By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Date : 5/12/12
Time: 8:30 am to noon & 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Weather: Sunny and temps in the 70’s; nice and warm (A Beautiful Day!)
Watchers: Dana, Lou & Carol P
Places: Downtown Rochester (Times Square Nestsite) (TS) & Brighton Site (BS)
Peregrines Seen: Current TS Resident Female (Beauty) & Two Peregrines at BS (Dot .ca aka DC & Sub-Adult Female aka SA)

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day. Lots going on downtown including a gathering and parade of dachshunds. Not something you see every day. Graduations continue at the Blue Cross Arena aka Rochester War Memorial and the 2nd day of the Lilac Festival at Highland Park.

When I arrived around 8:30 am, Beauty was up at the NE wing of the Times Square Bldg (TSB). She was preening and soaking up the sun. I was joined by Dana.

At 10:00 am, Beauty started to whine. She took off and flew around a bit before going into the nest box. Soon after, Dot.ca flew in and landed at the SE wing. At approximately 11:00 am, Dot.ca left while we weren’t looking. Beauty came out of the nest box heading east where we lost sight of her. Dana and I decided to split up and look for them. She was going to head over to the BS location, but could not get close due to the Lilac Festival. I drove around the downtown area checking out all the buildings. Neither of us had any luck.

We both met back at Aqueduct St. For the next hour, we had no falcons in sight. I decided to leave to have some lunch. Before I got too far I received a text from Dana that Beauty had returned.

I returned downtown around 3:30 pm. Dot.ca was at the NE wing and Beauty was in the nest box. Soon after I arrived, I was joined by Dana and Lou for a short while. At 4:10 pm, first Dot.ca and then Beauty took off from the TSB and flew together above us. They both headed east, but were only gone for a few moments. First Beauty and then Dot.ca flew back to the nest box, fast!. There was a Turkey Vulture (TV) close to the building and DC chased it towards the southwest.

After that Dot.ca continued to fly higher and higher, circling the area. Beauty perched on the railing outside of the scrape and watched DC above. He would fly in and out of our view, before we couldn’t see him anymore. At one point I did see him stoop past the Radisson Hotel, but didn’t see where he went. I did not see DC for the remainder of my watch. Dana and Lou left and I remained for another hour before heading home myself, leaving Beauty on the perch in front of the nest box.

Tomorrow is Mothers Day! Happy Mom’s Day to all you moms. Enjoy your day!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Time to start up our Falcon Watches again.

Wanted to start with my Watch Report from today. I saw all three Rochester Falcons during my watch, Beauty, Dot.ca and Pigott.

For this one, I decided to write up my report along with the pictures I took in a KGallery album. Here’s the link (no sign on needed):

http://pix.kg/p/5775131151105%3A345333072/scl

and a video of Beauty flying over to Dot.ca and grabbing the food he brought to her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4fWd-Zn2Sg&feature=youtu.be
 

Hope you Enjoy!
Carol P.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I was oh, so sick of being sick!  Leave it to me to get a flu bug that wasn’t covered by the flu shot we all received.  I needed some fresh air and I needed to see a falcon!

I arrived downtown around 5:30 pm, knowing I didn’t have a whole lot of time before it got dark.  The moon was already large in the sky, and the bright sun was dipping lower and lower.

As I drove up to the Broad St Bridge, I was greeted by the unknown Tiercel flying towards me with a nice bloody tidbit grasped in his big yellow talons.  He flew over and up towards the Times Square Bldg. (TSB)  I quickly turned my car around and had the full force of the sun directly in my eyes.  I found a spot closer to the TSB where I had a little protection from the sun and saw that the Tiercel had landed on the same level as the nest box, but on the south side of the building.  This is where Jemison had made his first little jump, hop, flight.

To get a better view, I drove down onto Aqueduct St.  Unity flew in and landed on the same ledge as the Tiercel.  I couldn’t see if she actually took the offering of prey from the Tiercel, but I’m pretty sure that she did, and now she was out of sight.

After awhile, she flew off the TSB and landed on Mercury’s outstretched hand/money bag.  The almost full moon was behind the statue and I moved around until…..

