Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, June 10th, 2023
It was cool again overnight. It was also foggy, so foggy that we could not see the state office building with our PTZ cameras. The day was partly cloudy with a high temperature of 73 degrees. It was quite breezy. Astrid spent the night close to the nestbox on the east veranda. There were no overnight feedings At 7:19 we heard Ares screech by the box. That got the nestlings up and vocalizing. Five minutes later Astrid was up. Ares had landed on top of a pillar to the west of the nest box. When Astrid came to the crossperch at 5:39 the nestlings went completely bonkers. They were obviously quite hungry. She left a few minutes later and then Ares came for a chick check. When Astrid came to the crossperch Ares flew out. Astrid then hopped into the box and rummaged around for lost food. When she found something, she began feeding it out to Niles. Amelia came over and tried to get some, but the meal didn’t last and Astrid headed out onto the crossperch. We speculated on how well Ares’ pantry was being stocked this year. Without visually inspecting it we couldn’t know for sure but we suspect that it was not overflowing. At 6:20 we heard Ares screech from someplace close. Astrid came to the crossperch briefly and then flew over to the steeple. At 6:32 Astrid came to the nest with food. Niles grabbed it and took it to the corner. Astrid then had a tugging match with Amelia. Astrid prevailed and she proceeded to do a feeding. Both nestlings fed ravenously. At 6:39 Ares was up on the lookout post. It was still very foggy in the canyon. At 6:49 Niles was working on some food scraps in the corner of the box. Both of them did some wing flapping. At 7:07 Ares brought prey to the crossperch. Astrid took it and did a feeding. Niles was first in line to be fed but Amelia did get some. At 8:40 Astrid did a quick stop at the box. Ares had screeched by moments before and she may have thought that he had brought food to the box. He hadn’t. At 9:24 both nestlings were squealing. They were likely reacting to something they saw a parent doing. At 9:37 we noticed that Ares was on the bank roof perched on a light pole near PTZ two. Astrid was up on the roof of the nestbox. She was eyeing the office window. It’s Saturday, Astrid, Nobody is going to be in there. At 11:10 Astrid left her perch on the steeple and darted over towards the hotel. Ares had been on the State Building, but he followed after her. Astrid banked and headed south – flying relatively low. We think she was trying to stir up the local Pigeons. After that the pair circled high over the canyon – Ares circling above Astrid; both drifting eastward. Five minutes later Astrid dove back and landed on the State Building. At 11:49 she flew over to the crossperch and got the nestlings screaming.
At 12:03 PM Ares did a dramatic dive after some unseen prey. He soon came back with nothing in his talons and landed on the steeple. Astrid circled the Adirondack Bank building, once again, trying to up some Pigeons. A minute later she went to a window ledge on the State Building, picked up some stored prey and brought it to the nestbox. A feeding session followed. Ten minutes later the meal was done and Astrid was out. At 12:59 Ares visted the nest for a quick chick check. The nestlings squealed and then did some wing flapping. A few minutes later they seemed to be feeding on something in the back corner of the box. At 1:21 Ares brought a Starling to the nest. Astrid took it and started a feeding. Niles was first up to be fed. At 3:40 Ares brought food to the box. This time Amelia was the one that grabbed it away and took it to the corner. At 3:50 Ares was back to check on the nestlings. They responded by squealing in his face. They both took turns flapping their wings after he left. Ten minutes later Niles was trying to feed on the stolen meal in corner of the box. Five minutes later Amelia was the one working on the scraps in the corner and Niles was laying down with his bill resting on the lip of the box. He was looking out into the canyon. At 5:50 Astrid came to the box. She obviously knew there was food in one of the corners and was trying to get to it but was being blocked by the nestlings. She finally grabbed it and immediately lost it to Niles. She then found another scrap on the floor and started feeding that to Amelia. That didn’t last long, and she started to leave. Niles had moved away from his stolen food and Astrid Took the opportunity to hop over and grab it. She then started to feed Niles. She left at 5:55. Amelia didn’t get any of that meal. At 6:01 Amelia backed up to and then stepped up on the lip of the box to defecate. We’ve seen nestlings do this before over the years and it always makes us nervous. At 6:24 Astrid arrived at the box with food – we think a Pigeon. She then proceeded with a feeding. Amelia was at the front of the line this time. The feeding went on for eighteen minutes. Both nestlings certainly had their fill. Ares arrived on the east veranda during that meal. He had prey in his talons, but realized it wasn’t needed and flew off presumably to store it. At 7:08 the nestlings were sacked out on the floor of the nest. The parents were out of our view for a while. At 7:48 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the food and started a feeding. Amelia was first up this time. The meal was over at 7:54. Astrid left the nest and nestling became restless. Amelia did some serious wing flapping. At 8:12 Astrid was on a light pole on the roof of the bank building – an uncommon place for her to perch. She moved to the east veranda at 8:40 PM. Ares was on the State Building and the nestlings were sacked out in the box. The action was likely over for the night. Goodnight all.