By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I’m happy to say that today was my very first falcon watch with my very own car! An angel came to me over the weekend and offered me a 2001 Mercury Sable no strings attached.  I couldn’t turn down a free car whether I can afford to keep one on the road or not! I have retired my drag behind cart and boy do I feel free!

As I drove up to the Broad St. bridge(BSB) about 7:00am I found no pefas in the area nor did I see any on the east side. Upon returning to the BSB I got out to check the river I watched a starling eating bugs on a light that hung over the side of the bridge. I looked to the east and noticed a bump on the southwest corner of Xerox. I turned my camera on,flipped open the LCD screen and zoomed it all the way and unfortunately the falcon was gone when I pointed at Xerox. No problem cuz nearly an hour later after DebbieH stopped on her way to work I spotted a falcon under the southeast wing of the Times Square building(TSB) with its back to me. I walked down to the hole for closer viewing and it left while I was enroute!

10 minutes later I spotted Beauty on the deck next to the main cam and the next time I looked she was gone. Dot.Ca(DC) was under the northeast wing and feathers were a flying!

Out of nowhere Beauty appeared above me in the hole a couple minutes later and flew to Mercury coming to rest on the base.

The Beautyful one moved to where I couldn’t see her so I walked up to the BSB and while I did she left. So back down to the hole I went ending up next to He’s Chinese Restaurant to view DC eating his breakfast. 10 minutes later I looked at Mercury to see that Beauty had returned to the base.

I enjoyed the company of our downtown Peregrine pair for 30 minutes before DC decided to leave. I walked down to Aqueduct park to be closer to Beauty when the sky started to spritz some fine little raindrops down on us.

I went to my car( I like the sound of that) parked behind the Phillipone building and Beauty left. I decided to ride over to BS to have a look see before ending my watch. It was raining harder when I got there and on my second pass around the building the only thing I saw were 6 geese crossing the driveway. I believe Pigott has migrated as she is a young falcon and that’s when they do their wandering. The more we observe the more we learn about the worlds fastest animal the Peregrine Falcon. I drove off in my car and I swear I haven’t stopped smiling since I got it! 🙂

Click the links below for pics and videos from my watch

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrKNg

http://youtu.be/Fgyqwba7zmY
http://youtu.be/ciuKsHCfig4
http://youtu.be/Xuze4qdrXVE
http://youtu.be/bQ1R5pKa62o

By Rochester Falcon Watchers Carol P, Lisa McK & Kathy O

Not much to report today.  We were all out at different times, but there isn’t much to report on this first day of October.

Carol P – I checked KP twice, once in the morning at 6:45 am & once around 4:00 pm.  Both times, I did not see any Peregrines.

Kathy O reported from the BS location.  She spent quite awhile out there this afternoon and did not see any falcons during that time.

Lisa McK spent some time downtown from 6-7 pm.  She reports the following:

6:10 pm – One falcon on TS below the NE wing.  Juvie Herring gull hanging out with the ring billed gulls.

6:30 pm – Falcon disappeared while I was watching the gulls.

6:31 pm – Now it is back by the base of the SE wing.  I think its Beauty.

6:40 pm – Heading home.  1 falcon on TS, 1 watcher on BSB, 1 herring gull in the river and 1 tourist with questions.

Just a quick Falcon Watch update from the Rochester Falcon Watchers that were out today.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sunday, 9/30/12

I checked out KP first, no KPF.  My next stop downtown.  The downtown area was in turmoil.  I could not park anywhere that I usually did.  Aqueduct St aka the hole was blocked by a police car.  Both sides of the Broad St Bridge were marked No Parking.  People were milling about, acting lost.  I drove to the next bridge over, the Court St Bridge (CSB) and parked there.  I could see a falcon on Mercury’s heel, but I was too far for me to see who it was.  After parking, I walked over to the BSB to see what was going on.

All of a sudden, the bridge was lined with city buses and people were getting in and out of them and they weren’t happy.  Guess no one notified them of the change and they were being very vocal about it.  I could see a sea of pink walking over the Main St Bridge.  Kathy O confirmed that the Breast Cancer Walk was happening this morning.  So, Main St was closed to the buses that normally use that route.  That meant that the Broad St Bridge was being used as a bus terminal, for all the folks that would normally get their buses over on Main St.  Like I said, mass chaos.

Before I got to the BSB, the falcon on Mercury’s heal took off to parts unknown.  Although I saw lots and lots of pigeons flying over the Cornhill area, so that might be where the falcon headed.

