By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The summer weather continues here in Rochester, NY, with sunshine, blue skies and temps in the 70’s (F).

I had a meeting I had to attend at 7:00 pm, so I headed downtown a little earlier than normal, arriving at about 5:30 pm.  Pat had reported that there was a falcon on the Xerox Tower.  First I checked out all the other falcon spots before heading over there.  From the Broad St Bridge, I spotted a falcon on the west side of Xerox on the 6th column in from the northwest corner. I headed over to the south side of Xerox.  From there, I could see a 2nd falcon.  Dot.ca was the falcon on the west side and Beauty was at her spot, 5th column in from the southeast corner.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Dot.ca took off and when I caught up with him, he was on the south side of OCSR on the top IBeam.

*

*

*

*

*

Joyce and Brian H joined me on the Broad St Bridge.  Soon after we noticed that Dot.ca was gone from OCSR, we heard ee-chupping and vocalization from the east.  That’s when we noticed that there were three falcons in the air and two were chasing one.  Based on size, we believe that it was two females and a male.  This is the only picture I was able to get of all three.

*

*

*

*

*

After checking her pictures, Joyce was pretty sure that it was three adults.  It broke up quickly.  Dot.ca landed on the southwest corner of Xerox and one falcon flew over us, heading towards the west.  We were unsure whether the falcon that flew to the west was Beauty or the 3rd falcon.  At this point, we could only see two falcons.

*

*

*

*

*

Dot.ca took off and flew fast, quick wing beats, heading northwest.  We followed his flight until he went behind some buildings. He was obviously on a mission.

Since all was quiet I decided to head out to my meeting, but first I wanted to check the Frontier Communication Tower and Kodak Office.  As I was driving down State St, I saw a falcon flying around the Kodak Tower.  It was obvious to me that there had to be another falcon up there somewhere since the flying falcon was diving on something on the northwest side.  Just as I was parking my car, two falcons came off and the chase was on, with lots of vocalizations.

*

*

*

*

*

The falcon doing the chasing broke it off and headed south back towards downtown.  The other falcon returned to the Kodak Tower and landed on the southeast corner of the launchpad.

*

*

*

*

*

This falcon moved in where I couldn’t see it, just before Joyce arrived.  We both checked out the launch pad from all angles, but neither of us could find a falcon up there.   Was it gone or just hunkered down out of sight?  MAK tweeted that she had checked out the Seneca Towers location and was unable to find any falcons there.

What we witnessed tonight wasn’t too aggressive, more a chase to drive out the intruding falcon from their area and lots of loud vocalizations.  Of course our thoughts go to Billie who usually hangs out between Hawkeye and the lake, north of downtown. Could this have been her checking out the area?  Or was it a migrating female that just happened to be passing through and thought she’d stop by for a visit?  At this time, there is no way of knowing.  But you can bet the Rochester Falcon Watchers will be out keeping an eye on the situation.

Goodnight everyone!

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of the Black-Crowned Night Heron we saw hunting on the river before the 3rd falcon showed up.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What an absolutely beautiful early fall day and evening.  Temps near 70 degrees.

I arrived downtown at 6:00 pm and did not find a falcon until 6:38 pm.  Beauty flew in from the east, past the Times Square Bldg. I watched her from the Andrew St Bridge as she flew up to the Frontier Comm Tower and landed on the middle arm.

*

*

*

*

*

While I was texting, Beauty took off.  I parked on the Broad St Bridge where I met fellow watcher Kathy O.  There was a falcon on the jail comm tower, but we could not tell if it was Beauty or Dot.ca.  We were already losing light.

*

*

*

*

*

While Kathy and I were watching two Black-crowned Night Herons hunting on the river below us, the falcon took off.

*

*

*

*

*

We then spotted a falcon on OCSR at the west end of the top Ibeam.  It then took off and landed on the base of the Mercury statue. There was no way for us to know if this falcon was Beauty or Dot.ca.

*

*

*

*

*

The 2nd Black-crowned Night Heron (GBNH) landed near the first one and the first one chased it under the bridge and returned to it’s fishing spot, where it successfully caught a small fish.  As the sun set, a Great Blue Heron landed near the GBNH.

