Sage put out a call for help in identifying the new pair at the Central Terminal and 4 Rochester Watchers answered.
Kathy O, Lisa McK, Dana and Carol P made the drive down the NYS thruway to Buffalo, NY. We met Sage and Roger at the Central Terminal. If you've ever watched Ghost Hunters on the Sci Fi Channel, you've heard of the Central Terminal. It's said to be haunted.
So we were happy to look for Falcons and apparitions.
We arrived around 10:30 am meeting Sage and Roger. The Central Terminal Bldg towered above us. So beautiful and impressive. The architecture of this building is incredible.
We walked around the building, checking out each side. We could not find any Falcons. After about an hour, we decided to visit the Univ of Buffalo nest site. BB was on the structure above the nest box. She was preening and dozing in the sun. The male was no where to be found.
After taking a break at Starbucks and warming up a bit, we headed to the Statler Bldg for a quick look. This building is now closed. There is still a pair of Pefas that use this nest site, but we could not find them. If you remember, this is the nest site where the resident female and another fought in the nest box, while the male continued to eat on the perch. This happened quite a few years ago.
It was time to head back to the Central Terminal. There were still no falcons to be seen. Darn. Sage and Roger had to leave for a little while, promising to return. Shortly after they left, two Red-tail Hawks appeared above the tower. One of them just floated there for a few moments. Just beautiful. I thought that this proved there were no Peregrines in the area. Boy, was I wrong.
After the RTH's left the area, Lisa yelled out "FALCON!" "AT THE NEST BOX!" We all jumped out of the car, where we had been trying to keep warm. Not only one Falcon, but two had flown in. The male was on the perch in front of the nest box and the other was flying gracefully around the top of the tower. Kathy was on the phone with Sage and Roger telling them that we had Falcons.
They returned in time to see both Falcons take off, heading west. The female stooped and she and the male flew out of sight. Well, that was fun.
After awhile, they both returned to the Terminal Tower and landed. We were able to get the scope on the male and verified that he had silver and black/green bands. This was not Stash, the current male at this site (he was unbanded). The female was a little more elusive.
All six of us were on the east side of the building watching the two Falcons that had landed there. The female took off and looped around the back of the building. We never saw her come out the other side. The male remained. That's when the excitement started.
The female had looped back around the front of the building low, very low. We all watched in awe as she chased a Pigeon just a couple feet above the pavement, heading right towards us. She grabbed the Pigeon and carried it upwards towards the roof of one of the lower buildings, where she landed out of sight. The male came off the tower and followed her, also landing on the roof.
The Watchers spread across the parking area, trying to find a spot where we could see them. No luck. We ended up back near the west end and talked excitedly about what we had witnessed. That's when the female with the male hot on her tail flew up towards the tower. She was carrying the Pigeon. They both landed next to each other. The female started to pluck, but this male was NOT going to wait. He wrestled her for the prey and they both flew off, the chase was on. The female again landed high on the front of the tower, the male again landed next to her. This time he watched her pluck, again feathers were flying.
I got the scope on them and again saw the male's green/black band. He was watching her intently, bobbing and weaving and making moves to get a share of her catch. He was finally successful. He flew off with a small piece, flying around and around the top of the tower. Looking through our binoculars, we could see that he was eating his prize on the fly. He ate the whole thing while flying, he never landed with it. Quite amazing. When it was gone, he landed back next to the female and again watched her. This time he was more patient waiting for her to finish. She finally had her fill and the male grabbed what was left and took it up higher on the tower to eat.
This bold behavior by the Tiercel was different than what I had seen in all my years of Watching Mariah and Kaver and then Archer and Beauty. Mariah would never have tolerated it.
I pointed the scope at the female, trying to get a look at her bands. Finally I got really good looks at both her legs. She was definitely NOT banded. According to Sage, Stella was unbanded. Could this be Stella with a new mate? Hopefully the male will someday be positively ID'd.
We all went to the original Anchor Bar for their world famous chicken wings, YUM! The end of the Bills game was on, so we were able to see them beat the Bengals. After we ate, we said our goodbyes to our hosts, Sage and Roger, and thanked them for a wonderful visit. On our way home, just as it was getting dark, we stopped for one last look at the Central Terminal. Both Falcons were in the same spots we left them. Just before we left, the Tiercel took off and flew to the east. He seemed to be in a hurry. The female remained on the tower. It was time for us to leave.
We all had a great time visiting just a few of the Buffalo Falcons. Thanks Sage and Roger for showing us around. We all had a wonderful time.
