Rochester Falconcam Cameras Open for 2009!
We’re happy to announce that we’ve turned on the three cameras at the nest box that was installed at the historic Powers Building in downtown Rochester late last year. This is the nest box that used to be located on the Kodak tower. A second nest box has been installed about a block away from this one at the Times Square building.
The Rochester Falconcam team is still working on getting cameras up and running there, and there are some technical tweaks still to be made at the Powers Building. Mariah hasn’t yet put in an appearance before the cameras, but we invite you to take an early look while we wait for the 2009 “falcon season” to move into high gear. Check out the Rochester Falconcam’s Multicam page to see if you’re the first to spot Mariah. And be sure to read the Falconwatch blog for all the latest news from our on-site watchers!
February 17th, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Woo hooooo! Let’s hope M&K take to one of these two next boxes!!
February 17th, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Oops… nest boxes 🙂
February 17th, 2009 at 3:25 PM
I went to see if there were any images at Shaky’s archive viewer, but no luck. Will Shaky’s be operating this season? (granted we have a pair and a scrape to watch?)
February 17th, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Glad to see Orville made the move successfully. Let’s hope Mariah and Kaver do the same!
February 17th, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Thank you to the owners of the Powers building for permission to place a nest box and the cameras. Now, Mariah, pick the Powers Building for your nursery this year.
February 17th, 2009 at 6:23 PM
Nice to see Mariah’s brooding toy (the one rock, er big pebble) in the nest box, “Home” would not be the same without that home dec touch.
February 17th, 2009 at 10:42 PM
This is sooo different! I hope M&K come and find their nest box! Im happy the cameras are working!!! 🙂
February 17th, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Please, Mariah, come to that darn nest box, you well know it, even located on a different building! Come, darling, we all are waiting for.. we know you aren’t interested in our prayers, but we also know you spent such a long good time in Rochester.. Would you like to fly elsewhere??
February 18th, 2009 at 1:55 PM
I have there beautiful pictures, but nothing on camera 4 – is this intentional?
February 18th, 2009 at 2:23 PM
@Alison – We only installed 3 cameras at the Powers Building site. Since we have two sites, we had to split our resources between them. We have some outstanding infrastructure issues to work out at Times Square before we can turn on the cameras there.
I have it on good authority that Shaky is out of the country on another Kaver hunt, so I’m not sure about the status of his archive viewer at this time.
February 18th, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Alison-Shaky turned on his archive viewer this morning at 5:30AM!
February 18th, 2009 at 3:43 PM
Great to have the camera up – camera number 1 seems a little too far away and that close up we are used to seeing doesn’t give us that ‘right there’ view.. Will that change?
I’m right there with everyone else hoping and praying that Mariah and Kaver find the new location.
February 18th, 2009 at 4:30 PM
@Deborah – Our website operations team is still making technical tweaks to the system. Camera 1’s view is fixed for the time being. One of the tweaks we’re working on is getting remote access to the camera so that we can control its pan, tilt and zoom functions. As always we’re going to strive for the best possible viewing experience. In the meantime we ask for everyone to be patient while we work out all the details of this new setup.
February 18th, 2009 at 6:27 PM
I began viewing later last Spring and am curious about Mariah’s “brooding toy” stone in the nest box that Mary mentioned. What is its purpose? Is it a common feature in all nest boxes, or just Mariah’s preference?
Barbara
(Los Angeles)
February 18th, 2009 at 7:47 PM
@Barbara – The stone has no purpose from a biological standpoint. While Mariah is brooding she sometimes gets bored and picks up stones in her mouth, but she has no preference for any particular stone.
The one referred to in the comments as “Orville” or the “brooding toy” by fans is a large-ish stone that was present in the nest box when it was located on the Kodak tower. In the process of moving the nest box, the old nesting material was discarded– it was actually classified as hazardous material due to all of the dried waste products that had collected among the stones over the years! One of the Falconcam team members retrieved this stone before the nesting material was removed so that it could be transplanted at the new site to provide a sense of continuity for the benefit of the falconcam’s viewers.
You’ll notice that the pea gravel in the box now is a gray and mauve in color, in contrast to the yellow and brown stones formerly in use. The new stone is also a bit smaller and rounder. The DEC felt that this stone would provide a better substrate for Mariah to lay her eggs in. Against this gray stone, the yellow “Orville” really stands out!
February 18th, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Orville has been in the nest for years, as I recall. There was once a serial story on the now extinct Kodak forum, on the life and times of Orvillle – written by a whole group of posters to while away the time while waiting for a hatch (some 35 days). New watchers tended to think it might be the first egg (there is a Shaky picture on that very topic from some previous season), but when one really arrived it was easy to see the difference.
I quite understand that fitting out two possible nests requires more cameras than are really available, so I will just ignore the “black hole” with today’s date.
