All Kaver All The Time?

Well, Mariah's five eggs should begin hatching this weekend-- Everyone's hoping for the first eyases to break out of their shells on Mother's Day, so Mariah's been spending a lot of time on the eggs (though as I write this, Kaver's taking a turn). Today the weather was too nice to pass up, with the temperature at 61°F/16°C, blue skies from horizon to horizon, bright sun, and a few well-distributed clouds. I was on duty with Kodak's Medical Emergency Response Team today, so a trip out to the bridge was not in the cards, but that just meant that I was unable to join all the watchers who gathered on the Pont de Rennes during the lunch hour:

If you look carefully, you can spy Cornpoppy, Larry O'Heron, Grannywood, Zummobird, Carol P, and Andrea, along with a couple of others whom I was unable to identify. I believe Shaky may also have been there, but I didn't get him in this picture. Sorry I didn't get to see you, folks, but I had to stick close to the office. An EMT's work is never done!

I missed the comraderie of the watch, but it wasn't all bad. I had as close to a front row seat as one can get for some smart flying to come:


Most of the hour was uneventful, but, as so often happens, Kaver seemed to appear out of nowhere (I swear I only looked away for a second!). Here he is pulling his wings in as he begins his landing approach:



He swooped up and landed on the east side of the playpen railing, where he held a vigil for a while:


He didn't have long to enjoy the spring sun, though. A Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) flew over the tower and Kaver gave chase, his kakking battle cry ringing in the clear air:


He climbed in tight circles, flapping wildly, and drove straight down onto the hapless buteo. He made several passes at the hawk, driving it to the north west. Here's the best of several shots I took of the action:


The advantage was Kaver's from the beginning, and the hawk had no choice but to withdraw. A few moments later, the airspace around the nest box secured once again, Kaver returned, landing on Camera 1's mounting arm:


He left a short time later and I believe he headed toward downtown Rochester, though I didn't see where he went. The hour was winding out, and I had to return to the office.

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For many days we've seen a pair of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) perching on a derelict concrete footing that juts out of the river bed just north of the pedestrian bridge. We thought it strange for the two of them to be sitting up there, but yesterday we found out why they've had such an affinity for the place:

Notice the egg just to the right of the goose in the front. The rear goose may be brooding more eggs, though we haven't seen any evidence of that. I'll keep my eyes open, though. I imagine they're going to have quite a time getting the little goslings off that precarious platform...

Whilst walking Quest and Tessa this afternoon, I was hoping to catch a glimpse (and perhaps a picture or two) of an elusive Belted Kingfisher that I saw last week hunting on the banks of the Erie Canal. Of course, when I saw him I was sans camera, and since then, he hasn't reappeared. Instead, today I came upon this female Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus):

I'm not used to seeing the females, though the males are quite a common sight around here. It caught my eye because of its orange throat, to which my photograph does poor justice. I've included it here for no reason other than that I liked the picture of the bird perched amongst the cat-tails. The good weather promises to hold all weekend, so hopefully Dawn and I will get in a bit of birding. If we see anything interesting, I'll bring it to you here. And of course, there's Mariah's eggs to watch...