Rfalconcam Forum

Boring?  Falcon Watching?  Nah.  If watching these falcons for hours on end, sitting, flying, sitting, eating, sitting, copulating, sitting, sitting, sitting & more sitting.  You get the idea.  Lots and lots of sleeping.  It is not all action.  Although that is mostly what would be reported in a Watch Report, if there was any.   :happy: 

All the Rochester Watchers watch these birds out of love and respect and admiration.  Many Watchers do not report on the board, don't even have a computer.  Other Watchers will report for them if possible.  I & others report all our sightings.  I don't have much time to post official reports, like I used to and I'm really glad that MAK does.   :thumbsup:

So who thinks that Falcon Watching is boring?  Not me!   :lol:

Carol, you and MAK, and Joyce and Brian and so many others are the mainstay of these reports.   Your reports are NEVER boring, and for all of us out here --- keep them coming.     

Boring??  Rich and I freeze in our tracks to watch a hummer at the window, watch and care for Praying Mantis, drive around counting Osprey and Bald Eagles, and shriek with a Falcon in the back yard!  Boring only if you don't get it and I feel sorry for those that don't.

We view all of God's Creatures with wonder and awe!  Boring? I don't think so!

Here, here Janet!  When the Falcons are sitting and snoozing, there are so many things to Watch!  Never boring.   :happy:

i think falcons look so cute when they snooze---and cute is something when you are looking
at wild rators

Oh, put those other "things" in the mix and the entertainment doesn't stop - especially in urban areas or where people are gathered   :devil:  The "things" you see!   :devil:

OMG,  in years past, we have had some very INTERESTING sights to see when falcon watching was "quiet." :devil:

Oh, Janet, my friend.  You have no idea (well maybe you have! lol) the things we've seen while watching Falcons!  Things you CANNOT put in a Falcon Watch Report!  It's very interesting, ahem!   :devil: :-[ :surprise: :scaredblue:

And let's not forget the man MAK saw a few mornings doing his business next to the dumpsters!!! Now see, there's always something going on!!  (http://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww211/bobgtafan/peeing-man.gif) Never a dull moment! (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e105/CommentCrazyGirl/Smileys%20Emotions/Snarky%20Mad/shamesmileyf-1.gif)

 :rofl: :2funny: :rofl: :hysterical: :rofl: :2funny: :rofl: :hysterical: :rofl:

Oh, my understanding of the "things you see" is quite good!  For some, the world is your toilet AND that is where I stop!

Donna - Your little smilies crack me up.   :lol:

Let's see, I've seen people doing their business many times. I've seen couples doing their business three times now (ask Dawn about the first time and Joyce and a whole bunch of Watchers the 2nd time, the 3rd time I was by myself).  I've seen homeless men sleeping under blankets of newspapers on cold mornings.   I've seen a young couple on a bench on the pedestrian bridge enjoying an evening together get covered from head to toe in bird poop as a Great Blue Heron flew overhead.  They never knew what caused their, ummm, problem; but the Watchers had seen the whole thing!

Oh, and I was questioned by the police after a robbery at ES&L (a bank at Kodak office).  The officers asked me if I had seen a young man with a dew rag and a bag of money run by.  I was there by myself on the pedestrian bridge, with my camera and binoculars.  I said to the officer, no, I think I would have noticed someone running down the bridge with a big bag of money and I would have taken his picture for you!  That got me a smile.

Then there was the man Dana and I found laying on the ground behind the building across the street from KO.  We really did think he might be dead because we couldn't see him breathing.  Dana was on her phone calling 911 while I approached him to see if he was ok.  As I got closer, he jerked (and so did I!) and turned and starting snoring softly.  Thank God!  The 911 operator promised to send a police officer immediately to check him out.  

That is one thing we were good at, keeping the pedestrian bridge and the surrounding area safe.  I don't know how many times we would see something going on that we didn't like.  All it took was for one of us to raise our camera and point it at them and poof!  they were gone!

