Mariah's Nouveau Beau

If you've been keeping up with Imprints or the FalconWatch blog over at the Rochester Falconcam, you know that Kaver, Mariah's mate since 2002, didn't return this year. As with her first mate Cabot-Sirocco, it's impossible to know what fate befell Kaver. He was a fan favorite, with a gentle face that belied his predatory pedigree. He proved in the end to be an excellent provider, gaining his bona fides in three consecutive years raising five eyases, and especially in 2006 when he had to care for an injured Mariah as well as feed himself and three newborn falcon chicks. His role in the success of the Rochester Falcons cannot be overvalued. We all esteemed him highly, and he'll be missed.

It's been a rough few weeks for Mariah. She hasn't taken to either of the nest boxes installed downtown on the Powers and Times Square buildings. Her quest for a new mate has resulted in two failures, the most recent ending in the unlucky death of Tybropa-Cree in a traffic collision.

So news that another tiercel was in town only a few days after the latest blow to Mariah's fortunes was greeted with plenty of excitement. To wit, witnesses reported on the 21^st that Mariah was spotted in the company of a male, and the two were exhibiting courtship behaviors that included ee-chupping and flight demonstrations by the male.

I was attending an EMS conference yesterday so I wasn't able to get out, but having read the reports yesterday I was quite keen to go downtown to get a look at this male. In the back of my mind I was hoping that this was Kaver-- that he'd been somehow delayed in returning, but had found his way back to Rochester and Mariah after all. It would be a great way to lift the spirits of Mariah's fans after so many disappointments this year.

I started on the Pedestrian bridge where I found Brian, Dawn (with four-legged friend Bullet), and Linda & Tim. We spent a blustery hour of fruitless scanning for any signs of Peregrines before Lisa McKeown arrived to tell us that Mariah and a tiercel had been perching on Midtown Plaza:


We jumped into our cars for the short ride over to the Frontier parking lot on Court Street. We'd watched a falcon flying around downtown from the bridge, so we didn't have to wait long until one showed up, landing near the top of the Midtown Plaza tower:


A look through my spotting scope confirmed that it was Mariah. The tiercel was not far behind:
     

He landed on the corner of a lower floor that was built out from the main part of the tower. I got my scope on him quickly and watched him preen. He faced away from us much of the time. Apparently he only had eyes for Mariah. But even before I got a look at his face, I could tell it wasn't Kaver. His plumage was too slaty, not nearly dark enough. He had a dark head, but there was a noticeable bit of white over his cere. And, I glimpsed leg bands.

Leg bands?!? That meant we had a chance for an ID on this bird, if only we could get a better look at them. Carol P and Joyce showed up and we followed them up to Broad Street, right across the road from the Midtown Tower. It was a lot closer, but we'd lost the benefit of the sun's warmth and the wind break provided by the Frontier building. We met up with Marcia and huddled in the broad entryway of an office building while we set up our scopes.

The view was much better, but the male wouldn't come close enough to the edge of his outcropping to get a clear view of his leg bands. What we did get, though, was copious ee-chupping from both birds that rang off the nearby buildings. Here's Mariah in full-throated vocalizing glory, as she paced along the edge of the balcony a the top of the tower:
     

Below her the tiercel was all ears. His pacing increased too:
          

Soon they were trading ee-chups...
     

With all that commotion I thought maybe there was action in the offing. So I wasn't surprised when the male sprang off his perch into the air:
     

     

Though I couldn't read the characters on the band, it looks like his left one is all black. That should mean that he was banded in Canada. I'm sure our friends at the Canadian Peregrine Foundation will be able to help us identify this guy as soon as we can get a good look at that band. As it was, niether light nor fortune were on our side this time, and none of my pictures showed the band with enough resolution to determine the code. The male flew around the tower then went across Broad Street and circled the Xerox tower. Mariah followed, landing at the top of the granite skyscraper with a lot of vocalization:
          

The reason for her cries came into view-- a third falcon in the sky! The new tiercel shot skyward, circling higher on urgent wingbeats to intercept the interloper. He made a couple of dives at it, and the migrant beat a hasty retreat:
     

Mariah watched from the top of the Xerox building while the male went north. He passed out of sight for a time, but circled back a few minutes later and after some deft passes over street he landed on the side of the tower:


Mariah made a few more circuits around Xerox, then she came north, alighting on a rail at the top of the HSBC building, the headquarters for a regional bank:
     

She started ee-chupping and from her posture, I thought we might be in for a copulation attempt. Watchers reported that Mariah had rebuffed the male earlier in the day when he tried, but she looked like she was in a more solicitous mood this time. For his part, the male certainly looked interested:


When he took off though, he only made a few flights back and forth before landing on the corner of his outcropping again:
     


     

Mariah got airborne after that, and she too landed where we'd first seen her, in the corner of the balcony at the top of the tower:


I returned to the Frontier parking lot as both falcons flew east, out of sight:


By the time I got back to the parking lot the falcons had returned to Midtown tower. Marcia had retrieved her scope and was digiscoping. She'd also taken a lot of pictures with her Canon DSLR, as had Joyce. We all have the 100-400mm L-series zoom lens, so maybe one of them got a shot that will reveal the male's leg band. If not, the week ahead looks to be sunny, and there are plenty of curious watchers to keep trying for an ID. In any event, after a less than salutary start, it looks like the 2009 falcon season might just be looking up .