By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

During my late afternoon watch it was 12 degrees (F) with a wind chill well below zero.  The winds were really gusting!

Earlier today, around 10:00 am, I spotted the KP falcon on the east side of the east stack on the silver box next to the red light above the lower catwalk.  This was the 2nd morning in a row that I’ve seen this falcon on that same spot.

*

*

*

*

*

After work, I checked the KP area again, but I couldn’t find the KP falcon.  So, off to the BS location where I found Pigott hunkered down on an east facing window below the tree ledge.  The winds were whipping around the building.  I looked for Dot.ca, but could not find him.

*

*

*

*

*

Downtown was my next stop.  From the Broad St Bridge, I watched the pigeons swirling around above the river.

*

*

*

*

*

I thought that maybe a falcon was the cause, but I couldn’t see one.  So I headed over to check out the OCSR elevator shaft and found Beauty tucked safely up inside on the south ledge.

*

*

*

*

*

I didn’t see Dot.ca, but I was happy to find Beauty and Pigott.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of some beautiful frost art.  These were on the windows at work this morning.  There was quite a crowd taking pictures of the gorgeous patterns.  Enjoy!

*

*

*

*

*

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

For the 2nd day in a row the starting temperature for my watch was 0 (F) -18 (C) and the wind made it feel way colder as I had trouble keeping my fingers warm today and my camera had trouble focusing

Around 7:30am I spotted Beauty on the east side of the launchpad on Kodak Office (KO) and she was eating! It’s very important for our falcons to eat so they can keep warm in this brutally cold weather. The red light on KO was still lit as I arrived and then the sun finally rose up from the horizon and cast its rays on the Beautyful one.

Click on my pics to see the full version

About 15 minutes later Dot.Ca (DC) flew in and joined Beauty on the launchpad as they exchanged words. She finished her meal off by swallowing a leg in front of him. She did some feaking on the edge of the launchpad and dropped off of it to fly away as DC and i watched.

A few minutes later DC went over to the northeast corner and got into hunt mode.

I stayed a few more minutes and left to see where Beauty might have gone. I didn’t find her so off to the Brighton Site (BS) I went. Arriving there around 8:30am I found Pigott on the top window of the southeast extension in the corner where it meets the east extension.

She spent most of the  45 minutes I spent with her preening her chest feathers. She also checked out a Blue Jay and a Cardinal that came flying thru.

Just before I left Miss Pigott gave me a parting poop shot and threw me a glance over her shoulder as if to say- finally, some solitude around here! lol

I searched downtown with no luck at finding Beauty or DC  before ending my watch at 9:30am. Having seen all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons on my watch sent me on my way with a big old smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see our birds in action

http://youtu.be/7xURhUhYnK0

http://youtu.be/ZdaZG87TDF8

http://youtu.be/ypKhDCWfXsg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Downright bone chilling cold has returned to Rochester as it was 0 degrees (F) -18 (C) as I began this mornings watch with a wind chill factor of -18 (F)  and bright sunshine

I was pleasantly surprised to spot Beauty eating on the northeast corner of Crossroads after checking the east side as I was on the Broad St. Bridge at 7:24am. The best place to view her was from Graves St at Main St. next to Aqueduct Park and it had to be done thru the middle of a snowflake light on a pole on Main St. lol

Click on my pics to view full version

The Beautyful one spent a half hour eating and when she was finished she did a little feaking (cleaning her beak off by wiping on ledge), content with her meal she seemed to smile and then she pooped.

Beauty then waved hi to me, gave me the A-ok sign and flew off to the northeast at 7:55am.

I suspected that Beauty had gone over to the Kodak Office tower so I shot down State St. and found her on her favorite early morning spot lately which is the west side of the south side arch. This is the first time I’ve seen Beauty with food in her crop since I returned from my Arkansas trip last Tuesday-this made me very happy! 🙂

So I left our downtown female Peregrine Falcon to check the Brighton Site (BS) after about 15 minutes passed as I knew she would be resting and digesting her breakfast. I arrived at BS Around 8:30am finding Pigott on the southeast extension perched on a top row east facing window with her back to me. She was very sleepy and had a fascinator stuck to her forehead making her look a little goofy.

She did some preening and looking around her surroundings and still the fascinator stayed in place.

Miss Pigott foofed herself up after a good rouse (shaking her body feathers) to keep warm and just before I left her at 9:05am she watched a plane fly over the building.