*

*

*

*

*

Just before 7:30 pm, ee-chupping filled the air.  The falcon on Mercury was gone.  It was too dark to tell where the ee-chupping was coming from.  Definitely two falcons vocalizing.

Before we left at 7:40 pm., Kathy spotted a falcon on the south west corner of the B&L building.  I do wish it would stay lighter longer.  lol  🙂

*

*

*

*

*

It was time to end our evening falcon watch.  Goodnight all!!!

I’ll leave you with some pictures from our evening watch.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My evening watches are getting shorter and shorter.  By 7:30 pm, it’s already dark, so I was happy to find both Beauty and Dot.ca on territory.  All was quiet and peaceful this evening.

I found Beauty on the northeast wing ledge on top of the Times Square Bldg, directly above the nest box.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

While she was up there, I looked all over downtown for Dot.ca and had no luck finding him.  At about 7:10 pm, Beauty made her way to her nighttime roost on the 5th column on the south side of the Xerox Tower.  We find her there most evenings after the sun sets.

*

*

*

*

*

After seeing that Beauty was settled in, I again searched for Dot.ca and finally found him on the top arm of the Frontier Communication Tower.  He was definitely in hunt mode, looking in all directions.  Dot.ca is a great hunter and did a wonderful job supplying food for his four young ones and Beauty when she was unable to hunt for herself during nesting.

*

*

*

*

*

I ended my watch at 7:30 pm, after the sun set, sending good wishes to Dot.ca for a successful hunt.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A chilly 45 (F) 7 (C) degree start with sun and blue skies

Click on the pics to see full version

I started my watch on Seth Green Drive as I spotted a falcon on the northwest corner of the roof railing-it flew off right away and returned to land on the west side railing.

I really struggled to decide who this falcon was, poor pre-dawn lighting and distance make it so hard to ID these falcons. I thought at first it was Veteran because it was so white on upper chest and looked small to me.

It flew off and went behind the trees then flew above the building and landed on an antenna at the south end and was vocalizing which could mean another bird was near. I was able to ID this bird as Billie from the silver band on her right leg and the darkness of her front. I’m still not convinced that it wasn’t Veteran on the railing. Definitely NOT the new male.

She flew off and never came back so I left for downtown. I found Beauty on the base of Mercury around 7:30am with food. She had a Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker she was plucking feathers from to prepare to eat.

Within 10 minutes Dot.Ca showed up on the 2nd ibeam of OCSR and a minute later he flew to the Mercury money bag (MMB).

Beauty finished eating moved to the back of base where I couldn’t see her then flew off around 8am. DC flew down to finish up her leftovers right after she left.

With one more bite to go DC finished, feaked and flew off when I wasn’t looking. Around 8:30am I spotted Beauty on the top ibeam northeast side of OCSR preening in the sun. She started napping so I left to look for DC.

I found him on the Times Square building under the northeast wing-I didn’t stay long as I have a busy schedule today.

I checked Hawkeye and Seneca Towers but came up empty. I ended my watch at 9:15am with a smile after enjoying another nice morning falcon watch! 🙂

Click on the links below to see more pics and videos
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqj6u

http://youtu.be/UcphA5oqKXw

http://youtu.be/8NyBEjJenGs

http://youtu.be/SYWQ-S9goao

http://youtu.be/Zwna41TXSMI

http://youtu.be/OAgxKRUFPL4

http://youtu.be/CqWo8zH5xoc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Chilly, damp, wet, windy start to the day with a temperature of 49 (F) 10 (C)

Click on the pics to see full version

Before I even left my apartment I was on watch this morning-as I was closing my bedroom window, 2 falcons flew by down near the tree tops heading south. So I grabbed my camera and binoculars and out the door I went. When I got out to Seth Green Drive and turned around I just got a couple shots off before a falcon which was on the roof railing near the northwest corner took off and flew south.  I can’t say with any certainty who it was.

This falcon didn’t return after 5 minutes so I left for downtown as it started to lightly rain. When I got to the Broad St. Bridge a heavy misty rain was falling as I spotted Beauty over on the top ibeam of OCSR near the south corner. I went over to the Radisson Hotel near Main St. to be closer and I also checked the elevator shaft for Dot.Ca (DC)-he wasn’t there.

I left Beauty around 8am to look for DC as she turned her back to the world for a nap, protected for the most part from the misty wind driven rain. I found DC on the Kodak Office launchpad southeast corner-he was facing out and watching the area intently.

Even DC looked dark this morning. At 8:24am he spotted something to the southeast and took off fast heading that very direction.

I went that way myself and soon found out what he had seen-Beauty with FOOD! As I came up on the hole I spotted both of them on Mercury from Exchange Blvd. I pulled down Bank Place and parked where it meets Aqueduct St. The Beautyful one was on the base plucking feathers and DC was above on the money bag.

<Click it

For the next 10 minutes DC tried to act like he wasn’t interested in that food but when beauty wasn’t looking he would look down at her.

<Click it

Beauty finished eating, feaked and went up on the green part of the base before flying off-DC flew off after her at 8:50am.

<DC

I found Beauty on the Wilder green strip but never did find DC again. Beauty was napping on and off so I left her to check the elevator shaft for DC from Bragdon Place.

As I drove up to St. Paul St. to leave there was a big beautiful Red-tail Hawk on the roof of the new RTS bus terminal. Of course, I had to stop for pics-they are my favorite hawk after all. He pooped and flew off after a few short minutes.

On my way home I checked Hawkeye and Seneca Towers-no luck at either of those locations. I ended my watch at 9:30am after a nice surprise at the and there with the hawk! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/qhHElRfmjhM

http://youtu.be/_svv0Mn7lwo

http://youtu.be/OPRAsw_DyFY

http://youtu.be/PcF-8b14YfM

http://youtu.be/Q4o7Qe5RkZQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a warm start this last morning of summer with a temperature of 67 (F) 20 (C) and partly cloudy skies

Click on my pics to see full version

I started my watch at my residence, Seneca Towers finding the mystery male on the south side roof railing- a spot he seems to favor.

Unfortunately, I don’t have good lighting first thing in the morning so it will be very hard to get an ID on this falcon. At 7:12am Billie came flying in from the southwest, passing closely by him then landing about 20 feet away on the railing.

They didn’t really look at each other too much while perched and there was no vocalization at any time between them.

<Billie

At 7:26am the male flew off and went right past Billie, close, just like she had done to him. He landed down on the west end of the building.

I left Seth Green Drive to go back to my parking lot where I would be much closer, but by the time I got there the male was off and Billie had taken his place. She flew off as he came by her and they circled the building flying close together. Billie came back around and landed on the southeast corner but took off soon after-I never saw either one again.

`

I left for downtown and found Dot.Ca (DC) under the northeast wing of the Times Square building around 7:50am. He was just perched up there facing out at first but turning around to show me his back after about 10 minutes.

I had to leave for an early morning appointment and I wasn’t able to find Beauty as my time was short. I ended my watch at 8:15am. Stay tuned and keep smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos

http://youtu.be/InM1kVaAej4

http://youtu.be/flUcl6ec-cU

http://youtu.be/mnknme9N6xA

http://youtu.be/W8fgpgBnAB0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

There was a mix of sun and clouds with a temperature of 59 (F) 15 (C)

Click on the pics to see a full version

As I turned around to face Seneca Towers I saw our new mystery falcon fly in from the south and land on the south side roof railing where it was yesterday when I saw it. It stayed a short 5 minutes then flew south and didn’t return.

I left for downtown and on my way down St. Paul St. the sun showed itself behind some clouds-of course I had to take a shot as I drove along.

I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge first to have a look around and I was able to see the white of Dot.Ca (DC) on the south ledge of the OCSR elevator shaft and Beauty on  the top ibeam near the west corner.

I drove over to Bragdon Place but DC was gone from the elevator shaft when I got there so I went to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel to watch the Beautyful one. She had her back to me and was looking to and fro-I think for DC. Around 7:45am she walked to the west corner and flew off toward the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT).

