By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

First, I want to say that I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  🙂

Second, although there haven’t been many recent falcon watch reports, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been keeping an eye on our local falcons.  There are quite a few watchers that have been out, tweeting what they are seeing.  You can read these tweets on the Rfalconcam Forum page.

Thirdly?  Enough!  On with my Sunday Falcon Watch Report!  lol  🙂

It was a very cold, overcast day with temps in the 30’s.  Brrrr!  I started my watch at the DSS and BS (Brighton Site) locations where watchers have been seeing two Winter visitors.  I found the DSS falcon, who we believe is a male, on a top window.

<— DSS Falcon

My next stop was the Brighton Site (BS), where I had no luck finding our visiting female.

Downtown, as I was pulling into the hole (aka Aqueduct St), I saw one falcon on the south side of OCSR, top IBeam.  It was Beauty.  As I was parking my car, Dot.ca flew in and landed to the right of Beauty, also on the top IBeam.

<— View of OCSR from the hole (aka Aqueduct St).

<— Beauty and Dot.ca on OCSR.

A few minutes later, Beauty flew over and landed on the Wilder green strip.

<— Beauty on Wilder green strip.

All was quiet and peaceful, so I moved on to check the ST (Seneca Towers) falcons.  Sorry to say, I did not see either Billie or Seth from Maplewood Park.  I usually see one of them at home.

From there I made my way to Charlotte, where Falcon Watcher Pat saw a juvie Peregrine Falcon yesterday on the Coast Guard Tower.  She was not able to see if this falcon was banded.  We’ve also been seeing Snowy Owls in this area.  Today I saw no falcon or Snowy there.  I did meet Dory from Waterport who now knows a whole lot about the Rochester Falcons.  lol

Here is a picture of my first Snowy Owl of the season, seen last week.

<— Snowy on the Summerville Pier.

At the end of today’s watch, on my way home, I found a Merlin hunting pigeons in front of Wegmans.  It was thrilling to watch this smaller falcon speed after a pigeon, just missing.  What a great way to end my Sunday Falcon Watch!

<— Merlin at Wegmans.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The rain finally stopped and the wind took over this morning with a temperature of 48 (F) 9 (C)

We had a bit of a scare yesterday when Jeanne informed the local watchers that she had seen a report on the Monroe County Fire Wire of an injured falcon near West Broad and Fitzhugh streets about an hour before the sun was to go down. Also, neither Beauty or Dot.ca (DC) had been seen on camera at the Powers nest box which is us usually a daily occurrence. I was tied up and couldn’t go check but Lisa and Carol went downtown to see if they could find anything. Lisa thought that she had seen a falcon in the OCSR elevator shaft but they were unsuccessful in finding an injured bird as darkness fell, so I knew I had to get out first thing this morning.

It was too dark to check Seneca Towers (ST) when I left but I had seen both of them together yesterday on the south side window ledge in the pouring rain. I checked the OCSR elevator shaft first as that’s where they usually go for inclement weather. Nobody on either side and after checking all the usual spots I went over to the east side where I found Beauty on the southeast corner of the 5 Star Bank. This is a favorite morning spot for her to hunt from and I was very happy to see her up there in the semi-darkness.

I left to look for DC with no luck and when I returned the Beautyful one was gone. I was starting to get a little anxious for not having found DC at this point. My next trip around downtown bagged Beauty on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR.

Again, I left her and checked around for DC to no avail. Thankfully, and with a great big sigh of relief I returned to find that DC had joined his mate and was just a few feet away from her.

<Click it

Beauty had a bit of food in her crop and DC was clearly in hunt mode as he was looking all around the area.

A few minutes later DC stooped down toward the river and Beauty followed behind him a few seconds later. They re-surfaced in front of the Radisson Hotel and flew northeast out of my view.

