Another beautiful evening for fledge watching! I arrived to find a number of watchers downtown. Carol P. was also on official watch. There were a couple of falcons in view. Closest to us was Seneca who had been hanging out on one of the lower buildings for most of the day. She seemed content to stay put while an adult flew in with what Brian said was prey. Immediately we saw 3 juvies where the food drop was on the east
side of the tower.

Around 5:30 Mariah started flying around the tower and it took no time for Zephyr to launch into the air. For the next 15 minutes we were treated to a lot of fun flying and talon tag by at least 3 juvies in the air at once! Seneca kept her on eye on her family but showed no signs of moving.

Approx. 5:45 Carol P. heard one of the adults sound the kak alarm. Kaver or Mariah was off to the east above the river. We grabbed the binoculars and spotted a very large, dark bird that was not a Turkey Vulture. The consensus was that it was a juvie bald eagle and it was escorted out of the area rather peacefully.

At 6:00 I got ready to go but still had my eye on Seneca who had started to exercise her wings. She started off the building into flight and in the breeze, up she went! She was a little unsteady and I think a draft or two caught her off guard. We all held one collective breath as she went across State Street but then made her way back to the building. Her first landing did not stick so another small flight and she came in for a second attempt– she knocked her mom off her perch–but she stuck the landing! It was great to see what must have been only her second or third flight.

Kelly W.

When I arrived I could see one adult falcon on the south-east corner of the
tower, 17th floor. Incorrectly taking it for granted that this was Mariah,
because in past years it has been her favorite spot, I was later corrected
by Shaky, who appeared briefly, having been roaming around to try to get a
better view. He pointed out that Mariah was on the smokestack (which I had
looked at from another angle) and that the south-east corner bird was Kaver.
He added that two juvies were on the flat roofs just south of the tower, and
another had been seen on the peak of Building 10. Before returning to work
he told me more, but I’ll leave it to him to post the story of the
threeway…

As I had forgotten my notebook, it was probably fortunate that most of my
watch was uneventful, but highlights were as follows.

While I was trying to find a better angle of view, Mariah must have left the
smokestack and flown to the scrape, where she perched on one of the camera
struts for most, or possibly all of my watch.

Kaver stooped toward the west side of the tower, toward a fairly small bird.
He was unsuccessful, but from the commotion caused amongst the juvies you’d
think he’d caught a pterodactyl! Two immediately flew after him and around
the tower. At one point there were four birds in the air. I am not sure
whether they were three juvies and Kaver, or two juvies and Kaver and
Mariah.

Two juvies ended up on Building 9. One lay near the edge of the roof of the
glass part of the building and did a lot of kakking. The other was nearer to
the tower, and then disappeared. I did not see it fly, so am guessing that
it walked back out of sight, but it might have been one of those mentioned
next.

I then spotted two juvies on the south-east corner of the tower, one on the
19th floor and one on the 17th. I think they remained there for the rest of
my watch, as did the one on Building 9. All were lying down – it was a
fairly warm day. Note that when they lie down at the back of a ledge,
against the building, they sometimes disappear. One of them did this. I am
fairly, but not totally sure, that I continued to be able to see just enough
of something that I think it remained there. If it did, then I saw at least
four juvies, because suddenly there was one in the air. It flew briefly,
attempted balancing on the peak of Bulding 10, disappeared, and then
(assuming it was the same one) flew to the base of the cupola, where it
perched and remained until the end of my watch.

In the meantime, Mariah was on a camera strut by the scrape, and Kaver was
on the eastern side of the launch pad, about half way between the rockets.

Diana

Hello again, Tom from Kodak here. I added a few more pictures to the end of the “2008 Falcon Ledge Watch” Gallery album that I posted the other day. You can access it here:

http://tomhoehn.1000words.kodak.com/default.asp?item=2216071

Zephyr made an appearance and for one of the few times ever, Mariah!

Enjoy.

I was the official Watcher from 4-6 p.m., but not much happened during that time.  Lots and lots of Watchers were out on this gorgeous evening.  We were even visited by RNews (local Channel 9 here in Rochester, NY).  Lisa McK was interviewed and the rest of us and M&K and kids were filmed for the evening news.

