~Statler eyass~

Hahaha, no, it's not from today! I was searching my archives for a good beak shot for a contest, and found this one which I cropped and tweaked a bit, so we have a revisit to the Statler! Isn't he cute?

 

~BB and Smoky on their tower~

A late afternoon visit to UB - one pefa was perched on a high corner watching for the other who flew to the tower, making a quick circle and then landed on the opposite side. The top pefa then also flew off and to the other side as well. When we got to that side, Smoky was on a ledge above the nestbox eating and BB was nearby on a corner ledge facing Winspear.

No pefas at Central Terminal when we visited today.

~More on the new CT nestbox~

More on the achievement of a dream, a nestbox at Central Terminal!

There had been reports of Pefa sightings in this area for a while, but last spring Roger and I staked out CT and were rewarded by finding and documenting Stash and Stella engaging in mating activity, and aerial displays around the tower! After sending pix and reports to Connie Adams, DEC, we brought her to the tower where the birds dutifully performed for her too! That sealed the deal!

Nesting Buffalo area Peregrines next spring will consist of:

Central Terminal
Statler Building
UB south MacKay Tower
Grand Island North Bridge
Grand Island South Bridge
Niagara Gorge - these pefas have reportedly moved to the American side

Buffalo's New York Central Terminal

Watching the silly Pigeons congregating at top of tower

Extremely tight crop resulting in a rough-textured almost abstract image which I find interesting.

Thanks to Roger for posting his pix yesterday too!  He's using the long lens mostly now so he's going to be blogging here too!  :)

Waiting for her nest

Preening at the top of the tower while overseeing construction of her nest box.

~New nestbox at Buffalo Central Terminal~

The NYSDEC today installed a new nestbox for Stash and Stella, the beautiful Peregrine pair documented during the spring of this year. Stella was a sub-adult this spring but the two were definitely a pair, engaging in mating activity on the tower and nearby buildings.

Nestbox is left of the clock

Mike Koch, DEC, installing nestbox

Completed nestbox with two perches

Peregrine at top of tower overseeing the installation

Central Terminal - Buffalo

We haven't seen Stash or Stella lately at Central Terminal so they have likely migrated away for the coming winter season. The terminal is a very cold and windy place even in better weather than a Buffalo winter.

The birds bonded this year but since the female was a sub-adult, there was no actual nesting. We expect them to return in late winter of 2010 and get down to business! These pix are from earlier this year.

~BB & Smoky on MacKay~

BB loves to perch at the nestbox and Smoky as usual is scanning the scene from a high corner.

Hawk Mountain is not see any Peregrines migrating lately so it seems our favorite pair is staying put for the winter. There are still plenty of pigeons and some other smaller birds in the area and the nestbox should offer some protection from the elements and warmth too.

 

 

 

November BB eyeing her nest.

Smoky just flew away. BB eyed their nest and flew into it right after this photo. She then came out and flew after him. Temperature was 47 F.