Unity and the Moon - 3/5/12

I just love taking, as my good friend Lou would say, Artsy-Fartsy shots.  🙂

Unity and the Moon - 3/5/12

Unity and the Moon - 3/5/12

 The Tiercel flew off of the TSB and did all kinds of fancy flying over the river, back to TSB, zipped by her and flew towards the buildings on the east side of the river and zipped back.  He was putting on quite a nice show for her.

The Tiercel flew back to the TSB and landed under the SE wing.  Unity came off of the Mercury statue and flew towards the TSB, landing on the platform in front of the nest box.  She disappeared from view, ducking into the nest box and for the next 5-10 mins, she ee-chupped from inside the nest box, while the Tiercel again started his fancy flying.  He flew out from the building, over the river and zoomed by the front of the nest box.  You’ve got to give this guy an “A for Effort!”.

Unity and the Moon - 3/5/12

As the light faded, one of the falcons (I’m not sure which one) kept making short flights around the TSB and landing at different spots all along the back section.  Off and on, off and on.  Something I haven’t seen before.  I was joined by Kathy O. after it quieted down.

Before it got too dark, I did see a falcon fly in from the north, land for a very short time on the north end of the well wall (at the nest box) and then fly over to the north side of the back section of the TSB.  S/he landed on top of one of the last columns at the west end.  Very hard to explain.  I’ll have to take a picture the next time I’m there in the daylight and point it out.  Was this one of their night time roosting spots.

Stay tuned!

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

It’s been great having wheels the last 4 days to get out and about. My main activity was you guessed it FALCON WATCHING! They are my passion and I love them like nothing else in my life! Yesterday was filled with wind and today snow but I  enjoyed being out in it and thankfully so did Unity. My first sighting of her was on Beautys’ favorite morning perch – the money bag hand of Mercury.

Oh and did I mention she was whining!  This girl is a whiner for sure! I thought maybe the Mr was near hence the vocalizing but on this day he was absent. It was all Unity all day! I was watching her from the hole(Aqueduct St.) when she started whining just before taking off  in the direction of Xerox. I quickly lost sight of her as the Thomson Reuters building was in the way. A common problem when you’re in the hole. I took some pics so you can see what I mean about being surrounded by buildings when you’re watching from Aqueduct St. They are in an album at the end of my report. With a lull in the action I decided to get breakfast and as I came back to the van I ran into Larry and Cleo at Aqueduct park. As I drove away I saw Cleo on her back rolling in the snow. lol I parked on the Broad St. bridge and Larry came by saying he would check over on the east side near Xerox for Unity on his way home. It started to snow with sleet mixed in. As I looked at the Times Square building I noticed a bump on the ledge one level below the nest box. I thought it was Mr until I went to the parking lot between the Wilder building and the Phillipone building off Aqueduct St. and got closer pics. After zooming and closer inspection I determined that it was Unity. The snow and dark conditions sure do try ones patience.

I returned to the bridge as Unity was staying put and Dana showed up to watch with me. We chatted on the sidewalk until the snow intensified driving us into our vehicles. About 45 minutes later Joyce and Brian stopped for a few minutes on their way to look for the Irondequoit eagles and owls at Braddocks Bay State Park. As they arrived Unity flew off toward Midtown. They left and Dana said she’d go check Midtown while I remained on the bridge. Dana tweeted that she had Unity on the south side of Midtown and so I beat feet over there. I’ve never seen a falcon on Midtown before so I was anxious to see her.

Unity left heading east and Dana found her under the southeast wing of Times Square.  She left there and flew to Mercury after quite a while.

I got the approach,landing and the take off!

Again she went east somewhere that neither Dana or I could find her and after driving around looking and looking for Unity or Mr I found an empty spot on the Broad St. bridge and parked it. Dana didn’t have the same luck as she drove by 2 times and eventually called it quits for the day. Joyce and Brian stopped by on their way back from their little jaunt for a few more minutes. They were successful in finding the eagle pair but not the owls although they did see some ducks to add to the 2012 bird list. We all ended up down in the parking lot by Aqueduct street when Unity came in and landed on the main cam. They left and Unity walked down the cam and hopped off. That was the last I saw of her as I had to get the van back to my friend Tesa thus ending my watch. It surely was great having my freedom again by having a vehicle at my disposal. I’ve missed going downtown in the early morning hours before it gets too busy. In the last few days I have done a whole lot of smiling thanks to good friends! 🙂

Check out my album for many more pics of the day.

