By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

I started the first 30 minutes of my watch waiting for Beauty to appear when I decided to take a ride around in search of…  I found the Beautyful one on the HSBC building southeast corner eating prey.

It wasn’t long after, that she flew off to the north(right looking at pic) out around to the other side where I lost sight of her.

I drove back to the Broad St. bridge where I witnessed a crow fly down to and tap 1 of 2 ducks that were flying over the river and then chased them both away from the Rochester Convention Center area. Donna let me know that Beauty and Archer had switched in the nestbox. I then noticed a little white spot over on the OCSR building top ibeam southeast side.

I drove down to Aqueduct St. for a closer look and spotted the little white feather on his right wing…it was Archer and he was plucking feathers and eating something.

He flew off over the river then back between the OCSR and Thomson Reuters buildings out of my view. I thought he went to the nestbox because when I looked in that direction I saw a falcon fly up to and over the nestbox but it looked like Beauty to me judging by size. Meanwhile DebbieH had come by so I was a bit distracted and it was time for me to be getting the truck home for Sue. So when I saw a falcon fly to the base of Mercury and land on the side of it that I couldn’t see I decided to leave before I got a look at who it was for sure. Donna said Archer and Beauty switched at 7:42am so Archer would have been in the nestbox and Beauty the one that flew to Mercury. Phew, sometimes it can be quite challenging to keep track of who’s who and what’s what when they fly behind buildings.   🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Hello everyone! This morning I arrived on a windy Broad St. bridge about 6:15am. Donna reported that Archer was in the nestbox sitting on the eggs since 6:15am so I missed the changing of the guard by seconds!

Approximately 8:00am LarryO and his dog Cleo stopped by for a minute to get the scoop. Practically as soon as they left I spotted Beauty. She was flying above the Times Square and Reuters Thomson buildings when she suddenly flew back over the river and stooped on something by the Rochester Convention Center. I lost sight of her momentarily and next thing I knew she was flying above the Rundell Library with another falcon. Up,up,up high into the dark clouds that were moving in. I lost sight again and when they came out of the clouds they were on the east side flying above the Geva Theater and Washington Square Park area. My next sighting was of Beauty circling above me and flying straight up Broad St. eastbound to Midtown and out of sight. After a few minutes she reappeared flying over the river and landing on the top ibeam south side of the OCSR building.

I drove down to Aqueduct St. for a closer look of Beauty and saw that she was nibbling on something small(cached food I thought to myself) for just a few minutes. I decided to end my watch and of course after I left she and Archer changed off on egg sitting duties. Such is the way of a falcon watcher! 🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

My last report started with me feeling bad for Beauty watching and waiting for Archer from the Frontier Communications Tower. This morning I find myself feeling the same way for Lady Pefa at Kodak Park. When I first spotted her she was on the tall still railing facing and looking toward downtown.

Archer had undoubtedly just left her for I had come to KP looking for him as he was not anywhere downtown that I could see. I had arrived on the Broad St. bridge about 6:15am and after an hour of seeing no falcons decided to check out Kodak Park for Archer and Lady Pefa. Upon my arrival there Donna texted to me that he had indeed showed up at the nestbox on the Times Square building right after I left the downtown area. He is a sneaky little guy that Archer.

From the still Lady Pefa flew to the southwest corner of the blue building and sat awhile.

Lady Pefa flew back to the still and as she landed on the railing I caught a glimpse of a male Kestral which landed on the chain link fence in front of me. He soon took off as I was trying to line my camera up in my scope for a pic.  Shortly afterwards LP stooped off the still and I failed to see her come back up so I waited. She suddenly appeared on the corner of the blue building again. Her next move was to the ibeam in front of the pigeon poop hole(possible nest/scrape site) for a couple minutes and then back to the tall still.

I had to leave for a doctor appointment at this point but when I was done I headed back downtown. I decided to stop on the Andrews St. bridge for a change and it turned out to be a good call for as soon as I got my binocs to my eyes I spotted a falcon flying between the OCSR and Crossroads buildings. It was Archer and he flew to the west corner of the OCSR top ibeam where Beauty was waiting for him. They mated and both flew off around to the south side of OCSR where I couldn’t see them.

I then drove to Aqueduct St. where I found Archer on the top ibeam near the west corner of OCSR. Donna texted to me that Beauty had flown back to the nestbox. After a few minutes Archer flew to the south corner top ibeam of OCSR and that is where I left them as I ended my watch.  🙂

Here’s a link to more pics from my morning watch:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=433958312213%3A794327277&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

This morning I was feeling bad for Beauty. She flew to the Frontier Communications Tower facing north,facing Kodak Park, facing Archer and Lady Pefa. The Beautyful one was waiting and watching for Archer.

This was the first glimpse I had of her in between buildings from the Broad St. bridge. It was a touching and revealing moment for me. Archer should be with her only and she should not have to be looking and longing for him  OR watching the nestbox with their 3 little treasures in it by herself. Well, I guess I had better just get used to it and hope for the best for all involved. The next pic shows Beauty looking back to the south toward the Times Square building toward her nestbox toward her future family.