Oh! and I've seen a movie being filmed on the gorge floor (The Alphabet Killer) and Kathy O and I were in a movie as an extra!  We had to sign a release.   :clap:  and firemen repelling off the bridge to the ground below.  and big rocks falling off the gorge wall and hitting the water below, KA-BOOM! and a whole herd of deer skating across the ice covered river and icicles larger than houses (well maybe I exagerate) hanging off the gorge wall.  and we saved a whole family of Ducks, mom and her 10 tiny babies.

The good things far outweigh the bad.  The incredibly nice people that would approach us, people from all over the world and from home, and ask us what we were looking at made it all worthwhile.  I have made so many close, dear friends over my years of Falcon Watching, on this board and everywhere.  I am forever grateful for that.   :heart:

So, my answer is no, Falcon Watching is never boring for me.   :happy:

I remember on my first trip to Rochester (2004), on my first full day of falcon watching it was one of those smoking hot days (even I was hot) where the falcons are either so hot they don't move, or if they do take to the air, they ride the thermals into the atmosphere and quickly become tiny specs.  But I just knew that as soon as I left there would be an awesome display of talon tag, so, determined not to miss any opportunities, I stuck it out all day long, didn't take lunch or dinner breaks...ate energy bars and snacks and whatever the locals carried out to the bridge to share...and almost nothing happened all day!  Joyce spent a lot of the afternoon with me, so that helped!

I still enjoyed myself in spite of nothing happening, but I'm fairly good at just enjoying my own thoughts (or not thinking at all).

Patti - I remember the first time I met you.  I was at the east end of the pedestrian bridge and you were walking towards me from the west end.  I saw you and checked you out with my binoculars (they are so useful for so many things).  I just knew you were there to see the Falcons!  Gee, what was my first clue?  The binoculars, camera, backpack and a parka jacket on a nice warm morning.   :2funny:

I still think that the hard-core watchers should obtain credentials from RPD or Sheriff's Dept.  Or at least ascertain that most of the Dept knows who you are.

I find myself slipping into the falcons' rhythm, relaxing when the relax, active when they are active. However, I'll reach for my water bottle or start watching a Great Blue Heron, and that's when the falcons go back into action! Often, when I look back, I'll find either no falcons or more falcons.  It all goes to show that the falcons are much better at watching me then I am at watching them.  If one wants to enter the world of the Peregrine Falcon, one must imitate their relaxed alertness!

Paul

You have to watch them cuz if you blink, they're gone!

I totally agree Paul.  :clap:

Kaver was the King of Stealth.  He could disappear in the blink of an eye!  Poof!  Gone!  We all suspected that he had his very own Scotty somewhere.   :lol:

Boring?? I just found this posting and had to add. For me a good day of fledge watch is boring..but thats a good thing!! I want to report noone tried to fly and didnt do well, I want to see no problems, I want to see everyone waiting till they are of proper age to make their best attempt to fly. Early on I love boring! Now, all that other stuff, yep seen it all too here in Toronto. Have persevered through early stage tornadic activity, Marion saw funnel clouds at her site and did vow if they got closer to leave. They didnt! Big hail but no tornado. Seen movies shot,security for G-20 meetings with snipers on rooftops! One of my first watches ever was questioned by police! Hey big ugly guy with binoculars looking at a condo?? Id question me too! We talk to hundreds of people on the streets about the birds. I see someone suggested credentials or at the very least letting police know you are there. At CPF we have our own ID. We give lists to property managers and almost always talk to local businesses and folks where we are going to be running around watching from in alleys or on street corners. We also often fax local police stations with the same info and about what we are doing in the area and tell them all that our staff/volunteers will produce said ID to let them know who we are. It really does help. As anyone who has dealt with this knows,just be nice and patient and explain yourself. Cops are good people and understand. One of our sites the spot we watch from is right outside the police station. As lead, I took in our materials for them to read, left a video and when our first fledgling came to ground, I took her inside to meet them. They are very supportive and even very interested. They offered their help if we needed anything,including access to areas we might need. As they are there 24/7 they are keeping their eyes peeled at all times for anything out of the ordinary for us too!
 Sometimes boring is good.

Super post, Frank.

Fer sher!  :clap: