Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, April 5th, 2023
It was relatively warm overnight with temperatures in the mid 40s. Astrid stayed on the nest for most of the night. It was very windy during the day a steady rain started in the evening. The high temperature for the day was in the mid 60s. At 3:12 AM it looked like Ares had prey on a west ledge but then we lost track of him. A few minutes later he flew up to the west veranda with a Woodcock. Astrid left the box at that point but we don’t know if there was a food exchange. One of the Falcons left the veranda and we lost track of the other one. Astrid came back to the nest at 3:21. She Immediately moved to the east veranda but did not stay there long and was soon back in the box and back on the eggs. At 4:43 Ares was on a west ledge plucking something. It’s hard to tell what color anything is beneath the blue lights that shine down from the bank roof, but there were lots of dark and light feathers floating away from the ledge as he plucked away. At 5:50 Ares hopped onto the west veranda perch. He was wiping his bill and cleaning his talons. Did he leave the prey on the ledge? He then came into the box and asked for a turn on the eggs. He walked around behind Astrid to encourage her to get up and leave. It worked, and she flew out. Ares did not stay with the eggs for more than a minute. He was out on the lip of the box until he left at 5:22. Five minutes later both falcons came to the nest. Ares had prey and Astrid took it from him inside the box. She then flew away with it. At 6:09 Ares was back in the nest and Astrid was on the east veranda. They mated there at 6:13. After that Astrid got on to the eggs. A switch took place sometime before 7:00 and then Ares was with the eggs. As usual he didn’t stay long and by 7:16 he was out of the box. Astrid moved to the east veranda at 7:22 and the pair mated there a few minutes later. By 7:30 she was back on the eggs. At 7:48 Ares brought prey to the box. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and then flew off with it. At 8:02 Ares gave a loud cackle-type alarm call but remained on his perch. We are not sure if the reason for the alarm was a non-falcon raptor or was it caused by someone coming into the office adjacent to the nestbox. At 8:18 Astrid came to the east veranda. Ares was calling inside the nest box while she was asking to mate. A few minutes later she buzzed by him twice and then flew to Deb’s Perch. Ten minutes later she was on the west veranda and Ares was on the crossperch. They mated there at 8:38. They mated again at 8:57. After that Astrid climbed onto the eggs. It had become quite windy in the downtown canyon by this point.
The falcons did a changing of the guard at 9:41 AM. After only a minute with the eggs Ares was up on the lip of the nestbox and Astrid was over on the State Building. The pair mated at just before 10:00. Astrid was back on the eggs only a minutes later. Another switch happened sometime around 10:50. At 11:03 the falcons had probably mated again since Ares had made a quick trip between the box and the State Building where Astrid was. At 11:25 one or both falcons were giving cackle type alarm calls but both kept their perches. The cause of the excitement was likely some Turkey Vultures flying overhead. At 11:39 the Falcons mated on the crossperch once more. Astrid went back with the eggs right afterward. At 12:26 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it on the crossperch and flew off to some undisclosed location. Deb saw her flying along the east face of the bank building. By 12:49 Astrid was on the State Building. The Falcons switched at 1:17 and Astrid took a turn with the eggs. Ten minutes later Ares was up on his favorite pillar perch. At 2:22 Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was at the box. The way Astrid was sitting on the eggs you would think that continuous incubation had begun. However, when Ares is in the nest he is not incubating. They are not on the same page yet, but these are early days. At 12:42 PM Astrid was seen drinking from a puddle on the hotel. It used to be said that Peregrine Falcons do not drink water and get all of their water from the animals they consume. We proved that wrong several years ago. In fact, falcons drink water semi-regularly and Astrid seems to have a particular need for it during the egg laying process. Astrid went back to the State Building after she was done with her drink at the hotel. At 4:00 both falcons were still in place. The wind had gotten stronger but it was warm out. Still, storms were threatening the region and were predicted to hit come evening. At 5:36 Astrid moved to the east veranda and from there, she went into the box. At 5:39 Ares was up on his pillar perch. He left a few minutes before 6:00 but then came right back to his pillar. By 7:24 PM Aries had left for his nightperch. Astrid seemed set for the night. Goodnight all.