By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 20 (F) -7 (C) degrees with mostly cloudy conditions and a cold north wind blowing

Click on the pics to see the full version

As has become my first check in the morning when I get downtown, there was nobody in the OCSR elevator shaft but I did spot Beauty on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR from Bragdon Place. She had her back to me so I went to the hole parking lot to get a front view.

Beauty was looking around and preening when the sun poked its head out for a few minutes and shone down on the Beautyful one and I.

A bunch of house sparrows were entertaining me on the Aqueduct building for a few minutes, chattering and chasing each other around.

Then at 8:15am Beauty flew over to Times Square (TSB) coming to rest under the southeast wing where she kept looking down toward the nest box.

Little did I know Dot.ca (DC) was at the nest box as I would find out a couple minutes later when I received a tweet from cam watcher, Annette, saying he was there. Oh these guys can be so sneaky!

Beauty didn’t stay up there for long, as she flew off, I lost her behind the Thomson Reuters building and then I believe it was DC I saw flying above the Philipone building. I thought it was Beauty and at the time was thinking, gee that looks small like DC! Then he left my field of vision out over the river and as I looked over toward OCSR I spotted Beauty fly up into the elevator shaft. I drove over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. to see which ledge she was on-north side and that’s when I noticed DC on the top ibeam southeast side.

At first, Beauty and DC did some preening, then she went way back on the ledge and showed her back. Meanwhile, DC stopped preening and started looking south.

While DC continued to look south Beauty moved out from her hiding spot a little bit around 8:45am.

I thought for sure DC would join Beauty but he turned his back to me and seemed to get settled in on his ibeam as Beauty was comfy up on her elevator ledge. I decided to end my watch and go get comfy at home leaving downtown with a falcon fix smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos
http://youtu.be/2huRLo2bvNY

http://youtu.be/ygXIKFQP3yM

http://youtu.be/4FSkzLTzrEM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

They promised a bit of sun, but when it came, it didn’t stay out long.  So my watch conditions were cold (temps mid-20’s), damp and overcast.  That’s January in Rochester for you.  lol

I started my watch at 11:00 am and ended it at 3:00 pm.  I made the rounds, starting at the west end of Kodak Park.  No falcons there, but I was happy to see a beautiful adult Red-tailed Hawk hunting over the field in front of me.

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My next stop was the BS location.  All was quiet, except for a few noisy Crows.

On my way downtown, I stopped on Exchange, south of the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  From there, I could see both Beauty and Dot.ca.  They were on the TSB, Beauty below the NE wing and Dot.ca (DC) under the SE wing.

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I moved on to the Broad St Bridge which was quickly filling up with Razor Shark fans.  Beauty flew over to join Dot.ca on the southeast wing ledge.  Both had very full crops.

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I got out of my car to check out the river, which was half iced over.  The gulls were enjoying it, but I saw no ducks.

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While I was watching the life on the icy river below, Beauty took off and flew over me heading east.  She flew past the old Midtown Plaza.  A few minutes later she returned, landing next to Dot.ca on the TSB.

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I moved down to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”) for a different view.

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Beauty approached Dot.ca and spread her wings.  She launched herself from the building and flew south over Cornhill. Moments later she returned and knocked Dot.ca off his spot.

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Dot.ca flew to the OCSR and up into the elevator shaft.  Before I left downtown, I checked on Dot.ca and found him on the north ledge of the elevator shaft.  I left him there and Beauty on the southeast wing ledge to continue my falcon search.

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I drove past Hawkeye and saw no falcons hanging out at the nest box located there.  So I continued on to Seneca Towers.

There I found a falcon eating on the northwest corner.

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From the north side of the building I saw a 2nd falcon, waiting patiently for a bit of food.  Assuming that this was Billie and 99, Billie was the one with the food on the corner and 99 was the one waiting patiently.

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I left them to their dinner and continued on.  There was no falcon at Russell Station and no Snowy on Buck Pond.

I was very happy to have seen all 4 Rochester falcons.  All was peaceful and quiet.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Carbon copy of yesterday morning-overcast, light wind and a temperature of 25 (F) -4 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

As I got settled in my spot on Seth Green Drive I spotted 99 on the northwest corner of Seneca Towers. I could only see about half of him but I think seeing half a falcon is better than none!

At exactly 8am 99 flew south and so did I to get downtown and see what Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) were up to this morning.

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Nobody was in the elevator shaft so I took a ride around and found Beauty on the Bausch & Lomb building as I was on Broad St. returning from the east side. She was on one of the northeast corners just finishing up a meal as she started feaking soon after I pulled over next to Midtown.

