Sure Signs of Spring

After weeks of brutal cold and a season's worth of snow packed into 1 1/2 months, the weather has started to warm, and along with it, inklings of good things to come. The late autumn and winter were marked by Mariah's sustained absence, something unusual for many of the Rochester falcon watchers who have always seen, or at least thought they were seeing Mariah on a regular, if infrequent basis throughout the winter months. Now, in any such discussion about identifying individual birds, one is obliged to hedge one's bets, so to speak. During winter Mariah hasn't typically been seen in the nest box, it being well outside of nesting season, and therefore the Kodak Birdcam cameras weren't able to give us defininitive views of her. The use of very capable D-SLR cameras and high quality spotting scopes is a fairly recent innovation for the local watchers, and while we might stand outside clutching a pair of binoculars in hands wracked with chilblains, dragging out the expensive gear is quite another thing entirely. Therefore, while we think we're seeing Mariah in the winter, we really can't be sure. In such circumstances a falcon's unique field marks may not always be seen, and so we fall back on behavioral cues. For instance, when it past winters we've spotted an adult female PEFA perched atop the High Falls smokestack, or on the wrought iron railing near the nestbox we're inclined to identify that falcon as Mariah, since those are typical perches for her. We were alerted to the presence of a new falcon in the area through most of this winter by her choice of non-typical perches. It was only several weeks after her arrival that we were able to get a decent view of her through a spotting scope and verify that her head shape, bill color and other field marks differed from Mariah's.

So it was with some delight that our watchers observed Mariah's return a few weeks ago on the 22^nd of February. Her characteristic split primary flight feathers on her right wing and her choice of "Mariah-like" perches let us know immediately that she had returned. Kaver too appeared a few days later, and I'm happy to report that our favorite falcon family is back in town, just in time for another season of Peregrine-watching. As for the other falcon, she hung around for a few days before leaving the area after a couple of non-terribly-violent aerial confrontations with Mariah.

Lately the weather has mirrored our good fortune to the extent that we finally have some blue skies and sunlight, a boon for photography. Mariah and Kaver are in full courtship/mating mode these days. Here's Kaver winging his way toward a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) that had wandered into the territory this past weekend:


Mariah followed, but Kaver did all the work, diving repeatedly upon the hawk until it quit the area upon furious wingbeats. When she returned to the tower I got a couple of shots:
          

Reports from watchers indicate frequent mating by the two Peregrines, so I wasn't surprise that within an hour of my arrival I was able to witness an episode for myself:
     

          

          

Following their interlude Kaver landed on the nest box:


Earlier this week I went up to the roof of Kodak's Building 9 in the hope of getting some closer flight or mating shots. No such luck, though. Kaver spent the entire hour sitting on the nest box's perch rail:


In fact, the monotony of the lunchtime watch broke only briefly when Kaver did a bit of scratching:
     

     

Yesterday we were treated to a marvelous (and unusual) flying display as Mariah harassed a Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) that flew too close. Much of the action took place only 20 or 30 feet over State Street, though unfortunately she was well north of the watchers' "perch" at the corner of State and Platt streets, and my photographs of the brief incident suffered from my lack of practice over the winter. Regardless, we all agreed that Mariah is in fine form, and for a bird that's probably older than twelve years, she looks as aggressive and competent as ever.

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On the home front, our new cat Sophie has grown, both in size and comfort. She and Quest have reached a sort of detente, though he still takes every opportunity to chase her if she ventures down to floor level. Fortunately, he's not much for climbing on furniture, or we'd have a real problem on our hands. Sophie seems to get into every nook and cranny around the house. Sometimes I think we should have given her an explorer's name-- only I can't think of any that would really fit her. Here she is checking out the view from the top of our television:
     

Her active period starts about the time we go to bed-- not unusual for a cat, surely, but we haven't had a young feline in the house for several years, so all the nocturnal running, climbing and pouncing is taking its toll on our sleep.

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Finally, I hope you will all join me on the Rochester Falconcam. For 2007, Kodak and the Genesee Valley Audubon Society are joining forces to bring Mariah and Kaver's adventure to the world, and for the first time the website will be hosted and produced outside of Kodak. GVAS brings many years of experience with the Birdcam program to the table, along with enthusiasm and a commitment to wildlife conservation and education. They've organized the annual Fledge Watch since the Birdcam program began ten years ago, and with the changing business conditions at Kodak it's great to know that there is a capable local group ready to step in and continue the bold tradition and reputation for excellence established by the Kodak Birdcam.