Love Is In The Air

Falcon Watch, 12:00 - 12:45

For my first falcon watch of 2006 I had to stick close to the office because I was on duty with the Kodak Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT). Not a problem, really. I turned that limitation into an opportunity, and so noontime found me braving the cold and wind atop the roof of Building 9, which provides an excellent view of the south face of the Kodak tower and the nest box.

When I went out I could just see the tail of a falcon on the northeast corner of the "launch pad" level. Another falcon was perched on the High Falls smokestack, Mariah, as it turned out. She took off after some moments and made a number of passes in front of the Kodak tower. My camera started clicking, and I kept up a pretty steady stream of shooting throughout my time outside:


Meanwhile, Kaver had disappeared in his typical fashion. He wasn't gone for long, though:


He made several aerobatic passes, and the two of them flew together for a while before separating. Mariah landed on the southwest corner of the playpen floor, while Kaver headed for the nestbox:


Over the noise of the wind I heard the Peregrines calling to each other. I figured things might be getting interesting, so I gripped my camera with cold-numbed fingers and waited. My hardship was rewarded when Kaver launched out of the nestbox, made a wide loop over my head, and banked toward Mariah. I caught their copulating in a long series of shots. Here's an excerpt of nine frames:






Wow! Peregrines mating under 8 Megapixel resolution!!! Kaver took his customary celebratory lap through the sky and headed for the High Falls stack, while Mariah basked in the bright sun:




On the street below, I found I wasn't the only one who'd witnessed our favorite falcons' nuptial congress:


There was a bit more flying from Kaver, and Mariah made a short hop to the Main Camera's mounting arm, where she had spent most of the morning. I had a meeting to attend, so I packed up my camera and left the roof for the warmth of the office. My stiff fingers appreciated that, but I wish I'd had more time to watch, despite the cold wind...

While I was out on the roof, I took a picture of the moon, which was hanging over the eastern sky. It was hazy and indistinct in the pictures I took, but this evening it was high overhead, and brilliantly illuminated by the westering sun:


Tomorrow promises warmer weather, but the clouds are supposed to start rolling in as well, so we'll see what opportunities await.

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Finally, a technical note. I rediscovered the downside of SLR photography today. You may notice some unsightly blotches in many of my shots. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that I'd gotten dust on my camera's sensor until I was inside reviewing the shots. Worse, shooting at long range against that bold blue sky really brought them out. GRRRR!!! After kicking myself for that rookie mistake, I cleaned my sensor and lenses this evening, and I'll be sure to keep a weather eye on my optics in the future...