Beauty continued to clean up and when she was ready flew off to the west toward Times Square (TSB) while I was taping her. I followed behind and found the Beautyful one on the corner of the deck next to the main cam near the nest box. I went down to the hole after also spotting DC above her under the northeast wing of TSB.

A minute later Beauty went up on top of the main cam and this is how it stayed for the next 45 minutes or so.

DC remained pretty much motionless except for moving his head once in a while to check out his mate below-he had his back to me from where I was located.

I went for coffee and of course Beauty left while I was gone-I didn’t know if she left the building or went into the nest box so I drove up on the Broad St. bridge where I could see if she was in it. She wasn’t in the nest box that I could see so I took a ride around downtown to find her with no success. I went back to hang out with DC for a little longer, parking in the lot next to the TSB below him. He stretched a couple times and I thought he might take off but instead he settled in to relax some more.

I ended my watch 2 hours after I started it at 9:40am leaving a quiet falcon world which always puts a smile on this falcon watchers face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos
http://youtu.be/J03tXw8PvBI

http://youtu.be/osqZzcyBEj8

http://youtu.be/nHd89GON5RI

http://youtu.be/i0G1kul_DKc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was an overcast morning with light wind and a temperature of 26 (F) -3 (C) to start

Click on my pics to see the full version

No birds seen at Seneca Towers this morning so I got downtown a little earlier than I have been lately. I went straight to Bragdon Place to check the elevator shaft but I didn’t see any birds there either. As I was coming down Main St. I spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury so I went down to Aqueduct St. in the hole to share space with her.

I could see that she didn’t have anything in her crop so she was in hunt mode as she was watching something below Mercury.

Right around the 8 o’clock hour Beauty flew off the other side of the base out of sight, so I wasn’t able to see what direction she took off to and I could only get her tail and the tip of one wing as she left.

So, I made the rounds checking from the bridges and driving around to the east side without success-no Beauty or Dot.ca (DC). As I was checking the elevator shaft from the Radisson Hotel near Main St. I did spot a falcon on the northeast corner of the Kodak Office launchpad, so off I went down State St. I was able to identify it as the Beautyful one arriving around 8:20am.

She was actively looking around at her territory for about 15-20 minutes before she turned toward the south and flew off headed in the direction of OCSR.

I took off right behind her and when I reached Bragdon St. I found who I believe was DC because of the bright white I was seeing on the head and neck.

I then went down to the south end of the Radisson Hotel to check the north side ledge and there was one tucked up in on that ledge as well with its back to me-so I tweeted that was Beauty but it could have been the other way around.

At any rate, both Beauty and DC were up in the OCSR elevator shaft safe and sound. It was just about 9am so I opted for ending my watch and getting on with my day. I left downtown smiling and content for having seen both of our beloved downtown falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos
http://youtu.be/Z3TW3aeIwAc

http://youtu.be/ZdCOsiMLrBQ

http://youtu.be/DSyFLY81BYU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A warmer morning with clear skies, sunshine and a temperature of 23 (F) -5 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

I had some difficulty finding a place to pull over on Seth Green Drive this morning since there were cars parked quite a ways down but I finally found a spot I could see where the trees weren’t in the way. I could see a falcon on the north side of the railing near the northwest corner of Seneca Towers but not well enough to identify it.

I looked away and it was gone and then I noticed a falcon on the top window at the south end of the building so I went back to my parking lot to get a closer look-it was 99.

99 flew off at 7:58am going around to the west side and headed north over the river.

I left for downtown checking the OCSR elevator shaft first-upon finding it empty I scooted over to the hole and spotted a falcon with its back to me under the southeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB). I decided to go over to Exchange Blvd. in front of the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) to see who it was and to my delight there was another falcon across from that one. Beauty was on the south side of the ledge and a couple feet across from her was Dot.ca (DC) on the north side and he was eating something.

DC finished soon after my arrival, feaked a few times and stood up so I could see that he had a pretty full crop and so did the Beautyful one, leading me to believe she ate first and he got the leftovers. Beauty then started feaking and picking at her talons while DC looked around.

They both had a look to the south then DC started stretching and picking at his talons.

DC spread out his tail a couple times and then he pooped.

Soon after, Beauty took off without warning at 8:55am. I didn’t see what direction she went because I was watching DC to see if he would follow, which he didn’t. He did however, watch her fly off and going by the direction he was looking she went east/northeast-probably to the elevator shaft.

DC caught a few winks then started picking at his talons again before standing up to stretch some more.

The sun was shining bright and DC turned to face it revealing his whiteness and settling down into a buddha position which meant he was settled in and not leaving any time soon.