<Click it

I searched for them but never located them again. I had to be somewhere so I left to check ST on my way through. Unfortunately, after 3 drive by’s during the course of the day I was unsuccessful in seeing Billie or Seth.  It really is a team effort in keeping track of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons and we all were quite relieved this morning to find out that our downtown pair were safe and sound!!! Smiles all around! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s short snippet video

https://youtu.be/0K6GW7iCYfs

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

We lost a good friend today.  For all you’ve done for us and the falcons, I thank you with all my heart.  RIP Mike Allen.  Miss you dear friend.  You are soaring with the eagles you loved so much.  🙁

My report will be short and sweet.  I usually go out for a Sunday morning falcon watch, but due to the fact that a storm was heading our way, I decided to get out this morning.

At the BS location I found the unbanded female on the east side tree ledge.  She eventually flew to a window, also on the east side.  Here are some pictures from my visit with her.

Downtown, I found Beauty on the Widows Walk (WW).

<— Beauty on WW.

Beauty took off on a hunt, heading NE past the Hiatt.

While I was searching for Beauty, I found Dot.ca up inside the OCSR elevator shaft.

<— Dot.ca inside OCSR elevator shaft.

From the Andrews St Bridge, I could see a falcon on the base of the Mercury statue.  I parked on Broad St where I had a nice view of Beauty prepping her dinner.

<— Beauty with food on base of Mercury.

<— The Times Square Nest Box.

I left Beauty to her meal.  I was happy to see her have a successful hunt before the bad weather moved into Rochester.

On my way home, I checked Seneca Towers (ST), KP East and Charlotte.  I had no luck finding any falcons at these locations.

In Charlotte, I took a picture of this duck(?) trying to cross the road.  Any idea on what type it might be?

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What an absolutely beautiful late October day here in Rochester, NY!  After reading Larry O’s tweets this morning, I just had to get out to get in a game of tag with our falcons.  Larry had reported seeing both Beauty and Dot.ca on the Powers Bldg, Frontier Communication Tower and Widow’s Walk.

But first, I wanted to see if I could find our visiting, unbanded female at the Brighton Site (BS).  It didn’t take me long to find her in a bit of shade on the south side of the east extension, two windows down.  A favorite spot for her.

<— Unbanded Female visitor at BS location.

I remained there for about a 1/2 hour, hoping that she would turn around.  But, she was very settled, preening and pulling out small fluff feathers.  After she finished preening, it was nap time.  Time for me to leave her.

My next stop was downtown Rochester.  But, instead of a game of falcon tag, it was more like a game of falcon hide-n-seek!  When I went out looking for the falcons last Sunday, I was unable to find any of them.  This time I was determined to find Beauty and Dot.ca!

After checking all the usual spots and having no luck finding them, I headed over to the east side.  I looked at the west, south and east sides of the Xerox Tower and the surrounding buildings.  Nothing!  Finally, from Elm St, I found our elusive duo!  Both Beauty and Dot.ca were together on the north side (near the NW corner) of the Xerox Tower.  They were on the metal framework of the lights that lit the building at night.  That was a first for me seeing both of them up there.

<— Beauty and Dot.ca on the Xerox Tower, north side.

Now that it’s the off season, I love seeing these two together like this.

I watched them for about an hour before heading out.  They were quite comfortable up there, preening and just enjoying the warmth and sunshine.  All was quiet and peaceful.  Just how I like it!  🙂

On my way home, I did check on the ST pair, but had no luck seeing them from Maplewood Park.  MAK just tweeted that Seth was home and I did see one of them last Sunday morning on the north end window ledge.

A quick check at KP west and Charlotte.  No falcons seen at either location.  It was time to end my very enjoyable Sunday morning Falcon Watch.

Oh, before I go, I took a picture of the Broad St Bridge from the east end.  Looks like they’re getting closer to completing the construction.  I noticed that there are bike path lines on both sides, instead of areas to park.  Not sure if this is how it will remain.  I sure do hope that we will be allowed to park on the bridge after it’s complete.

<— Broad St Bridge from east end.

I’ll leave you with a couple pics of fall.  Enjoy!

<— 2nd pic is of the O’Rourke Bridge.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was partly cloudy and a bit dark until the sun rose above the clouds. The temperature was a chilly 49 (F) 9 (C) at the start.

