Since our last update, Michael Allen from the New York DEC and members of the Rochester Falconcam Relocation Team have been busy touring some additional sites and moving forward with other related activities. Mike has inspected the nest box that was removed from Kodak, and he’s pronounced it fit for use in a new location.

The team has considered about a dozen sites so far. Some have been rejected because of concerns about human activity nearby, safety of people who might have access the nest site, or physical problems with the building’s layout. Two sites, the Powers Building in downtown Rochester, and the High Falls Brewing Company, look like promising locations. Mike has decided to install the Kodak box on the Powers Building. He and the relocation team are working with the building’s managers to firm up an installation date.

Photo courtesy of Mike Allen
The historic Powers Building isn’t as tall as the Kodak tower, but it has a lot of similarities, including a central tower with a flat area at the top, and plenty of nooks and crannies on the building’s facade. It’s about a half mile from Kodak and close to the river. There’s a good line of sight to Mariah’s former nest site, a desirable feature according to the DEC experts. The building’s owners are enthusiastic about hosting a nest box and they’ve expressed interest in working with the Rochester Falconcam to install cameras too! If we learn that this fall that Mariah has chosen the Powers Building nest box, we should be able to put in cameras later this year, in time for the falcons’ return next spring.

The High Falls Brewing Company is also being considered for a nest box install. There are a few more details to be worked out at that location but we’ve surveyed the site and the Brewery has said they’re willing to host the falcons and to work with us on installing cameras as well. If everyone’s calendars allow, we hope to install nest boxes within the next two weeks. We’ll post more updates when we get the final installation details nailed down.

---

We’ve received a number of questions from our viewers about the relocation. Here are a few of them, and their answers.

Q: What are all of the sites that are being considered or investigated for relocation?

A: A total of twelve sites have been considered. Many of them were surveyed, either in person or by using virtual tools available on the internet. The sites and the results of our evaluation are listed below

• Bausch & Lomb: Not contacted
• Button Factory: Contacted, but owner not interested.
• City Hall: Rejected. Pending repairs to the building (similar situation to Kodak tower) will mean that there will be human activity near any nest box.
• Crossroads Bldg: Rejected after remote survey due to equipment on the roof and human use of the balcony just below.
• First Federal Plaza: Rejected. Too much open space on the roof; human activity above the nest box in the old Changing Scenes restaurant; machinery on the restaurant roof may require maintenance during nesting season
• Frontier Communications Tower: Rejected due to difficulty of access and likelihood of human activity/maintenance on the antennas
• High Falls Brewing Co: Live site survey completed. This site is still under consideration, but there are some concerns about the proposed nest box site on the roof being too open (not isolated enough) and possibly subject to human activity nearby.
• High Falls Business Center: Contacted, but owner not interested.
• HSBC: Not contacted
• Powers Building: Approved following live site survey
• Times Square Bldg: UPDATED! This site is being re-evaluated, and will be surveyed this week by the DEC.
• Xerox: Rejected. Construction to start nearby

 

Q: What criteria are being used to evaluate the alternatives and to determine the best locations for a nest box?

A: Some of the factors that have been taken into account include:

• Is the site close to the Genesee River?
• Does it have line of sight to the Kodak tower?
• Is there an isolated place to install the nest box that is free from human activity within 40-50 meters?
• Is the site free from machinery, antennas or other equipment that might require repair during the nesting season?
• Is the site free from hazards to the falcons?
• Does the site provide protection from the weather?
• Does the site have architectural features such as ledges and niches that replicate the peregrine’s natural habitat?
• Are the building owners/managers enthusiastic about hosting a Peregrine nest box?

None of these (except possibly the last one) are show-stoppers on their own– All factors will be considered for each site when deciding on its suitability as a nest box location.

 

Q: Has the team confirmed if they are still considering putting up several nest boxes and how many?

A: One site has been confirmed, and there are a couple of others still under consideration.

 

Q: We know that Kaver and the fledglings have been spotted at the Brewery but how often does Mariah go there? Will we have to wait until Kaver comes back from vacation to see which site he chooses? If the nest box(es) are installed soon and Mariah prefers one over the other, will that be cool with Kaver or is he the deciding factor here?

A: In the wild the male will typically select a few possible nesting spots, but it is the female who chooses which one to use from year to year. The DEC has informed us that the presence or absence of an adult or juveniles perching at a particular location isn’t a reliable indicator of whether it will make a good nesting site. Whether Mariah perches on the Brewery buildings or not isn’t really part of the calculation. We’re more interested in the site’s logistics like its proximity to water, isolation from human contact, height, and so on. If Kaver arrives in the spring to find Mariah using a box at the Brewery then we can be pretty sure that’s where the nest will be. Similarly if they choose a box before Kaver leaves for the winter, it’s likely that’s the one that will be used in the spring.

-Jess

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 at 11:34 PM and is filed under Journal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.