Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 21, 2018 –
It was a cold start to the day, with temperatures around the freezing mark. Clear skies and seasonal weather were a very pleasant surprise. Temperatures reached into the fifties by early afternoon, although the wind made it feel colder in open areas. Last night, Astrid stayed out until just after dark. She arrived at the box to relieve Ares at 8:23 PM. She remained tight on the eggs all night, but then was very impatient to go by 5:30 AM. Ares had just arrived on the State Building and he listened to her crazed donkey-like calls for fifteen minutes before coming over to switch with her. Just like yesterday morning, Astrid screeched out of the box upon Ares arrival. She then flew around the State Building for at least ten minutes. Sometimes she’d go all the way around the building and sometimes she’s only fly back and forth in front of one side. We don’t think she’s checking for stored food when she does this, but there may be an element of that. It’s possible this is Astrid way of making a territorial claim on the building. Any Peregrine within a couple of miles would be able to see her “proclamation” and would understand what it means. At 7:26, Astrid came to the box and the falcons switched. She was on the eggs and Ares went over to the State Building. At 10:10, Ares was seen at his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Was he hunting or did he see an intruder? A half hour later Ares made a quick stop at the nest box to check on thigs and then he was off again. He made visits to the Hotel and to the steeple in quick succession. At noon, Ares was back on the Hotel and he was feeding on a small food item. Twenty minutes later he came to the box and they switched. Astrid was visible on the State Building for a little while and then she drifted in and out of camera view for a while. She was probably hunting. They switched at 2:39, and Astrid took over incubation. Ares was next seen back on the Hotel ledge at 4:06. Five minutes later, Astrid became very animated; she called and flew out of the box. Ares arrived about a minute later and quickly covered the eggs. Astrid flew right over to a perch on the State Building and so we don’t think she was upset about an intruder.
At 6:30 PM, the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project hosted a walking tour of the falcon’s canyon. Attendees got to see Astrid and Ares in the flesh as well see their habitat. During our walk, Astrid flew over to the box and relieved Ares at the nest (at 6:45 ish). Ares then took several perches and did some nice soaring around. He landed on a few different lamp posts on the County Building. On the State Office Building, at around 8:00, we saw Ares go from a narrow window ledge to a deep window sill, where he likely planned to spend the night. Thanks again to all that attended tonight’s walk and we hope to see you all again during our Fledgewatch in June (dates to be announced).
We thought the night’s falcon action was done, but then at 9:40 PM, Astrid heard something that made her dive out of the box. She was back and covering the eggs again in less than a minute, but it did make us wonder what would cause her to react like that.
