Kaver Takes a Spin Around Town

I have no startling revelations to relate, nor any profundity to report today, just some pictures of Kaver, who enjoyed a couple of flights in the vicinity of the Kodak tower. It was relatively warm at lunchtime today, the sky was clear and blue, and the sun cast a welcome brightness.

When I went out onto the roof of Building 9 a little after Noon, I found Kaver perched on the south playpen rail between the main camera and Camera 1 (PanCam, as falKenn Martinez has named it). He was quite content to sit there, and for most of the hour there was no activity worth mentioning. Then without warning, he began a loud kacking. I took it for an alarm, and started scanning the sky for intruders. My apprehension redoubled when Mariah took up the cries from inside the nestbox. I saw no sign of an interloper, and I turned back to the tower just in time to see Kaver take off. He flapped hard, flying right over my head. I made the most of the situation:
     

He circled over the Kodak visitors' parking lot a couple of times before heading for the High Falls smokestack:
          

I imagine the watchers assembled below were treated to a pretty good view. He took off a short time later and he was joined by Mariah, who had left the nest while my back was turned. They crossed each other in the air, then she took Kaver's place on the smokestack while he looped around for a bit of noontime romance. I won't bore you with pictures of their coupling...

Kaver left his mate on the smokestack and turned back for the tower, providing yet another opportunity for some pictures:
          

          

I wouldn't normally post so many similar shots, but Kaver doesn't fly close very often. He landed on one of the support arms of the main camera:
          

All of the flying happened within the final ten minutes of my lunch hour, so I left Kaver close to where I'd found him, and headed back inside.

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It's a propos of nothing, but you can be sure that spring has come to Western New York when the sweet whistling songs of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) fill the air. This afternoon, one bright dandy sat amonst the bare branches of a tree and belted out his joyous calls as I was walking Tessa and Quest:


I love seeing these guys. After a frigid winter's end, it's good to know that spring is finally arriving.

They Call the Wind Mariah

But what do they call the cold?

Cold it was today, and windy too. The combination made for frozen fingers and ears and noses, but by now you've come to know that meteorologically induced discomfort is little impediment to a determined falcon watcher. Dana, Lou, Shaky, Carol P and Lisa McKeown all braved the inclement elements with me. We took refuge on the leeward side of the Bru restaurant building, finding a bit of scant warmth in the bright midday sun. We were surprised to see Tom Hoehn/Cornpoppy striding up the sidewalk toward our group, his head bowed to ward off the stiff wind:


Tom took note of all of our photographic weapons ("Canons," was my quipped reply), but our banter was interrupted by Mariah, as she steaked out of the west and headed for the High Falls Smokestack, while Kaver watched from the playpen rail. She took off soon after landing, diving with a will upon an American Kestrel that flew through the area. Their chase took them behind the BeeBee station complex and we lost sight of her. She appeared moments later, and dropped low as she passed over our heads:
     

     

She skimmed past the Bru and flew into the sun over the Kodak parking lot before she looped around. Her circling flight lasted a couple of minutes, and provided ample opportunities for photographs, but finally she winged her way toward the corner of the tower, landing on the southwest corner of the playpen floor:
          

That, it seemed, was Kaver's signal to spring into action. You can guess what happened next...

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I had the good fortune of hosting what I believe to be a mated pair of Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) for an early dinner yesterday afternoon. The male took the first turn at the suet feeder:
     

Initially I didn't notice the female, who had hidden herself around the back of a tree, but she began to vocalize as the male flew away. I realized I had a good opportunity to photograph her as she landed, so I zoomed out a little and got ready. I think the results were worthwhile:
     

I love that shot of her coming in for a landing, with her body curved in anticipation of the touchdown, and the piano-key patterning of her wings. Anyway, she enjoyed herself at the feeder for a while:


In the meantime, the male hopped up the side of a Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum):


I liked the way he was framed by the lighter patch of bark to which he clung. As he scampered up the side of the trunk, I got another shot. Note the recent scaling on the bark:


I thought it was a great treat to see the pair of birds together. In years past, they've brought their young to the suet feeder, and we've had as many as four Pileateds in the yard at once. Having both of these adults here now is a hopeful sign that we may get to see more family dinners before too long.

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...