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.