By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another beautiful weekend for looking for falcons has come and gone.  But, today I saw all 4 Rochester Falcons.  Yes, at least for now I am counting Hawkeye Juvie as #4.  The weather was perfect for the end of summer in Rochester, NY, but the trees are starting to change.  Fall is almost here.

Saturday – September 14, 2013

On Saturday I only found one falcon during the afternoon and that was Pigott out at the BS location.

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I looked for the Hawkeye Juvie and Beauty and Dot.ca, but could not find them.  It wasn’t until I checked on my evening Watch that I found Beauty on the south side of the Xerox bldg, 6th column in.  While I was watching Beauty on Xerox, Joyce was at the BS location with Pigott.  While she was there, Dot.ca had visited for a short time.

Sunday – September 15, 2013

I had much better luck today.  I started my Watch at 11:30 am, first checking the Hawkeye location.  About 8 minutes after I arrived (talk about timing!) the juvie flew in and landed on the west side of the building. She took off and landed a few times, finally settling in one spot where it looked like she was checking for cached food.  I quickly tweeted that she had arrived and walked out onto the Driving Park Bridge.  I was only able to get a few pics before she took off and stooped over me down to the south side of the bridge.  I watched her sweep over the tree line on the west side of the river, chasing a Crow.  I lost sight of her behind the trees, just past the middle falls. I never saw her come out the other end.  There are a lot of trees down there and a gorge wall on each side of the river like we see at the High Falls.  I checked as much of the area as I could, but could not find her. Kathy O and Dana joined me out on the east end of the bridge.

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Kathy had to leave, so Dana and I went back to our cars and watched from the YMCA.  We hoped she would return, but she didn’t.  Larry O joined us for a short while.

Dana and I headed over to the BS location where we found Pigott on the west side of the northwest extension.

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Pigott hopped over to the window just below her old scrape and settled in.  Dana and I left her there with a very full crop.

My next stop was downtown Rochester, where I hoped to find Beauty and Dot.ca, and I did.  Beauty was on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT), on the north side just below the platform and Dot.ca was on the north side of the OCSR, top IBeam.

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After checking the Hawkeye location one more time, I ended my Watch, happy to have seen all four Rochester Falcons!

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures I took over the weekend.  Be sure to click on any you would like to see larger.  Goodnight everyone!

Rochester at Night

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Great Egret I found on a small pond in Greece, NY.

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Coopers Hawk and the lucky Flicker that escaped!

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The Trees are starting to Change – Can Fall be Far Away?

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a brisk 47 degrees (F) 8 (C) when I left for downtown this morning but at least it wasn’t dark and overcast for a change. I did see some sun on and off

I had a hard time finding a falcon this morning, first checking downtown then Hawkeye. As I was getting ready to leave the Hawkeye plant I got a tweet from Shaky saying Beauty was next to the main cam. YAY, she hasn’t been up there in quite a while-so I beat feet to the hole and parked behind He’s Chinese where I haven’t been in a while to check her out. I made it in time to see her for a couple short minutes before she started to alarm call and take off to the south.

I tracked the Beautyful one down at the Frontier Communications Tower on the northeast cube. As I parked in the City Hall parking lot she had her back to me and greeted me with a poop shot! lol

A couple who was going to church stopped to ask about the falcons and as I was pointing out where Beauty was she flew off into a quick short stoop and returned empty taloned. They were absolutely thrilled to see that as I was, for I don’t care how many times you’ve witnessed a stoop it’s always a thrill! After they left I drove over to the Hochstein School of Music to see the front of Beauty.

At around 7:45am Beauty spread her wings out, kakked and flew off to the east.

I left to find Beauty and ended up finding Dot.Ca (DC) instead-as I was driving down State St. I spotted him on the top ibeam north corner of OCSR. I could barely see his head so I went down Main St. by the Radisson Hotel to have a good view of him.

DC wasn’t there long before he spotted Beauty flying to the FCT with prey in her talons. He flew over and landed on the north side platform railing after she landed on the platform itself.

When I arrived over at FCT Beauty was plucking feathers on the east side of the platform but I couldn’t see DC. I did however hear him softly whine at times so I knew he was up there somewhere begging for Beauty to share her catch. I drove over to the Hochstein parking lot and spotted him on the north side of the platform staring right at Beauty.

<Beauty <DC

Back to the City Hall parking lot where I could see both of them-well, I could barely see DC thru the platform beams.

Click on my pics to see the full version

After a few minutes DC got impatient and started to move in on Beauty walking his way over to where she was eating. She stopped and moved in on the platform a bit and he grabbed a small morsel and continued on to the southeast corner to eat it.