I caught up with Beauty as she landed on the northeast cube-lo and behold she led me right to DC who was on a cross beam to the large disk below her. One of them whined a little bit.

They both did some preening-DC had food in his crop. Every once in a while they would look at each other then carry on with preening.

Around 8:10am DC flew southeast but Beauty stayed behind and continued to preen. I stayed a few minutes then went in search of  DC.

I drove to Bragdon Pl. to check the OCSR south side of elevator shaft and there he was facing out making it easy for me to spot him in the shadows. I could also see Beauty over on FCT from there.

I left assuming they were cinched in for a while. I checked Hawkeye on my way home to Seneca Towers and found no falcons at either location. I ended my watch at about 9am with a smile, as I thought about DC going to his man cave to get away from Beauty! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays videos
http://youtu.be/znV51SiTqk0

http://youtu.be/sZHyHIosxeI

http://youtu.be/-CpB_aF2Ubg

http://youtu.be/QB0oAUTsEQ0

http://youtu.be/C0ytxZY15_0

http://youtu.be/x33Dg_3rpWo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was quite a chilly start to the day this morning with a temperature of 37 (F)  3 (C) degrees and sunny blue skies once the sun came up

Click in the pics to see the full version

Yesterday, Joyce saw a new falcon on the top window ledge (22nd floor) on the west end of the Seneca Towers building. She found a black over green band on the left leg and yellow tape on the right leg band. I believe I saw the same bird this morning on the west side roof railing after it started out on the same window ledge that Joyce saw it on. It had a depleted crop and was trying real hard to catch breakfast-flying off many times and returning with nothing to show for its efforts. A couple pics seem to show yellow on the right leg band-distance and darkness made for some not so good pics.

<looks like yellow on band

This falcon had a brownish front and looked small to me which would make it a male, but I really can’t say for sure. Like I said, it flew off many times returning to the same spot on that west side railing. It showed me its back and turned around giving me lots of leg shots-they just were not very clear.

As the sun came up in the east and shone on this falcon it got washed out-so it was either not enough light or too much here this morning. Darn! At 7:22am it flew off and took a left heading off to the east. I waited 5-10 minutes but it didn’t return this time.

I left for downtown wondering where Billie and Veteran were and hoping they hadn’t battled with this falcon and gotten hurt. Hopefully, we’ll have some answers soon-stay tuned!

Traffic downtown was terrible today with roads on the east side being paved and the Fringe Festival closing Court St. next to HSBC as it is taking place at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Shaky had tweeted earlier that Beauty was on the base of Mercury eating so she was seen this morning but not by me-she eluded me today. I found Dot.Ca (DC) as I was scanning with my binocs from the Broad St. bridge (BSB). He was on the northeast corner of the Kodak Office (KO) launchpad and the closer I inched my way over through the traffic the whiter he looked.

The bright blue sky behind him was quite the contrast to his whiteness! He flew off like white lightning around 8:30am and headed south after hanging a right turn.

I checked the Frontier Communications very thoroughly a couple times and I also checked the OCSR elevator shaft twice as well besides the rest of downtown-no Beautyful one! At 9am I found DC on OCSR from the Andrews St. bridge (ASB)-he was on the top ibeam near the west corner on the north side with his back to me.

At first he looked like his eyes were closed and after a while he turned sideways. I left him to have one more look for his girl but she was hiding well.

A couple pics of the Fringe Festival area on the east side while I was over there.

As I left downtown I checked to see that DC was still on OCSR. No sign of a falcon at Hawkeye or Seneca Towers but that didn’t stop me from smiling as I ended my watch at 10:15am! 🙂

Click on the links below to see the videos from todays watch
http://youtu.be/WhWqOTxXU6A

http://youtu.be/_bFMy5coGxY

http://youtu.be/29LzKQsPnfU

http://youtu.be/TTqJFkUqM-0

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was pretty much overcast and foggy with a starting temperature of 47 (F) 8 (C) and a short glimpse of the sun

Click on the pics to see the full version

As I made my way to the visitor parking at Seneca Towers to turn around and face the building, I noticed big girl Billie on the northwest corner roof railing.

