By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

10:15 am to 3:15 pn

Watchers: Carol P, Kathy O and Brian H.

Weather: Overcast, temps in the mid-70’s, no rain.

I was glad it was the weekend and happy to get downtown for a falcon watch.  When I arrived on the Broad St Bridge, I first spotted Beauty on Camera #1 aka Pan Cam.  My next stop was Aqueduct St, aka “the hole”.  From there I could see Dot.ca up on the top IBeam of OCSR at the west corner.

Dot.ca brought food to the nest box, but Beauty met him and took the offering away to cache it.  She returned to Cam #1 and Dot.ca (DC) remained on the corner of the nest box platform.

Beauty took off and flew in front of Dot.ca.  She then flew over me, heading east.  Beauty returned and just flew over the area, eventually returning to the top of the Times Square Bldg (TSB), landing below the northeast wing.

Beauty flew down to a lower southeast corner nook to retrieve cached food.  She took it up to the nest box platform where Dot.ca was waiting.  There was a little bit of a tug-o-war and Dot.ca took the food to the green strip on the Wilder bldg.

Beauty has started to allow Dot.ca to feed the eyases and he takes this duty very seriously, plus he seems to really like feeding his young ones.  🙂  Beauty landed next to Dot.ca on the green strip and he took off heading west.  Beauty took off and flew back to the Times Square bldg, landing on top of the main camera.

Dot.ca returned to the Wilder bldg green strip, still clutching a very small piece of prey.  Beauty flew over to Camera #1.

Everything was quiet for awhile.  I was actually thinking of ending my watch.  Then Dot.ca took off heading west, fast.  He didn’t vocalize before he left.  I watched him zip behind the buildings on the north side of the Times Square bldg.  He returned into view hot on the tail of a larger Peregrine Falcon that was heading back towards the Times Square bldg.

<—– Be sure to click on these to see the full version.

When the 3rd falcon, who I believe was a female based on size, passed the Times Square bldg, Beauty took off from Camera #1 and the chase was on!  Beauty took over the chase, while Dot.ca backed off and flew back to the top of the TSB below the northeast wing.  He was in full protection mode of his young eyases.  When they passed over me, I could hear Beauty alarm kaking as she approached the 3rd falcon and it went talons up to fend off Beauty’s attack.  I saw Beauty chase the 3rd falcon towards the north east, where I lost sight of both of them.  I was unable to get a picture of all three falcons.

I remained where I was for awhile, hoping that Beauty would return.  Dot.ca was looking towards the north east.  So, I decided to go up to the Broad St Bridge for a better look.  From there, I could see that Beauty was back at the nest box.  I was very happy to see that she was safely back and hoped that the 3rd falcon learned her lesson and continued on her way.  This territory was occupied.

I was joined by fellow watcher Kathy O on the Broad St Bridge.  While we were chatting and checking out the river, Beauty again took off and flew over.  She was up and down the river and all over, definitely in hunt mode.  She made a run at some pigeons on a lower building, but missed catching any of them.  Kathy and I enjoyed watching her gracefully fly overhead.

While we were watching Beauty hunt, a bird flew down to the river below.  It was the Black-Crowned Night Heron!  It walked into the open area below the old RG&E bldg.  We didn’t see it again after that.

Just then I looked up in time to see Beauty stoop down and successfully catch a pigeon just above the Broad St Bridge.  She carried it to the base of the Mercury statue and prepped it, feathers flying all around her.

After she was finished, Beauty took off and carried the pigeon to the nest box to feed her 3 eyases.  Dot.ca watched from the OCSR.

Brian H joined us just as two Cormorants flew over, heading north down the river.

After feeding the eyases, Beauty took the leftovers out to cache for a later meal.  She returned to the top of Camera #1.

All was quiet and peaceful for the next hour or so, so we called it a watch at 3:15 pm.  It was a beautiful day to watch our downtown pair.

I’ll leave you with a picture of Beauty flying over on her way back to the Times Square bldg after caching her leftovers.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It’s been very warm and humid in Rochester, NY the last few days.  Temps in the 90’s!  So unusual for this time of year, when the regular temperature should be 65 degrees (F).  The good news is that it will be cooling down this week.