<DC <Beauty

DC started whining again and while I was looking at Beauty I think he left for I didn’t see him after that. I decided to go check the Brighton site (BS) around 8:30am and on my way down State St. I spotted DC up on the top ibeam north corner of OCSR. I found nothing at BS and so returned to downtown stopping on the Broad St. Bridge to check out the river scene. There were great Blue Herons stationed on each side of the bridge, a couple Cormorants and the usual ducks and gulls.

On my way to check Hawkeye again I went by DC still on OCSR and Beauty still on the FCT platform. Once more there was no juvie to be found at the Hawkeye plant thus ending my watch at 9:45am. Make sure to smile-it makes people wonder what you’re up to! 🙂

Click on the links below to view pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqipU

http://youtu.be/blKYcfmEE-k
http://youtu.be/RWTG3sJOTpk
http://youtu.be/Dp96Ym1oyOo
http://youtu.be/qz-FOpW4Fns
http://youtu.be/Gx602nRCGDg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another overcast dark morning with a chilly 51 degrees (F) 11 (C) greeted me when I stepped out the door at 6:25am

As the HSBC building came into view from Court St. I could see Beauty on the southeast corner. While I was parked on Chestnut St. she was eating something but her back was to me so I drove around to the east (back) side and parked next to the post office on Broad St. Beauty had a couple more bites and then she flew around to the northwest corner for a second or two before taking wing and flying west.

The takeoff was blurry so I messed around with it >

I followed behind and found Beauty on the OCSR building top ibeam south corner from the Broad St. Bridge. I drove down to the hole to get closer.

I drove down to Hawkeye but the juvie wasn’t around so I returned to downtown finding Beauty in the same spot on OCSR. This time I parked on Graves St. next to Aqueduct St. to share space with her for 10 minutes when she flew off in a hurry to the northeast past the Andrews Terrace Apartments and into a stoop.

I looked over that way but couldn’t find our Beautyful one so back to Hawkeye I went with no more success than the first time. I then drove thru downtown with no sightings on my way to the Brighton site (BS). As I pulled in the driveway I could see a falcon on the north side roof on the northeast extension. It flew off and circled above the building once then disappeared to the south side. I drove around to the back of the building but didn’t find it. Right after, about a dozen crows flew in and started chasing each other, landing on the tippy top silver structure on the roof only to lift off and ride the air currents up there. LarryO and his dog Harold came by for a few minutes to watch the show and then we all left.

I figured since it was the weekend and traffic wouldn’t be bad on 590 that I would take a ride over to the Blossom/Browncroft area to search for a falcon forum member Christianne has seen on a light pole over there. What I found was a raptor of a different kind as in a Red-tail Hawk. It was on a light pole right by the Browncroft exit ramp so I pulled over on the ramp, put my hazard lights on and started clicking away.

Make sure to click on my pics to see full version

As has been my experience, when being watched Red-tail Hawks take off and fly down the road to the next pole and this one was no exception. I followed along and stopped to observe this beauty as he flew off again going 2 poles down prompting me to quit my pursuit of him.

Back to downtown and I spotted Beauty and DC on the Frontier Communications Tower as I was stopped at the traffic light at PlymouthAve. and Main St. Stopping on Church St. in front of the Hochstein School of Music I determined that DC was on the southeast cube directly below Beauty who was nibbling on something on the east side platform railing. I drove over to Fitzhugh St. and parked in front of City Hall for the best view of our dynamic duo. Beauty walked down the rail a bit readied herself and flew off right after I pulled over.

<DC   Beauty>

I stayed with DC for a few minutes then left to check Hawkeye one more time before ending my watch.

< All DC

Once again I was unable to find a falcon at Hawkeye but I did end my watch at 9:30am smiling anyway! 🙂

Click on the links below to view videos from my watch

http://youtu.be/tXdvxwxxw8E
http://youtu.be/EcOXyktkcQ8
http://youtu.be/vXGXfAETW64

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Perfect weather for a Friday the 13th.  Dark, damp, overcast, gloomy, rainy and downright chilly, with temps not making it out of the 50’s.  Brrrrr.

My watch started at 4:00 pm, when I found Beauty up on the south side of Xerox, 5th column in from the southeast corner.

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As I was tweeting that I had Beauty in view, Joyce was tweeting that she was out at the BS location with Pigott, who was located on the south side vent with a very full crop.

I continue my downtown search, looking for Dot.ca.  I could not find him anywhere, but he had been seen this morning.  My search continued, this time I was looking for the Hawkeye juvie.  From the YMCA parking lot, across the river from the Hawkeye plant, I spotted the juvie eating on the west side of the building. (4:29 pm)  At 4:50 pm, she finished eating and moved a little further north on the ledge she had been eating on.

