Want Pictures? We’ve Got ‘em!
Most of our readers probably know by now that Mariah was released from her rehabilitation a couple of weeks ago. Before leaving the veterinary facility near Syracuse where she’d been recuperating the DEC’s Mike Allen took a few pictures to show just how completely she’d healed
Wildlife officials at the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation took her to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge about 40 miles (64km) east of Rochester. As she flew northward Mike Allen got this picture of her taking wing
Before letting her go, Mariah got a nice bit of new jewelry in the form of an aluminum US Fish and Wildlife band. To make her stand out from the falcon crowd, Mariah’s band was tricked out with blue tape and a yellow racing stripe
Since her release, she found her way back to Rochester. If you’ve been keeping up with the reports of our on-site watchers in the FalconWatch blog, you’ll know that she’s been spending a lot of time in the Genesee River gorge below the High Falls. Check back often for the latest updates!
Speaking of updates, the news on Archer and Beauty is that they’ve apparently moved from the narrow ledge on the Midtown Plaza Tower. It looks like they abandoned any eggs they may have laid. Our watchers haven’t witnessed any nesting-like behavior from the pair for the past several days now. Whether they did lay eggs that failed or didn’t lay any is something we may never learn. The ledge where they’d been spending their time is very narrow and without a bucket truck or some similar conveyance physical access to the ledge is nearly impossible.
So where’d they move to? As it turns out, Archer and Beauty headed a few blocks west and across the river, ending up at the Times Square Building. Astute readers will recall that this is the location where we installed one of our nest boxes this past winter, and outfitted it with a few cameras. We never turned them on because frankly there wasn’t much to be seen. At first watchers reported that the falcons were only landing on the corners of the building, but before too long we began to see them moving toward the nest box, and even going inside.
Yesterday evening Rochester Falconcam team member FalKenn Martinez was at the site working to get the cameras up and running. There are still some technical problems to solve, but now that we know there’s activity at the nest box we’re moving into high gear. While he was working on the high-resolution Main camera, both Archer and Beauty showed up at the nest box! Ken was able to grab a couple of pictures of them, which got stored on the camera controller’s hard disk. Since we’re not yet connected to the Internet there’s no way he could transmit the pictures, but he did the next best thing, snapping pictures right off the monitor screen with his cell phone camera!
The image quality leaves a little to be desired, but who cares!?! Archer looks an awful lot like Kaver, doesn’t he? It’s those good genes of his! And that second picture appears to show them bowing to each other. That could indicate that they’re pair bonding. It’s late in the season, but these two are young and healthy, and it’s just possible that they could go through another courtship and mating cycle, and even lay eggs!
Could we be looking at another clutch in the making? It may be that our fledge watchers will yet have an opportunity to practice their skills on the streets of downtown Rochester. We’ll keep working to get the Times Square cameras on-line so that we can all keep an eye on Archer and Beauty at their “new” home.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:10 AM
If Archer and Beauty did lay eggs and saw them thru fledging, what would be the eyasses chances of a long term survival this late in the season? Seems to me the success rate would be much lower for any eyas hatched so late.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:11 AM
There are no words that can capture the awe of seeing Mariah in flight once again!!!
June 12th, 2009 at 2:48 AM
What a treat to have these pictures! The one of Mariah taking wing is just incredible. Thank you so much for sharing these!
June 12th, 2009 at 2:56 AM
It’s a nestbox,
in Rochester,
with two falcons bowing to one another,
on a cam.
(Wow!)
June 12th, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Thanks for the pictures.They make me happy!
June 12th, 2009 at 1:15 PM
All very exciting news, and the pictures were awesome to see. Thank you!!
June 12th, 2009 at 1:43 PM
I.m still amazed by Beauty and Archer in the box. It’s great to know that there is a chance of peregrines nesting in Rochester again!
I also keep looking at Mike Allen’s picture of the departing Mariah. She is in sharp focus as she flies, rapidly, toward an indistinct, mysterious horizon.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:45 PM
Wow ! What an amazing news… Tears are coming to my eyes… I’m so happy ! Thank you very very very much for this news.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:05 PM
Oh, beautiful Mariah!
I look forward to seeing images from the Times Square cameras replacing the current Powers Bldg. ones. The chances of capturing a glimpse of peregrines seem much better there now.
If the fall is mild, a clutch in summer might survive to hunt another spring.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:11 PM
Great news all around. Great pictures too. The one of Mariah flying off is great but the one of her sitting calmly on the handler’s arm is even more interesting. What an intelligent bird she is. How many wild animals, especially ones that had been injured, would be sensible enough to let themselves be taken care of and then settle back into freedom without skipping a beat. Our Queen of the Sky is a very unique bird.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:33 PM
Thanks again to everyone involved in her rescue and recovery. Love to see these pictures.
Good luck with getting the cameras online. I’ll be watching.
June 12th, 2009 at 11:43 PM
I am so glad to see Mariah flying around again. Hope she can find some company in her travels. With a new pair in town, she may dicide to move on. I still think a nesting box away from the city is safer. They don’t need to be around all this traffic and noise, and people.
June 13th, 2009 at 1:18 AM
I happen to be checking out the Mississauga Falconcam, and came upon the most incredible story of a successful peregrine foster! Equally dramatic to our own 2009 Rochester Falcon saga. Read on:
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/c/sightings/mississauga-executive-centre/
June 13th, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Mariah looks just fabulous! Really love that chic colored band. Very Ralph Lauren.
Funny how Archer and Beauty chose the Times Square nestbox over the Powers Building. They had to fly past it to get to TS yet nobody reported they even checked it out. Perhaps there’s something about the Powers nestbox that makes it unsuitable for nesting; position, protection from the elements, ability to watch for predators?
June 15th, 2009 at 2:29 AM
I have to wonder if the flag flying over the Powers building is a deterrent.
And the odd thing about the Times building is, A and B started going there after Mariah did. We hadn’t seen Mariah there until last week and she and Archer were there. After that, A and B started hanging there and took to the nestbox.
June 17th, 2009 at 5:21 AM
I’m amazed that Mariah let the doctors work on her without taking off someone’s finger! Somehow she must have sensed they were trying to help her. What an awesome creature – I hope she goes on forever…
June 18th, 2009 at 7:51 AM
It’s in that area the whole war started. Mariah and Beauty and Archer were at war in the Times Building Parking lot for days before Mariah took the hit.
Seems to me that all of them have learned some sort of lesson. And I don’t think it’s to the victor go the spoils. It’s almost as though a form of self-respect has been initiated and territory lines redrawn and relationships reformed.
Who knows. Maybe we can all learn a lot from a falcon or three.