http://pix.kg/p/829792894213%3A1909162111/scl

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

When I first arrived downtown somewhere between 6:30 and 7:00am I received a text from Donna that Unity had visited the nest box around 6:10am. So she had snuck in before ol’ MAK got there! Must have been the strong winds that blew her in! lol About an hour into my watch LarryO and his faithful canine Cleo joined me on the Broad St. bridge. He spotted a falcon flying in from the east and right to the nest box. It was at this time Donna reported that both Unity and the Mr were at the nest box and possibly bowing was involved. Larry and I looked at each other like huh we only saw one go up there. Oh well you can’t win them all! Larry saw one leave and disappear behind the Times Square building so he left to go find it while I remained. Unity showed herself next to the main cam.

Larry returned and stood by me as I was in the van and we both managed to miss Unity leave. She probably caught a tail wind and poof she was gone! The wind kept trying to blow Larry down the street, I think he actually grabbed hold of my door a couple times. He finally had enough and decided to go. I can’t remember the last time I saw him but he’s looking healthy. As i was waiting for a falcon or two to show up I took pics of first some crows and then some pigeons on the roof of the Blue Cross Arena. You’ll find them in my album at the end of this report. KathyO came along a little over an hour later.  We took a ride to see what we could see and when we returned there was nowhere to park so we went up on the roof of the South Ave. garage. Nearly 3 hours since Unity had left the nest box area she returned to it landing on the main cam.

Kathy wanted to get going so I dropped her off at her car took a quick run around the city stopping at high falls before going home to get something to eat. As I was just getting ready to go back downtown I got a text from Donna that a falcon was on the nest ledge but when I got there it was gone. With nowhere to park because of high school basketball taking place at the Blue Cross Arena I was forced to go down in the hole (my name for Aqueduct St.) because you’re surrounded by buildings. Your view is very limited there but at this particular time it worked out well for I spotted Unity up on the southeast corner of the Wilder building and she had prey. Feathers were flying but they weren’t coming down rather they were wind blown up and out probably landing in the next county or maybe even Emerald City along with Toto too! lol

She was having some difficulty holding on to the prey without getting blown off that corner so I shot a video to show her struggle. Every once in a while she would whine and I thought that perhaps Mr was near by where I couldn’t see him. This gorgeous girl eventually quit eating and flew off with her stash. After she cached it somewhere she  showed up at the nest box as reported by Donna.

Suddenly I saw a falcon flying above the Times Square building and then it was joined by another and so I assumed it was Unity and the Mr. Donna texted me that Unity was still in the nest area. My first thought was Archer has returned and when I lost sight of them behind buildings I panicked not knowing if I was going to find them fighting when I surfaced from the hole. As I was walking around down there looking for them I decided that was it I had to get out to where I could see more. With no where to park I decided to return to the South Ave. garage where I had a good view of the downtown sky and tops of buildings. Having arrived on top I got a text from Donna saying that she thought the timing of the still cam and my tweet that I saw 2 flying was off a bit and that it was probably Unity flying with him after all. By this time I was shaking and wanting to be sure there wasn’t a 3rd pefa. I soon spotted Mr on the 2nd ibeam of OCSR southeast side. And then I noticed a falcon flying up to the nest box. It turned out to be Unity and I wasn’t seeing any other falcons. Phew the crisis was over!

Mr flew over and joined Unity landing next to cam 4 I was told there was echupping and then he left never to be seen again. I remained on top of the garage until just before dusk watching Unity sitting on the nest box ledge looking quite dominant having taken over this place where Beauty and Archer had brought up Callidora and Jemison. I couldn’t help but wonder what the near future holds for our Rochester falcons as Unity flew off to the northeast and out of sight. This would end my watch for today. I pray for a happy outcome that we can all smile about! 🙂

Please click on the links below for video and more pics from the days events.

http://pix.kg/p/376870794213%3A1352252742/scl

http://youtu.be/xSPK7YP8ma8

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

I arrived downtown about 6:30am today and I left about 6:10 pm. I wanted to make sure if there was any trouble someone was around to help since Archer is due back soon. The day started dark and dreary but the sun eventually shone. Half  hour  into my watch I spotted a falcon up on the roof of Xerox west side. I grabbed my camera and as I clicked the falcon flew off.