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Joyce arrived and stationed herself on the Driving Park Bridge, where she could get some closer pictures.  It was her first time seeing the Hawkeye juvie.  Pat joined me in the YMCA parking lot for a short time and was overjoyed to see the juvie for the first time.

At 6:00 pm, the juvie took off and flew over the top of the building.  Kathy O arrived at the same time Joyce found the juvie on the north side of the nest box structure.  We joined Joyce on the east side of the building. This was Kathy O’s first time seeing the juvie at Hawkeye.  I was really happy that more people were able to see her (the juvie lol).

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By this time, it was raining quite steadily and the lighting was horrible.  I’ve looked through my pictures and cannot see any bands colors in any of them.  Maybe Joyce will have better luck.  If it hadn’t been raining, I could have checked her out in the scope.  If she sticks around, I have no doubt one of the Watchers will get a clear picture of her bands.

The juvie jumped down to the platform and moved around, ending up at the end of one of the girders.

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At 6:45 pm, Joyce, Kathy and I left the juvie sitting in the rain.  Tomorrow promises to be a better day and I know the Rochester Falcon Watchers will be out and about.   Hooray for the weekend! Goodnight everyone!

BE SURE TO CLICK ON ANY PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE LARGER.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Well after temps in the 90’s and oppressive humidity a cold front came thru knocking the temperature down some 30-40 degrees. It was 57 (F)  14 (C) as I walked out the door today with fog and a misty rain coming down

My watch was as dismal as the weather today. I saw Dot.ca (DC) twice on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. The first time was around 7:45am. I spotted him from the Broad St. Bridge but when I got down to the hole for a closer look he was gone. The 2nd time was an hour later. This time I parked by the Radisson Hotel at the east end of the Main St. bridge to hang out with him.

The rest of my watch consisted of searching downtown, Hawkeye and Brighton for falcons that were not coming out to play. I ended my 3 hour watch at 9:15am at the falconless Hawkeye plant. Maybe it was because today is Friday the 13th but I did see DC and that is reason enough to smile! 🙂

Check out the 1 link below to view DC

http://youtu.be/cBVaRuXc1Yg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Still soupy outside with high humidity but 5 degrees cooler than yesterday morning at 71 (F) 22 (C) and overcast dark conditions. Rain on its way and a cold front this afternoon/evening promises to wipe out the humid conditions and drop temperatures like a rock

Today I found Beauty straight away perched on her favorite hunting spot on HSBC-the southeast corner.She stayed about 10 minutes, scoping out her potential victims and then she stretched, rousted, (shook her feathers) and flew off to the northwest.

As I stopped at the east end of the Broad St. Bridge where I could see the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) I spotted a falcon on the northeast corner of the platform railing. When I got over there it looked to be the Beautyful one.

I left her after only a couple minutes to check the Hawkeye plant but found nothing there so I returned to downtownaround 7:30am to find Beauty was gone from the FCT. I did however find a little guy by the name of Dot.Ca, DC for short real low on the lower white section east side. At this time DebbieH came by to say hi. I stayed with DC about 15 minutes when he decided to fly off to the east toward the river.

I opted for checking on the Brighton site next but Miss Pigott wasn’t there this morning at around 8:30am. As dark skies were threatening rain I thought I would go back to Hawkeye for a look/see. When I arrived at the YMCA parking lot at the west end of the Driving Park Bridge it started to rain so out came the umbrella to stick out the window in order to keep my camera dry.  And as I scanned the stack and the west side roof I spotted a juvie in a spot on that roof which it seems to favor as I’ve seen it there eating on a couple other occasions.

At first she was just standing there but after a minute or two it became apparent that she had prey underneath her as she started to eat.

She ate for a few minutes then started lifting the prey up to the roofs edge and turned a couple times before resuming eating.

She seemed like she wasn’t happy where she was and sure enough she got her breakfast situated in her talons just right and off she went with it. She started out flying over the river and I thought she would come over by me but she changed her mind and doubled back to the east vanishing behind the building.

I left the YMCA and drove across the bridge to Carthage St. at the east end and found our young juvie on the south side of the platform where the nest box is located. She took off immediately and flew west over the top of the Hawkeye plant out of sight. I wasn’t able to find her again and so went back downtown where I couldn’t find any falcons either thus ending my watch around 9:40am. So I saw our happy downtown couple and our juvie who seems to want to stick around making me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below for more pics and videos to look at

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqioQ

http://youtu.be/yQ_sCkdjaQE
http://youtu.be/6rfg91we6QA
http://youtu.be/nxPmvpt2mvY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

There will be no forgetting September 11th.