There was alot of flying during my Watch by Mariah, Kaver, Zephyr and Quest.  I had to laugh as I watched Zephyr knock Kaver off of his lilies multiple times.  Kaver had taken over as Zephyr’s new playmate.  But, that didn’t leave Quest unharrassed when she dared to take flight and join in on the fun.  As soon as Zephyr realized that she had joined them in flight, she was fair game for a game of talon tag.  We were all laughing at their antics.  Diamante even joined in on the fun.

Kat took over the Watch at 6:00 p.m.  I’ll let her report what happened after that.  It was a very exciting Watch with lots of flying by all five of our young fledglings.

There were alot of Watchers out tonite enjoying the antics of these young Falcons including (and I apologize if I leave anyone out), Kathy O and her sister, Carla, Kat, Dawn, Dan S., Jeanne, Kat, Lisa McK, Carrie, Shaky, Diane and I know there were others!

Carol P.

When I arrived there wasn’t much activity, all where settled down to relax from the afternoon warmth. Just around 6:00 the little boys decided to have a great game of catch me if you can until Mom came home with a pigeon. Zephyr, of course, came in and stole it and spent quite a bit of time enjoying his snack. A while later Zephyr and Quest had another game of tag, she is so much bigger than her “little” brother, and she is getting to be a great flyer!

Kaver later came in with a small snack and Diamante made sure he had his turn; actually he did it a second time later too.

All during this time Seneca was snuggled down on the launch pad and sister Susan B. was hanging around the playpen area. Just when we thought Susan B. had decided that the great big world wasn’t a place for falcons, she spotted Mariah coming in. She took off like a shot out toward the gorge and we started running, who knew what she was doing and how far she was headed. Just as quickly, Mom flew over head with a big pigeon and Susan B. hot on her tail. Mariah landed on one of the not so deep corner ledges and Susan B. quickly stole it and sat there precariously perched mantling the pigeon. Once she got her bearings and a good hold she took off and landed on one of the lower roofs on the south of the tower. A bit later Mariah flew down to help her clean it and Zephyr decided to help. After some squabbling over pigeon, Zephyr flew off and Susan B. got to enjoy her well earned meal.

Seneca did do a little flying and seems to be doing pretty good for her first day. When it was time for me to leave, all where accounted for, except Dad, earlier he got tired of being knocked off his perch by Zephyr and headed down town for some rest!!!

Kat B.

The fledglings packed plenty of flying into a little more than an hour. Plus, I got to see Seneca out of the playpen for the first time! Here are dozens (!) of pictures and a report of all the action:
http://marchlords.com/birdblog/2008/06/morning-fun-for-fledglings.html

Jim

I see that Lisa has posted about Seneca’s first flight.  This is such awesome news!  🙂

Jeanne called me a little after 8:00 a.m. to tell me that Seneca had fledged earlier this morning.  Yay!  I told her I’d be out as soon as possible, since the morning crew had to leave and no one was scheduled after they left.

When I arrived at Watcher’s HQ, Linda was just setting up her chair.  I gave her the good news and we started our Watch.  Seneca was still on the column between the “K” and the “O” on the 20th floor.  There was another fledgling on the east side of the 16th floor and Kaver was on the southeast corner, 18th floor.  Seneca kept running, and hopping and flapping her wings, trying to get Kaver’s attention. No others were in sight.

For the first hour it was fairly quiet.  Both Mariah and Kaver took turns flying around the tower, coaxing their young into flight.  There were a couple of takers.  We had 3 in the air at once, with Seneca watching.  It was getting warm so they all settled down.

Kaver brought in food.  That woke up some of them.  Mariah took off from the tower and attempted to take the food from Kaver.  Kaver had other ideas.  He kept the food and landed on the southeast corner of the 17th floor.  After about a minute of preparation, I saw one of the fledglings come around the tower, walk up to Kaver and snatch the prey.  This is why Mariah wants the food.  She has better control of which fledglings receive the food.  Kaver just gives it over to whichever one takes it.  LOL

Again it was quiet.  Quest had appeared just below Seneca on the 19th floor, southwest corner.  That’s all it took to get Seneca flapping again.  As we watched, Seneca took off and headed towards the High Falls Smoke Stack.  She was coming in too low, so she turned and headed back to the tower.  Seneca attempted to land on top of the peaked metal roof, east of the playpen.  We watched as she clung to the edge and flapped, trying to pull herself up to the peak.  No such luck.  She let go, slid down the metal roof, spread her wings and took flight, again heading for the stacks.  Still low, she turned and headed back to the tower, missed a landing on 17 and flew around to the north side of the tower, where we couldn’t see her land. 

I saw Quest take off and fly around to the northside in search of her sister.  By the time I arrived at the north side, I spotted Seneca sitting up on the 19th floor.  Quest was on the 18th floor, top of the Philadelphia Tower.  They were very close to each other.

It always amazes me when the fledglings seem to support each other.  Linda left and I had to leave at 10:30 a.m.  No other Watchers had shown up, so I walked around the tower on my way.  Kaver was on the lilies, Mariah was on the southwest corner of the 16th floor.  Seneca had made her way to the 19th floor, northwest ledge.  She was now just above Quest, who was snoozing on the philadelphia tower just below her.  There was one fledgling on the 16th floor, westside.  I couldn’t find #4 & #5, but I was sure they were up there snoozing in any shade they couldn find on the tower.

I was very pleased by Seneca’s flight.  I guess waiting longer and taking the time to strengthen her flight muscles was a good thing.  The last of our eyases have fledged.  Let the fun begin!  😉

Carol P.

Good Morning All:

I start this morning report with “Breaking News!”

Seneca has fledged!!!

Yes, I repeat, Seneca has finally fledged. She was perched between the K and the O of the KODAK sign when I arrived.

Signing off,

Lisa McK.

The Falcon Flyer

Lucy and I arrived to headquarters at about the same time to find David watching.  For most of the evening we saw all 5 juveniles and Mom and Dad. Dan and Shaky and Carrie joined in the watch. And later Joyce came!

We had a great view of everyone and the juvies were lined up on the 15th 16th and 17th floor  all on the Southeast side most of the night. About every 20 minutes through the evening we were treated to some flying .

We saw Mariah fly in beautiful circles  catching all of the good drafts  She stayed close to the tower showing her offspring how it is done.  She landed in many different places, but seemed to always have an eye on Seneca who has still decided to go no farther than the floodlights in the play pen.

Master of the skies, Zephyr (z-man) flew off and buzzed his dad off of the camera and then buzzed his mom off of the lilies! Do you think he may have been hungry?

Everyone ( including SB) took turns flying around in the traditional circles that   we have grown to cherish.

Zephyr even flew with Kaver, as if to imitate his moves. Quest attempted a flight to the stack but was too low and turned around ,landing back on the 17th level to join a sibling.

Mariah and Kaver gave us a skilled aerial show, effortlessly floating above us in graceful circles. A few attempts at a stoop were made but nothing too serious..  all the while the kakking of the children was profound. There was a lot of noise all night  everyone seemed to want their parents attention. It was a very cooperative watch…I never lost sight of anyone.  This clutch seems very obliging!

I am finally able to report about yesterdays watch. There were some technical difficulties that prevented me from posting last night.

I was greeted with the sound of kakking from multiple fledglings when I arrived at 7:30 a.m. I immediately saw Kaver flying with prey trailing behind him, while Quest was chasing him. Soon they were joined by Zephyr. A food transfer was attempted but Zephyr missed and the prey fell to the ground. Dan retrieved the prey from the ground, which turned out to be a pair of wings connected by bare bones, no meat at all on this specimen.

The early morning watchers, Larry, Jeanne and Dan reported that earlier there was a game of talon tag between Zephyr and Susan B., with both fledglings flying almost to the smokestack and back to the tower.

At 7:40 a.m. Mariah and Kaver were both on the southeast corners of the 16th and 17th floors respectively. Seneca was still in the playpen. Diamante was on building 10, just north of Kodak tower. Quest joined her brother on building 10. Then Zephyr flys around building 9, just south of Kodak tower. He and Mariah engage in a game of chase, until Zephyr calls “time out” and rests for a minute on the northeast corner of the 18th floor. Then he is off again, this time Quest and Mariah join him in a game of talon tag.

After the game had ended and all falcons had returned to the tower and/or surrounding buildings, Mariah and Kaver stoop towards building 9, south of Kodak tower, going after the pigeons that unwisely decided to nest on building 9. Zephyr also comes off the tower and follows Kaver’s lead. Kaver lands on the lilies at the top of the tower and Zephyr continues to circle the tower eventually landing on the playpen railing for a minute.

Quest decides to fly from the tower to the High Falls Smokestack and Zephyr joins her. Mariah starts flying around the tower with food she had stashed on the tower, trying to encourage the others, Susan B. and Seneca to fly. Zephyr follows his mother and lands on the 19th floor south side of the tower. Quest also leaves the smokestack and flies to the “O” of the Kodak sign. Mariah takes the food to the playpen for Seneca.

Well all of the above happened in the first half hour, it was a “wild and crazy” morning. At 8:00 all the watchers had left and I was alone for a short time until Carol P. arrived. Kaver was on the lilies, Mariah above the nest near the southeast rocket; Seneca was still in the playpen. Quest leaves the letter ‘O’ and knocks Kaver off the lilies. Susan B. is seen running around the 19th floor ledge to the north side of the building. Shortly after that Mariah and Susan B. are flying around the building and Susan B. lands on the 16th floor on the south side.

Diamante wakes up from his nap and circles around the tower before landing on the 18th floor east side and disappearing into the railing. Suddenly Mariah flies low over our heads and is joined by Kaver as they soar around the tower. Kakking is heard from the fledglings, but no one joins Mariah or Kaver.

Around 8:30 there was a familiar foul smell, no not the sewer, but a skunk! I did not see the little varmint but I certain could smell him. Not much happened for the next 3.5 hours. Some flights by Mariah and Kaver. There were 2 fledglings on the cupola, Quest and Diamante. Seneca was still in the playpen. Susan B. was camped out on the 16th floor. I eventually found out that Zephyr was in the playpen with Seneca. It was obviously time for a mid-morning nap for everyone.

Around 1:00 Diamante decides to start flying an attempt to land on the lilies, but he is hit by an updraft and floated above the lilies. Next he tried to land on the metal flag at the top of the building. Again the updrafts prevented him from landing. At 1:30 Susan B. was exploring her new hang out, the 16th floor. She ambulated along the south side ledge to the southwest corner. After a half hour on the southwest corner, she walked back to the southeast corner, all the while remaining on the ledge of the 16th floor.

Carol P. and Susan C. joined me for the afternoon watch. Around 2:30 we all hear kakking coming from the tower. Carol yells, “their off.” We watch as Mariah soars around the tower, going higher and higher. Then she circles around to the south and approaching fast, lands on the arch ledge above the nest box. Soon afterwards Kaver returns to the tower.

At 3:15 Kaver takes off and flies around the tower trying to entice Quest to fly. She takes the bait and follows Kaver toward the gorge. Once over the apartment building she circles back to the tower and lands on the east side of the 20th floor. A short time later Quest flies around to the west side of the tower and tries to land on the peak. The updrafts make her unsteady so she leaves and starts flying around the tower. Her brothers who have been MIA all afternoon are intrigued by their sister’s flight and they both escape from the playpen to join Quest in a game of talon tag. After a while Quest tires and lands on the railing at the 20th floor, south side, yet Diamante and Zephyr continue the game of talon tag. After a couple minutes more of talon tag and watching the boys invert themselves to go talon to talon. Both boys fly over to the smokestack. Around 3:40 one of the boys returned to the north side of the tower.

I spent the last hour just observing and not taking notes. When I left at 5:00, Quest was on the 19th floor railing, one of the boys was on the smokestack, the other was on the north side. Susan B. was still camped out on the 16th floor and Seneca was still in the playpen.

Lisa McK.