Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 14, 2018 –
It was chilly and overcast in the early morning, but once the sun broke out of the clouds, the air warmed up fast and we hit 70 degrees by noon. The afternoon was even warmer, with temps surpassing 80 degrees.
Astrid was brooding all night long. There were no overnight feedings. Ares showed up on the State Office Building right before 5 AM. He came over to the nest shortly after that and relieved Astrid. She came back to the nest after stretching her wings and Ares flew off into the canyon. Ares brought breakfast at 5:31 and Astrid did the feeding as per usual. Fifteen minutes later Astrid flew out to store the leftovers and then came right back to the clutch. Ares was on the steeple at that point. By 7 o’clock he had moved to the State Building, but it was clear he was making hunting forays. At 8:00 he came to the nest with a Mourning Dove. Astrid took it and plucked a few feathers from it. She also tried to feed the chicks, but it was clear they weren’t hungry yet. She took the meal and flew off with it. No doubt she was storing it for later use. At 8:20, Ares was back on the steeple. He really seemed to like that perch today. He was next seen on the State Building around 20 minutes later. At 9:20, Astrid flew in and out of the box a couple of times. She ended up on the steeple. We weren’t sure where Ares was. Ten minutes later he showed up at the box with food. It looked to be the remains of the Mourning Dove (now plucked). Astrid arrived a few seconds after her mate; she took the food and began a long feeding session. A few minutes later, Ares was on the steeple again. At 9:42, Astrid left the nest with the remains of the meal. She came right back to the chicks and then the falcons were status quo for more than two hours. Finally at 12:05, Ares went over to the ledge at Hotel Utica and had a sun bath. He flattened himself out on the ledge and spread out his feathers. He looked like a falcon pancake. When he was done he flew back to the steeple and let out a long screech before he landed so Astrid would know it was him.
At 12:39, Ares came to the box and the two parents switched places. Astrid dashed over to the State Building and Ares stood in the box contemplating the chicks. His chirping calls caused them to start begging. That made the chick heap too tall for Ares to slide on top of. He looked at the egg and loped over to it. He straddled it while looking at the nestlings with what seemed to be astonishment. He then retreated out onto the cross perch. He really didn’t seem to know what to do, not that he has to do anything at this point. It’s warm enough outside so the chicks don’t need brooding and the last egg is now beyond its hatch window, so just standing guard is all he really has to do. After a few minutes the chicks calmed down and fell back into a heap in the middle of the box. Ares came back towards them, but then diverted to the egg. He moved the egg under himself, but then walked away again. He began digging with his bill in the corner of the box. This is the same thing Astrid was doing only a half-hour before. If there’s pirate treasure down there one of them is bound to find it and then they’ll be rich. Soon he was back to the chicks. He stood over them and gathered them up with his bill. By 1:20, he was moving around again. Tending the chicks wasn’t capturing his whole attention today. Around 1:30, Ares was gone and Astrid came into the box with food. It must’ve been a small meal, since she was out of the box again in just a few minutes. At 2:30, Ares brought prey to the box. After a short tug-o-war, Astrid took it and conducted a feeding. She left with the remains of the meal and then came back at 2:45.
Ares escorted a Turkey Vulture out of the falcons’ airspace at 3:15. He was on duty at the box again a little while after that and it became clear that Astrid and Ares are shifting gears in their behavior towards the clutch. They no longer feel the need to have a presence in the box at all times. In the latter part of the afternoon they left the box and the chicks alone for progressively longer periods of time. At 4:50, Ares did some chirping and left the next box. After he flew, some falcon interactive calls could be heard. Astrid came to the box shortly after that and began brooding the nestlings, but then she gave a major alarm cackle call. Obviously there was an intruder in the canyon. She wasted no time in flying out of the box. Soon raptors (likely falcons) were flying high above the canyon and then off towards the northwest. By 5:04, both A&A were back in the canyon, but Ares didn’t stick around for long and fifteen minutes after he arrived he was gone again. Astrid was acting a bit unusual after Ares last departure. She was swooping at the Adirondack Bank building – passing by offices and even by the PTZ camera. She came in and out of the box a couple of times and seemed to be generally anxious. We got a report in that a dead raptor-type bird was seen on the near route 5 S in Utica. Since we hadn’t seen Ares for a little while and since the pair may have been battling another Peregrine, Deb went to check it out. Since Astrid was acting a little erratic, it didn’t seem out of the question that something could’ve happened to her mate. Long story short – Deb checked it out and the raptor in question turned out to be a plastic bag. Ares returned to the canyon at 6:10. Both falcons converged at the nest box at 6:15, but then Astrid was out again and flying through the canyon. Ares did a very short feeding at the box, and then after a few minutes of shading the chicks, he was out.
Both converged at the box again at 6:30. Ares had prey. Astrid took in and a feeding ensued. What followed was A&A making short stops at the box and generally hitting most of their nearby perching places. Usually one was in view of the box and occasionally one or the other would stop by at the box for a few minutes. This was how it was until about 8:40 PM, when Astrid finally returned to the box, presumably for the night.