Larry O parked on the Court St Bridge for a short while.  We waved across the river. lol  I mostly stayed on the BSB.  At a little before 11 am, I saw a falcon fly up to the nest box and heard a bit of ee-chupping.  But, by the time I walked out further on the bridge to get a better view, the falcon was gone.  The nest box cameras did capture the quick visit, possibly Beauty.  Except for that, I had no other falcon sightings.

The river critters weren’t being bothered by all the hoopla.  They were going about their business.  🙂

I took a quick trip out to the BS location and found no falcons there.  It was very quiet there so I didn’t stay long.

Back downtown.  Finally, the walk was finished and everything was back to normal.  I was able to park down on Aqueduct St, and check out all the areas I couldn’t before.  No falcons were out and about.  So, I headed down to Kodak Office to see if they might be down there.  Nothing.  The High Falls Stack is completely covered in scaffolding and they have started to wrap it in heavy plastic.  Pretty soon the whole stack will be covered in plastic. 🙁

Since I was having no luck find any falcons downtown and it was getting close to the start of the Bills game (they lost to New England; Boo!) I decided to head home with a quick stop at KP.

At KP I had better luck.  KPF was on the metal work, to the left of the red door on the east stack.  I stayed to watch her for awhile before heading home.

So, the weekend is over, but it was a wonderful two days of watching falcons and spending time with friends.  I do love my falcon watching weekends!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Saturday, 9/29/12

I sure do love the weekends, but they always go way too fast.

On my way downtown I always check out Kodak Park (KP), since it’s on my way.  Saturday morning I was happy to see the female we call KPF.  She was sitting on the railing in front of the red door on the east smoke stack.  I didn’t stay long because I wanted to get to the BS location to see if I could find some falcons there.

I did find a falcon in the cubby (that’s what we are calling it) on the west side of the bldg.  For most of the time I was there, this Falcon had his/her back to me.  Finally the falcon turned around for a few seconds.  I wasn’t 100% sure if this was DC or Pigott, who we have not seen here for a few days.  I sent these pics out to fellow watchers and Joyce got back to me.  She is certain that this was Dot.ca. I have to agree.

So where is Piggot?  Has she migrated?  Well that is certainly a possibility.  Dot.ca is still visiting the building and just because we have not seen her, it doesn’t necessarily mean that she has left.  We’ll have to wait and see and continue watching for her.

My next stop was downtown.  I found Beauty on the top IBeam of the OCSR.  She took off and hunted over the river.  She flew back towards me and landed on Mercury’s heel.

She stayed there for quite awhile before taking off and heading north down the river.  I lost sight of her behind some buildings, but I could see pigeons taking panicked flight as she passed.  It wasn’t long before she flew back to the Times Square Bldg. (TSB) carrying prey.

She landed at the base of the NE wing.  Feathers soon were flying, drifting on the afternoon breeze.  Dana and Lou arrived and we watched Beauty enjoy her dinner.  When she finished, she took off, leaving the remainder of the meal on the building.  She flew over us heading north.  In the reflection of the Cross Rds Bldg, I could see her head towards the FCT area.  That was cool!  Of course we followed!

When we got over there, we spotted Dot.ca on the building just south of the FCT.  Dana and Lou arrived first and they said that Beauty had been on the FCT when they arrived.  Both she and DC vocalized a bit and then Beauty took off heading back towards the TSB.  After awhile, DC also took off heading south.  Dana and Lou had to leave, so I headed back to the TSB,

I spotted Dot.ca on Mercury’s heel (seems to be a popular spot for our falcons), so I decided to park down on Aqueduct St, aka the hole.  Beauty was up in the nest box according to on-line Watcher Donna and Shaky too.  Thanks for your help!  It’s hard for me to see her if she’s up there.

Dana returned and we settled in to watch Dot.ca, who spent a lot of time preening and turning and pooping and stretching and itching and, well you get the idea.  lol  He was there for a very long time before finally, he spread his wings and took off heading south.  We were able to see that he landed on the jail communication tower.  Donna notified us that Beauty had left the nest box, but we had not seen her leave.

We were starting to lose light, so we decided to call it a day.  Saturday was over, but there was still Sunday to enjoy!  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As my bus approached downtown today I could see road crews working on Main St. Yay,  it was finally getting  paved. There was a lot of work going on around our fair city. The Phillipone building had painters giving the garage ceiling a fresh coat and there were city crews trimming trees over in front of City Hall.

I didn’t see Beauty on the base of Mercury until I got up on the Broad St. bridge(BSB). She was on the northeast corner where she could only be seen from the bridge.

At first she was just standing there and then she started nibbling on something. I knew she was on the last leg (so to speak) of her prey item for she was sporting a pretty full crop.

