Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, May 24th, 2023
It was warm overnight with low temperatures in the high 50s. It was mild during the first half of the day, becoming overcast later on with high temperatures around 70 degrees. By midafternoon, rain was falling, and the temperature dropped into the 50’s. Astrid spent very little time inside the nest last night. Initially she was on the long perch but left at 11:45 in the evening. One of the falcons was on the State Building after that. We think it was Astrid. At 1:23 AM Ares screeched to the nest. He had prey in his talons. The nestlings started squealing in anticipation of a meal. Still, Ares stayed on the long perch waiting for Astrid to show up. At 1:27, he decided he had waited long enough and hopped into the box to do the feeding himself. We think he was managing it although it was hard to see precisely what was happening due to the darkness inside the nest. He kept looking up, presumably expecting Astrid to swoop in and take over. He left the nest with the food at 1:34 and Astrid showed up on the long perch ten minutes later. At 2:26 Ares brought food to the far edge of the west veranda perch. Astrid came over and got it. Initially she flew away but then came right back, hopped into the box, and did a feeding. After the feeding Astrid stayed and brooded the chicks for a little while. At 3:17 Ares brought what looked like a grackle to the edge of the west veranda. Astrid took it from him and, once again, did a feeding. Following the meal Astrid remained in the nest to brood and Ares remained on the west veranda. Astrid then moved onto the east veranda. And the pair were in their nest guarding positions. At 7:00 Ares brought more food to the long perch. Astrid took it on the crossperch. She initially flew off but then came back and entered the box. It was only a small hunk of food but she proceeded to feed it out to the nestlings. At 7:20 Astrid was up on the roof of their nest box, likely anticipating people arriving in the adjacent office. At 7:30 one of the nestlings was giving a cackle alarm call. We’ve heard this a couple of times in recent days. The chicks are beginning to learn some of their parents’ vocalizations. At 7:53 we saw that Astrid had become irritated at people in office close to the nestbox and was hazing the 15th floor of the bank building. She didn’t keep it up for long. Ares screeched to the crossperch at 8:14. He did not have food. Meanwhile Astrid was keeping a sharp eye on the office windows from the est veranda and then from her vantage on the top of the nestbox. At 8:38 the adults were still in guarding positions around the nest. Ares then jumped into the nest box followed by Astrid. We initially thought there was a feeding going on but it wasn’t the case. It was just a chick check.
At 9:52 AM Ares brought a Yellow-billed Cuckoo to the east veranda. Astrid scrambled over to take it and then went into the box to do a feeding. It was a lively mealtime with both nestlings feeding voraciously. It was at this time that we noticed how full the nestlings’ crops looked. In fact, the chicks were toppling over. It’s hard to believe that such awkward, lumpy little packages of cotton wading can somehow transform into sleek and beautiful Peregrine Falcons. During the next hour the parents spent some time on the State Building, steeple, and crossperch. Astrid left when the meal was done at 10:09. A minute later the nestlings were giving alarm calls. It was more practice. For the next hour or so the parents were back and forth between their usual perches. At 10:58 Ares brought more prey to the long perch. Astrid grabbed it and started a feeding. After the meal she did some brooding but not for long. At 12:16 PM Ares was inside the box and Astrid was out on the crossperch. It looked to us like she was asking to mate! She was bowing and looking directly at him. He did a cowabunga dive out of the nest. He did not boomerang back to mate, and she was not acting receptive anyhow. Was that just a ploy to get him to leave the nest and go do some hunting? She then hopped onto the roof of the nestbox and started glaring at the office window. At 12:35 both parents were back at the nest. Once again it looked like Astrid was asking to mate on the crossperch. She did the bowing posture only for a minute and then she hopped into the box. Both of them were in there looking at the nestlings which were huddled in the back corner. Once again, the nestlings were spending most of the day huddled in the back corner. At 2:40 Astrid was in the box with the nestlings. By then it was raining, and the temperature had dropped into the low 50s. Still, Astrid was not brooding, and she did not spend much time in the box. At 4:19 Ares was on the State Building and Astrid was on the steeple. Fifteen minutes later she was at the box and Ares was up on his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. She hopped back up onto the roof of the nestbox at 4:56. At 5:47 Ares brought prey to the east veranda. Astrid accepted it and did a feeding. The feeding only lasted about five minutes. When it was over and Astrid was out, one of the nestlings walked up to the box lip before turning around and going right back to his corner. Ares came to the box and the same nestling approached him before turning around and returning to the corner. What is it about that corner? At 6:27 Astrid was on the steeple perch. The wind had picked up and was blowing her breast feathers askew. It was a very dramatic look and might be appropriate for the cover of a romance novel. A minute later she darted after something. Ares came to the nest to check on the nestlings at 6:58. Astrid arrived on the crossperch moments later but didn’t remain and zoomed back into the canyon. At 7:33 PM Astrid came to the box with prey. We don’t know if she got it from Ares or drew it from the pantry. She proceeded to do what would likely be the last feeding of the day. Goodnight all.