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Just when we think Quest has settled into a routine she throws us a curve. Most of the good data we received are from the early morning or early evening, hardly prime hunting time for the season. Interestingly, it shows that Quest has been staying away from Monomoy, choosing instead to go into Chatham Port. In fact, the three data points in the Chatham area place her very close to the Middle School where she spent a few days back in September. Her night time destination continues to be Nickerson State Park.

We’re not sure if this signals the beginning of a new pattern for Quest or whether its just a temporary change. We’ll keep an eye on our intrepid Peregrine to see what happens.

-Jess

Members of the Rochester Falconcam recently took a few hours to install a trio of cameras at the nest box that was placed on the Powers Building about 6 weeks ago. Some internal connections still need to be made, but we can comfortably say that we’ll be ready to bring the images to you if Mariah makes use of this box in the spring.

Carol Phillips put together a photo journal of the work done by the team. Check it out here!

The second nest box should be installed at the Times Square building in the next week or so. There are a few technical challenges at this location, but we’re planning to install at least 2 cameras there as well. We’ll bring news of that work to you as soon as we can.

-Jess

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Quest is sticking to her established behavior patterns on the Cape, but the latest batch of data from Quest’s transmitter shows that she’s modifying her activity to match the changing season. As the days grow shorter, Quest is limiting her time over Monomoy, and spending more time at Nickerson State Park in the area around Ruth’s Pond.

The move from Daylight Saving Time to Eastern Standard Time means that fewer satellite passes are occurring during daylight hours. Combine that with the many variables that affect signal strength and the result is that we aren’t getting as many meaningful data points as we were in the summer months. We’ll adjust our schedule of updates to match the data we’re receiving, so new postings on Quest’s whereabouts may be coming at longer intervals for the next few months.

-Jess

Photos courtesy of Mark Nash, Canadian Peregrine Foundation

We’ve received some happy news from Mark Nash and our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation— Linn is back!!!

You may recall that Linn was spotted there at the beginning of the year, but then she left for parts unknown. She’s back now, and she’s brought a friend, as Mark Nash reports:

Over the past four plus weeks, we have been getting regular sightings of a pair of peregrines that have been hanging around the Bell hack site at Pharmacy & Eglinton. Both birds (a male and female) have been observed coming in and out of the hack box, as well as roosting, sleeping and feeding regularly on various elevations on the Bell building. This morning we were able to confirm Bruce Massey’s observation of the female’s band number that he [observed] this past weekend (November 8th & 9th 2008) – Black 91 over Green V.

She has been identified as Linn from Rochester – produced at the Kodak nest site in 2007!!

Her male friend also [wears] a Black over Green colour marker band (but we have not been able to get his numbers yet). BUT his USFWS band appears to be a purple/mauve colour. While it may be a coloured tape, it does not appear to be case. We will continue to monitor the site in the hopes that we might get an ID on this guy.

Mark sent along some pictures of Linn the male who accompanied her, presented here for your viewing pleasure.
          

What a beauty she is in her adult plumage! We’re thrilled to know that Linn is back. If this male is her mate, they’ve chosen an excellent spot to nest and raise young in 2009! Our gratitude and appreciation go to Bruce Massey, Mark Nash, and all the great folks at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation for keeping an eye out for Linn, and for welcoming yet another Rochester peregrine to grace the skies of Canada!

-Jess

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No she’s not joining a convent, but it does look like Quest has established a regular cycle of activity for herself. All of the November data thus far places her near Monomoy Island during the day, and at Nickerson State Park in the evening and at night. It seems the pineland in the park is providing a sheltered spot where she can rest. And of course, she’s likely taking advantage of the bird buffet at Monomoy during the day.

Here’s a satellite image of the Monomoy Island with the refuge outlined in red. It provides a good view of the areas Quest has been frequenting, and it really shows the tidal flats that aren’t as apparent in the map view above. We’re thankful to Stephanie Koch and Michael Brady, both of the US Fish and Wildlife Service for providing this image and for the interest they’ve shown in Quest’s presence at the Monomoy refuge.

It’s shaping up to be a good life for Quest. She doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to leave the Cape, so this might be the pattern we can expect from her throughout the winter. Quest might have other plans though, so keep checking back every few days to catch up on her latest movements!

-Jess

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The first six days of November yielded more good positional data on Quest. She’s still spending her time out around Monomoy Island, but we also found her at Nickerson State Park which is on the inside of the elbow of the Cape, just north of State Route 6.

The best data for the 5^th and 6^th place her on opposite sides of North Monomoy Island at the south end. 9:23PM on the 5^th found Quest on the tidal flats on the western side of the island. Exactly six hours later she was on the east shore. Both of these positions are about 2 miles (3.3km) from the mainland. It’s possible there was some light available from the coastal buildings, but if the skies were clear she likely had the benefit of the waxing crescent Moon to help light her way.

-Jess

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The latest data from Quest’s PTT (Platform Transmitter Terminal) are nearly all clustered in an area of less than a mile, just off the beach at the northern end of Monomoy Island (click the Sat button in the upper right of the map for a better look at the beach & tidal flats surrounding the island). The data points are remarkably consistent from early morning to late evening. Without eyewitness accounts it’s hard to be certain what’s there, but we’re hard pressed to come up with an explanation other than that she’s following the prey.

We can only get data from Quest’s transmitter when a satellite passes by. With gaps of several hours between passes and variable signal reception, we aren’t able to see where she’s going at all times of the day. But the data points we do have are so similar that we can confidently say she’s spending pretty much all of her waking hours there.

-Jess