Click on pics to see the full version

I began my watch Before the sun came up so the pics of Billie are a bit grainy as I found her on the south window ledge of Seneca Towers from my parking lot.

After checking the rest of the building unsuccessfully for Seth I left for downtown. From Chestnut St. in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Park I found Beauty on the south side of Xerox 6 columns over from the southeast corner. She appeared to be napping at first and when she woke up she did some scratching.

A few minutes later the Beautyful one pooped and flew off heading southwest only to double back and fly northeast behind the 5 Star Bank.

I had a feeling she went to the RGE antenna and after getting thru the morning rush hour traffic I found her there from Elm St. The back light was bad so I moved to Lawn St. next to the Columbus building.

Beauty flew off while I was watching a guy parallel park in front of me so I flew off too! As I was making my way across the Broad St. bridge I spotted Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam south side of OCSR but he didn’t stick around until I could get parked somewhere so I continued on to City Hall to check the Frontier Communications tower. Nothing on the tower but as I checked the Powers building from the back of the parking lot I caught a glimpse of DC going into the nest box. I then headed over to the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) where I could see him better.

DC left the nest box after a few minutes and flew up to a camera in front of the box. On my tiny LCD camera screen it looked like he had food in his crop and I tweeted as such, but actually it was quite empty.

I left him just before 9am to go check the Brighton location before I walked Bella. Once there I found our young, visiting, female Peregrine Falcon on the east face of the south extension 3 windows down in the corner where it meets the east extension. She was a bit sleepy at first sight but woke up after a minute or so. She had her back to me but was showing me the side of her face.

I didn’t visit with her for too long-just a few minutes. After walking Bella I returned to downtown and found DC on the same Powers camera as I left him with his back to me this time. Beauty was over on the top I-beam of OCSR near the north corner with a feather (fascinator) stuck to her beak so I assume she had eaten recently.

I left them to it as they could see each other and when I got home to Seneca Towers I found Seth on the north window ledge. He was mainly looking back over his shoulder towards the river-most likely on the hunt.

I ended my watch a little before 11am with a smile after seeing all 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons and a bonus PEFA at the Brighton site! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippet video

https://youtu.be/7PrxXLNDGQY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a sunny morning with blue skies and a starting temperature of 59 (F) 15 (C)

Click on the pics to see the full version

I began my watch at 6:45am in the Northridge Church parking lot at the intersection of St. Paul Street and East Ridge Road.  I could see Seth on the top window ledge at the north end of Seneca Towers. He was very alert and seemingly in hunt mode. A woman was walking her dog and stopped to ask what I was looking at and while I spoke to her, Seth left. I waited a couple minutes for his return to no avail so I headed for downtown.

While stopped at the traffic light on State St. near the inner loop I spotted Dot.ca (DC) flying to the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) so I turned right and parked in the City Hall lot. DC was on a cross beam on the north side and then I noticed movement on the east side of FCT where Beauty was perched with her back to me.

The Beautyful one was whining on and off and while she was preening DC flew off and returned to land on the northeast cube. They both look to be in good condition as they near the end of their molt. I observed Beauty as she pulled out one small, white down feather.

DC let out a whine of his own before stooping off to the northwest only to return and land on the large drum with nothing to show for his efforts.

He wasn’t there for long when he flew back to the tower landing under the southeast cube. During that time Beauty moved in to a another beam next to where she had been.

I left them preening on the FCT and headed over to the Court St. bridge to check on the scene there. Last time I was on watch I said I would video tape the area behind the Dinosaur Grill where the walkway is being built and surrounding area so make sure to check it out at the end of my report. The Genesee River is very low exposing all the flats where gulls and ducks are enjoying the calm waters. Looking north I spotted a couple cormorants and a Great Blue Heron through the opening below the Broad St. bridge.