Another 30 minutes passed before I saw Unity on the money bag hand of Mercury. DebbieH had joined me on her way to work and was thrilled to see a falcon.

I had an appointment in the Sibley building which took longer than expected so when I was done I grabbed some lunch. On my way down Lake Ave. I saw pigeons scattering in every direction so I pulled onto White street and sure enough I spotted a falcon flying above the frenzied Rock Doves. It never stooped on them but you’d never know from the way they were carrying on. I lost sight of it and continued on to the downtown area. On Broad St. bridge I noticed Mr on top of the nest box for a brief moment and then he was gone. I then saw Unity on the money bag hand of Mercury again.

The pic above of Unity is her watching Mr approach and then he flew by her with blazing speed almost touching her. She flew to the nestbox and he landed on the money bag hand. A first for him that I know of.

DebbieH walked over for her lunch break to see both falcons before Mr flew to the east in a big hurry. Unity left the nest box and followed him. I think they may have been chasing a hawk out of the territory for when I drove over to the area where they were headed I found a hawk flying after some pigeons and landing on the roof of a building.

When I returned to the bridge  I saw a falcon next to the main cam which Donna told me was the Mr and then he vanished.

It would be 2 hours before I had another sighting when I spotted Unity flying above and around the OCSR building 2 or 3 times before landing under the northeast wing of the Times Square building. She left very soon after and I sat another hour and a half with no pefa to share space with until Unity showed up at the nest box for the last visit of the day there.

I put my camera away for the daylight was fading fast. Unity flew out and joined Mr above Xerox where they flew above and around it several times landing on the roof near the southwest corner. I walked down by the library to see them better and then one of them flew off circling several more times before landing on the northwest corner. This falcon flew off across the river and circled above the OCSR building going higher and higher until I lost sight of it. The time was 5:30pm and it would be my last look. I was about to call it a watch when KathyO showed up. We sat in the van and chatted for a while and then we went our separate ways. Ya know what makes me smile? A whole day of falcon watching!!! 🙂

To see more pics of the day click on the link below and enjoy!

http://pix.kg/p/879151694213%3A655454606/scl

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Well folks looks like I’ll be out falcon watching through Sunday for my friend Tesa has given me use of her minivan until then. Yeeha! Bright and early this morning as I parked on the Broad St. bridge facing the Times Square building I thought I saw a falcon fly near the nest box. 10 minutes later after a quick ride around the block and back I could see Unity on top of cam 1. Donna informed me that she was on top of the main cam and then hopped over to cam 1.

I managed to barely see the tail feathers of Mr. hanging off the ledge of the northeast wing on the Times Square building. Donna texted me and said she could hear him whining on the live stream. I then drove down to Aqueduct St. to see him better but he had left while I was in transit. Next thing I knew Unity was flying above OCSR circling around the back  and ending up under the northeast wing on Times Square.

She flew off while I wasn’t looking and after searching for 45 minutes without finding her I left to take care of some business.

Ok I’m back and it’s 4:15.  Unity was at the nest box and Mr. was on the ledge one level up from the nest box.

Mr. flew down to a ledge one level below nest box for only about 30 seconds and then he was off to the OCSR building top ibeam southeast side. And Unity remained in the nest box.

Apparently as told to me by camera watcher Donna ,when I wasn’t paying attention Mr. joined Unity over near the nest box for less than a minute then took off with Unity right after him. She also informed me at the time that birdgirl814 who works in the OCSR building southwest side on the 11 th floor wanted to meet me. So Donna arranged for us to meet on the bridge. Her real name is Katie and she’s been lurking since 2001 when Mariah and Kaver had their nest box at Kodak. It was a pleasure talking to her and I look forward to seeing her posting on the forum and joining us watchers on the street. It will make her smile I guarantee it! 🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

My dear friend of 40 years (we met freshman year of high school) Tesa (short for Teresa) took me to a doctor appointment today. We had lunch afterward and she asked if I wanted to go falcon watching with one stipulation -I had to drive as she doesn’t like driving much. Of course I said YES and for the first time since before my last knee replacement I was behind the wheel again. Ah freedom is a beautiful thing! As we drove east bound through the intersection of Broad St. and Plymouth Ave. I spotted the wing flap of a Peregrine falcon flying above the Times Square building and disappearing behind buildings. We stopped up on the Broad St. bridge and I noticed a white bump on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR. I took a few pics and then drove down to Aqueduct St. for closer inspection. After zooming a pic on my cameras’ LCD screen I decided it was the male who I’m simply calling  Mr.

