Fledge Watch- Sue Mattice, Friday, July 6, Noon-3:00PM
When I arrived at about noon, I found a group of 10 or 12 watchers on the pedestrian bridge. They told me the falcons were on a downtown Rochester field trip again. From 12:00 until 12:50 we could catch glimpses of one, two or three juvies flying, drifting on the wind, and playing tag high in the sky over Lincoln Tower, Midtown, the Changing Scenes building and as far west as the communications tower.
About 12:50, one of the juvies flew back towards the High Falls area and passed over the bridge and landed on the High Falls smokestack. She rested for only a moment before taking off to the north and then circling around and back over us again on her way back to the downtown area. (I think she was just checking to make sure the audience was still on the bridge with their cameras and binoculars.)
For the next 40 minutes, we watched again from a distance as they played around the downtown area, with much of the action around and above the Changing Scenes. One falcon was spotted sitting on the side of the Changing Scenes building. I’m not sure if that was a fourth bird or one of the three that had been flying above the buildings.
Finally at about 1:35, 2 juvies flew back to the gorge. They circled noisily around by the observation deck and landed in the shady trees on the east side of the gorge, but only after one of them did a fly-by of the bridge to allow for some close up pictures. A third juvie arrived in the area a little later and also got sucked in by “the shady tree”. Patti (from Kentucky,) who had a very nice scope, then spotted Kaver sitting on a ledge on the cliff under the observation deck. We’re not sure if he had been there all along or if he somehow flew in there unnoticed!
At 2:00 I realized the parking meter where I had left my car had expired quite a while earlier, so I left to move the car. When I returned, I heard that Kaver had left his perch on the cliff and flown right over the bridge heading north. At 2:55 things started hopping…..or flying. No surprise since I had to leave at 3:00! Grace started the action by flying out of the tree and under the bridge. She passed over a duck (who did in fact have to….duck!) then circled back under the bridge and buzzed a flock of gulls
several times, watching them scatter in alarm. She landed on the bare branch (AKA the portrait tree,) and was soon joined by another juvie. Grace and her sister then put on quite a show playing tag and diving at gulls.
At 3:00, Grace, Ananta, and Linn were all sitting in the portrait tree posing for pictures. Ananta decided to bite pieces off the branch and ended up falling off the branch. When she flew off, Grace followed.
The group of watchers this afternoon included lots of “regulars” and also lots of visitors. As I was leaving, I talked to a first time watcher from Mendon: 10 year old George. He said he has been watching the falconcam all season and was very excited to be able to see the falcons in person. He was almost vibrating as he told me that Grace had landed right below him and he was able to see her up close. (I think all of us who are fortunate enough to be here in person know the feeling!)
