By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Tonight I was again joined by fellow Watcher Kathy O.

5:45 – 8:00 pm

After an almost all day rain, it was nice to have a little dry time to watch our falcons.  The sun made a brief appearance before it clouded up again.  Temps were in the 60’s I believe.  I needed a jacket since it was a little chilly.  Tomorrow we will return to much warmer temperatures.

We started our watch out on the Broad St Bridge.  From there we could see all three eyases at the nest box.  Both Beauty and Dot.ca were soaring high above the Times Square Bldg.  I believe they were doing a combination of keeping their territory clear, looking for hunting opportunities and showing their young ones a bit of what flying is all about.

For the first 15 minutes the sun was full in our faces, making it very hard to see the nest box.

Once the clouds moved in, it was much easier to see the activity at the nest box.  Lots of wing action up there.

Beauty came down lower, flying around the Times Square Bldg and then settling on the Mercury statue’s heel.

This was our view from Falcon Watch Central, on Broad St at the top of the stairs leading down to Aqueduct St, aka “the hole”.

From there we had a very nice view of the eyases when they came out onto the nest box platform.

Dot.ca flew over us and around the Times Square Bldg, definitely giving flight instructions.  He flew up to the very top of the building and landed on the southeast wing ring.

Beauty took off and flew high again.  Kathy and I were thrilled to see her make a long stoop to the northwest.  She returned empty-taloned to the top of the Mercury statue.  Dot.ca flew past the nest box and over to OCSR and landed on the top IBeam.

During all of this flying by Beauty and Dot.ca, there were a lot of wings flapping away at the nest box.

Beauty again took off (we assumed on a hunt) and Dot.ca flew to the Mercury statue, landing on the heel.

Kathy and I ended our watch at 8:00 pm.  All was peaceful and quiet.

Soon the eyases will start to take those first flights.  We figure it might happen as soon as this Sunday, June 14th.  So we will be starting the official fledge watch on Saturday.

Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a dark overcast and rainy morning with a temperature of 65(F) 18(C)

I arrived on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) at 5:10am to find Dan in his chair. I got mine out and joined him after he gave me a great big welcome back hug.  He told me that there hadn’t been too much activity yet and that Beauty was on cam 4 and Dot.ca (DC) on the 2nd southeast arm of the jail tower.

About 15 minutes later Beauty flew to the west corner top ibeam of OCSR and DC went to the south corner. We could see one eyas up at the nest box.

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We missed DC leave the building-old eagle eye Dan found him on the jail tower on the second northeast arm. He blended in well!

Around 6am Beauty left OCSR and went to the nest box as we could see her back and 2 eyasses. One of them was wingercising.

I checked out the river to see that there were only ducks down there featuring a mama and her 4 ducklings.

At 6:15am DC flew to the southeast wing ring at the very top of the Times Square building only to fly over to the west corner top ibeam of OCSR as the sky started to spit a few raindrops. 5 minutes later the Beautyful one flew to cam 1

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It stayed this way for the next half hour or so when DC flew down off OCSR-we thought maybe he was trying to catch something. We lost him behind Thomson Reuters and then Beauty flew off cam 1 and disappeared as well. Dan left at 7am and as I drove down to the hole (Aqueduct St.) DC appeared from the north made a U-turn and ended up on the south corner top ibeam of OCSR. I went to Graves St. next to Aqueduct Park and Main St. for a closer look at DC. Meanwhile, Donna and Annette reported that Beauty was at the nest box feeding the kids.

15 minutes later DC flew to the southeast wing ring again and I went to watch from in front of the Blue Cross Arena.

Around 7:30am Beauty started kakking and flew out toward the river and returned landing on the column above the nest box. One of the kids that I could see watched her land.

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I watched as everyone got settled in to do some stretching, preening and posing for the next half hour. Looking down every once in a while to check on their kids.

I left to take care of some business and when I returned a little before 10am DC was now on the column above the nest box and Beauty was over on the top ibeam of OCSR near the south corner. It was raining pretty good at this point of the watch so I left them as they were to head home to Seneca Towers (ST).

I found Seth on the north end top window ledge with his back to me when I arrived at ST. It was foggy and the rain was getting my camera wet so I didn’t stay more than a couple minutes thus ending my watch a little after 10am.

After 2 months away from our beloved Rochester Peregrine Falcons, I did a lot of smiling on watch today as my world was back to normal again! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/twLjQ_3uS0k

http://youtu.be/5N4FUOnA0Kk

http://youtu.be/4mhiW_zFkrc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

5:45 – 7:15 pm

Joined by Watcher Kathy O.