3 of the 4 eggs have now hatched.  Will #4 hatch?  We’ll have to wait and see.

Many of the Rochester falcon watchers have been going downtown to check on the falcons, but there hasn’t been much activity to report during this time.  One falcon is usually always in the nest box with the 3 eyases (and the egg) and the other is somewhere nearby.  Dot.ca is supplying most of the food, and sometimes Beauty does some hunting.  While the eyases are this young, Beauty is doing all the feeding.  When they get a little older, she will allow Dot.ca to also feed them.

I went downtown for a falcon watch this afternoon for a few hours.  Beauty was in the nest box the whole time and Dot.ca spent a lot of his time on the corner of the nest box platform guarding over his family.

From below, I could hear Beauty alarm kak from the nest box.  Both Dot.ca and I looked up.  I didn’t see anything, and Dot.ca did not react.  I’m not sure what she saw, but she was quiet after that and Dot.ca seemed settled.

I ended my downtown watch and headed over to Seneca Towers.  I like to watch from the other side of the river from the apartments.

I spotted a falcon flying over the river and over to the Seneca Tower apartments, where it landed on the northwest corner.  I was not able to positively ID this falcon, but based on size, I believe it was Seth.

Last Saturday (May 2nd), Kathy O, Lisa McK, Dana and I went to Syracuse to check on Pigott and George.  When we first arrived, Pigott was on the building, very close to the nest box.

We had to take a break, and when we returned, Pigott was gone.  We believe that she was probably in the nest box and at that time on eggs.  We remained on watch in Syracuse for a few hours.  Later in the afternoon, George flew in and landed on the Chase sign.  We stayed a little longer, but there was no more activity.  We are still waiting to hear if there has been a hatch in Syracuse.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

2:45 to 3:45 pm

I only had about an hour to go downtown and watch the falcons.  It was a beautiful afternoon; sunny, blue skies and temps in the mid-60’s.  When I left work, Dot.ca had just taken over incubation duty in the nest box.  From Broad St (Falcon Watch Central), I found Beauty on the OCSR top Ibeam, south corner.

Beauty took off and headed for the nest box.

Beauty entered the nest box and Dot.ca flew out, landing on the west end of the top IBeam on OCSR.

While I was watching Dot.ca, I was being serenaded by a beautiful Purple Finch.  Love these little ones!

A line of Turkey Vultures flew by to the north, one passing behind Dot.ca who remained where he was.

Dot.ca (DC) never made a move to go after the Turkey Vulture, but when a Crow came to close, it was a whole different story. DC took off and chased the Crow, caught up to it very quickly over the Blue Cross Arena (aka Rochester War Memorial) and SMACK!  That Crow never knew what hit it.  The Crow recovered from the hit and flew back towards the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  Dot.ca continued to chase and dive on it, until the Crow went down on the roof of the condos that are directly across the street from the TSB.  Dot.ca flew towards the nest box, turned and headed towards Mercury and turned again.  He was searching for the Crow.  When he didn’t find it, he headed back over to the top Ibeam on OCSR.  I assume that the Crow was in hiding.  Here are some of the pictures I got of Dot.ca and the Crow.

When I ended my watch at 3:45 pm, Dot.ca was back on guard duty on OCSR and Beauty was in the nest box incubating the eggs that will soon hatch.  All was peaceful and quiet.  Just how I like it!

During my watch a UFO aka strangely shaped balloon floated over.  I just liked it.  lol

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

2:45 – 4:15 pm

When I left work, Dot.ca was in the nest box on the eggs.  When I arrived downtown on the Broad St Bridge, I found Beauty on the Times Square Bldg on the lower SE corner.

Soon after I arrived, there was a switch in the nest box.  I didn’t realize it at the time.  Thanks Kathy O and Pat for letting me know that there had been a changing of the guard.  Beauty went into the nest box and Dot.ca came out, landing on the 2nd IBeam down on OCSR.

My view from the Broad St Bridge.

