Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, March 9th, 2023
Last night was another chilly one. The low temperature was in the mid 20s. The high for the day was only 34 °. It was mostly sunny and not quite as windy as it has been lately. Don’t get me wrong, it was still windy. Both Falcons came to the box at 3:15 AM. We might just call that an early start! Astrid didn’t stay but Ares did. She immediately flew over to the State Office Building. Both Falcons were on the State Building at 6:10. Ares was up on the roof on his lookout post. Most likely he was hunting from that high vantage point. Sure enough, at 6:38 he was seen plucking prey on the hotel. At 6:48 Ares brought his leftovers to the State Building and to the ledge next to where Astrid was perched. After a little while she flew over and took it from him. We think she ate it right there on the ledge. Ares came to the box at 7:20. He stayed there and had a nap. At 8:43 he was back to the box again and calling out like he saw Astrid in flight. A few minutes later she was on the steeple perch.
At 10:19 AM Ares came to the box with food. He then brought it to the State Building and to the ledge right next to Astrid’s ledge, just as he did earlier. However, this time she wasn’t interested enough to come over and get it. Perhaps she was full. Both Falcons stayed on the State Building for a while after that. At 11:44 Astrid finally decided she was hungry and took her gift. Ares went to the box and Astrid flew over to the hotel to eat her meal. Inside the box Ares did some work on his super scrape. He’ll soon be ready to pour the concrete for his pool. At 12:31 PM Astrid came to the crossperch. The pair then conducted a ledge display. It was more of a standoff than a dance, with lots of vocalizing and not much fancy footwork. Ares left at 12:40. Astrid stayed in the box for a while and did some housework. She made her own scrape on top of Ares super scrape. At 1:25 it was her turn to have a nap inside the box. At 2:52 Ares came back to the box while Astrid was still there and they had yet another dance. This one lasted for about 3 minutes. At 5:38 Ares may have given Astrid some another gift. She flew off the State Building heading towards the bank. At the same time, Ares came to the nest box and began wiping off his bill on the crossperch. That usually means that they did a food transfer. Astrid headed towards the northwest but she did not end up on the hotel. Only a few minutes later she came to the box and the pair partook of another quick dance. Ares was out after only a couple of minutes. She was out a few minutes after that. One of them was on the State Building briefly and then we assume they went to their night perches. Goodnight all.
Little Falls Falcon Update:
Anna and Erie are being seen everyday at their nest area on the Adirondack Bank in Little Falls. They have been seen mating, feeding, and visiting their nest ledge.
