By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Lost, but never forgotten.

Many hearts were broken on August 22, 2023. The day I received a text from our friend Mark Nash from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. Quest had been found on the ground with very severe injuries by a couple of concerned folks. They remained with her until Mark arrived. He saw immediately that she was in trouble. The X-rays they took of Quest confirmed his worse fears, she wasn’t going to survive. Mark shared pictures of Quest’s injuries with us and explained that a decision was made to humanely euthanize her.

Quest began her life in a nest box on top of the Kodak Tower under the watchful eyes of her parents Mariah and Kaver. She was one of five young that hatched in 2008.

On May 30, 2008, Quest and her siblings were banded and given their chosen names. Mike Allen and Barbara Loucks, from the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation, banded each of the eyases and they all received their names. Three girls and two boys! Seneca (F), Diamante (m), Zephyr (m), Susan B (f) and Quest (f). Quest was given her name by students at the Hilton Quest Elementary School and they were there to see her banded. That was the 11th year that the Kodak Falcons had been banded. Her NYS band was Black 96 over Green V. Blue tape was placed over her silver USFW band.

Because Quest was the largest on banding day, the DEC chose her to receive a transmitter. On June 5, 2008, she received her transmitter. Because they did not have the proper glue to seal the harness that was placed on her to hold her transmitter, they used Mexican Red ladies nail polish.

Quest successfully fledged on June 21, 2008. Her Watchers were thrilled to see her take her first flight. She and her siblings flew in the Genesee River Gorge, near the High Falls, learning to chase prey and each other. Oh, and mom and dad too! So much fun! Those were the days!

She was last seen in Rochester, NY mid-August. Her transmitter readings were started on August 18, 2008. On August 22nd, we started receiving witness reports from Martha’s Vinyard, Nantucket and Cape Cod. I was in touch with many of the folks there. They were thrilled to have her during that Winter and shared many pictures and stories from her adventures.

Quest’s travels were followed by her many fans all over the world!

Some of the Rochester Falcon Watchers followed her when her transmitter readings placed her in Canada, on the other side of Lake Ontario. We actually found her and her mate flying around a power plant. Yes, you heard right. She had a mate!

In 2011, she was spotted with her mate. Kendal, on a building across from Harlequin headquarters on Don Mills Rd. She was given a nest box and the rest is legend.

On December 21, 2014, Bruce Massey, a member of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation, confirmed with us that Quest had finally lost her transmitter. That was such great news!

From 2011 thru 2023, she raised 42 young. She was one short of her mom Mariah’s 43. Quest and many of her siblings went on to raise young and helped to increase the population of Peregrine Falcons in the United States and Canada.

We call it the Mariah and Kaver Legacy. Of course, this included Mariah’s first mate, Cabot-Sirocco.

An Untold Fledge Watch Story, June 21, 2008

Quest’s Fledge Flight took place 15 years ago, yet it seems like it was just yesterday. Kind of. So you can imagine my memory is a little foggy. There were many Rochester Falcon Watchers on duty that day and of course, I can’t remember everyone that was there.

When Quest finally spread her wings and took her first flight, she ended up landing on the ground in a parking lot on the north side of Kodak Office. When we arrived, she was just walking around and checking out all the new stuff in her world.

The Watchers kept at a distance and kept an eye on her. It was finally decided that she was in danger of being hit by a car, so a plan was hatched. It was decided that she needed to be rescued, but she had other ideas. No way was Quest going to let us get anywhere near her.

Three of the Watchers volunteered to rescue Quest and put her into a carrier. I came in behind with a blanket and two other Watchers kept her attention from the front. Everything was going great until she turned her head around and saw me. It was like, no way! That’s when Quest took off and landed on a low building in the back of the parking lot. That’s all we wanted. She was off the ground and now under attack by a Kestrel. Quest wasn’t happy and neither was the Kestrel. In those days, we had a family of Kestrels that nested on the BeeBee Station. The Peregrines and Kestrels were always going at each other.

