The Consort's Return

If Mariah is the queen of the Rochester skies, then Kaver is her faithful consort. It's always a wonderful sign of approaching spring when he makes his return after wintering in parts unknown. Today came the news that Kaver was back, and since the weather was pretty good I decided to get downtown to greet the plucky Peregrine in person.

I wasn't the only one who had that idea. The better part of a dozen of the "regular" watchers stopped by at one time or another, starting with Larry O'Heron, who made the initial report of Kaver's return. Others I saw included Carol P, Dana, Kathy O, Kelly W, Susan C, Joyce M and Marcia L. Of course the Canon DSLRs and long lenses were much in evidence. It's never too soon to give the old photographic muscles a little exercise.

I arrived a little after 3:00 in the afternoon. Clouds were rolling in but there was still plenty of bright blue sky and sunlight. Kaver perched on top of Camera 1 near the nest box, but my first shots were of Mariah, on the lip of the High Falls smokestack:
     

Here's our wanderer, lately come from who knows where:


He and Mariah both preened for some time. Occasional vocalizations from Mariah drifted down to those of us assembled below. She stood up and began stretching:


I figured something was up, and sure enough, a few seconds later she was off:
     

     

She headed east with a purpose, disappearing behind the BeeBee station. Carol P and I ran toward Morrie Silver way for a better view just as Kaver got airborne, heading south. He made a sharp left turn and fell into a shallow dive toward the gorge. I caught a glimpse of him chasing a large bird-- maybe a pigeon-- but by the time I got a clear view of the sky over the river he was lost to sight.

I walked toward the bridge, and was nearly at the span when Kaver came into view again, heading west:
     

I followed him, shooting furiously as he flapped toward the Kodak tower:
     

He made his typical effortless landing back on top of Camera 1. We waited to see if Mariah would show up, but she never did. I took a few perched shots of Kaver as the clouds thickened and the air grew colder:
          

Now that Queen and Consort are in town, it looks like the 2008 nesting season will be getting under way in earnest. For me it's a thrill to see Mariah and Kaver return to the nest box each year, ready to begin a new family. It signals the start of four months of drama, excitement and fun that I'm honored to experience. I can't wait to see how this year's story will unfold.