It was a very pleasant evening, perfect for watching falcons.  I arrived on the Broad St Bridge and was soon joined by Kathy O. From there, we could see no falcons, so we moved in closer to the Times Square Bldg at Falcon Watch Central (on Broad St across from the Blue Cross Arena).  Immediately we saw Beauty up on the ledge above the nest box.  She must have just arrived as we were moving our cars.

Two of the three eyases were visible.  Beauty took off, heading west.  We waited to see if she would return.  When she didn’t, Kathy and I headed down to Aqueduct St. aka “the hole”.  From there, Kathy spotted Beauty.  She was on the north west corner of the Widows Walk, prepping food. Dot.ca was on the top IBeam of OCSR.  We assumed that Dot.ca brought in food to Beauty and she took it to Widows Walk.

Beauty took off with the food and took it to the nest box to feed the eyases.  Dot.ca remained on the Widows Walk railing.

Kathy turned on the live streaming video on her phone so we could watch Beauty feed the eyases.  We could actually hear them where we stood, all the way from the nest box.  It’s amazing how sound carries.

It was after 7:00 pm, time to end our watch.  Dot.ca was gone from Widows Walk.  We found him on Mercury’s heel.

It was a very pleasant and peaceful watch.  All was well.  Goodnight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

5:30 to 10:15 am

Watchers that joined me:  Larry O.

When I arrived downtown at 5:30 am (yes, 5:30 am) it was very cold.  By the time I ended my watch, it  had warmed up nicely.  I had hoped to find Dan on the bridge, but he wasn’t there.  Larry (and his dog Harold) joined me for about an hour.  It was great to see them.

Sorry I don’t have time to leave a detailed report, but I did want to share some pictures I took during my morning watch. Hope you enjoy them!

As you can see, a falcon’s morning is a very busy morning.  Lots of hunting and feeding and caring for their eyases.  At one point, Beauty started to kak and chased a Turkey Vulture east, over the Xerox Bldg.  Dot.ca stooped low over Main St on the other side of the Wilder Bldg and came back up clutching a small bird.  He and Beauty are in constant hunt mode, so they can feed their three growing eyases.  The eyases have lost a lot of of their white fluff feathers and are turning into golden, brown juvies (juveniles).  It won’t be long before they’ll be running up and down the well wall and taking those first flights.

Then the fun really begins for the Rochester Falcon Watchers!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Joyce asked me if I wanted to hang out with her this afternoon and go birding-I said sure and she picked me up along with her dogs Abby and Casey. Our first stop was Irondequoit Bay where we saw killdeer, a gull, some Turkey Vultures and 1 Peregrine Falcon for a split second and then it was gone.

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Next stop was Braddocks Bay where we saw a Bald Eagle in a tree very far away.

From there we visited Hogan Point where we hit it big in a grassy field. Seeing Bobolinks (first time for me), Meadowlarks, Eastern Kingbirds, Osprey and a Coyote that was sent packing by a Red-winged Blackbird that perched in a bush nearby and just kept squawking and displaying until the coyote turned around and slowly walked away into the tall grass out of sight.

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It was time to end our outing or so we thought, for as we were heading toward Seneca Towers (ST) from the north down St. Paul Street I looked up near the Northridge Church at East Ridge Rd. and St. Paul and spotted Seth flying above us to our right heading the same direction. He flew up to the antenna on the south end of  the ST roof and landed. Joyce turned around and we parked on St. Paul to observe him.

Suddenly Seth started vocalizing and then there were feathers filling the air as Billie snuck in with prey and started plucking it on the southeast corner below her mate.

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Billie had a few bites and then she flew off with her meal around to the west side of the building then headed north. Seth remained on the antenna as Joyce dropped me off and we ended a great afternoon with nature. Truly we had more than enough reason to smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see a few more pics from the day and a snippet video

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqkJa

http://youtu.be/LFi1_x7lfJ4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was a beautiful evening after all that rain and cold temperatures.  It was near 60 degrees and sunny.  Before I arrived, Lisa McK and Kathy O had texted that Beauty was chasing a whole bunch of Turkey Vultures out of the area and on her way back, she went after a Great Blue Heron that had been flying low over the river.  Kathy said that Beauty hit the heron 3 times.  She went over to check on it, and found a heron on the ground, near the library.  As far as she could tell, it was ok.

When I arrived on the Broad St Bridge, Kathy and Lisa were gone.  Beauty remained on top of the main camera (at the nest box), where they reported seeing her.

Beauty flew off main camera over to Camera #1, aka Pan Cam.

I looked around for Dot.ca (DC) from the Broad St Bridge, but could not find him.

It was time to drive around downtown to see if I could find him.  While I was searching, Kathy O called to let me know she was also looking for DC.