Beauty stayed there for about an hour as I enjoyed her company and the river dwellers as well. I so love the fall skies with all the different cloud formations especially at sunrise.

Just before 8:00am the Beautyful one took off to the southeast flying right into the sun making me lose track of her.  I watched a Great Blue Heron fish in the river and had a young gull land on the bridge railing about 6 feet away from me. Nothing entertains quite like nature! I happened to look up at the right time to see a falcon fly over the Wilder building heading straight toward the Frontier Communications Tower(FCT). I strolled over to City Hall and found Beauty on the 2nd arm west side of FCT. She had her back to me so I went to the parking lot that is situated between the Frontier building and the church on Fitzhugh St. across from City Hall so I could see the front of her. I had time for a few pics and a video and then she was off again and so was I.

She flew in the direction of Times Square so I walked back that way and as I got to the parking lot by the hole I noticed a bunch of Starlings all over the Mercury statue. I was just about to click the pic when they all shot off at once and in coming from behind was a pefa. It was Dot.Ca and he chased them for a bit before circling back overhead and settled over on the top ibeam of OCSR at the south corner.

Right after I tweeted that DC had arrived I got a text from Donna saying that Beauty was at the nest box. I turned around to look but I couldn’t see her so I set up by the corner of Keybank in the hole and watched DC as he turned around  and moved about a foot or so to the east of the corner with his back now to me. He was doing a lot of preening and I thought maybe he was getting his groove on to go join Beauty in the nest box for some bowing and bonding.

I couldn’t seem to warm up this morning so I decided to end my watch and catch the next bus home. It was great to spend time with both Beauty and DC which is all the reason I need to keep on smiling! 🙂

Pics and videos can be seen by clicking on the links below

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrKFA

http://youtu.be/gZU3wym6GNE
http://youtu.be/wasdHxdJOs8
http://youtu.be/896zmmdN_58

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a dark and dreary morning in our fair city. When I arrived on the Broad St. bridge I could see no falcons, so I proceeded to the east side of the river. I found the distinct profile of a Peregrine on the northwest corner of  HSBC in the darkness.

After the sky started to lighten up as the sun came up behind all the cloud cover I could see the dark chest of Beauty and she was eating her breakfast.

I could see that her crop was pretty full so I knew she was finishing her meal. She turned around showing me her back and pooped. lol This meant that she was lightening her load to take off soon and poof there she went!

Beauty was flying west toward the river and as I made my way back to the bridge Shaky tweeted that she was next to the main cam. She didn’t stay long enough for me to get there and as I was getting coffee at Tim Hortons on Main St. Shaky tweeted a falcon on the Frontier Communications Tower. I walked over to City Hall and had a look see but couldn’t find it. I then checked the north(back) side of OCSR on my way back to the Times Square area. I decided to walk down to Court St. and check the jail tower and bingo I spotted a falcon on the north side near the 2nd arm.

After climbing the 3 sets of stairs to the new park by the Hall of Justice I found a sleeping Beauty and I was about ready for a nap myself!

Being that this was not a good angle to watch her I moved as close to the Hall of Justice as I could and set up. Beauty woke up and did some preening and well just perched there being her Beautyful self in the grayness of the day.

It started to spit raindrops down on us so I got out the umbrella and plastic bag to cover my camera and binocs. The rain started coming down harder so I decided to go find some cover and as I packed up my stuff  Beauty left and I had no idea what way she flew off to. I took a look around on my way back to the Times Square area and after not finding a falcon on any of the regular places I decided to call it and go home. As I stood waiting for my bus I couldn’t help but smile for having spent much of my watch chasing our Beautyful girl around the city and happily finding her to share space once again with the fastest animal on the planet! 🙂

Links for 3 videos below need only be clicked on to view

http://youtu.be/D2S1yuYuCv0
http://youtu.be/bMoK5zCTqfs
http://youtu.be/4gmXre9M190

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays watch was less about falcons and more about just enjoying the crisp clean fall air and surroundings.

As is my usual routine of late I check around from the Broad St. bridge and then I walk to the east side of the river to check on HSBC and the Xerox-B&L area. I could find none of our feathered friends so I stopped at Tim Hortons for a cup of  coffee on my way back to the bridge and perched on a picnic table by the library for a while. After a bit I walked over to the southeast end of the bridge to take a look at the river and spotted a Killdeer down on the rocks eating bugs. They are  one of my favorites!

After I finished taping this little guy I looked over at the jail tower and spotted a falcon on the 2nd arm south side.