February 19th, 2009 at 12:40 AM
Oh my god, I am so excited…the cameras are back on. Its been a long time since last year, and it will be fun waiting to see (if) Mariah makes a appearance. Will be waitng for more updates…thank you all
February 19th, 2009 at 12:44 AM
Alison-are you thinking of this Shaky pic?
http://shakymon.com/rfc-pix/k20080423-1854.jpg
One of my favorites 🙂
February 19th, 2009 at 1:39 AM
So, to the watchers, Orville is somewhat like Tom Hanks’ “Wilson”.
Very funny photo and caption.
Thanks, all, for answering my question. Interesting about the new pea gravel being used. Should be more comfortable.
February 19th, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Orville is somewhat like Tom Hanks’ “Wilson . Good one, Barbara!! 😀
February 19th, 2009 at 3:46 PM
I like to think of Orville as a super nanny of young eyases! 😉
February 19th, 2009 at 6:22 PM
I am thrilled to learn that there will be a Rochester falcon cam this year! Thank you to all involved, for the new digs, pea gravel, cams, reports, etc. Hopefully Mariah will love the new location – can’t imagine a season without M&K.
February 20th, 2009 at 3:38 PM
While I am delighted with the set-up, the great pictures, the roomy scrape, the smooth gravel, the comforting presence of Orville – I have not yet been convinced that there will be a family to watch on the Rochester falcon cam this year. It is all up to Mariah, and she is not telling 😉
February 20th, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Oh, this is such a nice surprise this morning – to find the cameras up and running. I can’t wait for the season to begin again !
February 20th, 2009 at 5:57 PM
I was not too happy to wake up to a winter wonderland this moring after all the snow was almost all melted and its back now. I thought it was quite funny seeing how the box is FULL of snow! It took me a second to figure out what it was before understanding it was snow! 😉
February 22nd, 2009 at 12:45 AM
Great to see the cameras up and running! Hope Mariah will find the new location meets her exacting standards!
A quick check of Shaky’s site didn’t reveal any visits by Mariah. But it may be just as significant that no other birds have visited there either. Mariah seems to be keeping to her usual haunts almost as if she wants to be where the ever mercurial Kaver will find her when he returns.
I haven’t read any reports of Mariah trying to access the area where the nestbox used to be. If that’s the case, it’s good news indeed!
February 24th, 2009 at 1:37 PM
Saw (and heard) a falcon yesterday flying around the Kodak tower by the old scrape box . Don’t know if they got the forwarding address.
February 25th, 2009 at 5:19 PM
It is location, location, location. As far as M is concerned her house is gone. I just hope they will find the house. I, like most of you have been watching them for years. Since before Kaver. Frankly I am a little irritated. I am not expecting to see the pair this year.
February 28th, 2009 at 8:19 PM
I have to admit, I am starting to agree with Bonnie.
there is an odd bit of “information” in the bar at the top of the pictures: 19.3F/C What is that exactly?
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:11 AM
That’s the current temperature Alison – 19.3 degrees Farenheit
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:13 AM
Similar situation occurred in the past in New York City. They relocated a nest and the pair never accepted it, instead returning to their old “roost”…
When they laid their eggs – none of them hatched that year. I can’t remember if they ever came back again but I don’t like the way this “feels” at this point.
I’m hoping the same thing doesn’t happen here.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:18 AM
if the reading had been only 19.3 F, I would have thought it was temperature as well, but it says F / C and there is no celcius number given.
I think you are referring to Pale Male in New York, who, with Lola was evicted after complaints from their prominent neighbors. They got their old nest back, but I seem to recall, nesting was so disrupted that there were a series of failed seasons.
Or do you mean another peregrine pair?
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:36 PM
One such relocation is mentioned in the Part 1 of the report above Alison. Here’s the excerpt:
A rare failure occurred at one of the oldest and most productive nest sites in recent times, the Throgs Neck Bridge, active since 1983. Prior to the nesting season, the nest box was moved from one bridge tower to the other due to construction. A record eight eggs were laid all in the same scrape at this nest box, but none hatched. It is believed that the same female was probably responsible for all eight eggs, and the female was attempting to incubate the entire clutch.
And you are correct, the same thing happened to Palemale and Lola when they were evicted from their site. Thank goodness for Lincoln!
March 8th, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Why was the nest box moved ? Lord Garavin’s site { who works at Kodax } says that M&K are at the Rochester Towers & show pic’s of them on his site & mentions nothing of the nest box being moved. WHAT IS GOING ON ?
March 9th, 2009 at 5:53 AM
It’s all here Debbie:
http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/?p=604
March 9th, 2009 at 10:58 PM
. . . . and here:
http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/?p=478
Has any work been done on the kodak tower at all to date?
March 10th, 2009 at 10:51 PM
They are working on it, ripping the roof off one whole section of the lower portion of the building.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:35 AM
Thanks, Birdlover.