A hardware problem of unknown origin struck the Rfalconcam website yesterday morning causing it to go offline for nearly 12 hours.  When it was restored,  the last 2 months worth of modifications to the site including Forum posts and membership applications, FalconWatch and Imprints reports, and pictures in the archive were missing.

We are trying to get some answers from our service provider, but have not received any replies to our queries. In the meantime, we have locked the Forum in order to prevent additional losses.

An update will be posted as soon as we know more.

Well, the results are in. ROC the Day was a huge success for the Rochester Falconcam and GVAS.

Because of all of you, the Rochester Falconcam raised nearly $1,500! Plus GVAS & Rfalconcam were one of four nonprofit groups chosen to receive an extra $5,000 from the Rochester Area Community Foundation. 80% ($4,000) of this will go to the Rochester Falconcam to help keep the cameras running, bringing our total from ROC the Day up to $5,500!

Remember that the next ROC the Day will be held on December 12, 2012. 🙂

Thanks everyone!

We want to thank all of you for your donations to GVAS & Rfalconcam during ROC the Day.

With your help, we raised nearly $1,500! Because of this, we and Genesee Valley Audubon will be able to continue sharing this unique look into the world of an endangered species, the Peregrine Falcon.

But, that’s not all! Because of your generosity, GVAS & Rfalconcam were one of four nonprofit groups chosen to receive an extra $5,000!!!

“Rochester Area Community Foundation has awarded $5,000 prizes to four local nonprofits that garnered the most unique donors during ROC the Day, our community’s successful 24-online day of giving on December 8…..” You can read all about it by clicking on this link.

http://www.racf.org/NewsEvents/ViewArticle/tabid/164/smid/605/ArticleID/78/reftab/36/Default.aspx

Special thanks to Rfalconcam team member Lisa McKeown for entering us into ROC the Day! You ROC Lisa!

We here at Rochester Falconcam want to thank you and wish you all a safe and peaceful Holiday and a very happy New Year!

ROC the Day has started!

Rfalconcam has a chance to win $5,000, here’s how:

Rochester Area Community Foundation will award a $5,000 prize to local nonprofits in each of these four categories that attract the most “unique” donors (based on billing address) during ROC the Day:
•   Arts & Culture
•   Community Benefit and Economic Development
•   Environment
•   Human Services

Rfalconcam is registered in the Environment category.  So if Rfalconcam has the highest number of unique donors then the Rochester Area Community Foundation will give us $5,000.  The Environment category has under 50 not-for-profits agencies, compare that to the Human Services which has over 300 agencies and the other categories both have over 100 agencies competing for the $5,000.

Being a unique donor means multiple gifts from one donor with one billing address to one organization can be counted only once.  So this is not about how much one gives or how many times, but how many different people give to Rfalconcam.

We know that the Rfalconcam community is unique.  It is consist of many wonderful people.  Now its time for us to show Rochester how unique we are.   If everyone that watches the cameras gave just $5 we could win $5,000!

WOW! WITH YOUR HELP, WE RAISED ALMOST $1,500! YOU FOLKS ARE INCREDIBLE!

Thank You!!!

COUNTDOWN: 4 DAYS TO GO….ONE DAY OF EPIC GIVING.
Calling all ROCstars! ROC the Day, the Greater Rochester’s first-ever, community-wide day of giving, is only 4 days away. Join us on December 8 as we come together to ROC the Day for more than 600 not-for-profits, including rfalconcam.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Do your kids have to program your cell phone for you? Is your remote just a little too tricky? If yes, rest assured…giving during ROC the Day is going to be simple. Here’s how it will work:
1. Go to www.ROCtheDay.org
2. Choose rfalconcam (listed in the Animals or The Environment categories)
3. Give with a simple, one-time online donation

500 reasons to give on December 8.
Every ROCstar donor, INCLUDING YOU, will have a chance to win an extra $500 for the charity of your choice. All you have to do is give a gift on December 8 to any participating organization preferably rfalconcam. Twenty-four people will be randomly chosen to get a free bonus added to their gift. Think of all the great things rfalconcam can do with $500 extra FREE bucks!

See you there.
We can’t wait to ROC the Day together on December 8. See you there!

The Rfalconcam merchandising team is working on calendars for 2012, and we need your help! We would like followers of Rfalconcam to submit one wildlife picture they have photographed. Yes, this photo needs to be one you have taken yourself.

Here are the criteria for the 2012 Wildlife Calendar submissions. Remember, we are looking for Non-Peregrine photos.

1. Wildlife image for the calendar needs to be a photo that you have taken of animals (mammals, birds, etc.) that are neither human nor domesticated. Only ONE submission per person.

2. Image must not contain any ‘hand of man’. This means no bird feeders, bird houses, fences, telephone poles, building, etc. The spirit of this is to present the animal in its most natural environment. Note: Images CAN be edited to remove hand of man elements.

3. Image should be sent as one of these file types: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or GIF

4. Image size should be 2200 x 1700 pixels (11 x 8.5 ratio).

5. Image should be sent to Lou at this email address: LTCapuano@gmail.com

6. Provide a title and brief description of the image in the note to Lou.

7. Do NOT post your submission to the board.

8. Last day to submit is October 16th, 2011.

Many thanks from the Rfalconcam Merchandise Team!

Every year Rochester’s City Newspaper publishes their Annual Manual, a guide that seeks to compile all that’s great about the Flower City into a single digest. This year, rather than go after the big attractions, they concentrated on aspects of life here that might not have the marquee value of the Eastman Theater or the Memorial Art Gallery, but nevertheless contribute in a big way to Rochester’s unique appeal.