It was 9:30am and time for me to leave-after seeing our downtown Peregrine Falcon pair hang out so close together I had to drive away smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos
http://youtu.be/6WHr8fsLNjg

http://youtu.be/nVdPTlmgcCI

http://youtu.be/aLY_ldshXMM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was 5 (F) -15 (C) degrees to start but the sun was shining bright

Click on the pics to see the full version

My watch started like it did yesterday-with part of a falcon showing on the northwest corner of Seneca Towers. I think it may have been 99 but can’t be certain. It left when I was tweeting it out.

Arriving downtown just before 8am I found Beauty on the north side ledge-I thought it was Dot.ca (DC) but was proven wrong a little later.

I left the Beautyful one to look for DC and found him big as life under the northeast wing of the Times Square building.  There’s just no denying the whiteness of his white feathers! lol It appeared he had some food in his crop and prey feathers were stuck to the ledge in front of him.

DC looked around his surroundings for the most part but he also picked at his talons, pooped and stretched while I watched him from Aqueduct St. down in the hole.

A t 8:42am DC took off from Times Square-I watched him go out over the river, go out of sight for a couple seconds then reappear before flying up into the OCSR elevator shaft.

I drove over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. where I could see Beauty still on the north side ledge of the elevator shaft-it looked like she had food in her crop . I pulled forward and stopped in the hotel driveway where I could see them both- just barely seeing some of DC’s wing feathers on the south side ledge. I eventually went down to Bragdon St. for a full look at DC.

I called it a watch at just about 9am as it was obvious Beauty and DC were on break in their shelter and probably would stay there for some time to come since they both had eaten. This is the kind of stuff that makes me smile-food in our beloved falcons and a quiet falcon world! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos
http://youtu.be/N8Ph39Nj0HU

http://youtu.be/xH-NXoDbdFw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was mostly cloudy with a slight breeze out of the north and a temperature of 18 (F) -8 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

As I looked up at Seneca Towers this morning I could just barely see the top of a falcon head on the northwest corner.

I didn’t stick around to wait for it to show itself. I arrived downtown about 8am and as I was checking the OCSR elevator shaft from Bragdon St. I spotted Dot.ca (DC) on the top ibeam southeast side. I drove around to the other end of the Radisson Hotel by Main St. to observe him from a closer distance.

Just like yesterday morning he was looking mostly south. I left Whitey, er, I mean DC to go look for Beauty. As I was pulled over on the Andrews St. bridge I noticed DC was on the northeast wing ring of the Times Square building (TSB) around 8:30am.

I left to get closer to DC once again parking on Irving Place which is a one way road behind Times Square.

DC flew off to the north as I was taping him. I thought he might be hunting some pigeons that flew the same direction but it turned out that he just scared them into flight as he flew through. I headed north myself and after a quick trip around downtown with no luck finding the Beautyful one I stopped on the Court St. bridge to check the river and water bird situation.

I then returned to my spot by the Radisson Hotel at Main St. where I found DC on the north side ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft-he was preening.

I wish I had seen Beauty but she was seen by watcher Pat this afternoon on Mercury as she tweeted and Joyce also saw her there, so no worries on that front. I had to end my watch at 9am but when I eventually got home to Seneca Towers at 11:15am 99 was there to greet me as I pulled into my parking lot. He was on the top set of windows (22nd floor) at the south end of the building and appeared to have a full crop.

There’s not a whole lot of room to just pull over in my parking lot and I got a couple disgruntled looks from other residents so I said see ya to 99 and moved on smiling after an all tiercel (male falcon) morning! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos
http://youtu.be/wEmRdtSGdpI

http://youtu.be/HLNgrnD0dnk

http://youtu.be/Sqsaee4a2sQ

http://youtu.be/UWephMVjjRE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a few snowflakes in the air and a temperature of 33(F) 1(C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

I checked the OCSR elevator shaft first but nobody was in it but as I was stopped on the Main St. bridge I glanced over at the statue of Mercury and spotted Beauty on the base eating. I drove over to Broad St. and parked next to the Blue Cross Arena to watch her.

She finished up soon after I arrived did some feaking, turned around, pooped, turned around, roused then slipped off the other side of the base and flew north past OCSR a little after 8am. I thought she would go in the elevator shaft since she had just eaten but apparently she wasn’t ready to rest yet.

I then drove up on the Broad St. Bridge and when I made my u-turn I could see the brilliant white of Dot.ca (DC) on the top ibeam of OCSR southeast side. Now I had a dilemna-where to watch him from since my parking spot by the south side of the Radisson Hotel by Main St. was taken. I went over to the Main St. bridge put my hazard lights on and took a few pics and a video. DC feaked a couple of times so I knew he had been eating recently.

