We are requesting suggestions for a name that will be given to one of this year’s Eyases!

We are very happy to announce that once again falcon fans will have an opportunity to choose a name for an eyas in the nest box atop the Times Square Building, and it will be in the form of a naming contest open to all viewers.

Much care and thought was used to name past eyases. We’ve included the criteria for choosing a name, which have been changed this year. Please read the rules very carefully and use the link below to submit one (1) gender neutral name.

Please, only one submission per person!

The deadline for name submissions is 11:59 pm (EDT) on Friday, May 15, 2020.

Suggested Rfalconcam Naming Criteria Acceptable Categories for Names:

Explorers, Astronomers, Conservationists, especially those with
International appeal (e.g., Galileo, [Amelia] Earhart, Magellan), or those who have played a significant role in Peregrine re-population efforts.
Names inspired by Nature–topographic, meteorological, geographic, etc. (e.g. Kaver, Isaura, Fulmine, Alkyonis, Skye, Aconcagua)
Inspirational Names (e.g. Freedom, Hope, Destiny)
Words that refer to falcons in languages other than Modern English (e.g. Thlotli, Hafoc)

Categories that do not fit the criteria:

Names derived from religious, political, or popular culture icons.
Names directly related to a human person either living or dead, except as noted in the acceptable criteria above.
Names related to a commercial product, or a copyrighted or trademarked name owned by any corporation, individual or organization.
Names that reflect negatively on any group, organization, individual or entity.
Names should be well researched whenever possible. Supporting rationale for the name is required, so give us a few sentences that explain the name and the reason you chose it.

Submitting a Name:

That’s easy! Just click on this link to open the submission form. Only one submission per person please! If multiple submissions are sent in, only the first one will be accepted.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6vD1QUEkythh2v63EHzgHImqtphxQ1HgboU8G5hDIYMrQCg/viewform?c=0&w=1

NOTE: IF SUBMITTING A NAME, PLEASE DO NOT DISCUSS IT HERE, ON THE FORUM, OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA. WE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THIS AS FAIR AS POSSIBLE TO ALL PARTICIPANTS.

Judging the Name Submissions:

The Rfalconcam Naming Committee will evaluate all name submissions for appropriateness, including (but not limited to) adherence to the naming criteria, well researched name, uniqueness of the name and how well it follows the “spirit” of past falcon names.

The committee will select the top 10 names from those submitted and create a poll for members of the Rfalconcam forum to vote for their favorite. You must be a member of the forum to be able to vote for a name. Join the forum now if you’d like to participate!

NOTE: MEMBERS OF THE NAMING COMMITTEE WILL HAVE FINAL EDITORIAL RIGHT OF REFUSAL FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS, AND THEY MAY REJECT ANY NAME SUBMISSION THAT DOES NOT MEET THE NAMING CRITERIA OR IS JUDGED NOT TO BE APPROPRIATE FOR ANY OTHER REASON.

Past Falcon Names that Meet the Criteria Above:

2002 Freedom

2003 Isaura – A wind that blows off the Greek Isles
Chayton – A Native American word for Falcon
Destiny
Thlotli – An Aztec name for Falcon
Edge – Named for Rosalie Edge

2004 Alkyonis – Named in honor of the 2004 Olympic games in Greece
Pride
Gahastey – Native American word for a type of wind
Grissom – Named in honor of Virgil “Gus” Grissom
Hafoc – Old English word for Falcon

2005 Esperanza – Spanish word for Hope
Ihteram – Arabic word for Respect
Fulmine – Italian word for Lightning
Aconcagua – A mountain in Argentina
Skye – An island in Scotland where falconry is practiced

2006 Aura – Latin word for breeze

2007 Ananta – A Sanskrit word meaning “infinite” and “endless.”

2008 Diamante – Spanish for “diamond”
Quest – A search or pursuit made in order to find or obtain something
Seneca – Named after the largest tribe of the Iroquois confederacy
Zephyr – The name given to the West Wind in Greek mythology

2010 Callidora – Gift of Beauty
Jemison – In honor of Mary Jemison, an American frontierswoman

2012 Orion – The constellation of “The Hunter”

2013 Baron, Rosetta, Voyager

2014 Tesh, Nettie, Nor’easter, Mercury

2015 Cadence, Genesee, Bronx

2016 Matilda, Aria, Lilac, Leo

2017 Seabreeze, Ontario, Charlotte, Rachel

2018 Mike, Letchworth, Sundara

2019 Lakota, Phoenix, Jupiter, Donna

The deadline for name submissions is 11:59 pm (EDT) on Friday, May 15, 2020.

Good Luck!

We were very happily surprised by the arrival of our 4th eyas at 7:55 am Sunday morning. There were many fans on our streaming video who were able to witness Beauty helping the last eyas to hatch.