It was a gorgeous afternoon, with sunshine, blue skies and temps in the 60’s.  Dot.ca walked down the Ibeam to the west corner.  From there he took off heading west.

I drove over to the Andrews St Bridge and found Dot.ca on the top arm of the Frontier Communication Tower.

While I was watching Dot.ca there was a drone buzzing over the river.

Soon after I returned to the Broad St Bridge, Dot.ca arrived, landing on the OCSR’s top IBeam.

Dot.ca then flew over to the top of the Mercury statue.

Dot.ca was constantly moving his head, watching everything.  At first I thought he was in hunt mode.  He took off, flying fast towards the Times Square Bldg then turning left.  He wasn’t hunting, he was clearing out his territory.  He was chasing a Crow that had come too close.  I lost sight of them as they flew down Exchange St heading south.

It wasn’t long before Dot.ca returned to the top IBeam on OCSR to continue to keep guard over his family.

All was peaceful and quiet at the end of my watch.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The falcon watches are quiet now and that’s a good thing.  Incubation and eating are top priorities.  So when the watchers are downtown, they usually see one falcon, while the other is inside the nest box covering the eggs.

Friday, April 24, 2015

After work, I arrived downtown to find Dot.ca on the Wilder Bldg green strip.  It was Beauty’s turn on the eggs.  I stayed for about an hour and a half, and Dot.ca did not move from the Wilder Bldg while I was there.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Saturday morning I met Dana across the river from Seneca Towers.  We spent a little over an hour watching the area and did not see any falcon activity.  The good news is that MAK reported seeing a falcon fly by her window at Seneca Towers today (Sunday).  So, they are still nearby.

After leaving Seneca Towers, I headed downtown and found Beauty eating on the base of the Mercury statue.  Pigeon was on the menu that day.

After finishing eating, Beauty took off and cached the leftovers on a small ledge on the southeast corner of the Times Square Bldg.

After caching her food, Beauty flew back to the Mercury statue, landing on the foot.

The moon was rising behind her, so I had to get a couple Beauty and the Moon shots.   lol

After awhile, Beauty flew up to the corner of the nest box platform.

She stayed there for quite awhile before moving into the nest box to take her turn incubating the eggs.  Dot.ca flew out of the nest box to the base of the Mercury statue where Beauty had been eating.  There was only a little bit left up there for him to eat. After that, he flew over to the OCSR, landing on the top IBeam at the south corner.

When I ended my watch, Beauty was in the nest box and Dot.ca was on OCSR.  Many thanks to all that helped to let me know who was in the nest box during my watches.  Sometimes it’s hard to ID the falcons, especially when they have their backs to us.

I was not able to get out today (Sunday), but I did keep tabs on the Rfalconcam streaming video.  All was quiet and peaceful, with Beauty and Dot.ca taking turns incubating their eggs.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

(2:45 – 4:00 pm)

With a thunderstorm pushing it’s way towards Rochester yesterday, high winds and dark skies to the west, I knew I didn’t have long to check on the Rochester Falcons.  When I left work, Beauty was on the eggs.  Soon after I arrived downtown, they had switched, but I didn’t realize it until I received a text from cam watcher NCA that Dot.ca was on the eggs.  Thank you!

At first I couldn’t find Beauty, but finally, from the Andrews St Bridge, I spotted her on the OCSR 2nd Ibeam down from the top, at the west corner.  I made my way back to ‘falcon central’ (on Broad St, near the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  From there I had a nice view of Beauty.  During my watch, Beauty preened and stretched the whole time, but never moved from that spot.

I kept an eye on the sinister looking clouds approaching from the west and decided to leave at 4:00 pm.

It was a short watch, but both Rochester Falcons were accounted for!

Carol P. – 4/21/15

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

During incubation the watches will be very quiet, and that’s ok.  My last three watches have been very quiet and peaceful, just how I like them.

