Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 24, 2018 –
Tuesday began with mostly clear skies. Temperatures quickly rose and reached past 60 degrees by noon. Later in the afternoon it was in the low seventies and after that the clouds rolled in.
Astrid came onto the eggs at about 7:45 last night. She remained on the nest all night. Ares was visible on the State Building on and off from at least 3:44 AM, until he came to the box at 5:24. Astrid called for him to relieve her just prior to his arrival. He didn’t quite come right away, but got there in his own time. After she left the box, we saw her fly back and forth in front of the west face of the State Building. She ultimately landed on a high ledge on that same side. We couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like she was feeding on something, which would indicate that she found one of Ares’ food stashes. The falcons switched again at 6:53, and then Astrid was back incubating. Upon leaving the nest box Ares was on and off the State Building a few times; he was probably hunting. He came back to the nest at 9:23 AM, and the pair switched. Astrid initially went over to the State Building, but soon was out of view of our cameras.
At 11:22, Ares became distracted. He began chirping and he got off the eggs. We couldn’t tell for sure if there was another Peregrine chirping in the canyon, but it was possible. Astrid was nowhere to be seen. Ares flew over to the State Building and perched, but didn’t stay long. He zoomed off toward the north, came back and disappeared behind the State Building. Before five minutes had elapsed, Ares had returned to the nest and was back on the eggs. We speculated that he saw or heard something that brought him out of the box, but what? It could be that Astrid was dealing with an intruder, but we couldn’t confirm that. Astrid finally flew back into view at 11:45. Ares became highly excited and began vocalizing when he saw her, but he didn’t leave his post. She took a perch on the steeple. Evidently she was not eager to resume incubating and Ares seemed content to remain in the box.
At 1:39, Deb noticed that two people were on the roof of the State Building. The falcons often consider people on the roof of that building to be a threat. Astrid left her perch and then Ares gave some alarm calls. Soon he off the eggs and out of the box. He initially flew towards the State Building and then went to the County Building. Astrid flew over to the box and covered the eggs. In a few minutes, the people on the roof were gone. By 2:22, the sun was pouring into the box and Astrid switched from incubating the eggs to shading them. Fifteen minutes later, Ares was on the steeple. Something he saw (possibly a passing raptor) caused him to give an alarm call, but neither falcon left their posts. He was in the air about ten minutes later, but didn’t seem to be in pursuit mode. Following that, Ares was out of view for quite a while. He finally returned to the nest box at five o’clock sharp. She had handled the hottest time in the box, and now Ares was there to take over – just in time for overcast skies. He knows what he’s doing! Ares’ crop was very large and it made his throat resemble a fluffy white neckerchief – a style he seems to be able to get away with. Here we thought that maybe he had been struggling with an intruder when in actuality he was off having a five course meal somewhere.
After leaving the box, Astrid was on the State Building for a while, but then she took to the air and did some circling above the canyon just west of the State Building. There were two helicopters in the airspace further over to the west, but she didn’t seem to be bothered by them. At 5:38, she put down on a steeple perch, but she wasn’t there for very long. Ten minutes later she was flying around the State Building again. She was flying quite close to the building’s west side and we believe she stopped to nab one of Ares’ stored dinners. She took it and began to process it on a ledge on the north face of the State Building. She almost dropped it at one point and the decided to take it over to one of the Hotel’s large ledges to finish it. That was when we finally got a good look at the prey. It was a Northern Flicker. Astrid ate pretty much the entire thing and she looked like it when she was done. Her white chest/throat was bulging out nicely, and while Ares’ crop made him look like he had a neckerchief on, Astrid’s crop made her look like she had fluffy white cowl on. It was very regal. What wasn’t regal was the way she acted when she finished her meal. She did her crazy loping gate half way across the Hotel ledge and then leaned down forward onto her chest as if she was making a scrape. What she seemed to be doing was wiping her bill. By 6:34, she had come back to the State Building. She stayed for about a half hour and then flew to the steeple. At 7:22, she swooped up to the box and the pair switched. She settled on the eggs and Ares went over to the State Building. He was out of camera view soon after that. And there ends another day in falcon town.