When I returned to downtown I had a hard time finding a falcon and as I was stopped on the BSB there were pigeons lining the Blue Cross Arena letters telling me there wasn’t a falcon near by. After 2 unsuccessful trips around the city I decided to check the elevator shaft-from the Radisson Hotel driveway I was able to spot the back of a falcon which was blending in very well on the south side ledge. I believe it was Beauty but can’t say for sure.

It was 10am and time to ease on down the road ending my watch with a smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see our girls from this morning

http://youtu.be/bYwG6Cizf9E

http://youtu.be/RZSVFpvYQgI

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

At 18 degrees (F) -8 (C) it should have felt warmer this morning as I headed out the door at 7:10am but the wind made it feel very bitter cold. We had an Alberta Clipper come through just before I left bringing 3 fast inches of snow making for a slow drive at rush hour and the wind created white out conditions at times. However, the sun shone bright!!!

In my travels to find a falcon downtown I spotted one flying for a brief moment near the Bausch&Lomb building around 7:40am. I continued on and found Beauty 10 minutes later on the Kodak Office (KO) tower south side arch perched on the west side of it. 10 minutes later as I just started to video tape her the Beautyful one flew off heading south right over my head.

After it was apparent she wasn’t coming back I left and did a quick check of downtown-with no sightings I went to the Brighton Site (BS). As I rounded the back of the building and the east side of the building came into view I spotted Dot.Ca fly (DC) off the east extension followed by Pigott who was on a southeast extension window. They flew around to the front of the property out of view and half a minute later Pigott returned and landed on an east extension window. She stayed only a few seconds before she flew over to the southeast extension coming to rest on a window ledge 2 rows down with her back  facing me.

I got situated where I could get a side look at Miss Pigott-she always looks around a lot so I was able to get some shots of this pretty Peregrine! At one point she was getting sleepy but didn’t close her eyes for long as the wind would whip up and wake her. It seemed to give her a little attitude judging by the look on her face.

I stayed with Pigott for about 35 minutes and before I left her I took a ride around to see if maybe DC  was somewhere on the building-no such luck. I drove to the back of the east side parking lot and took a few parting shots of Pigott before leaving for downtown.

Arriving in our fair city around 9:30am I searched for falcons at KO but found none so I drove over to the Andrews St. bridge to have a look/see. Scanning from the east side of the river and working my way west-nothing on OCSR or Crossroads north side. Nope, not on Times Square or Mercury. No bumps on the Frontier Communications tower either and then-what? Is that Beauty on the south side arch of KO? Yep it sure was as I pulled over on State St. to check out our little sneak after I had just been there a few minutes ago! lol

I shared space with our downtown matriarch for 15 minutes as she looked around her territory while the wind whistled around her.

DC  was nowhere in sight as I ended my watch about 10am. I said good bye to Beauty and shot her a smile as I drove away! 🙂

Click on the links below to check out todays videos

http://youtu.be/4UrerCa

http://youtu.be/GTKarmTszxs

http://youtu.be/HHTD5J7-dgo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My Watch started at noon today.  My normal first stop is Kodak Park.  Today I found the KP Falcon at home.  S/he (don’t no if this is a male or female yet) was on the east stack, lower catwalk, on a silver box next to a red light, east side.  This seems to be a favorite perch for this falcon.

*

*

*

*

*

My next stop was the BS location, where I found both Pigott and Dot.ca.  Pigott was on an east end window and as I was driving up, Dot.ca flew in and landed on the tree ledge above her.

*

*

*

*

*

At 12:50 pm, a Ring-billed Gull came flying by.  Now, I’ve seen many gulls pass by the building and flap their beaks at the Peregrines below.  Usually Pigott and Dot.ca just ignore them.  But not today.  For some reason this gull annoyed them.  Here comes the gull.  Scree!  Scree!  Scree! Dot.ca looked up at the approaching gull.  This gull was entering Peregrine Country, not a smart move.  As the gull got closer, Dot.ca took off and smacked the gull!  Over and over again, chasing it to the north east.  Well, Pigott wasn’t about to let Dot.ca have all the fun.  She took off and joined in the attack on the hapless gull.  They double teamed, both taking turns hitting the gull. The gull screamed and got out of dodge as quickly as possible.  The interesting thing is that there was no vocalization from the falcons at all.  No KAK KAK KAK! like they would normally do for an intruder.

