Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, May 19th, 2023
It was chilly overnight but not as cold as the night before. Temperatures were in the mid 40s. It was also quite windy and it remained that way for much of the day. The daytime high in the afternoon was around 70 degrees. Astrid was on the nest through the night. At 11 54 PM Ares brought food to the nest. He thoughtfully hopped into the box with it. Astrid took it and did a feeding. At 1:45 AM Ares was back with more prey. This time Astrid had to take it on the crossperch (he was not so thoughtful that time!) She then did a feeding. Ares returned at 3:08 with what appeared to be a Gray Catbird. This time Astrid wasn’t interested in coming out for it, at least right away. Ares remained for a while on the long perch with the prey dangling. Astrid finally decided to come out and take it. As she got up the nestlings began squealing. She took the prey from Ares on the crossperch and then proceeded to do a feeding. At 5:17 another meal came in via Ares. He hopped into the box with it and handed it off to Astrid who then went on to dole it out to the chicks. At 5:30 we noticed that Ares had gone up to his old favorite pillar perch on the southeast part of the building. Astrid left the box at 6:20 but then was back before a minute was up. The wind was blowing up a storm of feathers inside the box. They were swirling inside and sometimes outside of the box. At 8:22 Ares brought prey to the long perch. Astrid scrambled across the crossperch to take it. She then did a feeding. Ten minutes later the feeding was over and she resumed brooding. At 9:16 Astrid hopped out onto the crossperch. She flew off a minute later. Ares then screeched to the long perch. At first, we thought he had food but he did not. After a couple of minutes, he hopped into the box and perched in front of the nestlings. At 9:20 Astrid returned to the box and Ares left. At 10:03 Astrid got up and went back to the crossperch. About 15 minutes later she was brooding again. At 11:00 Astrid was staring at the new camera. She seemed to be getting super sensitive about noises inside the adjacent offices – as well as the sight of people in office windows. Every year she gets this way, and we expect it.
At 11:04 AM Astrid started cackling. We don’t know what brought that on, but it was probably a non-falcon raptor flying through the canyon. It was most likely close judging by the intensity of her vocalizations. When Ares brought food to the box a minute later Astrid gave very loud screeching calls. She scrambled out to take the food and then began a feeding. Both nestlings ate well during the meal. At one point the smaller one stole a bite from the larger one. At 11:08 Astrid gave some more cackle calls. Again, we are not sure why or what brought that on. At 11:27 she was brooding but then she was up again. She went over to a relatively low ledge on the State Building but then came back five minutes later. At around noon she had left the box once more. She was back less than a minute later. She immediately hopped on top of the roof of the nest box, something we have not seen her do in quite some time. That is usually brought on by office sounds and activities. She didn’t stay long but swooped by the 15th floor a couple of times in what could only be described as hazing runs. At 12:02 PM she was back to the crossperch but it was clear that she was highly distracted by things going on in the building. Several minutes later Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid barged over and took it. She first flew off into the canyon before boomeranging back and hopped into the box. She then proceeded to do a feeding. Before really getting into it, she abruptly halted the meal and flew out of the box with the food. This was another sign of her irritation. She came right back and gave it another try. At 12:12 we noticed that Ares was on the State Building – being quire calm, as usual. Astrid left the box at 12:13 taking the leftovers with her. She returned without them a couple of minutes later, at 12:16 Astrid was back at the nest. She stood on the crossperch for a while before hopping into the box and resuming brooding. At 1:02 PM Ares came to the nest with prey. Astrid accepted it and began a feeding but soon it was very clear that chicks weren’t hungry. She took the meal out and presumably put it in the pantry. Ares came over in the interim and babysat. Astrid returned at 1:12 and Ares was out. One was then and then the other was out – they were alternating so much it was getting confusing.
At 2:58 PM the nestlings were alone in the box and both were vocalizing. Ares came in a few minutes later and then he was vocalizing too. Not to be left out, Astrid came into the box and then everyone was talking. Ares stayed for about 5 minutes – the whole family together. At 3:18 Astrid went out onto the crossperch and both chicks began squealing. Ares screeched to the box with prey at 3:41. Astrid took it and started a feeding. It was over by 3:54 and Astrid was out. She was back on the cross perch at 4:23, and soon after came into the box. At 5:07 Ares brought a Blue Jay to the long perch. Astrid took it from the cross perch. She grabbed it with her bill and then transferred it to her foot. She then flew away into the Canyon with it. She had it on the hotel for a few minutes and then she came back to the box. It looked like she was going to start a feeding but then, perhaps because the chicks didn’t seem interested, she turned around and left. Ares was on the long perch that whole time just watching the scene. A minute later Astrid was on the steeple. She must have stored the food in Ares’ pantry. At 5:15 Ares was up and Astrid was at the box. A little later we noticed that Ares was on the State Building. The skies had clouded up, but the temperature was up to 75 degrees. At 6:48 PM Astrid returned to the box after being out for a while. She went right up to the box’s roof. That meant she was irritated by something going on in the nearby offices. It’s unlikely there was anything going on since it was past office closing time, but just try to tell Astrid that. A couple of minutes later she was over it and back to brooding. At around 8:00 PM Astrid came into the nest with food. She spent the next several minutes conducting a feeding. It appeared to be the last meal of the day. Ares was on the State Building and remained there quite late – as late as 9:50 as I’m writing this. Goodnight falcons.