Again, we settled in to keep watch over Quest. After a while, she was annoyed enough to take off again, this time heading east, towards the Genesee River. One of our new watchers took off, sprinting. He was able to follow her and see where she landed. When we all caught up, we saw that she was on a much higher building. From that point on, Quest joined her family and continued her journey.

FLY FREE QUEST!

Pictures of Quest Shared by many of her fans.

We have received some very good news from our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. Quest no longer has her transmitter. Rfalconcam Forum member Donna Cook was able to capture some pictures of Quest taken by the Harlequin falcon cameras. She immediately noticed that something was missing. The transmitter antenna we were so used to seeing on her back was gone. She shared the pictures with other members of the forum and members of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation (CPF).

– Picture of Quest from the Harlequin Falconcam

Many thanks to Donna and CPF Member, Bruce Massey, who positively identified that it was Quest at the Don Mills nest site and that she no longer had her transmitter! Here is Bruce’s report.

Quest Has Shed Her Transmitter and On Site with a Potential New Suitor
December 21, 2014 – Toronto – Don Mills

Bruce Massey Reports:

With the nest camera back online and showing us views of the adult peregrines active around the site, I decided to venture out to do a quick check in. One of the most conspicuous things about Quest these days is that in the camera shots taken of her at the box, the antenna of her transmitter could not be seen at all. I set out to try and confirm whether the female was Quest and if she was now backpack free.

I found her in and around the nest box soaking up the sun and with my scope was able to get excellent looks at her back. I can say without doubt that the backpack harness and transmitter she has been wearing for the past several years is no longer there. Quest was looking quite fabulous, all her feathers sitting neatly preened across her back and chest. I was also able to confirm her recovery band number as Black 96 over Green V as she sat sunbathing. The male was also quite active in the area and the two met at the box a number of times bowing and vocalizing together. I set the scope on the male and turned my attention to the task of confirming his identity.

He spent a great deal of time up on the Harlequin building sitting in the sun and I waited for him to do some stretching and reveal the look I was seeking. At first glance I was able to only see the USFW band and it was covered in blue tape. This was not consistent with Skye, the male that was with Quest this past nest season. I continued to watch and finally got the look that I was waiting for. The band number that I could clearly see was a solid Black Y over 72 with blue tape which turns out to be a bird hatched in 2013 at the Amexon nest site named Lucky.

We are unsure when this change took place and where Skye is currently. We will have to wait until spring to clearly understand whether Lucky or Skye will be Quest’s mate for the 2015 nesting season.

Posted on December 21, 2014 10:53 pm

Here are some images of a young Quest with her transmitter in 2008. She did a lot of wandering her first year and made lots of friends, especially in Nantucket and Cape Cod.

We continue to receive transmitter readings from our friends at the DEC and it looks like Quest is on the move. She’s still spending time at the Duncan Mill Rd nest site, but taking trips along the north side of Lake Ontario. So where has she been over the past seven days? You may recognize some of the locations she’s been visiting.

On October 30, we received three readings;
12:45 – Pickering
14:49 – NW of Cobourg & Port Hope
20:47 – Lennox Power Station

October 31
22:06 – Lennox Power Station

November 2nd
06:51 – Quest & Kendal’s Nest Box – Duncan Mill Rd.

November 3rd
20:59 – Quest & Kendal’s Nest Box – Duncan Mill Rd.

November 5th
10:50 – Quest & Kendal’s Nest Box – Duncan Mill Rd.

November 6th
15:33 – Lennox Power Station

Be sure to check for more updates on Quest’s travels.

Beauty laid her third egg today. We’re not exactly sure when, because she spent a lot of time in the nest box and she didn’t let us see what was going on. Both Beauty and Archer have been on the eggs most of the day. That might be due to the cooler weather, or it could signal the start of “hard” incubation. If that’s the case, then we should be able to expect one more egg, for a total of four. Since the most recent pair of eggs have come at a more-or-less typical peregrine pace, if Beauty does lay another egg we should see it in the next 2 to 3 days.

