Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 21, 2018 –
Overnight was cool and a thick fog developed in the downtown canyon by early morning. At times we couldn’t even see the State Office Building with the PTZ cameras. There were three overnight feedings: Ares brought a small meal at 11:08; Astrid had to stretch out far to take it and then she fed the young. The next meal arrived at 2:09; Ares dangled a whole bird from the long perch and Astrid had to dance across the cross-perch and then bend over to take it from him. That time she fed the young for a full 26 minutes! At 2:57, Ares brought what appeared to be a cuckoo. He stood on the long perch and adjusted his grip on the prey a few times before Astrid got up from brooding, hopped up onto the cross-perch and edged close enough to take it from him. It took a few minutes for the chicks to rally, but they eventually ate part of the meal. After about five minutes, Astrid flew off to store the remainder. At 6:00, Ares flew through the fog to check in at the box. It seemed like he was offering to take over brooding, but Astrid declined and sent him back out. He disappeared back into the fog. About a half hour later, we could just make him out in the fog. He was on a high perch on the State Building. Astrid left the box at 6:46. Maybe she checked Ares’ pantry, but we couldn’t see what she was doing. Ares came right over to the box to be with the chicks. At 7:22, Astrid brought food to the box and started feeding the nestlings. At 7:54, Ares had prey on the State Building. He dashed over to the box and this time came right inside with the food and handed it to Astrid. As per usual, she did the feeding. As it turned out, it was a really short feeding. The chicks were already full and didn’t want any more. By 9:30, Astrid was out of the box and Ares screeched over and landed on the cross-perch. Astrid landed on the east veranda and Ares moved out onto the long perch. Five minutes later, they both flew into the canyon and for the next hour they did a lot of soaring around and visiting favorite perches. Occasional chick checks at the box were also occurring. At 10:30, Astrid was back to brooding the chicks and Ares was sunning himself on the ledge at Hotel Utica.
By 11:00, the falcons were soaring around again. At 11:39, Astrid was circling the State Building. She flew slowly in front of the building’s west face and grabbed some stored prey. Just then Ares darted into the canyon from the west and flew right up to the nest box. Astrid arrived shortly after with the food and proceeded to feed the chicks. Ares remained on the cross-perch for part of the meal, letting out occasional screech calls. We weren’t sure what that was all about. After the feeding, Astrid seemed to watch the antics of the chicks with great interest. Their walking is getting stronger and their head-motions have become more controlled. They have even done a few wing flaps. Their eyesight is also becoming keener. They are reacting more to what they see.
At 1:33, Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid took it and flew off. She then returned with what looked like the same food and began feeding the nestlings. The smallest chick was front and center for this short feeding. As the afternoon progressed, the parents spent increasing amounts of time away from the box. We were convinced that Astrid was away trying to procure a Pigeon, but we had no real evidence of that – we basing our conjecture on past behavior. Ares was doing most of the chick-checks at the nest. As the sun invaded more and more of the box, the chicks retreated further back and into the corners. They were uncomfortable and squealed at irregular intervals. At 4:11, Ares brought a scrap of food to the nest and started feeding. He was doing quite a good job and impressed us with the chirps of encouragement he gave to the two chicks that partook of the meal. Astrid always chirps during her feedings in order to compel chicks to open their bills, but Ares didn’t do it that way. This is something that may be a new innovation for Ares. We shall see if he repeats the behavior in the future. At 4:24, people coming close to windows in offices near the nest box caused the parents to go into hazing mode. Astrid seemed to come out of nowhere to commence swooping. They soon settled down and shifted to guarding mode – Astrid on the steeple and Ares at the box.
At a little after 5 PM, Ares was in the box and shading. Of course he was mostly shading the egg and not the chicks, but the chicks were in their corners and didn’t require the assistance. At 5:17, Ares gave a loud cackle alarm call. He flew right out of the box and very rapidly climbed in elevation. He flew over the State Building and headed west. Tracking him with the PTZ cam, we saw no intruder, only him, but he soon flew too high for the camera. A few minutes later he was back on the cross-perch like nothing happened. At 5:40, Ares retrieved a cuckoo out of storage and brought it to the nest. It’s like he has a whole closet full of cuckoos somewhere. Astrid blasted in (as if from nowhere again), grabbed the food and commenced feeding. Following the feeding both parents were on steeple perches. The both converged at the nest box for a joint chick-check at 6:45. Seven minutes later, Astrid brought some scant leftovers to the box and did a short feeding. At 7:42, Ares retrieved some more leftovers and Astrid did another short feeding. After that, Astrid perched on the steeple and Ares was on the State Building. She returned to the nest at 9 PM, while Ares stayed on his State Building perch. Good night, falcons!