<Click

Now for the highlight of my watch. I walk watcher, Jeanne’s dog, Bella 3 times a week and since she lives right around the corner, I check the Brighton Site (BS) each time for falcons but I don’t usually have my camera or binoculars. Well today I did have my equipment and when watcher, Larry tweeted that he saw a falcon at BS I went over there post haste. I’ve seen a falcon there the last couple times I checked so I was anxious to get a good look this morning. I’ve determined that this is an adult female based on size and she has no leg bands. She was on the top window of the east extension in the corner where it meets the south extension.

She had her back to me at first and then she acted like she wanted to hop across to the east face window across from her. She spread her wings then turned around and walked along the window ledge. She has a salmon colored upper chest and white above her cere-she appears to be in good condition.

A blue jay and a couple starlings grabbed her attention for minute before she flew across to the opposite window-she went to the shaded side of it and once again showed me her back.

I left at that point to walk Bella and afterwards I checked Hawkeye, Seneca Towers and the Medley Center mall in Irondequoit with no luck finding any falcons. I ended my watch at 9:45am smiling after a successful watch in which I saw 4 Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/W07kXflNpyQ

https://youtu.be/1nOC4pHCbwU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It’s been very quiet, falconwise, here in Rochester, NY.  There have been a few reports/tweets from regular watchers, Pat and Larry O.  Plus, both Beauty and Dot.ca are seen frequently on the Rfalconcam cameras, usually at the Powers Bldg nest box.

I’ve been watching the coverage of Hurricane Irma on TV.  It looks really bad.  I truly hope that all that are in the path of this deadly hurricane remain safe.  This includes my Aunt and Uncle and a friend’s father, who decided to stay put.

I decided to get our for a couple hours this morning to look for our Rochester falcons.  Larry had reported that he saw both Beauty and Dot.ca this morning on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  So, that’s where I started.  I quickly found Beauty on the 2nd arm, facing west.

<— Beauty on FCT.

From the City Hall parking lot, I was able to see both Beauty and Dot.ca (DC).  DC was under the platform on FCT.

<— Beauty and Dot.ca on FCT.

All was quiet, so it was time to check out the downtown area.  Here are some pictures of the view I had from the Court St. Bridge (CSB).

<— View from the Court St Bridge.

The new walkway behind the Dinosaur BBQ, over the Genesee River is coming along nicely.

<— Genesee River Walkway behind Dinosaur BBQ.

Back at the Frontier Communication Tower.  Dot.ca was gone, but Beauty remained on the 2nd arm.  She had turned around and was now looking southeast.

<— Beauty on FCT.

All was quiet, so I texted that I was ending my downtown watch.  As sometimes happens, as I was leaving the area, I heard alarm kakking above.  By the time I got turned around, Beauty was gone.  I found her tucked in under the platform.  Not sure what upset her.  Maybe a hawk migrating through the area?

<— Beauty under the FCT platform, south side.

From the Andrew St Bridge (ASB), I found Dot.ca on the north side of OCSR, top Ibeam.  I could also see Beauty on FCT.

<— DC on OCSR/Beauty on FCT from ASB.

It wasn’t long before Beauty took off.  She flew low, heading south.  I tried to locate her, but couldn’t.  It was really time to end my Sunday morning watch.

On my way home, I passed Kodak Office.  The building south of the Kodak Tower is now home to the downtown Monroe Community College Campus.  Things are really changing.

A quick check at Seneca Towers from Maplewood Park.  No falcons seen or heard.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I love going out on a quiet Sunday morning to check on our falcons.  I quickly found both Beauty and Dot.ca on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).

<— Beauty on Frontier Comm Twr Top Arm.

<— Dot.ca on FCT between SW and SE boxes, below platform.

Dot.ca took off while I wasn’t looking.  After checking out the downtown area and not finding any falcons, I parked on the Andrew St Bridge (ASB).  Beauty was now gone from FCT.  But, I could see that there was a falcon on the top Ibeam of OCSR on the north side.  I believe that it was Dot.ca, but couldn’t be 100% sure.

<— I think Dot.ca on OCSR.

I again drove around downtown Rochester (NY), but had no luck finding Beauty.  I even looked up into the OCSR elevator shaft.  No falcons there.  All was quiet and peaceful downtown, so I decided to go over to Maplewood Park to check out Seneca Towers.