Beauty and Dot.ca now have a full nest box. It’s going to be so much fun watching them raise their little family.

Hope you’re all able to join us!!!

Sometimes it’s really hard to tell when a hatch occurs. Beauty is really good at covering her young ones and keeping them warm. A big clue is when a shell pops out from underneath her. This happened at approximately 1:40 pm.

Thankfully, our cameras were able to catch the hatch happening at 1:23 pm.

It wasn’t long before Dot.ca brought in food and both he and Beauty fed the two older eyases. The newly hatched eyas was a little too young for its first meal.

Hopefully the 4th egg will hatch soon. Be sure to keep watching!

On line watchers witnessed a half shell pop out from under Beauty around 9:12 pm last night. It wasn’t until 11:19 pm that we had a good view of the 2nd eyas.

Early this morning we had some wonderful views of both eyases during a tandem feeding by Beauty and Dot.ca!

Sometime today, we should have a 3rd hatch and hopefully, soon after that, a 4th.

Stay tuned to our streaming video to watch for the new arrivals!

Happy first day of May! We are very happy to announce the arrival of Beauty and Dot.ca’s first eyas at 6:11 pm.

To see the larger version of the pictures, please click on them.

It wasn’t long before Dot.ca arrived to check out the new arrival.

As you can see in the picture above, there is a pip (small hole) in the darker egg. It won’t be long before the first eyas is joined by his/her siblings.

Be sure to check out our streaming video! Enjoy!

This morning, at approximately 10:52 am, Beauty laid her 4th egg.

She has never laid more than four eggs in a season. If she does lay a fifth egg, it should happen on April 1st at approximately 8:00 pm (give or take).

In the meantime, they will probably start hard incubation now. It won’t be long before small, white fluffy eyases make an appearance!

Please stay safe everyone!

Very early this morning, at 3:12 am, Egg #3 arrived. We may have missed it, but our cameras are tireless. They caught the whole happy event. We even have a video snippet for your viewing pleasure!

Video of just after 3rd egg was laid (Click link below.)
http://youtu.be/7406NvrNsgQ?t=11377

A few hours later, Dot.ca came in to check on all three of his eggs!

If there is a 4th egg, it should arrive around noon-1 pm on Monday. Beauty and Dot.ca average 4 eggs each year.

We here at Rfalconcam hope that everyone is doing well and staying healthy.

Woohoo! Egg #2! 🙂

It took approximately 57 hours for Beauty to lay her 2nd egg at 4:42 pm. It didn’t take long for Dot.ca to check it out. The 3rd egg will probably arrive early Saturday morning. Stay tuned!

I believe we all needed a bit of good news! On this cold, rainy morning here in Rochester, NY, Beauty laid her first egg of 2020. We here at Rfalconcam were eggstatic to see the arrival of this beautiful egg!

Let’s take time to remember our 2019 Rochester Falcon Season as we patiently, or not so patiently, wait for our 2020 season to begin.

It was a year full of happiness and sadness.

Four beautiful eyases arrived and were banded on May 31st.

All four grew strong under the watchful eyes of their parents Beauty and Dot.ca. Their faithful watchers witnessed all four successfully fledge.

Soon after fledging, on June 23rd, we lost our only female, Donna. She was found, deceased, on the road near Cornhill Landing. She was very close to home.

The three boys continued to thrive after the loss of their sister. For the next two months, the Rochester Falcon Watchers continued to keep an eye on them.

On August 4th, Jupiter was found injured on the ground near Kodak Office. He was taken to a local rehabber and vet. The X-rays showed that he had a broken coracoid bone in his shoulder and possible soft tissue damage on the other side. His prognosis was good. After a successful rehab, he was released on November 6th. Jupiter was seen once in Rochester after his release. He has not been seen since.

On August 24, we were notified that a third Rochester juvenile was found injured. Phoenix was found on the ground in Brockport. He was transported to the Cornell Wildlife Veterinary Clinic by the DEC and a rehabber. They did everything they could to save his life, but he did not survive his injuries. It was determined that he had hit a window on a building at a high rate of speed. He was probably hunting. It is so important that windows be marked so that the birds are able to see them.

Lakota was seen a few times downtown with Beauty, looking for food. There have been no sightings since then. We all hope that he and Jupiter are doing well.

Now we wait. Both Beauty and Dot.ca have been seen frequently in the new nest box on the Times Square Bldg. They are both very busy working on digging scrapes that will hold their eggs.

As I’m typing this report, I have received word that a Rochester Falcon Watcher has just witnessed Beauty and Dot.ca copulating on the base of the Mercury statue! Let the 2020 season begin!!!