Friday, April 17, 2015 (2:45 to 4:15 pm)

My afternoon watches have been especially quiet.  The only falcon activity I see is a possible changing of the guard.  Usually Beauty going into the nest box and Dot.ca coming out.  That’s what happened on Friday.  Dot.ca was on the west corner of the top Ibeam on OCSR.  I set-up my watch at Falcon Watch Central, which is on Broad St close to the Times Square Bldg (TSB). From there I had a good view of the nest box and OCSR.

During my watch, I was joined by Joyce and Brian H.

Saturday, April 18, 2015 (10:30 am to Noon)

Downtown was really busy.  Every parking spot was taken on the Broad St, so I made my way down to Aqueduct St (aka ‘the hole).  From there, I saw no falcons.  Kathy O arrived and found Dot.ca on the north side of the OCSR.  I joined her on the Andrews St Bridge.

Since it was so quiet, we joined Dana at Seneca Towers, where it was also very quiet.  We did not see any falcons while we were there.

Sunday, April 19, 2015 (11:00 am to 3:00 pm)

I arrived downtown close to 11:00 am.  It was chilly (temps in the 40’s), but the sun was shining.

I settled on the Broad St Bridge.  No falcons were in sight.  I saw a falcon fly out of the nest box at 11:20 am.  It headed east over the library. When I looked back at the OCSR, I saw a falcon at the south corner of the top IBeam.  At 11:25 am, this falcon flew into to the nest box.  Joyce texted me to let me know that Beauty was now in the nest box.  I waited to see if Dot.ca would return. When he didn’t, I headed over to the BS location for a quick check at 12:10 pm.  It was very quiet there.  I headed back downtown ending up on Aqueduct St aka ‘the hole’.

Just before 12:45 pm, I heard some falcon vocalization coming from the nest box above.  Beauty flew out and landed on the Wilder Building green strip.  Ei tweeted that Dot.ca had arrived and taken over incubation of the eggs.  Thanks Ei and Joyce for your help today.

At 1:00 pm, Beauty took off and headed southwest, behind the Times Square Building (TSB).

I went in search of Beauty, ending up on the Broad St Bridge.  I didn’t find Beauty, but I did find my friend and fellow Falcon Watcher Dan S.  It was so nice to see him.  You know that the Falcon season has started when Dan comes out to watch.  🙂

Just after setting up our lawn chairs, we spotted Beauty on the OCSR top IBeam at the west corner.

At 2:00 pm, Beauty was gone from OCSR.  Then we saw a falcon fly over us heading east where we lost sight of it.  We believed that it was Beauty, but we missed that Beauty had entered the nest box and the falcon we saw fly over was Dot.ca.  The Rfalconcam cameras showed the switch at 2:01 pm.

Joyce joined us on the watch.  We chatted until 2:30 pm, when Dan had to leave.  I drove around downtown one more time to see if I could find Dot.ca.  I found him on top of the Xerox building on the west side, 5th column in from the northwest corner.

It was a wonderful weekend to falcon watch!  A big hello to the students in Jill’s kindergarten class!  So happy that you are all watching the Rochester Falcons!  Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The quiet continued during my 2:45 to 4:20 pm watch.  When I first arrived, there were no falcons in sight.  When I left work, Dot.ca had been in the nest box on the eggs.  So, where was Beauty?

I went on a search around the city and could not find her.  When I returned to the Broad St Bridge, I tweeted that I could not find a 2nd falcon. Within a few seconds my phone went off.  It was a text from Kathy O and an RfalconcamNow message from Camp.  I apologize to anyone else that may have texted me.  My phone has not been receiving some tweets.  I appreciate all your help.  While I was out searching for Beauty, she was at the nest box with Dot.ca (DC).  lol  After reading the texts, I looked up just in time to see Dot.ca com out onto the nest box platform.  Beauty was now on the eggs.  Dot.ca flew out of the nest box and landed on the OCSR top IBeam at the west corner.

I ended up at “Falcon Central”, which is on Broad St, closer to the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  From there I had a nice view of the nest box and Dot.ca on OCSR.

It was such a nice day with sunshine and temps in the 60’s.   I was soon joined by Joyce and Brian.  We watched Dot.ca as he preened, stretched and pooped.  This was the only falcon activity during my watch, until 4:15 pm when I was ending my watch.  DC took off and we did not see what direction he took.  On my way home, I received a tweet from Joyce saying that she and Brian had found DC over on the Frontier Communication Tower.