It was too far away to ID with it’s back to me. DebbieH came by on her way to work and suggested we walk down to the new park  next to the Hall of Justice for a closer look at the tower. So off we went and as close as we were I still wasn’t sure who was perched on that tower although I was thinking Beauty judging by size and the darkness of the mustache.

Debbie left for work and when I looked back up there was no falcon! I then got a text from Donna that Beauty had just arrived at the nest box confirming that it was the Beautyful one on the jail tower. She was only at the nest box briefly and by the time I got down all the stairs from the new park to Exchange Blvd. it was too late- she was gone. I then took a walk to the Frontier Communications Tower checking the sky and building tops along the way. No luck! I crossed over State St. to Andrews St. and walked along the river checking the north(back) side of OCSR. I went across the pedestrian bridge to the east side of the river by the Radisson Hotel up South Ave. and onward to check the Xerox area without any sightings. I made my way to the Main St. bridge which is near my bus stop and sat on a bench for a while. Lots of folks along the way asked me if I was watching the falcons and in particular Larry Sweet a guy I met back in the spring. We used to chat about the falcons a lot and I hadn’t seen him in a very long time so it was good to flag him down on his bike and visit. He thought our falcons had all split until spring. I brought him up to speed and then he had to get going.

As I looked around for falcons I decided to take pics of the view from that bench on the Main St. bridge so y’all could see what I saw. They are in my photo album from today. I never saw another falcon before leaving downtown, but I did see Beautys back for a while and I enjoyed all the sights and sounds of our fair city which is good for a smile or two!  🙂

Click the links below for a different album and video due to the lack of  Peregrines

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrJyg

http://youtu.be/hkMeAyOAKyM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Arriving downtown in darkness I went straight over to the east side thinking I would find Beauty on her 5th column south side night time roosting spot on Xerox or on her morning hunting spot on HSBC. She was on neither so I made my way to one of my roosting spots by the Rundell Library on a picnic table. I could see the Frontier Communications tower,Mercury,OCSR and the Times Square (TSB) area. At about 7:20am I saw a pefa on the ledge right above the nest box briefly and in the blink of an eye it was gone. I then took a walk down to Tim Hortons on Main St. and while in there got a text from Donna saying that Beauty was at the nest. As soon as I walked out of  Tims I spotted Beauty as big as life on the main cam.

Donna also said that she heard the distinctive chirp of Dot.Ca (DC). I found him as well (thanks to my good friend and cam watcher Donna) under the northeast wing of the TSB as Beauty was looking up at him.

They both had their heads on a swivel looking for prey to pounce on. DebbieH came by to observe our fabulous falcons on her way to work and right after she left Beauty took off and stooped in the river. I was stationed at another one of my roosts-by He’s Chinese Restaurant on Exchange Blvd. so I quickly lost the Beautyful one behind buildings. KathyO drove by honking her horn and waving to me on her way to give Brian a lift to an appointment before she went to work. We Rochester falcon watchers are a tight knit family that help each other out in life. So I watched DC for the next 20 minutes bob and turn his head and have a nice stretch for himself.

As I wondered where Beauty had gone, suddenly I spotted a familiar face poking up from the base of Mercury. It was Beauty come back from her unsuccessful stoop to try her luck from there right above the river.

I walked up to the Broad St. bridge so I could watch them both easier without having to look away from one to see the other. They both had birds flying below them and Beauty once again flew off after pigeons above me out over the river and beyond.

I watched her until she disappeared into the southeast sky. I waited to see if Beauty would return but she didn’t so hopefully she caught something and was eating somewhere. Back down to He’s to keep an eye on DC who was still under the northeast wing of the TSB looking around for his own meal. A silly starling flew out from behind the northwest wing and made a quick u-turn when it got a load of DC right there staring him in the face!  Right after that DC scratched his head and had a look of having something to ponder.

Soon after this I decided to catch the next bus home thus ending my watch on a happy note with a smile on my face! 🙂

I have links below for a photo album and videos for your viewing pleasure. Just click ’em

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrJrA

http://youtu.be/Z1Aq3bDHs7Q

http://youtu.be/Acyn8tM61l4

http://youtu.be/AfDY0n_1o1s
http://youtu.be/UxAk5bHssrk
http://youtu.be/QPHLhkEdWY0
http://youtu.be/giOxgvmorC0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Just when I think they’re in a routine they switch it up on me as I found no falcons on any of the buildings near the Broad St. bridge or on the east side. But as I made my way back from checking HSBC and the Xerox area I stopped at the intersection of Broad and Clinton and looked thru my binocs to find a falcon on Times Square under the northeast wing. This falcon had its back to me but I did get a shot of it turning its head my way.