From Maplewood Park, I could see no falcons on the building.  This was my view from there.

<— View of Seneca Towers from Maplewood Park.

On my way home, I checked out Kodak Park East and Kodak Park West.  Again no falcons found.

I was happy to have seen both Beauty and Dot.ca during my Sunday morning falcon watch.  Enjoy the day everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Storms yesterday ushered in a cold front which got rid of the humidity. The temperature was a cool 57 (F) 14 (C)

I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) my usual starting point and spotted Beauty on the base of Mercury and Dot.ca (DC) on the northeast side, top I-beam of OCSR.

Traffic was backed up because of construction all over downtown this morning and of course it was rush hour, which made it worse, but I managed to get to Bragdon Place for a closer look at DC before he flew off. He was preening in all his whiteness.

After a couple minutes I went over to the Court St. bridge to be a bit closer to the Beautyful one. She was just looking around as gulls were flying past her.

The water in the river is very low right now due to just a slow bit of water coming through the lock south of the bridge. Since the last time I checked, the construction workers have built what looks like a walkway that curves around the back of the Dinosaur Grill. Many of the ducks were dunking their heads in the current.

<Click>

I left to go walk Bella and when I returned to downtown I could only find DC tucked in the corner by the elevator shaft on the top I-beam, northeast side of OCSR.

When I got to Seneca Towers I found Seth from the Northridge Church parking lot. He was on the north side window ledge in hunt mode as he kept watching something very intently down below him.

After about 5 minutes he flew off into a stoop and didn’t return.

I ended my watch at 9:45am smiling after seeing 3 of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the link below to see a short snippet video

https://youtu.be/Hr7-PuglITg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What a gorgeous pre-eclipse day here in Rochester, NY.  Tomorrow we will have a partial solar eclipse (70%).  Here’s our schedule:  The moon will begin to cover the sun at 1:14 pm.  Our greatest eclipse will be a partial coverage of the sun at 70% at 2:36 pm.  The eclipse will end here in Rochester at 3:52 pm.  In seven years (2024), we will have a total solar eclipse!  One of the questions is, how will the animals behave during the eclipse?  It will be very interesting to read the different observations.

I started my watch a little before 9:00 am.  It was sunny, with a temperature in the 60’s (F).  Since the young ones have left, I usually find Beauty and Dot.ca on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  Today was no exception, both were there.  Dot.ca was on the top arm and Beauty was on the framework below the platform.

<— Dot.ca on Frontier Communication Tower.

<— Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower.

They seemed settled in, so I drove around downtown, hoping to find another falcon.  No such luck.  By the time I returned to the FCT, Dot.ca was gone.  Beauty was still in the same spot I left her.

I stayed for a little while, but there was no further activity.  All was quiet and peaceful downtown.

It was time to continue my watch.  My next stop was Maplewood Park, where I had a nice, far away view of the west and north sides of the apartment building.  There was one adult up on the north end window ledge.  I was way too far away to get an ID.

<— Billie or Seth?

At Medley Center (aka “the old Irondequoit Mall”), I found no falcons and no evidence that they had been there.  Brian H had reported seeing one there on the glass pyramid a couple weeks ago.

I next decided to head down to Irondequoit Bay to see if I could see any Eagles.  I didn’t seen any Eagles, but there were some other birds of interest.

<— Osprey in a tree on the west side.

<— Cormorant drying its wings.

I stopped again at Maplewood Park for another look and found that Billie or Seth had moved to the other end of the north side window ledge.

<— Billie or Seth at Seneca Towers.

I was very happy to have seen 3 of our 4 Rochester Falcons during my watch.  I sure would love to get a glimpse of one of our young ones again.  🙂

On my way home, I spotted this molting Mockingbird.  It was hunting grasshoppers in the grass below this sign.  Love Mockingbirds!

<— Molting Mockingbird.

Enjoy the eclipse tomorrow everyone!  Would love to hear about your observations of the behavior of the animals around you.