Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, April 19th, 2023
The overnight was cold with intermittent mixed precipitation. The low was 35 degrees and the high for the day was only 41 degrees, although it felt colder due to a persistent wind. Rain and snow fell periodically through the day. Astrid was on the eggs all night long. Ares first showed up on the State Office Building just before 6:00 AM. The falcons did a quick switch at 6:06 and Ares took over incubation. The next changing of the guard was also quick and took place at 7:44. Astrid then took over on the clutch. At 9:21 Ares was seen flying high over the southwest part of the canyon. Likely he was hunting. Astrid called out when he returned and landed on the State Building. At 12:04 PM Astrid vocalized again when Ares was floating around the west face of the State Building. At one point he darted off towards the east at high speed. At 12:23, another quick switch occurred and Ares had a turn on the eggs. At 1:55 Astrid was back and another switch was at hand. Astrid quickly settled down on the eggs as Ares floated off on the gusty wind. At 5:07 Astrid was still on the eggs and Ares was nowhere in sight. We wondered if he was going to get one more shift in before nighttime. As it happened, we didn’t see Ares for the rest of the day. That meant that Astrid was going to have a marathon sit on the eggs – lasting the balance of the afternoon, and all night. Indeed, she couldn’t be too happy about that. Goodnight all.