Other watchers reports from the day.

MAK reported that she had seen both Billie and Seth at 11:21 am. from her balcony.  They put on quite the flight show for her and her friend.

Joyce and Brian reported seeing one falcon flying over Seneca Towers at 5:24 pm.

At 5:36 pm, Kathy O reported that Beauty was eating on the base of Mercury, while two Turkey Vultures circled above.  At 5:47 pm, Beauty went back to the nest box and Dot.ca landed on top of the Mercury statue.  From there, he took off, heading west.

Drizzly rain this morning, but it should clear up later.  Enjoy the day everyone.

Carol P. – 4/17/15

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I stopped downtown after work on Tuesday (4/14) and Wednesday (4/15).  Other watchers, including Kathy O, Larry O, Joyce and Brian H, have also been checking things out.  Here are my observations from Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday – 4/14/15 – 2:45 to 4:15 pm.

Just after I parked my car on the Broad St. Bridge, I was joined by Brian H, who had been watching from the side of the library.  A few minutes later, Dot.ca (DC) flew out of the nest box and over to the OCSR.  He landed on the top IBeam, close to the south corner.  We were notified by the cam watchers that Beauty was now in the nest box incubating the eggs.  Thanks to all that help out the watchers in the field, letting them know what’s happening up at the nest box!

<Insert picture of small falcon on OCSR top IBeam>  🙂

That was our only falcon activity during our watch.

Wednesday – 4/15/15 – 2:45 – 4:15 pm

When I left work, Dot.ca was on the eggs.  In the short time it took be to drive downtown and park on the Broad St Bridge, Dot.ca was over on the OCSR top Ibeam, close to the south corner.  Kathy O texted me to let me know that Beauty was now in the nest box and to ask if I had checked out the nest box on my new phone.  I haven’t gotten that far yet.  hahaha!

During my short afternoon watch, Dot.ca took off heading east.  A few minutes later, he returned to almost the same spot at the south corner.  That was the only falcon activity I witnessed.

<Insert picture of small falcon on OCSR top IBeam>  🙂

Now that Beauty and Dot.ca are into hard incubation of their 4 eggs, the watches should be peaceful and quiet.  That is unless another falcon or intruder passes by.  They will be very vigilant now, aggressively  “escorting” anything they deem to be a threat to their young out of their territory.

I love the peaceful and quiet watches and can’t wait for the appearance of small, white fluffy eyases in the nest box!

Enjoy the day everyone! – Carol P (4/16/15)

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sorry that I don’t have time to do a more thorough falcon watch report.  But, I thought you would enjoy seeing some pictures I took today and yesterday, while out on watch.  Dana joined me both days.  All was peaceful and quiet both Saturday and Sunday.  No third falcon seen.  So, here is what I saw while out watching falcons this weekend.  Enjoy!

Saturday, April 11, 2015 – Still windy and chilly!

Sunday, April 12, 2015 – What an absolutely gorgeous Spring Day with temps in the 60’s (F)

Dana and I started our watch at Seneca Towers this morning around 9:30 am.  We saw both Billie and Seth soaring above the river.  Lots of activity by these two.

After spending a couple hours watching Billie and Seth, we made our way downtown to watch Beauty and Dot.ca.  They were also very active, obviously enjoying the warmer weather like their watchers.  lol

We started our downtown watch after finding Beauty on the top of the Mercury statue.  Here is what Dana and I saw.

After Dot.ca ate his share on the north side of the Times Square Bldg (TSB), he took the remainder of his meal, which was quite large, to Beauty at the nest box.  She accepted his food gift and took it to the base of the Mercury statue to eat.  Dot.ca reluctantly (yeah right! lol) went back into the nest box to cover the eggs.  A job he thoroughly seems to enjoy!

It was a wonderful weekend to be out watching falcons.  All 4 Rochester Falcons were seen each day.  All was quiet and peaceful.  Just how I like it!