Archer did show up with a small morsel and they met under the northeast wing to exchange it and a few words. He flew off almost as quickly as she landed next to him. He acts like he’s afraid of her. Wonder why?!  She flew out of sight, he went to the nestbox and I had to end my watch.

I went to visit a friend of mine (Tesa)who needed a change of scenery so I took her and her Golden Retriever (Molly)on a watch. First we went to Russell Station where we watched a Belted Kingfisher hunting from a bush along the waters edge.

Next stop was Aqueduct St. in downtown where we observed Beauty and Archer on the top ibeam of the Old Changing Scenes Restaurant at the south and west corners. Beauty flew around above us giving Tesa a nice little taste of falcon watching. Not bad for her first watch.

We left for Kodak Park where Tesa spotted Lady Pefa on the railing of the west most still. I was impressed and she was all smiles! Perhaps we have a new part-time recruitment for watching. As we sat there we noticed ALOT of dark smoke coming from near the Lake Ontario shore. We decide to investigate before I took her home. We found a blazing fire raging through the marsh reeds and grasses at the west end of  Buck Pond at Edgemere Dr.

I was so shook up I called it Cranberry Pond and not Buck Pond,Edgemere Rd. instead of Edgemere Dr. when I tweeted it out. I couldn’t help but think of all the wildlife that was perishing or losing their home as a result of this tragic event. On the news tonight they mentioned no homes were evacuated and no report of  injuries or deaths. They failed to mention the critters living in the reeds and grasses.:(

Not exactly the best ending for a watch but end it did. 🙂

Here’s a link to my pics of the day

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=925201212213%3A342015417&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Good Monday morning to all! Friday evening I picked up Donna and her daughter from New Jersey at the train station in Rochester.  I had checked before I picked them up and found both Archer and Beauty. We went directly to the Broad St. bridge and found that Archer had snuck out and gone over to his home away from home KP to see Lady Pefa. While down on Aqueduct St. Dawn and Bullet stopped by to meet and greet Donna and Kara. BrianH and Joyce showed up as well

Saturday morning it was only Beauty again but she had dropped her second egg overnite so we were happy for that! Archer finally made an appearance around 9:00am and we were off to the races. There were lots of watchers that came out to join us and meet Donna, Kara and Bobbie from Ireland. Beauty and Archer did not dissappoint by doing alot of flying for the crowd.

Saturday evening I took Donna to Kodak Park for her first visit there to see the lay of the land. Archer was not there but but Lady Pefa was so we watched awhile and visited with Jeanne,SusanC,Brian,Joyce and CarolP.

Sunday morning Archer had his a-game going for sure! He was seen on the eggs at 6:56am Then CarolP reported him flying and mating with Lady Pefa over at KP. After having his fun there he returned to downtown and continued his active ways by stooping successfully 2 times bringing his prey back to the Times Square building under the northeast wing. He and Beauty mated a couple times besides flying around quite a bit he also went after a Turkey Vulture at one point. We were calling him Superman and hoping he can keep it up when there are babies at both nest sites. At the moment it would seem that Archer is up to the task!

Sunday afternoon we went to Wild Wings so Donna and her daughter,Kara could check out the raptors and feed chicadees on the trail in the park afterward. Joyce,Jeanne,LarryO and his mother and Sue Chandler (from Corning) met us there. We got the royal treatment as they brought practically every bird they have out for us to get a close encounter of the best kind! We had a blast there. We were tired and sore after that but we chose to go down to the lake at Charlotte to see the sights. We found BrianH there counting migrating birds. He walked the pier with Donna and Kara sharing his knowledge of raptors and such. Joyce and I stayed back with her dogs Abby and Casey to enjoy the beautiful warm breezes of the day. When they returned we left to get a bite to eat before going home. It was a very busy and eventful weekend with my good friend from Jersey. One that I will never forget for sure!

This morning 4-11-11 it was time for Donna and Kara to go home but before we went to the station we went to the Broad St. bridge for a final watch. Just as she greeted them upon their arrival Beauty bid them farewell on their journey home. I hope Archer has better manners the next time visitors come to our fair city!  🙂

Here’s a link to my pics of the weekend:      http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=942632112213%3A841842042&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

If you’ve been keeping up with the tweets left by the Watchers in the field, you know that we’ve been attempting to figure out what was going on at the two possible nest sites in Rochester (NY).  A team of Watchers including Kathy O, Dana, Joyce, MAK, Brian H, Lou, Larry O & Carol P have been out until dark the last few days, some Downtown and some at Kodak Park (KP).  At both locations, two Falcons had been seen.

We were very excited, thinking we had two different pairs.  After awhile, I posted on the forum that we suspected it may have been Archer visiting both locations.  When two were spotted at one location, some of the Watchers would check out the other location.  We were never able to find Archer downtown when there were two at Kodak Park.  We tried hard, driving around for hours looking for Archer, trying to prove that there was a 2nd Tiercel.  No luck.

