Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 30, 2018 –
Astrid again spent much of the night in the nest box or in close proximity to it. There were no overnight feedings. At around 5 AM, the chicks became restless and Astrid began calling for Ares to bring food. He was initially seen on the west face of the State Building, but then moved over to the north face. He seemed in no hurry to comply with Astrid’s demands. At 5:20, both parents were flying. We don’t know if Astrid withdrew something from the pantry or if Ares took it and gave it to her. Either way it was Astrid that arrived at the box with the prey. It was a catbird and she fed it out to the voracious nestlings. At 5:30, when breakfast was over, Astrid flew over to the State Building. Ares came to the box fifteen minutes later and spent some time guarding the nestlings. Ares brought prey to the box at 8:25. Astrid hastily grabbed the food away and fed the chicks. The eldest two chicks were getting the lion’s share of this meal. At one point Astrid held a hunk of it and allowed two of the chicks to rip into for themselves. The meal was completely gone within five minutes. At 8:33, another meal was brought in – this one was a cuckoo. Astrid fed them for a little while and then left to store (presumably) the remainder of the meal. Ares was present on the State Building until around 9:45 and then he was out of view of our cams for a while. Astrid spent some time on the west veranda. She flew off at just a few minutes past noon.
The eyesight of the chicks has been improving right along. They now track their parent’s movements and begin calling when they see them fly through. Ares came back into the canyon at 12:33 and landed at the nest box. All three chicks began calling at a fevered pitch. In case anyone had doubts, these are indeed very loud birds. When they all get going, including the parents, it can be deafening. Next Astrid flew in and landed on the State Building. The chicks began calling even louder when they saw her. At 12:47, Ares brought a cuckoo to the box. It came fresh from his pantry on the west face of the State Building. Astrid took the prey and fed it to the chicks. She stopped when about half way through the feeding and took the leftovers away. We don’t know why she did that seeing as thought the nestlings were still begging, but mother knows best. Perhaps she doesn’t want to overfeed them on such a remarkably hot day and before what will undoubtedly be a very uncomfortable afternoon. At 12:53, Ares came to the box and seemed to be ready for guard duty. He moved back and forth between the verandas and the box’s perch. At 1:20, we located Astrid. She on Hotel Utica plucking a Pigeon. We thought she’d be bringing it over to the box any time, but she ended up eating some of it first. Meanwhile the famished nestlings were screaming into poor Ares’s face. Almost twenty minutes later she brought a fair sized chunk of the meal over to the nest. She then presided over a very chaotic and fairly long feeding session. She really packed the food into them this time. So much for our theory regarding light feedings on hot days!
Astrid brought some leftover into the box at 3:21 PM. It was a relatively short meal – an in and out job. Astrid was back at the box at 3:38. She fed the chicks a few scraps that were lying around on the floor and then she did some shading. The nest was really starting to heat up. She remained in the box shading, or at least trying to shade for the balance of the afternoon. Ares finally came back into town at 5:19. Who knows what adventures he was racking up. He landed on the State Building. Twenty minutes later he was gone again and so was Astrid for a while – no doubt experiencing more adventures we are to remain ignorant of. The nest was out of the full sun by this point and the wind had picked up so the box wasn’t as uncomfortable for the nestlings. Astrid came back into the canyon at 6:33, but Ares eluded our cameras for most of the evening. He finally joined Astrid on the State Building at 8 PM sharp. Will there be any feedings tonight? I won’t hazard a guess.