The Rochester Falcon Watchers and a few close friends sent us their favorite memories and images of our beloved pair Beauty and Dot.ca. They may be gone, but they will never be forgotten.

MAK

The first two pictures are memories of Beauty when she was in the gorge taking a bath, letting a mama duck and her ducklings pass right before her and her in the falcon sucking tree. The next two pics are from 2013 when Beauty led all three fledglings up to the OCSR elevator shaft for a snack. Next up is a memory of DC when he was injured and hanging out all day at BS. And any time DC perched on a wing ring on the TSB is a good memory to me. The last pic is of them both on the base of Mercury, any time they hung out close to each other is a good memory.

Ei/Eileen

A lesson in Beauty knows what she’s doing.

It was a cold rainy day in Rochester. I think it was a Sunday and I don’t remember what year. The faithful cam watchers were having an anthropomorphizing meltdown.

Dot.ca had been on the eggs for a long shift then left. It might have been a year when Dot.ca had 2 scrapes. Beauty did not immediately return to cover them. Several hours went by and we were all frantic that something must have happened to Beauty–enough that MAK went downtown in the cold and rain to look around. I don’t know what we thought she could have done anyway, but we anxiously awaited her report.

She found Beauty soaking wet on a building a few doors up from the Powers Building. She was napping, had a full crop, and was quite comfortable. A short while later she returned to the nest box, shook off, and settled down on the eggs. In the end all was well and all the eggs hatched.

Over the years there would be times the eggs were unattended for one reason or another for long stretches and I always tried to remember this when I would feel the anxiety rise. Beauty knew what she was doing  and was the best peregrine mother!

Thousands of pictures! I chose these 2 from 2012 to best remember Beauty. As bad as she looked the day she returned from rehab and showed up on cam, her fierce determination to reclaim her nest box is just Beauty! And then the picture with newly hatched Orion. I always love this particular pose with the female’s wings sheltering the eyas. This year was special though. We really didn’t think there would be an eyas at all, but she persevered through injury and an antagonistic tiercel to successfully hatch and fledge him. And they turned out to be a great team in the end!

Dot.ca…his standoffs were epic! He SOOOO loved sitting on his eggs! And always making sure he had a bite for himself–photo 1 of Orion telling us all about it!

But I think my favorite memory is of him being a first-time dad in 2012. He knew what he needed to do…feed Orion…but had no idea how! One of my favorite pictures of him was this bloody meal. He got more on Orion than in him!

Lukka/Carol from Buffalo

I’m from Buffalo, NY (with 7 local Pefa nest sites) but I fell in love with the Grand Dame Beauty & her beloved mate, the one of a kind Dot.ca, who both departed or passed away recently. I watched the TSB nest cams since the hatch of their first born Orion.
I made yearly trips to Rochester & spent time “in the hole” with their many friendly & knowledgeable watchers. They taught me so much about falcons, tiercels & eyases.
Fledge time was especially exciting. I had goosebumps & a tear in my eye the first time I saw one of the fledges fly from the TSB wall. I saw how Beauty & Dot loved, protected & taught their progeny the peregrine way.
All I learned through the years helped me to rescue several Buffalo fledges so I’m very grateful to all my Rochester friends.
I hope a new generation of TSB  eyases are hatched with UF & UT.
Fly free forever to the much loved pair of Beauty & Dot.ca!💕

Kathy O

I remember when I first saw Beauty and started affectionately calling her a “dirty bird”.  Lisa and I were at the Brighton site when we spotted what looked to be a peregrine falcon on a nearby cell tower.  Of course we had to check it out.  I immediately noticed her rose colored breast.  From that point I affectionately referred to her as a “dirty bird”.

Lynne from New Hampshire

I have no specific memories that go over the others.  Just that Beauty was a survivor!  Through it all she turned into a great Mom to all her eyases!  DC came in and was right at home.  My thing I remember most was the  standoffs on who got to sit on the eggs. He was so determined!!  May they fly free!!! 

Braveheart

There is so much to say about her I suspect I could write a book. Over a decade of treasured memories, filled with moments of euphoric joy and days of great sadness. Beauty, the one I call my mother falcon because it was her that taught me the way of the falcon. And I learned so much from her throughout those years. But it is without a doubt her story of strength and bravery and courage in the face of adversity that will forever stand out in my mind.

In 2012 she is seriously injured in a territorial battle with Unity. She is rescued and goes to a rehabber where she makes a complete recovery and is released at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. She will make the 50-mile journey back to Rochester and her Times Square nest box and arrive the evening of April 6^th to an empty box with an angel egg inside. She will never know that her rival Unity was killed in a collision with a car earlier that day. Although she looks a bit battered and bruised her fierce determination to return is evident. Even after days of dive bombing by the new male Dot.ca she remains undeterred.

Eventually they will come together, and she will lay her 1^st egg of their legacy together. Her survivor story resonates with me deeply. I love her with every fiber of my being and I thank her for the precious gift of her daughter Freyja. May they fly free together now with our beloved Dot.ca.

