Let’s take time to remember our 2019 Rochester Falcon Season as we patiently, or not so patiently, wait for our 2020 season to begin.

It was a year full of happiness and sadness.

Four beautiful eyases arrived and were banded on May 31st.

All four grew strong under the watchful eyes of their parents Beauty and Dot.ca. Their faithful watchers witnessed all four successfully fledge.

Soon after fledging, on June 23rd, we lost our only female, Donna. She was found, deceased, on the road near Cornhill Landing. She was very close to home.

The three boys continued to thrive after the loss of their sister. For the next two months, the Rochester Falcon Watchers continued to keep an eye on them.

On August 4th, Jupiter was found injured on the ground near Kodak Office. He was taken to a local rehabber and vet. The X-rays showed that he had a broken coracoid bone in his shoulder and possible soft tissue damage on the other side. His prognosis was good. After a successful rehab, he was released on November 6th. Jupiter was seen once in Rochester after his release. He has not been seen since.

On August 24, we were notified that a third Rochester juvenile was found injured. Phoenix was found on the ground in Brockport. He was transported to the Cornell Wildlife Veterinary Clinic by the DEC and a rehabber. They did everything they could to save his life, but he did not survive his injuries. It was determined that he had hit a window on a building at a high rate of speed. He was probably hunting. It is so important that windows be marked so that the birds are able to see them.

Lakota was seen a few times downtown with Beauty, looking for food. There have been no sightings since then. We all hope that he and Jupiter are doing well.

Now we wait. Both Beauty and Dot.ca have been seen frequently in the new nest box on the Times Square Bldg. They are both very busy working on digging scrapes that will hold their eggs.

As I’m typing this report, I have received word that a Rochester Falcon Watcher has just witnessed Beauty and Dot.ca copulating on the base of the Mercury statue! Let the 2020 season begin!!!

Thanks once again to the generosity of our dedicated falcon supporters, we raised over $2,600 yesterday, including two $500 bonuses for the outstanding teamwork demonstrated by those who stayed up late to make their pledges at just the right time. Well done, folks!

ROC the Day officials will send us a financial statement and donor list sometime in the next few weeks, at which point we will know who to thank individually. Until then, thank you to everyone who donated. Your contributions will be used to fund Rfalconcam operations and improvements throughout 2020 such as additional repairs to the Times Square nest box platform and a new Camera 1 (weather permitting).

ROC the Day is December 3!

Join us tonight at midnight to ROC the Day for Rfalconcam.

Get the latest news on ROC the Day activities at our Forum.

Let’s ROC the Day together!

ROC the Day is December 3!

Are you as ready to ROC as we are? Join us on Tuesday, December 3 starting at midnight to ROC the Day for Rfalconcam.

Get the latest news on ROC the Day activities at our Forum.

Let’s ROC the Day together!

Here’s a special blanket we’re offering for the holidays! The snow is flying and this blanket will keep you nice and warm!

All the adults and fledglings from 1998-2019 are included. Hope you enjoy!

Please click on the link below.

Rfalconcam Blanket!

Jupiter’s time in rehab has ended successfully! He was released about 15 miles west of Rochester yesterday afternoon. His release was witnessed by a few of the Rochester Falcon Watchers. It was a cold day, but the sun was shining and the sky was a bright blue. A perfect day!

The door to the carrier was opened, and it took about 2 minutes for Jupiter to realize he was free. He launched himself from the carrier, heading towards the tree line. Strong, steady wing beats took him higher and higher. When he reached the trees, we thought he might land on one of them, but not our Jupiter. He did a U-turn and headed back towards us. Jupiter flew directly overhead, giving us a good look at how well he was flying. At one point, he lowered both his talons, before tucking them in and continuing on.

He was heading northwest when we lost sight of him. So in the general direction of Rochester/Braddock Bay. But of course there is no way to know for sure where he ended up.

We all wished him safe travels as he begins the next step of his life!

We are very thankful to the rehabber and vets that took such good care of him. For now, we won’t say who, until we receive permission to do so.

Here are some pictures taken by some of the watchers that were there to witness Jupiter’s freedom flight.

Photo credits to: Pat Carey, Joyce Miller, Dana Mulhern, Kathy Olney and Carol Phillips

Just in time for the holiday season! We’re now offering ornaments with our young falcons pics on them from 2017, 2018 and 2019! Just click on the links to our Zazzle page below to take a look!

2019 Lakota Ornament

2019 Phoenix Ornament

2019 Jupiter Ornament

2019 Donna Ornament

2018 Sundara Ornament

2018 Letchworth Ornament

2018 Mike Ornament

2017 Seabreeze Ornament

2017 Ontario Ornament

2017 Charlotte Ornament

2017 Rachel Ornament

You’ll notice that the 2017 ornaments are a little different. We had to use falcon watcher’s pictures and banding day pics, because our main camera was not working that year.

Also, we now have the following posters available for our current and past falcon couples! Hope you enjoy!

Beauty and Dot.ca at the Times Square Bldg! (13X19)

2019 Beauty and Dot.ca at Times Square Poster

Beauty and Archer at the Times Square Bldg! (8X10)

2019 Beauty and Archer at the Times Square Bldg Poster

Last, but certainly not least, here’s a poster showing Mariah and Kaver at the Kodak Tower! (13X19)

2019 Mariah and Kaver at the Kodak Tower Poster

We hope you enjoy these new Rfalconcam offerings! Enjoy for the holiday season and beyond!

A very special thank you to Dana Mulhern!

The 2020 Rfalconcam Calendars are now available. This year’s calendar is full of all kinds of awesome pics of Beauty, Dot.ca, Donna, Phoenix, Jupiter and Lakota. 2019 was a memorable year for our Rochester Falcons. We had our share of sadness (with the loss of Donna and Phoenix) and happiness (knowing that Jupiter is thriving in rehab and seeing Lakota recently interacting with Beauty and Dot.ca).

Click here for 2020 Rfalconcam Calendar!

We are also offering the classic Shakymon Calendar for 2020.

Click here for 2020 Shakymon Calendar!

We hope that you enjoy both of our 2020 calendars!

It is with much sadness that we have to report the loss of another young Rochester falcon, Phoenix.

On August 24th, Phoenix was found injured in the Town of Brockport, 20 miles west of Rochester. He was taken to a rehabilitator not too far way. The severity of Phoenix’s injuries were determined. He had a severe spinal injury. The rehabilitator, with help from a Department of Environmental Conservation Officer, was able to transport Phoenix to the Cornell Wildlife Veterinary Clinic. Unfortunately, despite the effort to help Phoenix, we just learned that Phoenix did not survive his injuries.

June Summers
President
Genesee Valley Audubon Society

Jupiter was found walking the streets of downtown Rochester, Sunday evening, August 4th. Fortunately, someone who knew that he was a Peregrine Falcon called our falcon watchers, who picked him up and took him to a local rehab center.

He was x-rayed by a veterinarian who found that Jupiter had a broken coracoid bone in his shoulder. The other shoulder might have a soft tissue injury that also needs rest.

Jupiter will be at the rehab center for three to four weeks while he rests and recovers.

June Summers
President
Genesee Valley Audubon Society

These pictures of Jupiter were taken before he was injured.