In other news, the recent location data from Quest’s satellite transmitter has been nearly stationary for the past several days. Some observers began to speculate that perhaps her transmitter had finally fallen off. But earlier today our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation posted that two falcons, one outfitted with a transmitter, had been spotted on a commercial building in the city of York, Ontario Canada, just east of Toronto. The address for the sighting matched exactly to the location data we’ve been getting from Quest, and Bruce Massey, one of the CPF volunteers, was able to confirm her ID band numbers! It turns out that Quest has been hanging out with a handsome tiercel. Read the full account from CPF watcher Tracy Simpson HERE. Needless to say we’re thrilled to learn that Quest may finally have found a place to settle down, and that she could be starting a family of her own. We’ll keep a close watch on this story, and bring all of the details to you as we learn more!

Quest has continued to stay around Prince Edward Point with frequent trips into nearby Kingston Ontario this month. Recently our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation posted about Quest visiting the Kingston Harbor on January 4. Happily CPF observer Rachel McRae was able to get some pictures of Quest. We’re reprinting them here with her kind permission.

We’re working with the CPF to see if they have larger pictures they can share with us, and if we can get them we’ll bring them to you.

Quest is looking great, and both she and her transmitter seem to be going strong! CPF reporter Big Frank also let us know that workers at the Pickering Nuclear Power plant have been seeing Quest in the past few days, so she may be returning to familiar ground. Be sure to check back for updates.

Quest must be having a good time at Prince Edward Point because her transmitter data display some of the closest clustering that we’ve seen since we began tracking her in 2008. In fact, many of the locations over the past two weeks have been so close together that we thought she might have finally ditched her transmitter.

There are a few data points that are spread far enough apart to show us that she’s still moving around. But one thing we can say is that she’s not moving very far. Except for a trip to Kingston on the 26^th, she’s moved only a couple of miles. It looks like Quest has found a cozy place to stay for the winter, and that she’s content enough not to wander. Unless she decides to make another significant move– back to Pickering or the Lennox power station for instance– we may be in for a boring winter.

No surprises for Quest. She’s been bouncing between Pickering and Prince Edward Point for the past several weeks, but the most recent few days’ locations have placed her squarely at PEP. The weather’s been pretty nasty and cold, with one of the lowest temperature sensor readings we’ve seen recorded on the 15^th, a chilly 9.65°C. Hopefully Quest is finding someplace to stay out of the wind and keep herself warm.

As she’s done in the past, Quest threw us a curve ball. After weeks at Pickering, she suddenly decided to take a trip east to Prince Edward Point. She stayed a couple of days then returned to Pickering, but not before making a stop-over in Port Hope on the 18^th. Maybe she decided to take a flight down memory lane now that she seems to be settling down.

Quest’s latest location data are all clustered in the immediate area around the Pickering Nuclear Power plant in Pickering, Ontario Canada. Not only that, but just this past weekend she was spotted there by Rochester Falconcam watchers Joyce and MAK. They tell us that Quest was once again seen in the company of a male peregrine, and that they were both acting very comfortable with each other.

Even better, Joyce took some pictures! Here’s a few for you

And finally, a shot of Quest passing overhead. Her transmitter is clearly visible in this picture.

We’re very pleased that we’ve finally gotten some pictures of Quest to share with you, and we’re grateful for the efforts of Joyce, MAK, and all the other watchers who have made the long trip to Pickering Ontario in search of our intrepid peregrine. It seems like she’s pretty comfortable at the power plant, and if she has found a mate in this male, we may even be able to look forward to some nesting activity next year. We’ll keep our eye on Quest to see if she decides to make this her permanent home.

Quest’s westward move proved to be short-lived. She has returned to Pickering, with the vast majority of her September data clustered in the area immediately around the Pickering Power Generating station. We assume her male friend is still accompanying her.

Since Quest seems to be settling in, we’re hoping that someone at the plant or birders in the area will be able to get a look at where she might be nesting. If we have any readers in the Pickering/Ajax/Tornoto area, it looks like you’re almost guaranteed to be able to spot Quest near the power station these days. If you do, send us a note to let us know what she’s doing.