Out of nowhere appeared another falcon flying above the OCSR building and vanishing behind it to the north. I assumed it was Unity. I drove us back up to the bridge for a better view of the area. I grabbed my binocs and started looking down river toward the lake when Tesa said what’s up there on Mercury. Lo and behold Unity was up on the money bag hand!

Not sure if I can post any more pics as I’m having issues with my computer but I have made an album of which I will post the link for at the end of my report.

Since Unity had her back to us we returned to Aqueduct St. for closer viewing. I took a walk to Main St. and got some shots of Mr. and then I walked down to the parking lot of Thomson Reuters directly below Mercury and took a couple of what I think are cool pics. I rejoined Tesa and drove us up to the bridge once again where we could keep track of both our feathered friends. You could clearly see that Unity had quite the full crop! It seemed that they were hunkered down for a while and so we called it a watch. I think Mr. is very cute and he makes me smile! 🙂

This album is minus about 10 pics but after spending about 5 hours you have my report and some pics to enjoy. PHEW!

http://pix.kg/p/524824394213%3A331677084/scl

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Well, what a difference a day makes! Yesterday was poor weather and poor falcon watching having only seen Unity for a brief time. Today sunshine and lots of falcon action prevailed! Joyce picked me up and when we arrived downtown Dana was down on Aqueduct St. and CarolP was parked by falcon central. A police helicopter appeared right in front of us very low flying over the broad St. bridge and headed slowly down river to the north.

We made a u turn and joined Carol. Unity was in the nest box and a male falcon was on the gridwork of the Times Square building east side(nest side).

Both falcons left heading east diving on a Red-tail Hawk and then landing on Xerox. Unity on SW corner and male on NW corner. Make sure to click on pics for full version.

They weren’t there long when both flew to the nest box.

The male left and went over to the 3rd ibeam southeast side of OCSR.

Meanwhile Unity flew from the top of cam 4 to the top of the main cam.

Unity flew to Mercury landing on the money bag hand while the male went to the nest box.

Suddenly the male flew over to Mercury and landed on the feather of the cap. Unity hacked up a couple pellets while up there of which I have video that I will put the link to at the end of my report. It looked to me like she was not happy with him following her and she took off .

She flew to the southwest corner of the Hyatt on the lower roof while the male stayed on Mercury. Unity brought up another pellet there. Joyce and I decided to go to the top level of the South Ave. garage for a closer look.

The male then joined Unity on the Hyatt landing just a couple feet away from her. And it seemed like she was trying to give him the slip for she flew up to the top roof southwest corner of the Hyatt hotel.

I took this opportunity to take a couple pics from this location to give everyone a lay of the land so to speak.

Unity left followed by the male. We lost them and then we saw 1 flying near Xerox. We believe the male landed on the southwest corner of the Chase building. On the ledge of the garage some brave pigeons had gathered.

Unity had flown to the money bag hand of Mercury and the male to the ring of the southwest wing on the Times Square building.

Both falcons flew off and with daylight fading we decided we would fly too! It was a busy watch and it is this watchers opinion that Unity doesn’t seem too interested in this male. I reckon she’s waiting for Archer to return. Let’s hope when that day comes we can all smile! 🙂

Videos and a photo album are below. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/nOXmadBqpfg

http://youtu.be/XzK8c54GCHo

http://pix.kg/p/361192194213%3A2002465137/scl

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Unity on the right, Mystery Tiercel on the left. 2/26/12

In my book, there is no better way to spend a few hours on a Sunday, with good friends and watching beautiful birds.  🙂

Watchers included: Dana, Joyce, MAK, Dan S and Carol P.

It was a very cold day, but when the Sun came out, boy did it feel good!

There was a whole lot of activity by Unity and the mystery Tiercel.  As we wait for the possible return of Beauty and Archer, all we can do is keep an eye on what is happening in downtown Rochester.

Mystery Tiercel Takes Off! 2/26/12

 I’ve put together a KGallery Album with lots of pictures from today and my report.

http://pix.kg/p/2207245631105%3A491139093/scl

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.

Carol P.