The situation at the Utica nest has become increasingly unclear. Over the past several days, Serena’s appearances at the nest site have grown more sporadic. While she did share a ledge display with Ares on March 21st, and accepted a food offering from him that day, her presence in the visible areas of the canyon has noticeably decreased. In contrast, Ares seems eager to get the breeding season underway. He has made many visits to the nestbox – often bringing food gifts; he brought prey to the box five times on Saturday and waited there each time for Serena to come and take them – she never did. He’s also been seen waiting patiently on the lookout perch atop the State Building and on one of his favorite window ledges on the building’s north face. Despite his efforts, he appears to be alone.
If Serena has indeed moved on, it’s puzzling that no other female has stepped in to claim the opportunity — not even Nova or the unbanded yearling, both of whom made appearances in recent weeks. We’ve wondered if Serena might have shifted her focus to another nest site within the territory or to one in an adjacent territory, unknown to us. While there’s no indication that anything has happened to her, we can’t rule anything out either. As of today, March 23rd, we enter what would have been the start of Astrid’s egg-laying window. Whether this year’s story will echo active seasons past or take an entirely different turn remains to be seen.