(6:15 pm – 8:00 pm) – Hot, Hazy & Humid with temps again in the 90’s today (F).

Joyce was already at Hawkeye waiting for the juvie to arrive, when I left home for my evening Watch.  I did stop at the YMCA for a quick look.  I could not see the juvie or Joyce, so I headed downtown to check on Beauty and Dot.ca.

I first checked the Kodak Tower and then moved on to the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT), where I found both Beauty and Dot.ca.  Beauty was just below the platform on the east side and Dot.ca was much lower on the north side.

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First Beauty and then Dot.ca spread their wings.

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They were vocalizing quite a bit and many of the folks leaving City Hall and going into the church stopped by to ask if I was watching the falcons.  I was happy to point them out to all that asked.  One lady told me that just recently they had been very loud.  lol

Just before 6:30 pm, Beauty took off and flew north towards the Kodak Tower.  She flew behind the building where I lost sight of her.  A couple minutes later I saw her heading back my way and she wasn’t alone.  Another falcon, very close to her size, was flying directly behind her.  Dot.ca had not left the FCT and he was ee-chupping as the two falcons got closer.  Beauty landed on the NE box below the platform and the 3rd falcon hovered above the FCT.  ee-chupping filled the air, no kakking at all.  The 3rd falcon continued south, leaving both Beauty and Dot.ca on the FCT.  It happened so quickly, I was only able to get one picture of the 3rd falcon.

Beauty Returns to the FCT Followed by the 3rd Falcon

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This is the only picture I was able to get of the 3rd falcon as it passed over the FCT and headed south.

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Due to the behavior of both Beauty and Dot.ca and the quick look I got of the 3rd falcon, I do believe that this was a juvie.  But again, I cannot be sure.  They did not treat it as an intruder, but they were vocal.

Dot.ca and Beauty continued to “chat” with each other very softly for the remainder of my Watch.

After a little while, Dot.ca took off, heading south, then returned.  He flew off a couple times in different directions, but always returned to the FCT.

Joyce and Larry O joined me at the City Hall Parking Lot.

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At 7:40 pm, first Dot.ca then Beauty took off, heading southeast towards Downtown.  I followed and checked out the downtown area, hoping to at least find Beauty on Xerox, but she wasn’t there.  I stopped on the Broad St Bridge and checked out the area as the light faded to darkness.  At 7:50, it was too dark to see much, so I ended my Watch and headed home.

If the 3rd falcon was the juvie we have been seeing, I hope we will continue to see her for awhile.  I would love for someone to get a positive ID.  Remember to click on any pictures you would like to see larger.  Goodnight Everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was downright sultry when I stepped out this morning at 6:15am with a warm 76 degrees (F) 24 (C) The sunrise looked hot,hot,hot!!!

I dedicate this watch report to all those who lost their lives on 9/11/01

I’m averaging about a half hour before I find a PEFA lately and today was no exception as I found Dot.Ca (DC) at the north corner top ibeam of OCSR at 6:47am.

I checked around the east side and the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) for Beauty but she has changed her morning routine on me so I couldn’t find her. I then stopped on the Broad St. bridge to check out the river wildlife. I caught a Great Blue Heron catching a small fish and swallowing it down,the usual gulls and ducks and a Cormorant taking flight.

I drove to Hawkeye and searched with no luck finding a juvie there and as I went thru downtown on my way to Brighton I could see that DC was no longer on OCSR. Pigott wasn’t home either. Hmm, what’s a girl to do? Return to the steamy city and look around that’s what! In doing so I found Beauty on the FCT lower red section perched on a north side beam looking Beautyful.

Beauty was obsessed with cleaning her left talon picking at it off and on during the time I shared space with her. I just love to see those Big Yellow Feet (BYF)!!

<Click it

I spent only 20 minutes or so with Beauty but I thoroughly enjoyed all her poses as I always do. I could snap off shots of Peregrines all day long and have on occasion!

Beauty slipped off the back of the tower, then came back thru flying above my head as I was parked on Church St. in front of the Hochstein School of Music then she flew out of view to the southwest.

I left to check Hawkeye again before ending my watch downtown at 9:30am having found no more falcons at either place. So I saw Beauty and DC which is always good for making a smile appear on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below for more pics and a video from my watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqins

http://youtu.be/m66oE31dkak

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

(6:30 – 7:45 pm) – Hot and Humid with Temps into the 90’s (F).  Not temperatures you would expect this late into Summer.

