What's Going On With Rochester's Falcons?

Here's a rare (for me) post without pictures. Since there's really no action on the Falconcam cameras I thought I'd take a few minutes to post the latest news.

Unfortunately, between bad weather and interference from the rest of my life I haven't had many opportunities to do much falcon watching. I am however, happy to report that Mariah and her new tiercel are cementing their relationship nicely. Though no one has yet gotten a clear look at his leg band, local watchers have nicknamed him "Nubo", a shortened form of "Nouveau Beau", the term I coined for the new tiercel in Mariah's life in my previous post. I suppose it's as good a name as any, at least until we learn if he was named when he was banded.

Anyway, Mariah and Nubo have been observed copulating on multiple occasions and at various sites in the downtown area, including the Kodak tower, the Midtown Plaza tower and the HSBC building. June Summers, president of the Genesee Valley Audubon Society, is working with the City to gain access to the Midtown tower so we can see if Mariah and her new partner are building a nest there. Frankly, we're not used to being blind like this. It's a little disconcerting to not know what's happening.

One thing we do know is that they aren't using either of the nest boxes we set up last year. It just goes to show that, as much as the experts know, the falcons get the last word.

It's not for lack of trying though. Last week DEC Wildlife Technician Mike Allen came out and "seeded" both boxes with fresh quail in an attempt to lure the falcons to either of the sites. Our cameras on the Powers Building caught all the action as, day after day, the pieces of squab sat there, drying in the sun, untouched by Peregrines (or any other avian epicure for that matter). So it seems like our best efforts are being rebuffed by Mariah and Nubo. This is one of those situations in which we just have to wait and watch, and follow their lead. Mariah's a successful Peregrine and I'm confident she'll find a good spot to establish a nest.

On another front, falcon watcherrs recently found a second pair of Peregrines that have taken residence in the Rochester area. As if that weren't good enough news on its own, we were able to identify the male as our very own "Z-man", Zephyr from Mariah and Kaver's 2008 clutch! He hasn't yet shed his juvenile plumage but he looks great and the fact that he already appears to have a mate should bode well for him. He and the female (she's a banded adult, but no one has been able to read her ID number yet) are hanging out in the town of Brighton, a suburb of Rochester that's a few miles south of Mariah's downtown territory. The distance is great enough to avoid any squabbles. Zephyr is probably too young to successfully reproduce-- Peregrines don't usually reach sexual maturity until their second year-- but first year matings have been known to produce offspring. We'll be keeping an eye on Zephyr and his mate to see if they establish a nest as well.