Beauty’s been spotted around the downtown area all winter, but today is the first time this year that we’ve seen her on the Rochester Falconcam’s cameras. As expected, our new Main Camera got a great picture of her. This is about the time of year we’d expect to see the falcons begin to make their return to the nest box, so everything seems to be on track. Or does it?

Beauty had a friend with her today. Here’s a shot of him at the left, next to the Main Cam, munching on some prey. Beauty is looking on from the perch of the nest box on the right.

Looks like Archer right? Only, it’s not. This guy doesn’t have any leg bands! In this picture you can see his left leg, and there’s clearly no band. Archer had bands on both legs, so this can’t be him.

Beauty seemed comfortable with this newcomer. Our Falconcam Archive Viewer (new for 2010!) shows her waiting patiently while the tiercel devoured his brunch. They both left the nest box shortly afterward. So, as the 2010 Falconcam season gets under way, we may have a new drama brewing here in Rochester. Where’s Archer? Is he just late returning home, or is this new tiercel going to be Beauty’s new mate? We usually get a healthy dose of drama at the Rochester Falconcam, and it looks like 2010 is not going to disappoint in that department!

Quest has been spending so much of her time in a very small area of Prince Edward Point that it’s sometimes easy to think that her transmitter might have fallen off, or worse, that she’s met with an untimely end. Fortunately, every few days she wanders away from PEP and we get some good location data to put our minds at rest. So it has been this past week, when Quest made a day trip back to the Lennox Power station. After that she went right back to her new hunting ground though. Maybe she was just stretching her wings a little?

View Quest Travels January 2010 in a larger map

We weren’t surprised to find that Quest ended January at the Prince Edward Point Wildlife Refuge. The heavy concentration of data from her transmitter shows that she hasn’t visited the Lennox Power station since the beginning of the month, preferring to spend her time among the prey-rich wetlands to the southwest. Five of the last seven days place her at the Point, and the other two (purple and black icons on the map) look like they could just be day trips.

We’re still hoping that someone at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory will spy Quest and send us an eyewitness report, or even some pictures. But whether we hear anything from humans at the site or not, it’s pretty clear that Quest has found herself a nice place to stay for the winter.

The latest batch of locations from Quest’s transmitter leaves little doubt that she’s found a new dining spot. Some of the interday data points place her back at the Lennox power station but she has been consistently heading to the wildlife refuge at PEP for most of the month. It seems likely that the winter bird migrations which flow past the point are attracting her to what is sure to be a bountiful supply of prey. We’ve sent emails to the folks at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory and asked them to keep their eyes peeled for their special visitor!

Rochester Falconcam team members Kenn Martinez and Jim Pisello installed a new Main camera at the Times Square nest box. It has more resolution (14 megapixels maximum) and a greater zoom range than the old camera. A more stable camera mount and improved software are a couple of other features. You can read all about the work and a couple of special visitors at Jim’s Peregrinations blog.

We’re all looking forward to a season of great pictures from the new camera!

The New Year’s cold snap hasn’t stopped Quest from bouncing around southern Ontario provice in Canada. We missed a couple of days’ worth of data just after the beginning of the year, but since then the information has returned to regular nightly updates. We’ve been fortunate to get quite a few readings that include data from the transmitter’s temperature sensor. These show that Quest is keeping pretty active and thus relatively warm despite bitter arctic temperatures and snow.

Locations over the past few days indicate that she may have found a perching spot just east of Route 13 near the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. The Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory is close by, so it’s possible that Quest could be within view of some trained observers. The Point lies on one of the major Great Lakes bird migration routes, so it’s no surprise that Quest may have staked out a temporary hunting territory on the northern bluffs there.

Quest continues to spend most of her time in the vicinity of the Lennox Power Station. She has made a few side trips though. On the 18^th and 19^th she spent some time in what appears to be an agricultural area to the west of the powerplant. On the 22^nd and 25^th she headed southeast, actually crosssing the border on Christmas Day for a visit to Little Galloo Island. It is likely that she spent some of her time on the larger Galloo Island, home of the first lighthouse erected on Lake Ontario.

When Quest isn’t basking in the luxury of the Lennox Power station it appears she has a penchant for the shoals. Her recent locations have been centered on a spot over Lake Ontario, right on the border line between the US and Canada.

It turns out there’s an old lighthouse there. The East Charity Shoal light is closed to the public, a perfect spot for Quest. At just shy of 60 feet, its tower must provide an unparalleled view of the surrounding water for a Peregrine on the prowl. Doubtless it’s an ideal hunting perch.

Temperature data have been sparse for Quest recently, but a couple of readings from yesterday indicate that she got a taste of the cold blast that swept in off the lake yesterday. Still, the lowest temperature we recieved was 8.92°C, which is downright toasty compared to the below zero air temperatures recorded in the area. So it looks like Quest should be able to shrug off the winter weather like the seasoned falcon she’s become.

Hot off the presses is the new book “Peregrine’s Sky” by author and naturalist Consie Powell. Ms. Powell has written and illustrated an engaging story that chronicles the life cycle of our favorite falcon species from nest selection and courtship all the way through hatching and fledging.

“Peregrine’s Sky” is filled with beautiful illustrations of peregrine life that fans of the Rochester Falconcam will instantly recognize. The author used the Rochester Falconcam as one of the sources for both her illustrations and the information presented in her book. An especially thoughtful touch can be found in the dedication To Mariah and Kaver.

Suitable for children of all ages, “Peregrine’s Sky” is available for purchase from the Western National Parks Association.

Recently some of Quest’s fans took a road trip north from Rochester to visit the Lennox power station, and to try their luck at spotting Quest. Our “bionic bird” was a no-show, but Rochester Falconcam team member Carol Phillips put together a photographic journal that provides a good look at the area Quest is calling home these days.

You can view Carol’s album HERE.