My first and only stop today was the Hawkeye (HE) plant.  After parking at the YMCA to check out the west and south side of HE, I was happy to see a juvenile Peregrine Falcon flying over the building, touching down and taking off again.  For the sake of my reporting, I will say this is a female, due to size.  She was enjoying the warm breezes, bringing her talons down and practicing grabbing things out of the air.  She would flip, and turn on a dime, heading back in the direction she had come from.  Next she would stoop into the river gorge on the north side of the Driving Park Bridge, then return to fly over the building.  The juvie finally landed on the west side, lower roof.  After taking pictures and a quick video, I locked my car and walked out onto the bridge, crossing to the north side.

The fencing on the center of the bridge is very high and there was no way to get a picture until I got down towards the east end.  Just as I was getting ready to get a picture, hoping for a look at her bands, off she goes, stooping into the gorge.  lol  I stood there waiting for her to return, finally she did, hovering over the building and continuing to hone her flight and hunting skills.  I lost sight of her as she passed over the building.  I really think she landed somewhere on the roof, because I did not see her come out the other end of the building.

After waiting awhile, I decided to head back to my car.  I drove over to the east end of the building to check out that side.  Joyce joined me on the Watch, circling the building, but having no luck finding the juvie.  We both met at the YMCA parking lot and chatted for a few moments.  By 7:45 pm, it was already getting dark and we both decided to end our Watch.

I was thrilled to watch this young Peregrine Falcon and hope to see her again soon.  We are still trying to get a positive ID on her, hopefully before she decides to leave.  Or maybe she’ll surprise us and stay for the Winter.  That would be great.

Here is a quick video snippet of the juvie flying over Hawkeye.  It’s not the greatest quality due to the far distance I took it from.  But, it gives you and idea of what I was watching tonight. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/pNXhba8XyfQ

I’ll leave you with pictures from my evening Watch, all of the juvie at Hawkeye.  Be sure to click on any pics you would like to see larger.  Goodnight everyone!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I left the house in the midst of a thunder storm and very dark conditions. The temperature was 69 (F) 21 (C) and quite humid.

It was a tough morning to find falcons in our fair city due to the weather conditions so I took a ride to Hawkeye hoping  to see a juvie. I parked in the YMCA parking lot and scoped out the stack and south and east sides of the building. I then drove across the Driving Park Bridge and as I came up to Carthage St. at the east end of the bridge I spotted a juvie riding the breeze above me.

Pics as I crossed the Driving Park Bridge Click on pics for full version

I pulled down Carthage and watched it as it glided south, never flapping its wings once and disappearing behind the trees along the river. I tried to find a clearing to see if I could find it again but no such luck. I went back to the YMCA and watched for about 15 minutes and then went back downtown.

Looking north from Carthage St.

I returned via St. Paul St. to the Andrews St. bridge where I spotted a falcon on the northeast side top ibeam of OCSR. I drove over to Bragdon St. where I was able to ID it as Beauty.

I left Beauty to go check the Brighton Site (BS) and as I was stopped at the traffic light at Broad and South Ave. I spotted 2 falcons circling Bausch & Lomb. As the light changed they flew above Xerox and then I lost them behind buildings. I checked the area but couldn’t find them again. I thought one of them must have been Beauty as I went back to check OCSR and she was gone. Most likely the other one was Dot.Ca (DC). So I continued on to BS arriving just in time to see a falcon fly from the front edge of the cubby up to the west side roof of the west extension.

This falcon looked small to me when it flew off just seconds later and went to the east end of the building before disappearing so I think it was DC. There were dark wing tips hanging over the front edge of the cubby-cached food left for Pigott by DC perhaps.

I made a couple trips around the building but didn’t find a falcon. I returned downtown after receiving a tweet from Shaky that a falcon was on the northeast cube of the  Frontier Communications Tower (FCT). Thanks Shakymon! When I arrived it was still there showing its back to the world. I parked on Fitzhugh St. across from the Hochstein School of Music parking lot and next to the Sister Cities Parking Garage for the best view of Beauty.

Soon after, the Beautyful one turned around facing east so I drove down to the north end of the City Hall parking lot to see the front of her.

Even in the dark conditions Beauty was looking lovely this morning. She didn’t stay this way for long and when she turned around again showing me her back I decided to end my watch after I checked Hawkeye one more time’

I didn’t find any falcons at HE and so I ended my watch at 9:30am. Seeing Beauty this morning after not finding her on yesterdays watch made me smile! 🙂

Check out the links below by clicking them

http://youtu.be/r3R68OYvuPg
http://youtu.be/SQZUuID0GlU
http://youtu.be/8Pm4uk9MXc8