Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023
The day began overcast and chilly with temperatures hovering around the freezing point. A winter storm packing wind, snow, and ice was poised to hit late in the day. Ares arrived at the nestbox at 4:27 AM – earlier than usual. He chirped a few times and then darted back into the darkness. One of the falcons showed up on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building at 6:30 AM. We don’t know if that was because of an intruder, or for hunting purposes. At 7:02 Astrid came to the box. Ares flew in with a gift for her an hour later. She took it to the hotel and made it her breakfast. After finishing she watched a pigeon walking around on the ledge only a dozen feet away from her. She didn’t try to chase after it. Indeed, falcons only go for flying prey. At 7:54, both Falcons converged at the nestbox and performed a ledge display. It was a short dance and Astrid left first for a change. She flew over to the State Building while Ares lingered at the box. At 8:49 AM, first Astrid, and then Ares came to the box once more, but she did not stay. It appeared to be only a check-in, similar to the “chick-checks” they do when they have young in the nest. Moments later, there was some excitement and Astrid blasted off in hot pursuit of an intruder in the east part of the canyon. We heard her give some alarm chirps which meant it was most likely a falcon. At 9:30 Ares was at the box; Astrid had returned from her police action and was on a steeple perch. Ten minutes later, she joined him at the box, but soon moved over to the east veranda. They mated there at 10:08.
At 1:00 PM it began to snow. It was only light flurries to begin with but it would become more significant as the day progressed. At 1:45. Astrid returned to the steeple. Ares called out from the box when he saw her fly through. She did not stay in place long and Ares departed fifteen minutes later. We thought maybe the falcons would be out of view for the rest of the day given the deteriorating weather, but Ares was back at the nestbox at 2:28. He would be in and out over the next couple of hours. We didn’t know if he was making hunting forays or if he was flying to mate with Astrid. She was out of camera view, but he seemed to know where she was and was calling out to her periodically. And then at 4:50, she zoomed by the box a couple of times. We don’t know if she was hazing the fifteenth-floor offices or if she was performing a flight display for Ares. Ares acted like it was a command performance and appreciated every second of it. Astrid then landed on the office perch and wiped her bill a few times. That’s an indication that she had recently fed on prey. At 4:56 the falcons mated on the office perch. Ares was back in the box a few minutes later. At 5:22 PM Astrid had flown from her perch and Ares left only a minute later. The snow was falling heavier by that point, and they decided to call it a night. Goodnight falcons.