Yesterday, Joyce took pictures of the Tiercel at KP.  We now believe that it’s Archer visiting both locations.

Tonite, we had two at KP and one downtown.  Beauty was on the Frontier Communication Tower platform, SW corner.  We all ended up at KP, Watching the two there.  Just before it started getting dark, the Tiercel took off from KP and headed south towards downtown.  Dana, Lou, Kathy O and I remained at KP, while Joyce & MAK went downtown to check on Beauty and to see if Archer was there.  They reported that Archer was on the Times Square Bldg on the SE ledge above the nest box and Beauty could be seen at the nest box on the cameras.  Does it prove 100% that Archer is visiting both locations, no.  But we do believe that he is.

We will continue to keep a close eye on the situation and report what we see.  Stay tuned!

by Rochester Falcon Watcher Lou

I did a little falcon watching Saturday afternoon with Dana, Carol, Kathy O, and Dan. Archer and Beauty were very active around the home base (Time Square building), taking advantage of a stiff wind to aggressively chase off intruders who ventured into their air space, including crows and a cooper hawk.

On Sunday afternoon, I returned to do a brief watch with Dana, Carol, and Kathy O. Unlike Saturday however, we had only brief visits by them. I managed to get a few decent shots, playing around with a new camera. Here’s an album with a few pictures from both days.

Lou

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

I want to start this report with a big congratulations to Beauty and Archer on their first of many (I hope) eggs last night at about 7:30pm. I thought it would be a bit slow on my watch this morning but I was wrong about that!  I arrived about 6:40am to find a falcon on the Wilder building green strip. It was off before I could get the truck in park! Flying over to the Times Square building and landing under the southeast wing it looked like Beauty to me. She then flew down to the nestbox and went in to check on her new egg! 20 minutes later Archer showed up landing on the side of the nestbox behind camera 4 very briefly and then flying over to the Wilder building fire escape.

Archer then flew over to circle above the Times Square building a few times before taking off to chase a crow out of the area. Beauty had taken off at the same time and eventually landed on Widows Walk.

Archer returned to Times Square landing under the northeast wing only to take off quickly, returning a few minutes later with prey in his talons. While he was off hunting Beauty flew to the nestbox and when Archer landed under the northeast wing with his meal she watched him intently as he prepared and ate the WHOLE thing himself! Certainly not good behavior for a future dad.

Beauty flew up to him after watching and waiting patiently only to find it all gone. Archer looked at her and quickly flew out of there before she could scold him. After looking around for scraps she flew down to land on the main cam for a few minutes. Archer came back flying above Beauty and suddenly they both took off after a hawk that was entering their air space. I lost them behind buildings so I have no idea what happened to the intruder. Beauty returned kakking up a storm and landing next to the main camera,while Archer flew over to the jail tower and parked himself for a few minutes. He left there and flew to land next to the main camera.

This is when I decided to end my watch and go home for a breakfast break and put my report together.  Here’s a couple poor pics of Beauty by the nestbox preening and one of Archer under the northeast wing. 🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

The last 3 mornings Beauty and Archer have basically gone through the same motions. Joining each other in the nestbox for some conversation and bowing. Beauty staying close to the nestbox and Times Square building. Archer flying out of the Times Square area for hunting purposes and returning with prey to share with or present to Beauty as proof that he is a good provider.

Beauty will be laying eggs anytime now and I look forward to witnessing yet some more Peregrine Falcon behavior for the first time in the field. I imagine there won’t be too much action out of  Beauty for she will be incubating and Archer will be keeping a close eye on their territory. Chasing crows and migrating hawks and such.  Until my next report I hope you like my pics from the last couple days! 🙂     Here’s the link:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=910764202213%3A569133783&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

By Rochester Falcon watcher MAK

Any day started with Peregrine Falcons is a good day! I am fortunate to start almost everyday with our Rochester falcons and I’m more than happy to share with all. Todays morning watch was pretty much the same as it has been since Archer returned from migration. Beauty and Archer hanging out on the Wilder building,Times Square,OCSR and of course Mercury.  Throw in a visit to the jail tower and Kodak Office building today and you have a full watch!

I went home to have a cup of coffee and take a break and wait for Joyce to come pick me up for a watch together. First we went to Kodak Park where we found Lady Pefa on the railing of the ORB(orange railing building).

We took a ride out to Hamlin(I had to pay our taxman who lives out there) and stopped at the Hamlin Beach State Park to let the dogs run. On the way back we checked out Braddocks Bay and Charlotte. Too cold for migrating raptors but we did see many Turkey Vultures. We ended up at the Irondequoit Bay where we found one Bald Eagle flying near it’s nest being harrassed by what Joyce thought may have been a gull. Perhaps the eagle stole a fish from it. I don’t know why else it would be bothering a BIG eagle!

Joyce and I ended our “fun as usual” watch downtown with Beauty and Archer. We witnessed them sharing a meal and flying the friendly skies of Rochester! 🙂

Here’s a link for more pics of the day. Enjoy!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=945357002213%3A592385945&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee