Genesee & Cadence’s Excellent Adventure in the Gorge – 7/8/15
July 8th, 2015By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.
Watchers: Carrie and Carol P.
It was a much cooler day in the 70’s (F) and sunshine! I spent a few hours this morning and early afternoon downtown, mostly watching a juvie (I believe it was Cadence) on the Frontier Communication Tower. Visits by both Dot.ca and Beauty, but no sightings of Genesee. I headed home at 12:30 pm for a lunch break.
A couple hours later, I received a call from fellow watcher Carrie. She was on the pedestrian bridge, and there was a juvie in the falcon sucking tree, a tree on the east side of the gorge wall. This tree was given this name many years ago by falcon fan Dale P., because it seemed to suck in every falcon that passed by. lol
From 3:00 to 4:30 pm, we enjoyed watching the juvies practice there peregrine skills in the gorge. The gorge at High Falls is the perfect playground and training ground for young falcons. They were all over it, snatching at leaves, zipping along the gorge wall, chasing each other and landing in all sorts of places. We thought one juvie was going to fly under the bridge, but it surprised Carrie and I when it flipped over the top, passing directly over us. The gulls were not happy. We heard one scream as it was driven into the water in front of the falls. Here are some pictures from our watch. Sorry they aren’t the best, due to the very bright lighting.
Other watchers arrived (Brian, Dan, Kathy O, Pat, Carla and Shaky) hoping to see more flying in the gorge, but sadly, they did not return. They were seen downtown after that.
I truly hope that they return to the gorge so that all the watchers and the visitors arriving for Watchers Weekend will be able to see them there. We decided it would be best to meet Saturday morning at 8 am at the west end of the pedestrian bridge. From there, we will have a nice view of the gorge and the downtown area.
When we ended our watch at 9:00 pm, all was peaceful and quiet. Goodnight!