I’ll start today’s falcon saga right where we left off last night. The storm that went through the region in the early evening only grazed downtown Utica. Just the same, Astrid spent the time at the box protecting the nestlings from the elements. Following the “almost” storm, Astrid did some flying around the canyon. She perched on the steeple for a while and joined Ares who had remained on the State Building. At nine o’clock she returned to the box and upon landing made a miscalculation. She somehow missed the lip of the box and fell down between the perch and the nest box. I was at my monitor at the time and looked up to see the top of Astrid’s left wing protruding above the lip of the box. She was obviously somewhere beneath the box, grappling onto the brick wall below where the nest box is situated. Those of you who have followed the Utica Peregrines’ story for a couple of years may recall when Orion accidentally fledged; after falling from the box she hung beneath it in a similar manner before half-falling and half-fluttering to the parking lot below. Fortunately, Astrid is no nestling. She was able to push off from that awkward position and within a few minutes she was back in the box. As far as I could see she didn’t have a feather out of place.
We try to keep track of all the feedings that take place during the overnight hours and, as far as we know, there have been no feedings that have taken place in the hour before midnight; that is until last night. So, do we consider a feeding that took place in the hour of 11 PM to constitute the last feeding of yesterday, or do we consider it to be the first feeding of today? For now we’re considering it to be the latter. And so the first feeding of today actually took place at 11:32 PM last night. Ares brought the second meal of the morning at 12:46 AM. At one o’clock another storm blew through the canyon – this time packing a little more of a punch. Astrid was again in the box, protecting the young from the elements. Flashes of lighting occasionally illuminated her as well as the interior of the box. The storm was of short duration and at 2:15, Ares was back with another small meal. Astrid took it and fed the nestlings. A little more than a half hour later, Ares was back at the box, this time with larger prey. Astrid unceremoniously grabbed the food, but this time she flew off into the darkness with it. Perhaps she would store it or make it her own breakfast – we couldn’t know which. The chicks were alone in the box for a while after that, but it was quite warm out – around 65°. Ares returned to the box at 3:05. He had more prey in his talons. He gave long screeching calls from the perch, but Astrid didn’t materialize. She obviously wasn’t around to do a feeding and Ares wasn’t going to attempt one himself. After 20 minutes he flew off into the canyon. Less than five minutes later, Astrid appeared at the box – landing quite competently I might add. Astrid continues to be irritated by human activity in the host building’s offices and more generally in the canyon. Her annoyance level always seems to become more acute as the young become more developed. At 6:50 AM, she was moderately irritated. She was flying around the Adirondack Bank, stopping to check on the chicks and even visiting the verandas on either side of the nest box. At seven o’clock Ares brought food, and Astrid did a feeding. As for the chicks, they were remaining in a tight bunch in the back, right hand corner of the nest box. Anyone watching our video feed solely from the vantage of the “overkill” camera wouldn’t see any chicks in the box at all since they were out of sight of that camera. For most of the day it would look like a box full of prey feathers that hosted occasional visits by adults Peregrines. Good thing we have multiple cameras! At 8:23 AM there was another feeding – conducted by Astrid of course. The parent falcons remained in a semi-agitated mood for the balance of the morning. They did a lot of buzzing by office windows and a lot of checking on the nestlings. At 10 o’clock, food was brought in, but the pair was still stressed. Astrid did some plucking, but then she abruptly flew away with the meal. In a minute she was back and started to feed, only to fly out with it again. This is all typical agitated behavior. Ares came into the box with more prey, but he exhibited the same behavior as Astrid. He did a little plucking and then promptly flew away with the food. Finally at 10:10, Astrid came into the box and actually fed the young who, incidentally, were still huddled in the corner of the box. The next feeding took place at 2:26 PM. Temperatures dropped and the winds picked up through the afternoon. Astrid did a fair amount of brooding in the box. After not being seen in the canyon for some time, Ares returned to the box with prey at 5:00, and Astrid carried out a feeding. After the food hand-off, Ares went to the steeple, but he didn’t get to rest for long; when Astrid finished feeding she made a beeline for the steeple and upped him from his perch by nearly landing on top of him. Again – this is her subtle way of telling him it’s his turn to stand guard at the box. He complied and remained there until she came in with food at 7:30. This would probably be the last feeding of the day. Ares did bring food in about a half-hour later, but Astrid took it and stored it somewhere. Currently, as of this writing, Astrid in on the steeple, but I imagine she will be in the box within the next half hour. I trust she will be more careful about her landing tonight!