After driving all over downtown, and having no luck finding him, I returned to the Broad St Bridge.  From there, I could see a falcon on OCSR on the west corner of the top IBeam and Beauty was gone from Cam #1.  Kathy was closer and we both thought this falcon was smaller and lighter in color than Beauty.  After a few minutes, Beauty flew to OCSR and landed near Dot.ca on the top Ibeam.  She didn’t stay long, flying to Camera #1.  Kathy and I were both happy to have found both Beauty and Dot.ca together.

From the Broad St Bridge, I could see one of the eyases at the nest box.  Joyce texted to let me know that this was Cadence. Thanks Joyce!

I ended my watch at 7:30 pm.  All were accounted for.  All was quiet and peaceful, just how I like it!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunday Afternoon – May 31, 2015

From high 80’s yesterday to 47 degrees and rain today.  Crazy weather changes!

1:30 to a little after 3:00 pm

When I first arrived on the Broad St Bridge, both Beauty and Dot.ca were on the top IBeam of the OCSR.  Beauty was on the south corner with her head ducked under her wing sleeping.  Dot.ca was on the west corner keeping guard.  Joyce tweeted that the three eyases were in the nest box, tucked into the corner.

At 2:30 pm, both Beauty and Dot.ca took off.  I found them 15 minutes later on the Wilder Bldg green strip, just a few feet apart from each other.

They were still on the Wilder bldg when I ended my watch a little after 3:00 pm.  All peaceful and quiet.

Now for the catch-up.

Saturday Afternoon, May 30, 2015

I was joined by Lisa McK and Kathy O on the Broad St Bridge.  It was very warm and humid, temps in the high 80’s.  We only stayed a couple hours.  Both Beauty and Dot.ca remained close to the nest box keeping an eye on their eyases who were out and about all over the platform.  They were all very active.

Friday After Banding – May 29, 2015

After banding was complete, I joined Joyce, Susan C, Lynda and Willie in front of the Blue Cross Arena.  From there we had a great view of the Times Square Bldg and the nest box.  Beauty and Dot.ca were doing a lot of flying and patrolling the area. Here are some of the pictures I took.

It was a wonderful 3 days of watching the Rochester Falcons.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a beautiful day for a banding and a return to our beloved falcons for me! Bright and sunny and a temperature of 80(F) 27(C)

I parked by the Blue Cross Arena and set up my chair. Joyce and Larry joined me followed by SusanC, Ken Martinez, Lynda and Tim and Pat. Beauty hung out near the nest box at first and Dot.Ca (DC) stayed over on OCSR. The Beautyful one joined her mate after feeding the kids a snack.

She then flew off out of view and a minute later DC took off at mock 1 speed toward the nest box telling me that the banding people were out and about to take the eyasses to put bands on their legs. Unfortunately DC kept to the sky and since he is so fast I didn’t get many pics of him.

Beauty took a breather on the ledge in front of the metal grid a few times then back to the business of trying to rid the nest box area of those bad, bad humans. She also landed on cam 4 and I believe DC landed on the corner of the deck as well-both doing their best to protect their babies that they couldn’t see.

<Beauty

DC flies like a rocket as you’ll see on my video he’s much faster than Beauty-he dive bombed on the bad humans more than Beauty. They saved their newly banded kids from the bad humans as they were all returned to the nest box safe and sound. They have 2 boys and a girl-Cadence is the female, band number 91/BA with blue tape. The males are named Bronx, band # 20/BA with red tape and Genesee band # 24/BA no tape. 3 very good reasons to smile on this banding day 2015! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

https://youtu.be/OyGx6UU9IKE

https://youtu.be/8Hqz9cLlZ2w

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Watchers: Lisa McK, Dana, Kathy O, Louise, Pat, Shaky, Larry O, Joyce and Carol P. and an ST Report by MAK

The day started out really cold.  It was in the mid-30’s (F) when I woke up this morning.  Frost was on the ground.  We had our Falcon Watch Meeting this morning at 10 am.  I was the first one to arrive at about 9:15 am and set up my falcon watch at the picnic tables on the side of the old Rochester Library.  From there I had a great view of the Rochester Falcon territory.

Beauty was at the nest box on top of Camera #1 and Dot.ca was on the south side of OCSR, top IBeam.

1,000’s of Swifts filled the air, flying above the river and scooping up insects.  It’s pretty amazing to watch them hunt.

When everyone arrived, we went into the old Rochester Library for our meeting.  After the meeting, Lisa, Kathy O, Dana, Pat and I headed over to Mt Hope Cemetery where Lisa found a Red-tailed Hawk nest.  While there we visited the grave of Susan B Anthony.  One of the Rochester Falcon fledglings was named Susan B in honor of Susan B Anthony.

