I found this old watch report from June 24 2002, it's so nice to read about Mariah and Kaver and the eyasses from that moment Isis and Freedom.
greetings Aafkegaravin - 07:41pm Jun 24, 2002 EST (#9610 of 9674)
Jim Pisello - Rochester, NY
Afternoon Falcon Watch
Well, I got outside around 16:40, to find Isis on the perch rail outside the nest box and Mariah sitting on the east railing below the nest box, facing toward the gorge. I walked out into the Kodak parking lot across from the box to get as shallow a view as possible. I heard some calling from Isis, and a possible reply, but it was impossible to say with any certainty, given the distance, wind and traffic noise. Kaver was flying around, having just delivered dinner to Isis. Cathy Steeb joined me as we headed for the Kodak Visitor lot across State Street. Kaver went into what looked like a stoop and we lost sight of him behind some buildings, but he appeared some minutes later atop the middle RGE smokestack, empty taloned. Both he and Mariah maintained their positions and were quite placid. Cathy and I headed to the north, skirting the fenceline of the abandoned RGE power plant, and got a view of the north and east sides of the playpen. We had no sign of Freedom, though, so we headed out to the bridge. Our luck was no better out there, and at about 17:20 we headed back toward State Street. Cathy had to go back to work, so I took up a position in the Kodak parking lot once again, and backed up as far as I could, the better to see up onto the ledge of the playpen. Kaver disappeared from the stack at this time, and I circled around to the west to see if I could make out any movement on the ledge, but I had no success.
I decided to move to higher ground for a better look into the playpen, so I crossed the street and went up to the seventh level of the High Falls/State Street Parking Garage, found myself a nice steady platform on which to place my binoculars, and settled in. I scanned the south and east sides of the playpen for many minutes, but I was unable to see Freedom. Kaver returned briefly, landing on the southeast corner of the south railing, and both adults sat for several minutes before Kaver flew away to the south, presumably for more hunting. I left around 18:00 without having spotted Freedom.
I think this is a case of no news being good news. Both parents seemed at ease, not fluttering around worrying, but watchful, much like Mariah was last year when one of the fledglings tired herself out and had to take a rest on the roof of one of the Kodak buildings. There was no sustained screeching, such as one might expect from a fledgling in trouble. There are also a number of objects that serve to block much of the view in the playpen, not the least of which are the 8 floodlights mounted at each corner and midway along each side of the ledge. These are painted grey, and are very similar to the coloration of a falcon in partial shade. I may have been looking right at Freedom, and simply couldn't make him out amid all the ground clutter.
I see no cause for worry at this point, though I'll be sure to be outside early tomorrow morning. From the look of things, Isis may be joining her brother any time now, so we may be hunting for two fledglings instead of one. Time will tell, but I am confident that everything is OK so far.