Brian

Beauty would come by me when I was up in my nest on the South Ave garage. She would go by a couple of times while I talked to her.

Dot.ca’s first few days here were awesome with aerial displays! He loved that I nicknamed him Sky Dancer!

Dan

I loved watching early mornings from the Court St Bridge. This was when both Beauty and Dot.ca would hunt over the Genesee River. They were amazing hunters.

Carrie

Connection….my most treasured memory of our Peregrine Falcon pair, Beauty and Dot.ca.
Within the first few days of each season, as I and usually several other watchers were sitting in “the hole”, DC would launch from the Times Square Building, and loop out low, directly overhead. He would appear to tip his head slightly, then he would head back to Times Square. It could have been my wishful thinking, but, as it happened year after year, I  saw no other reason for him to do this other than to check out those familiar people who showed up each summer.

Beauty connected with me in a different way. Her connection was more remote, although it was just as strong. I was amazed at how she always had an eye on her babies, and she knew just how much “leash” to let out to contain, as well as release, at a reasonably safe pace.

There is certainly proof in what a talented pair of parents these two were, and we have many Peregrine Falcons in this world because of them…. Including my Sundara.

Carla P.

In June of 2019, I had the honor and privilege of naming one of Beauty and Dot.ca’s eyases. I named him Lakota, after my favorite tribe of the Great Sioux Nation. I was also lucky enough to be downtown when Lakota fledged! Lakota was the last to fledge, so his parents’ attention  was all him. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life!

As Lakota took off from the TSB, both Beauty and DC, each on a different nearby building, flew over to him, positioning themselves a little behind him and underneath each of his wings, and supervised his flight! He flew past the Wilder Building, made a U-turn, and flew all the way back to the TSB, landing on the grid beneath the Wings! What a spectacular fledge. I cried like a fool!

Beauty and DC were a wonderful pair and wonderful parents. I will never forget them, and will always carry them in my heart.

Susan C.

My favorite memory of both Beauty and Dot.ca is watching them fly on banding day, that’s when they showed off their best moves. It was my favorite day of the year.

Pat

I so enjoyed watching Beauty and Dot.ca command the skies over downtown Rochester. Until mid 2018 I had a year ’round front row seat to their show, as I was an employee of Thomson Reuters, the complex of buildings located in what the falcon watchers call “the hole.”  I could see so many of their favorite spots from my work windows, including parts of the Times Square Building, the First Federal Building (known to the watchers as OCSR) and the Mercury statue, which was on top of my building. Of course, I loved watching them as parents caring for their young, but perhaps some of my most treasured moments with Beauty and Dot.ca were during their off-season, seeing them together on one of their favorite spots, seemingly just enjoying each other’s company. 

One of my favorite days as a watcher is banding day, although I’m sure it was never Beauty and Dot.ca’s favorite day. While the babies were away getting their “bling,” Beauty and Dot.ca would put on the most amazing flying display ever, trying to attack the banders, dive bombing the nestbox, flipping, twisting, turning on a dime, and generally causing us watchers to drop our jaws in awe at their skill. Here are two of my favorite shots of Beauty and Dot.ca from banding day 2019. 

Joyce

My favorite memory was in 2015 when Cadence discovered the Powers nestbox…not because she was a flying explorer, but because all she could do was make a direct flight from Times Square. Cadence was the first falcon to spend time at Powers. Until then, the Powers cameras had little action. Then year after year I loved watching Beauty and Dot.ca bonding there, before and after the nesting season. Also the juvies enjoying together-time at Powers too.  After all, how many peregrine couples have 2 residences?

Dana

Beauty, Thanks for showing me over these years, what a great Falcon Mom is! I will miss you!

Please click here to see my tribute.

https://youtu.be/SIhDBG0_m88

Carol P.

I have so many happy memories of Beauty and Dot.ca over the many years they and their young graced the skies over Rochester, NY. They were amazing!

My favorite memories were watching them grow over the years into an incredible pair and parents. It was a rocky start for both of them, but they came together to raise 33 young in the nest box on top of the Times Square Bldg. There has been happiness and heartbreak over the years. That comes with watching these beautiful creatures.

Wherever I look while on my downtown watches, there is usually a memory attached. Beauty bathing on the rocks in the shallows of the Genesee River near the Court St Bridge, Dot.ca sunning and preening on the TSB wing ledge keeping guard over Beauty and his young ones. Beauty and Dot.ca sharing a meal on the library’s riverside ledge. Beauty and Dot.ca flying overhead keeping their territory free of other birds of prey, including intruding Peregrine Falcons. Sometimes they flew so fast, your eyes could not follow their flight. But, my favorite memory was watching them teach their young the skills they would need to survive. They were truly amazing parents.

Fly Free Beauty and Dot.ca. I will always remember you.

We would like to thank all our dedicated watchers and falcon friends for sharing their memories and for all their hard work over the years.

If you have memories of Beauty and Dot.ca that you would like to share, please leave them in the comments below. We would love to read them.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 18th, 2022 at 10:52 AM and is filed under Rochester Falcons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.