We then found the Red-tailed Hawk nest in which there were 3 eyases.  While we were there, one of the adults visited with lunch, then left.

A Turkey Vulture flew low over the area and the Red-tailed Hawk chased it out of the area.  All the parents are keeping busy clearing out their territories of intruders.

We took a lunch break and afterwards, I headed back downtown, to watch the falcons and their big metal cousins the Blue Angels.

I parked on the Broad St Bridge to wait for their arrival at 3:00 pm.  Beauty was on the south side of OCSR top IBeam and Dot.ca was at the nest box on the corner of the platform.  MAK reported seeing Seth at ST between 3:20 and 3:40 pm.

Now for the Blue Angels!  From the Broad St Bridge, I was able to see them as they passed over the city and circled back towards the Rochester Airport.  Other people stopped on the bridge and got out of their cars to watch.  I love watching these big birds fly! They are incredible.  Here’s a little bit of what I saw.

During a short break, the most fantastic top gun flew over me and stooped on the pigeons over the river on the south side of the bridge.  Beauty was on the hunt!  Woosh!

Beauty circled higher and headed east.  After I lost sight of her, the Blue Angels returned for a few more passes.

(You know I had to get a moon shot!)  Hahaha!

After the Blue Angels left, I was joined by Joyce and we chatted for a little while.  Beauty flew thru heading north down the river and Dot.ca remained at the nest box.  He had remained there the whole time I was there.  I ended my watch at about 5:00 pm. All was peaceful and quiet.  Just how I like it. 🙂

It was a beautiful start to a long 3 day Memorial Day Weekend!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

2:45 – 6:00 pm

Overcast and breezy.  Temps started in the high 60’s and was down in the 50’s before the end of the watch.  A cold front pushed through Rochester, NY during my watch.

Watchers:  Carol P and Joyce

The first 1/2 hour of my watch was spent trying to find a falcon.  I could see that all three eyases were settled in the nest box.  Where were Beauty and Dot.ca?

Finally at about 3:15 pm, both Beauty and Dot.ca were at the nest box.  Both took off and Dot.ca went on patrol, while Beauty flew high on a hunt.  Dot.ca ended up at the nest box and then to the top of the main camera.

Beauty was flying high and in hunt mode.  But first, what I reported as a TV, was actually an Osprey passing through.  Beauty stooped on the Osprey and chased it south down the river.

After chasing the Osprey out of the area, Beauty continued to hunt.  Dot.ca flew from the main camera to the top IBeam on OCSR.

While I was watching, Beauty went into a stoop heading towards the Frederick Douglas-Susan B. Anthony Bridge.  Pigeons exploded into the air from the buildings located there, but she did not catch one.  She continued her hunt and Dot.ca joined her.  Joyce joined me on the watch at about 4:10 pm.

While she was covering the south side of the Broad St Bridge, Dot.ca headed west.  At 4:25 pm, a falcon returned, clutching a pigeon and landing on the base of the Mercury statue.  Joyce and I believe that it was Dot.ca who caught the pigeon.  Feathers were flying and heading in our direction.  We were able to positively ID the prey as a pigeon after seeing the feathers.  Dot.ca finished prepping the prey and took it to the nest box, where Beauty waited.  We could see wings flapping and Dot.ca flew back out of the nest box.  On camera, we could see that Beauty was feeding the eyases.

While Beauty was feeding the eyases, we lost track of where Dot.ca went.  It was Joyce who pointed up at two birds flying over the library at about 5:00 pm.  There were two falcons up there, one smaller than the other.  It was Dot.ca fighting with a 3rd falcon, a female.  They were very high and Dot.ca was not giving up trying to get this female out of his territory.  The female went talons up as Dot.ca dove on her.

Beauty took notice of what was happening and left the nest box.  She flew with wings beating fast over the river, gaining altitude quickly.  It was up to her to remove this intruder from her territory.  Joyce and I watched as Beauty chased the other female to the east where we lost sight of them.  Dot.ca returned to the top Ibeam of OCSR to guard the eyases.

At 5:19 pm, Beauty returned to the nest box, then up to the top of Camera 4.  Dot.ca remained on OCSR.

Joyce and I remained on watch until just before 6:00 pm.  All was peaceful and quiet.  As I was leaving a final tweet, Dot.ca took off and went to the top arm of the Frontier Communication Tower.

I would like to thank all the folks that were viewing the cameras that helped to let us know what they were seeing.  Thanks Kathy O, Larry O and Donna!  I hope I didn’t miss anyone!