UT buzzed through and went after all the birds flying over the river.  He finally landed between two top windows on the Thompson Reuters Bldg (TR).  I got out of my car to take some pictures, but soon had frozen fingers that made it almost impossible to take pics.  Barbara joined me first and then Lisa McK.  We all ended up watching from inside our cars.  It was really windy and bitter cold.

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UT’s head was in constant motion, watching all the starlings and pigeons flying up and down the river and landing on the building.  Pat walked by while he was on the TR Bldg, before heading home.  He finally took off and ended up back on the top of the OCSR elevator shaft, while Beauty remained on the top IBeam of the OCSR.

It was time for me to head home at 6:30 pm.  Lisa McK was going to head out to the BS location, where she was joined by Kathy O.  Kathy reported that they had Pigott out there on an east side window ledge.  They stayed until 7:30 pm.  Kris G & Bill stopped by the BS location while they were there.

More cold temperatures and a chance of snow tomorrow.  Bundle up and keep warm everyone!  Goodnight!

I’ll leave you with a couple of pics I took while on watch tonight.  Both were taken from the Broad St Bridge.

Click on any pictures you would like to see larger.