I only stayed a few minutes since there’s no parking on that bridge. I took a chance on going over to Bragdon Place to see if I could see DC from there and as luck would have it, I could. What hit me most was how full his crop was-I didn’t notice it as much from the Main St. bridge.

The corner of the Radisson Hotel was giving me a little trouble in the focus department but there was no missing that crop blurry shots or not!

I was curious as to where the Beautyful one had gone so I left DC to digest that meal in his crop. I found her on the Kodak Office launchpad, southeast corner. She blended in well as I pulled over on State St.

Beauty was looking south with her back to me when I decided to end my watch around 9:20am.

She sure looked pretty with a few snowflakes around her as I left downtown smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/GWBQSRibBfM

http://youtu.be/Fh5KZSNRVZE

http://youtu.be/KBR4HT01tY4

http://youtu.be/HwenSwvxpQU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another wonderful weekend of falcon watches.  Cold and sunny on Saturday (18 degrees) and warmer and overcast, drizzly/rainy on Sunday (40 degrees).

Saturday, January 17, 2015 (11:00 am to 2:15 pm)

No falcons at Kodak Park West or the BS location.  Downtown I found Beauty and Dot.ca on the north side of the Cross Rds Bldg (CRB).  Beauty was on the northwest corner and Dot.ca was on the north end.  They remained on the Cross Rds Bldg for much of my watch.  Both flew north down the river to chase a Red-tailed Hawk over the Genesee Brewery and returned.  Joyce and Brian H stopped to visit for a short while.

Here are some pics from my Saturday watch:

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Sunday, January 18, 2015 (12:30 pm to 3:00 pm)

Today I was able to find all 4 Rochester Falcons plus a beautiful Snowy Owl on Buck Pond (Greece, NY) near Lake Ontario.

It was really busy downtown, so I wasn’t able to watch from the Broad St Bridge.  When I arrived downtown, I found Beauty on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg and Dot.ca on Widows Walk.  Dot.ca took off, heading east.  I looked for him, but could not find him.  Beauty remained on the CRB.  It was a much warmer day today, but it was overcast.  Drizzle turned to rain by the time I ended my watch.

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After ending my downtown watch, I checked out Seneca Towers and found two falcons on the north end.  One on the NW corner and one on the ledge above the windows on the north end.  I was too far away to make any positive ID’s.

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On my way home I took my normal route along the lake.  There were no falcons at Russell Station, but I was happy to find a small lump out on Buck Pond that turned out to be a beautiful Snowy Owl.  It was very dark with a black cap.  Brian said it was probably a juvenile female.

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So, I saw all 4 Rochester Falcons during my watch and ended it with a beautiful Snowy Owl.  All was quiet and peaceful both days.  I do so love the weekends.  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

HEATWAVE-at 39 (F) 4 (C) it was 41 degrees warmer than yesterday morning! It was also windy and overcast with rain forecast for later

Click on the pics to see the full version

When I arrived in my spot on Seth Green Drive I spotted 99 on the northwest corner of the roof on Seneca Towers.

99 was mainly looking to the south, maybe for prey or maybe for his girl Billie. At any rate, he was actively watching over his surroundings as he pooped and stretched.

I shared space with 99 until he didn’t want to be seen anymore as he moved over onto the north side out of view. I left for downtown checking the OCSR elevator shaft first as has become my routine. I wasn’t surprised when I found nobody home- I thought perhaps Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) might be out enjoying the warmer temperatures. I made 2 trips around downtown before I spotted DC on cam 1 from the Broad St. bridge around 8:30am.

DC didn’t stay for long as he flew off at 8:29am heading northeast toward OCSR. I got the take off shots then headed over to Bragdon Place to check the elevator shaft. There he was up on the south side ledge preening.

As I arrived Donna reported that DC had been at the nest box at 8:13am before flying over to cam 1. I watched him preen a few minutes then left to look for the Beautyful one.

I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge to take a look around and that’s when I spotted the salmon front of Beauty on the top ibeam northwest side of OCSR. I took off for State St. and pulled over across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel to observe her, unfortunately her back was to me. She preened a little looking over her shoulder at times.

It was 9am and I had to get going as I have a full day planned so when Beauty turned and looked my way I said b-bye with a smile as I can think of no better way to end my watch! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

http://youtu.be/GJrJ-pLdx5c

http://youtu.be/mtrz_ddgZMU

http://youtu.be/9BnEztEtNmE

http://youtu.be/3_7tUtjBqLs