I started to tape her and didn’t even notice that Veteran was up on the railing as well-he wasn’t there when I first saw Billie. He started feaking, so I believe he might have been down on the roof eating prior to perching on  the railing.

Buffalo Billie flew off first around 7am followed a split second later by her beau, Veteran-they were headed south when I lost them behind the trees. I left for downtown and ran into some issues with road work being done on the east side. They were paving Woodbury St. so that was closed and so were parts of Court St. I ended up over on the west side on Fitzhugh St. where I found Beauty on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) around 7:30am.

Only one pic came out well enough to post due to the lack of light this morning. She was all foofed up to stay warm.  I left the Beautyful one after 5 minutes to check the OCSR elevator shaft for Dot.Ca (DC). Parked on Bragdon Place, I could only see the south side and he wasn’t there. I checked FCT and saw that Beauty had left the cube and was now on the south side platform railing. She flew off and appeared to be going down on the platform. After checking the north side of the elevator shaft from Main St. I headed back to FCT and found Beauty on the west side railing. I pulled over on Plymouth Ave. to observe.

Besides the low light issue I had to wait for the exhaust smoke from the Frontier roof which would cover Beauty completely when it was  exiting the pipe. Needless to say I played with my pics a lot in Picassa today.

I decided to try a different spot where I didn’t have to deal with the smoke-soon after she flew northwest and I didn’t see her again until I returned at 8:20am from a trip around downtown. Now, she was on the beam that connects the north and southeast cubes with her back to me as she preened.

I left Beauty to look one more time for DC-I had no such luck but I found the Great Egret perched on a branch down in the same area of the river where I saw it yesterday. Then I crossed the Broad St. bridge and found a Black-crowned Night Heron on the north side of the bridge.

Before I left downtown I checked from the Andrews St. bridge-Beauty was still on FCT but I had no DC sightings this morning. I couldn’t help but notice the pretty bed of green and purple behind the Federal building.

This sight sent me on my way with a smile and I ended my watch at 9:30am! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/MCajxor3MAA

http://youtu.be/RWEuk2FBAUU

http://youtu.be/eZ4Gk736DM8

http://youtu.be/QbcXPha38lk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another lovely late summer day here in Rochester, NY.  I got a late start, arriving downtown at about 6:15 pm.  That gave me a little over an hour before the sun set.

I traveled all over downtown and had no luck finding any falcons.  Aqueduct St aka “the hole” was being torn up tonight. Large, deep holes were appearing in “the hole”.  🙂

While I was watching the night crew working, I looked up in time to see a fast flying falcon pass overhead.  It was heading southeast, towards Xerox.  By the time I arrived at Xerox, Beauty had settled on the south side, fifth column in from the southeast corner.  Her normal nighttime spot.  For whatever reason, she loves that spot.  Must give her a great view.

*

*

*

*

*

I headed back to the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  From there I could see Dot.ca on the south side of the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) platform.  It was very busy over by City Hall, but I found a spot to park my car, where I could watch Dot.ca from.

*

*

*

*

*

Dot.ca was definitely in hunt mode, watching everything, head moving constantly.  He took off and stooped towards the northwest.

*

*

*

*

*

I waited to see if he would return.  When he didn’t, I headed back over to Xerox and found Beauty in the same spot I had left her earlier.  Larry O was out for a walk with Harold downtown, but I missed seeing them.  Back to the Broad St Bridge.  I again checked out the surrounding area and found Dot.ca back on the Frontier Communication Tower.  This time he was up on the top arm.

*

*

*

*

*

Back to City Hall.  Dot.ca was still in hunt mode, head swiveling back and forth, up and down.  He took off, again heading northwest.

*

*

*

*

*

I found Dot.ca on Kodak Office on the southeast corner of the launchpad.  The big “KODAK” letters were lit and I was losing light quickly.  My old Kodak digital camera doesn’t do well in low light, but I decided to take some pics to share with everyone anyway.  Sorry for the poor quality.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

At 7:30 pm, the sun had just about set and I ended my watch.  I left Dot.ca to his hunt, hoping that he would be successful.

Goodnight everyone!