By Rochester Falcon Watcher Joyce

Early Saturday afternoon (7/4/15), Dana observed a falcon flapping a lot on the west side roof above the balconies. She and Carol were certain it was a juvie. It took off heading south down the river. They did not see it return. Carol alerted the group to be on the lookout. Dana shared a quick phone edited pic with those of us that regularly check the building.  Luckily, MAK lives there and  is able to monitor this juvie first hand and provide updates.

Later that evening, I followed up at Seneca Towers. I noticed a juvenile peregrine on the SW corner of the building, then it flew to the middle of the roof above the west side balconies. From below I noticed an adult at the NW corner on a pipe. I couldn’t see the juvie from where I was, but I heard the distinct crying for food by the juvenile falcon. Billie tried to entice the juvie off the building with food, but there was no food exchange.  Billie took the food, ate most of it, and Seth sat nearby. The juvie looks like a male based on size comparison with the parents. He flew very well. He still has a white eyas feather on his head, so we suspect he recently fledged.

This is the link to photos taken yesterday.

Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Joyce (wnyfalconfan)

It had been a week since Steve took me on a falcon watch. We were able find all three peregrines in the brief time we were out. Beauty was in the same spot on OCSR north side as previously seen by Carol two hours earlier. Arriving at the Brighton Site (BS), Dana and Carol’s lenses were pointed up at the east side of the building. The tiercel (BST) was near the roof-top tree on the SE ledge and Pigott on the corner of the east extension. Pigott was the active falcon today. She moved within 8 ft of BST, flew around to the south side, harrassed some geese, and returned to the east side.

Check out the Brighton duo – click on link to my album below. As done previously, some of the pics have been arranged to give the impression of a slow-motion picture show.

Picasa (wnyfalconfan): Falcon Watch Jan 19, 2013

Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Joyce (wnyfalconfan)

This past weekend, Steve took me for a brief falconwatch to the Brighton site (BS) and downtown. It must have been “gimper’s” luck because I got to see all three peregrines.

Here are slideshows of each of our falcons seen on Saturday, Jan 12th, plus a bonus album of the Eastern Screech-Owl seen on Wednesday Jan 9, 2013.

Click on each thumbnail for full view. Click on links for slideshows and video.

– – – BS Tiercel Slideshow

– – – Pigott Slideshow

– – – Beauty Slideshow

To go along with my slideshow, here is an rfalconcam video posted by Dumpsterkitty15 on YouTube that was recorded at the same time as I took my photos. – – – Beauty takes off from Mercury January 12, 2013

– – – Eastern Screech-Owl Album
Note – In the last photo I caught a rare shot of the upper eyelid over the eyes.

Hope you enjoy!
Joyce

From Rochester Falconwatcher Joyce:
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge)

A pair of peregrine falcons are back on the old abandoned medical building in Brighton. I’m convinced these unbanded falcons are the same pair that appeared on the building in Febraury 2010. They disappeared in March 2010, and the watchers thought they were wintering falcons that left to nest elsewhere.

I have compared photos from last year.  The malar stripe (mustache) and auricular patch (area behind the mustache) are a close match on both peregrines.  Included in my album are some photos from last year for comparison.

Click link 1-16 Picasa Album to view Sunday’s watch.  After looking at my weekend photos again, I believe the peregrine in Saturday’s album is the female.

Some have wondered if the unbanded tiercel that has befriended Beauty, is the unbanded Brighton male. They are not one and the same. You can definitely see the difference between their mustache and auricular patch below:

Hmmmm…are the Brighton pefas Rochester wintering falcons, or could they have a nestsite somewhere in the Rochester Metropolitan Area?  Could they be using this building to keep an eye on the downtown falcons?  So-o-o many questions.

If you happen to be driving by the building, the falcons seem to frequent the east side. You may see one on the SE or NE corner, as well as on a top window sill. Sometimes they hide out of view from the roof top.

Keep your eyes to the skies.

Joyce

From Rochester Falconwatcher Joyce:
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge)

See attached Picasa Album for watch photos and report of the Brighton Pefa…

plus Beauty and her friend on the Tower of Kodak Office.

For those who are not familiar with the terms the watchers use at Kodak Tower, here is file that Lou made in 2005 to help identify the places where falcons land. (The arches are below the launch pad.)

Enjoy,
Joyce

By falconwatcher Joyce

There have been several attempts to try and ID the female peregrine at Kodak Park (KP) by many Rochester watchers, including Kodak employees. Last September, our KP falcon was very happy to show us her purple band (a sign that she was from the Midwest), but we couldn’t distinguish anything on the black/red bi-colored band. Lady Pefa eluded us many times, and the weather was not cooperative when we did find her. As we went through the fall and into winter, it was obvious that Lady Pefa wasn’t migrating, and stayed to claim the Kodak power plant and stacks as her territory.

New Years Day was a fun celebration with all the Rochester watchers downtown, in spite of the rain. As we all said our farewells, I told Carol P that I would probably be heading out to KP later. I dawdled downtown looking for Beauty and her friend. Then I stopped for a bite to eat with Casey & Abby (canine falconwatchers). I even took the long way there, checking out Kodak Research area first. As I pulled into our KP parking area, I saw Carol’s car, and in the distance she was waving and pointing up. I saw a bird on the antenna, thinking a coop or red-tail. I looked through my binoculars – a peregrine! I wasn’t expecting that, and grabbed my stuff, and slowly walked to the other end of the parking lot, and like Carol, left my phone behind. I couldn’t believe it, the KP falcon on a building near us. Just as I got to where Carol was standing, her battery went dead. Carol said she had been with Lady Pefa for almost an hour, and I thought “Why didn’t I come straight here.” I continued with the picture taking as Carol went to get her scope, hoping for an opportunity to catch markings on the bi-colored band.

Lady Pefa was posing so nicely, but her right side was facing us, the side with the FWS purple band. There was no way to see the black/red band unless she moved. Then, she stretched! “Please, oh please, let us see your other leg.” I clicked away as she finally exposed her left leg for a few seconds. Then she resumed her perch. Lady Pefa lifted her left leg again, as if to say “Can you see it now?” When she placed it back on the pole, she lost her balance, then her grip, and it looked like she fell off the antenna. Lady Pefa flew to the east.

Here are 2 photos that have been enhanced and zoomed…

Well, do we have an ID? Close, but not 100%. After canvassing several watchers, the consensus was 7 ? on black, and H on red. Some voted for 73/N, and others 71/N. We consulted the Midwest Peregrine banding database and found information on seven female band numbers. Attached are the possibilities of Midwest peregrines with 7?/H. Possible Midwest Band ID In several of my pics, the second number looked distorted (possibly from light or pixels). Because it was very cloudy, I had to use a higher ISO and the pictures get grainy when enlarged. I investigated the markings in more detail, and enhanced my best photo. I saw a blurry vertical line for the second number, but it didn’t appear to have curves or width. Bands numbers/letters are centered over each other. I typed the 70’s numbers over N. The alignment that best matched is 71/H.

Take a look for yourself. Let us know what you think. We still need more evidence that one of these two Lucas County (Toledo) falcons is our gal. Rest assured we’ll be back there again this weekend with scopes and cameras to try again.

Kodak Park Peregrine Falcon – New Year’s Day
(Click on slideshow and watch like a movie at 1 sec. You can also click on the 1st photo and run through individually. If you want to see a larger picture you can click on the magnifying glass and zoom in.)

Enjoy,
Joyce