We’re happy to announce that the Rochester Falconcam got some love in the Local Bloggers section. Writer Kate Antonides penned a nice summary of the Falconcam and our two blogs, Imprints and FalconWatch. Click the link above to read her article, then take a little time to explore the rest of the 2011 Annual Manual.

Just in time for the wearin’ of the green!

Our happy excited watchers– Both online and in person in downtown Rochester– delivered the news everyone has been waiting to hear. It seems Archer decided that the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade was the perfect time to fly back home, but we didn’t get our first pictures of him and his identifying leg bands (not to mention that telltale white feather tip on his right wing) until shortly after 2PM.

He and Beauty wasted no time and got right down to the business at hand, renewing their pair bond through some ritual bowing and sharing of food. Watcher Carol P reported seeing two falcons eating on the Kodak tower yesterday morning. Since then, both have been showing up at the Times Square nest box. They were also observed flying together near the Times Square building. All of these are typical signs of courtship that we’d expect to see in a pair of peregrines getting ready for a new season.

You can join in the virtual falcon watch yourself with the Rochester Falconcam’s five cameras at Times Square. Catch all the action live on our streaming video page, or even take control of our famous PanCam for a personalized falcon watching experience!

What of the tiercel who’s been keeping Beauty company since the year began? Our local watchers dubbed him “Mr. T”. He paid a visit to the nest box as recently as Friday afternoon on the 11^th. Our watchers will keep a close eye on things downtown, just in case Archer and the “new guy” decide to mix it up. There’s another Peregrine a few miles north of the Times Square at one of the buildings in Kodak Park. She’s been without a mate all year, so if Mr. T wants to head toward the lake he might find a willing partner there. That would be a win-win for Peregrines in Rochester.

Archer’s arrival comes about a week earlier than his 2010 debut in Rochester. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it will be interesting to see how his arrival time compares from year to year– assuming he continues coming back. One thing you can be sure of, is that we’ll be keeping our eyes glued to the skies in Rochester now that Mariah and Kaver’s grandson is back in town!

With spring approaching it won’t be long before falcons are once again moving in and out of the nest box and hanging around the buildings surrounding Times Square. Today we’re introducing a new feature to the Rochester falconcam that we think you’re really going to enjoy. For a small donation via PayPal or credit/debit card, you can control the PanCam! Control is available in ten-minute blocks, up to a full 30 minutes at a time! We are asking only 50 cents per minute during our trial period. After that, the price will rise to $1.

By using PayPal or credit card, you will be able to take control of the camera in as little as 10 minutes after payment is made. No need to wait days or weeks for a check to clear. After your payment has been registered, you’ll be able to move Camera 1 to any of 21 preset positions and zoom out or in, magnifying the image by up to 21 times normal!

Here’s how it works…

1. After opening a new window in your internet browser, go to our website http://rfalconcam.com and select Control Camera from the CAMERAS tab. Another window will pop up that lets you either log in to take control of the camera or reserve a time to take control.

2. Since this will be your first visit, you will want to click on Reserve time on a camera.

3. When the reservation page is displayed, Click on the Book button.

4. Select a date, start time and end time. The start and end times must be 10, 20, or 30 minutes apart. The green spaces on the calendar are times that are available. Red spaces denote previously reserved slots.

5. Click the Continue button to go to the details page where you can review and modify your reservation. You will also see the total price for your reservation here.

6. Click Continue to go to the Customer Information page. Enter your name and contact information. Your Rfalconcam Forum username is optional, and you don’t need to be a forum member to participate.

7. Click on Continue to go to the confirmation page where you will confirm your reservation. Be sure to click on the Terms & Conditions check box!

8. Click on the Book button to confirm the reservation. Your confirmation code will be displayed. (It will also be emailed to you.) Don’t lose it! You will need it to gain access to the camera.

9. Click on the Pay Now button to pay for your reservation. The PayPal payment page will open in a new window.

10. Follow the directions on the PayPal page. You can pay using your PayPal account, or if you don’t have one, pay using a credit or debit card.

11. Close the PayPal window when you are done.

12. Close the Reserve Camera window.

You will receive a confirmation email which also contains instructions for controlling the camera. Do yourself a favor and READ THE INSTRUCTIONS NOW. They’ll be repeated when you take control of the camera, but by then you’ll be reading during your control time. If you want to avoid paying for the privilege of learning how to move the camera, take advantage of the instructions in the email.

A few minutes before your reservation time arrives:
1. Go to http://rfalconcam.com and select Streaming Video from the CAMERAS tab so you will be able to see where Camera 1 is currently pointed.

2. Select Control Camera from the CAMERAS tab.

3. This time, enter your email address and confirmation code, then click the Take Control button. The clock is ticking, and you’re in control!

4. If you didn’t read the instructions in the confirmation email that you received when you made your reservation, you’ll see them again here. They explain how to control the camera and what to expect. However, it is a good idea to read them in the email before you get to this point because you will be using time that could be spent controlling the camera.

5. When you are ready to control the camera, click on Take control of the camera now.

6. The control panel will appear, and now you can start moving and zooming the camera.

7. When your time is up, the control panel will close and you will be given the option to control the camera again or quit.

We hope you’ll enjoy this exciting new service. If you’ve ever wanted to see what it’s like to to follow a mobile falcon or fledgling in real time, this is your chance! And you can rest easy in the knowledge that all of the proceeds from your camera control time are going to support the Rochester Falconcam operations.

Our search for a new logo has come to an end. The voting was close all the way through the contest, and it was a nail-biter right up to the final minutes. But after all the votes were counted, one design came out on top.

We want to thank everyone who took the time to review both of the design finalists and to cast a vote for your favorite. Now the Rochester Falconcam is happy to reveal our new logo!

You’ll be seeing the new logo on our website in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!