*

*

*

*

*

Pigott and Dot.ca finally gave up the chase and returned to their building.  Both flew over patrolling the area.  Then they both flew off heading southwest.

*

*

*

*

*

I waited around for about a 1/2 hour.  When they didn’t return, I headed downtown to find Beauty.  It took me awhile, but from the Andrew St Bridge, I found her up on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.

*

*

*

*

*

On my way home, I checked out the Charlotte area and Russell Station, hoping to find Billy.  I had no luck finding her, but I did find a Snowy Owl out on the middle of the ice on Buck Pond.

*

*

*

*

*

When I was downtown, I did visit the pedestrian bridge.  I wanted to check out the High Falls and Genesee River Gorge.  It was an icy wonderland.  I’ll leave you with some pictures from my visit to the gorge.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Oh, and one last thing.  Here’s a video of the water flowing over the partially iced High Falls.  Enjoy!

CLICK ON THIS YOUTUBE LINK

http://youtu.be/yy-1UZRMhv4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My falcon watch started a little after 2:00 pm.  At the BS location, I found Pigott and Dot.ca on the east end of the building, just a few windows apart.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

At 2:39 pm, Pigott took off and flew around the building.  She then flew off to the southwest.  I had reported in my tweet that it was Dot.ca, but it was Pigott that went on a hunt.  Dot.ca and I waited for her to return.  We didn’t have to wait long.  Pigott came back at 2:46 pm carrying a pigeon up to the tree ledge above Dot.ca.  There, Pigott prepped the pigeon and enjoyed her meal.  Feathers were flying everywhere, floating on the cold winds. Dot.ca stayed where he was the whole time Pigott was eating.

*

*

*

*

*

After Pigott finished her meal, she took off with the remainder.  Dot.ca took off and gave chase.  He finally got his share when Pigott allowed him to have what was left.  lol  I have to say, he was very patient, waiting for her to complete her meal.

Now, did you ever wonder what we mean when we say “feathers are flying” when the falcons prepare their meal?  Well this video says it all.  Here’s Pigott prepping her pigeon on the tree ledge at the BS location.  Enjoy!

CLICK ON THIS YOUTUBE LINK

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As I started my watch at 7:15am the temperature was 6 degrees (F) -14 (C) the sun rose with no clouds in the way and it warmed up to 7!   LOL

Beauty gave me a break this morning and only made me make 2 trips around downtown before finding her on the west side of the south side arch of Kodak Office (KO).

Around 7:45am Dot.Ca (DC) arrived as Beauty watched him fly in from the south and land on the southeast corner of the launchpad.

At first he was facing me but I guess he wanted to warm up his back in the sun. Coupled with the cold weather making it hard to get my camera to focus and looking at his back I didn’t get a whole lot of pics of him today.

<DC  <Beauty>

DC left after 20 minutes, flying southwest and didn’t return. Beauty remained on her arch perch and I left for the Brighton Site (BS) after a few more minutes.  Arriving at BS around 8:15am I found Pigott on a top row window ledge on the southeast extension below the roof top tree. In the half hour that I shared space with this pretty Peregrine she had her back to me giving me only glimpses of her face as she preened.

Miss Pigott seemed content to stay there basking in the sun so I headed back to downtown. I didn’t find DC but Beauty was still on the south side arch of KO when I got back.

The Beautyful one was all foofed up to keep warm and seemed like she wasn’t going anywhere so I ended my watch around 9:30am. I was lucky enough to see all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons on my watch. Keep smiling everyone it makes people wonder what you’re up to! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos of our fine feathered friends

http://youtu.be/CH5xXcqB-fM

http://youtu.be/eyhgYptFMXY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Happily it was a little warmer this morning with overcast skies,windy conditions and a temperature of 18 (F) -8 (C)

Once again the first hour of my watch was falconless, prompting me to go to the Brighton Site (BS) for a falcon fix and I got it! Arriving around 8:15am I found Pigott on the southeast extension perched on a top window ledge.

10 minutes later Miss Pigott vocalized a bit as a falcon came speeding in from the east at a good clip and past us flying behind the building to the north side. I took a ride around  but didn’t find it anywhere. Pigott settled back in and I left her half hour later for downtown.

