View Quest Travels May 11 – 21 in a larger map
(Zoom in or out on the map by clicking the small + & – signs. Move it around by clicking your mouse button and dragging the map in the desired direction. Click the falcon icons for more information about each location.)

Sorry for the hold-up on Quest Reports.

She’s really been on the move and she seems to like the north side of Lake Ontario. She definitely likes staying close to water, crossing the US/Canadian border multiple times. As our friend Mark Nash from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation says, Peregrines know no borders.

Jess

We have some very good news from our friend Mike Allen at the DEC. First a note released to the Rochester Watchers from June Summers, GVAS.

“Mariah was released on Tue., May 26 at approximately 3:30 p.m. in the Montezuma Wetland Complex. She is in good health and headed North upon release. She has new bling, a US Fish and Wildlife band on her right leg which has been covered with blue tape with a yellow racing stripe in the middle. Carol Phillips commented that, “Mariah is free to be a Peregrine again.” Carol is right, Mariah is back where she belongs in the wild. So please keep your eyes open when you are downtown.”

and this from Mike Allen………………..

“She was released on the Montezuma wetlands complex at approximately 3:30 PM on Tuesday, May 26th. We chose that site (approximately 45 miles from home) because of the diverse food availability there. I would not be surprised if she might take a day or 2 to re-acclimate to the wild before making her next move. As far as the release itself was concerned we were almost looking for smoke from her tail feathers as she came out of the transfer box like her tail was on fire so I can honestly say that she neither hesitated nor struggled to fly..”

Mariah has been banded with a USFW silver band. Mike covered the band in blue tape with a yellow racing stripe. This will make it easier for the Rochester Watchers to ID her if she returns to Rochester.

We here at the Rochester Falconcam would like to thank Mike, the rehabbers, including Gary the original rehabber that was there that fateful Easter Sunday morning, the DEC and all the folks that were involved.

Oh, and by the way, Mike has shared a few pictures with us that I will share with you soon.

Jess

p.s. As far as we know Quest is doing very well. We’ll be posting about her travels soon. Stay tuned!

A Very Important Update!

Jess

The envelope please (drum roll)…..

In third place with 63 votes was: Let’s change her name to honor her new home in Rochester.

Second place with 90 votes goes to: Let’s do a bit of both, give her a new name but combine it with her original one.

And the winner by an overwhelming majority, with 740 votes is: I like the name “Beauty” just as it is.

She was called Beauty by the watchers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and will continue to be called Beauty by the Rochester Falconcam community.

So the falcon watching continues in Rochester with our new pair now officially known as Archer and Beauty. Local watchers have reported seeing activity that resembles active incubation, but only Archer and Beauty know for sure.

Be sure to go into the Falcon Watch section to read the reports from the Rochester Watchers.

Mike Allen from the DEC forwarded this very positive update from Mariah’s caretakers.

“The doctor was here today and we got a very good look at Mariah’s wing and neck. All the scabs on her wing have dropped off and she has beautiful skin that has grown where they were. Her neck has a big scab that is all dried up and is ready to just fall off. The skin underneath looks great. Mariah’s feathers are in perfect condition. When the time comes, we expect it will be a wonderful release. I love these happy ending stories.”

Very good news!

Jess

View Quest Travels May 1 – 10 in a larger map
(Zoom in or out on the map by clicking the small + & – signs. Move it around by clicking your mouse button and dragging the map in the desired direction. Click the falcon icons for more information about each location.)

Quest showed complete disdain for citizenship and international borders over the past week or so as she hopped back and forth between Canada and the US. She spent the evening of the 1^st and the following morning in the small town of Wilson New York– coincidentally the home town of Falconcam team member Jim Pisello– before zipping over to Port Bruce, Ontario as she continued her westward trek.

On the fourth she was 185 miles (300 km) to the southwest in Napoleon, Ohio. Then, the boomerang part. She went back east, spending two days near Locust Point, a few miles east of Toledo, Ohio. On the 7^th she went northeast to Guelph, Ontario, about 45 miles (70 km) west of Toronto. Her most recent moves were north to the edge of Nottawasaga Bay, where she has spent the past couple of days.

It looks like Quest is restless, and she’s really taking the time to explore. Her activity is a good sign, and the fact that she’s moving long distances– sometimes hundreds of miles in a day– indicates that she’s fit and healthy. Keep watching along with us to see where she goes next!

View Quest Travels April 25 – 30 in a larger map
(Zoom in or out on the map by clicking the small + & – signs. Move it around by clicking your mouse button and dragging the map in the desired direction. Click the falcon icons for more information about each location.)

Intermittent problems with our email system have kept us from getting updates from Quest’s transmitter. So you can imagine our surprise when we started looking at the data earlier today and found that she left Cape Cod around April 27!

On seeing her location in Vermont, the first thing we did was to double-check the data. Sure enough, she’s was moving west. Our next thought was that she might be making a day trip. She’d done that in the past after all. We received no useful data for the 28^th, but the next day found her near Ausable Forks in New York’s vast Adirondack State Park. Then, the big leap, traveling over 300 miles (500 km) into Canada, where she was tracked near Allison, Ontario, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Toronto!

So it looks like she’s decided seven months in New England was enough. We’ll keep a close watch on her. Now that she’s on the move, she could end up anywhere!

Mike Allen sends this report from the Veterinary technician caring for Mariah:

The Dr. was here yesterday and checked her over thoroughly. Her wing web is healing nicely and the neck wound is totally scabbed over. We trimmed off some of that flap of loose skin in the top of the wing and it is healing underneath. He will be back next Tuesday and said after that Mariah will be ready to go into an outdoor mew to stretch her wings and exercise.

Yet more good news!