Click on the pics for full version

This was the Beautyful one! I walked down to Exchange Blvd. and set up by He’s chinese restaurant to watch Beauty. It was quite breezy this morning ruffling up her feathers but it wasn’t until she stretched that I could see for sure that it was indeed her.

I spent the better part of an hour with Beauty before she took off. And I had to leave for a while myself to help out a friend who didn’t know her way around the city and asked if I’d drive her to an appointment.

With that taken care of I returned to my watch a little over an hour later with my friends car. Not finding any pefas I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge and spotted a white chested falcon at the north corner top ibeam of OCSR.

I was too far away to positively ID this bird so I drove over to Bragdon St. which is located by the Radisson Hotel for a closer look see. I got out the car and walked down by the river to take a couple pics and when I turned around to go back to the car there was the parking police slapping a ticket on the car! I was gone less than 5 minutes for crying out loud and it wasn’t my friend Jimmy who is another parking enforcement official (the one that told me of Jemison being down in front of the Rochester Plaza Hotel back in 2010). So it will cost me $25 for the ticket and a $15 surcharge to find out that Dot.Ca (DC)was on OCSR. UGH!

When I got in the car and looked I couldn’t see DC so I took another ride around our fair city only to end up on the Andrews St. bridge once more. I got my binocs out and spotted 2 falcons on the north side of OCSR. DC was at the corner same as before and Beauty was a few feet to the right of him on the top ibeam.

They weren’t really doing much of anything as I watched them for about 15 minutes before my friend called to say she was ready to be picked up. I left our downtown pair ending my watch and even tho it was an expensive one I still left downtown smiling for having seen Beauty and DC! 🙂

Just one video link today to click on below

http://youtu.be/c751jJqrhMo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays theme was staying close to home for our downtown pair Beauty and Dot.Ca(DC). I guess having a visit from another tiercel put things into perspective for DC cuz he wasn’t spending a whole lot of time downtown since Orion left on his life journey. Spending more time with Pigott over at BS stopped when a new tiercel,NG came to town. DC has been present in the downtown area a lot more and he has gone to the nest box with Beauty to renew their bond more than he was before too. This is a good thing!

It was a cold morning with the thermometer by my back door reading 39 degrees when I left the house for the bus. After checking the Broad St. bridge(BSB) area I went east stopping in front of Clinton Square to find Beauty on the northeast corner of HSBC.

As I made my way further east to be closer she left when I wasn’t looking so I turned right around and went back toward the river. Looking from the intersection of Broad and Clinton I could see a falcon on the base of Mercury.

Click pics for full version

As I made my way closer to the BSB the falcon left Mercury and flew to the Times Square building(TSB) coming to rest under the northeast wing.

Upon arriving at Falcon Watcher Central (FWC)I was able to determine that it was DC under the northeast wing and then I got a text from Donna saying that Beauty was at the nest box.  15 minutes later DC flew up to the northeast wing ring where I haven’t seen him land in quite a while.

It’s interesting how they get in different patterns of where they hang out. You won’t see them on certain favorite perches and then all of a sudden they will frequent them and stop going to ones they were frequenting. It keeps us watchers on our toes I’ll tell ya! Anyway, DC only stayed a few minutes before he was off to perch on the top ibeam south side of OCSR.

I went down to the hole for closer viewing as Beauty returned to the nest box and then left flying south. DC also left OCSR while I was watching Beauty. I decided to get some hot coffee while there was a break in the action but before I could take one step Beauty returned to the nest box and DC went under the northeast wing.

Stationed now by He’s Chinese I could see both of them. DC flew off twice presumably going after prey and returned to the wing as he was in hunt mode giving his head and neck a good workout this morning.

I left for the BSB so I could see Beauty better after she went to the front ledge of the nest box where I couldn’t see her from my position. I found Mr. Green Heron in the river and a Cormorant that had a feather stuck on its face. I taped them both from the north side of the BSB and then I crossed over to the south side and taped all the falls and birds that were congregated over there. I can never get enough of the sound of  the river. It really makes you forget that you are in the middle of the city. I ended my watch at this juncture as I wanted to get home and warm up. Seeing Beauty and DC hang out on the TSB for most of my watch sent me home smiling! 🙂

Click the links below for pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrJYA

http://youtu.be/rSr2C3T98cs
http://youtu.be/klZSUU-IBas
http://youtu.be/ruHaMyhXJCM
http://youtu.be/ZKMoIHYK_08
http://youtu.be/B5omo4L8WNg
http://youtu.be/NaeZlnY7qG4