As I was searching, I spotted a falcon circling the Kodak Office tower around 9am. As I pulled over on Mill St. in the High Falls district I could see 2 falcons on the east side of the launchpad. Beauty was a few feet away from Dot.Ca (DC) who was on the northeast corner.

You must click on my pics to see the full version

About 10 minutes later Beauty hopped her way over to face DC as they both had words to say to each other. She seemed to be picking at food and at times they looked at each other and at one point they touched beaks.

A few minutes later Beauty slipped off the launchpad and flew east. I lost track of her as I was watching to see if DC would follow-he didn’t.

<DC

Unbeknownst to me Beauty had come back and landed on the playpen hidden from me and the only reason I know this is because I saw her exit from it and fly north. I followed her with my binocs until she disappeared into the gray sky. After 15 minutes passed I was getting ready to leave when the Beautyful one returned,  landing on the northeast corner of the playpen. I moved farther down the street to get her in view.

Having gotten my falcon fix for the day by seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons I ended my watch at 9:40am. Oh yeah, I was smiling for sure as I drove away! 🙂

Click on the links below to see videos of our falcons

http://youtu.be/XCgaf1YOq1Q

http://youtu.be/6b1kg8a-zo8

http://youtu.be/1H9yk0w-ntM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The days are getting longer, but staying bitter cold.  I am so ready for Spring and eggs!

Thursday – January 23, 2014

After work, I made the rounds.  Since I work right across the street from the KP location, I headed there first and found the KP Falcon on the east stack lower catwalk.

*

*

*

*

*

Onward to the BS location, where I found Pigott on the south side of the building on the corner of the roof above the south side vent.  I looked around for Dot.ca, but could not find him.

*

*

*

*

*

My last stop was Downtown Rochester where I found Beauty on the B&L Building.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

I looked all over the downtown area before the sunset, but could not find Dot.ca.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Started my Falcon Watch at 3:30 pm.

No Falcon found at Kodak Park. (KP)

At the BS location, I found Pigott on the south east corner of the east extension.  She was eating and her meal looked to be a freshly caught pigeon.  Feathers were flying!  The Crows were passing overhead and every now and then one would swoop in for a closer look.  One look from Pigott and the Crow continued on.  No free meals here!  lol

*

*

*

*

*

I headed downtown and after checking all over, I found Beauty up inside the OCSR elevator shaft on the south ledge.  For once it wasn’t snowing and there was just enough daylight to get a really good look at her.

*

*

*

*

*

I looked all over for Dot.ca at both locations, but could not find him.

Hope everyone is surviving this frigid cold weather!  Be safe and stay warm!

I’ll leave you with a collage of pictures of Billy down at Charlotte (Friday 1/24/14), taken by fellow Falcon Watcher Dana.  It is always wonderful to see Mariah and Kaver’s granddaughter doing well!   Thanks Dana!!!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The bank clock on State St. said it was 2 degrees  (F) -17 (C) as I arrived downtown for my watch at 7:10am. When the sun came up there were no clouds to block it but it didn’t raise the temp much

I had no luck finding a falcon downtown in my first hour so I drove to the Brighton Site (BS). Arriving there at 8am, I found Pigott on the top window of the southeast extension in the corner where it meets the east extension. She was preening in the bright sunshine.

While I was taping Pigott, a woman pulled up next to me and asked if this was where the forensics unit was-I was kind of short with her because I was taping but I had quite a chuckle after I stopped my camera, thinking maybe they could use a forensics unit for the BS building. As  in-who knows what might be in this old abandoned building with all the vagrants and vandalism that takes place! Anyway,10 minutes later Miss Pigott made a few sounds announcing the arrival of Dot.Ca (DC) who landed a couple windows to her left on the southeast extension.

He stayed only 10 minutes or so looking to and fro and then he was off to the south. DC didn’t return in the next 15 minutes so I said goodbye to Pigott, who was still preening and left for downtown at 8:30am to look for Beauty. I found the Beautyful one on the east side of the Kodak Office playpen. I got there just in time for one pic and a short video as she flew off through the smoke of a chimney stack passing above me and flying to the south.

I left to look for her on all the usual downtown perches but she was nowhere to be found by this watcher. I ended my watch at 9:30am with a smile after seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/4dkznNnGVu0

http://youtu.be/MerNwpLpl1c

http://youtu.be/IeW2N6xlZxE