Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, May 22nd, 2023
The temperature was in the mid 40s overnight which was cool. It warmed up quickly after daybreak and by midday it was 70 degrees. The high for the day was in the mid 70’s. Astrid was on the nest brooding all night long. Ares brought a small prey item to the nest at 2:25 AM. He hopped into the box with it and handed it off to Astrid. She handled the feeding. At 3:51 Ares was back to the nest with something much larger, although we couldn’t see it clearly enough to identify it. Astrid took it on the crossperch and then brought it into the box for processing. After the plucking was over, she began a feeding. At 5:00 she moved onto the crossperch. Five minutes later she was back inside and brooding. Astrid left the box at 5:31 but then came directly back. We noticed that Ares was up on his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Most probably he was using it to spot prey. At 7:46 Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid took it on the crossperch and commenced a feeding. At 8:56 Astrid and Ares came to the nest at the same time as if they both had had the same idea. As it happened, Ares did not stay long. Astrid was out by 9:10. At 9:50 she was on the east veranda, and she was vocalizing. Ares was perched on the State Building at that time. A few minutes later the nestlings were getting restless and doing a lot of begging. Astrid came in and resumed brooding. At 10:12 it looked like she was doing a feeding, but we think she was just picking at scraps in the box. She was out to the crossperch at 10:23. Ten minutes later she was on the east veranda. By 10:30 Astrid was becoming irritated by activity inside offices adjacent to the nest. She hopped up onto the roof of the nestbox and gave a major mother falcon evil look at the windows. At 10:39 Astrid left the box area and then returned with food. She proceeded to do a feeding. We noticed how polite the two nestlings were at mealtimes. For the most part they wait their turns and seem to be on their best behavior. That probably won’t last! At 10:51 feeding time was over and Astrid flew out. At 11:02 Ares screeched to a landing on the long perch. A few minutes later his long calls transformed into manic cackling. He abruptly dove after something. Most likely he was chasing after a non-falcon raptor or Turkey Vulture that had the audacity to fly too close to the nest area. Five minutes later Astrid was on the east veranda and doing some vocalizations of her own, but she didn’t appear to be overly upset. Ares screeched back to the long perch at 11:15. He gave a few long calls while he perched. Both were guarding the nest box – Ares from the long perch and Astrid from the east veranda. At 11:55 Astrid went back up on the nest box roof and Ares left the long perch. It was clear that Astrid was peering at the office windows again. What is also clear is that she knew it was Monday and that there were liable to be people working in adjacent offices. She was primed to be irritated. At 11:56 Ares was on a steeple perch but was only there for a minute.
At 12:42 PM Ares was back on the steeple but on a different perch this time. Ten minutes later he visited the nestbox for a chick check. The larger nestling stretched her wing at one point, and very nearly flapped her wings, which would have constituted a first for these nestlings. At 1:44 both adults converged at the nest box. The chicks looked squarely at Ares, expecting him to produce something fabulous. He couldn’t manage it and left. Five minutes later he brought an oriole to the east veranda (a reasonably fabulous gift). Astrid took it and handled the feeding. During the feeding, once again, the nestlings show the great sense of decorum. It was almost as if they knew they were being filmed! Astrid left the box at 1:57. She went to the State Building and Ares was on the steeple. They were both up and out of view a few minutes later. At 2:27 Astrid was on the roof of the nest box, monitoring the activity in the office behind the window. After 3:00 PM the nestlings were getting restless again and doing a lot of vocalizing – mostly high-pitched, quavering whines. Astrid came back in to brood at 3:11. Thirty minutes later she was out on the crossperch. At 3:49 Ares screeched to the nest area with prey. Astrid took it from him and did a feeding. The prey appeared to be a goldfinch. At 4:13 Ares was on the crossperch and looking out into the canyon. It looked like he was calling but our sound wasn’t working at the time so we couldn’t be sure of that. He hopped into the nest but only stayed for a second and then was gone. For a short time, the female nestling was standing in the back corner of the box as if she had done something wrong and was being punished. Astrid came to the crossperch at 4:42. At 6:00 the nestlings were begging quite loudly. Astrid came in to brood brood them and they quieted down. A minute later Ares showed up on the east veranda with prey. Astrid came out to take it. She flew off with it, boomeranged back, hopped into the box, and started a feeding. Twelve minutes later the meal was over and she flew over to the steeple. At 6:37 Ares came to the box and sat on the box lip for a while. The nestlings were sacked out and still in the back corner. Ares came to the east veranda at 7:15 and Astrid came to the crossperch at the same time. We think she thought he had prey. He left and then she flew. Both were on the north face of the State Building for quite a while. Astrid came to the crossperch at 8:13 PM. She will probably some inside to brood sometime after dusk. Goodnight falcons.