The First Cuckoo of the Season & Brooding Boisterous Chicks on a Cold, Rainy Day

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 19, 2018 –

It wasn’t too chilly overnight, but it got colder later in the morning when the rain came. Astrid spent the night on the nest. There were three overnight feedings which occurred at 12:54, 1:44 and 2:00 AM. Ares brought the meals each time and Astrid conducted the feedings. Astrid left the nest just after 5:00, but then came back when Ares made a food delivery. She took the prey from him and did the feeding. Ares brought more food at 5:47. That time he jumped into the box with it and did a safe handoff to Astrid.  She took it and began to feed, but the young were stuffed already and showed little inclination to lift up their heads. She took the prey out and stored it instead. She came right back to the nest afterwards and remained there for some time – all the while brooding and guarding. As the rain started, Ares kept a low profile. He was located on the west face of the State Building – and so not in view of our cameras.  He finally came to the box at 10:00, but Astrid didn’t want to switch and so he flew off again. He later ended up on a ledge located west of the nest box. Astrid flew out of the nest at 10:54 and Ares walk/hopped over to the nest via the west veranda. He only had time to check out the chicks before Astrid returned. In a moment he was out again.

Astrid left the nest box at 11:20, and Ares came in to guard the nestlings. Astrid was seen flying around the State Building – we think she was checking the pantry. Evidently she found something and she was right back to the box with prey. Ares moved out of the way as she barreled in. The meal lasted about six minutes and, just when Astrid and the chicks were settling down, Ares came in with more food. Astrid grabbed it and did another feeding right on the heels of the last one. Following the meal she began brooding the chicks. It was windy, rainy and relatively cold – in other words, it was not a good falcon day. It was excellent that they had so many meals early on, since hunting would be difficult in these conditions. Astrid left the nest at 1:25. She landed on the north face of the State Building. We weren’t sure where Ares was at that time. At 1:44, Ares came to the box and then Astrid piled in right after him. She had a Black-billed Cuckoo in her talons – the first one of the season. Presumably Ares caught the cuckoo and passed it off to Astrid in the canyon somewhere. Astrid proceeded to do the feeding. At 1:56, she took the leftovers out and came right back to brood. By 3 PM, Ares hadn’t been seen for a while, but was heard calling at about 3:20. Fifteen minutes later Astrid was out and he was in the box guarding the chicks. At 3:38, Astrid flew in with food and started feeding her small assemblage of snowmen. We really noticed a difference in the behavior of the nestlings during this feeding. There was lots of vying, shoving, and grabbing. Ares monitored the chicks’ feeding from the perch, but after a few minutes he dove off into the canyon. After the meal Astrid left the box and Ares came back on nest duty. He was very wet around the head and neck and it almost looked like it was a different falcon brooding on the nest – one with a fancy white-streaked head. It was quite the look!

At 4:19, Astrid came back to the box with food. Apparently she had gotten the food from the hotel ledge. It was a portion of a Woodcock carcass that Astrid had abandoned there at least a week before. Today, with young begging and with hunting difficult, she deemed it appropriate to use. She took a chunk of it and fed it to the young. After that she did a long brooding stunt. Ares was out of view for quite a while in the early evening.  Astrid seemed to be waiting for him to come back into the canyon. At 6:09, she left the box and spent some time over at the State Building. She returned to the box and to brooding at 6:46. He showed up at the box at 7 PM. They were both there together for a minute and then she was out. He looked like he had his head feather blown dry since his last visit. The chicks were all activated and looking hungry. They pecked at their father’s bill while he straddled the egg. This was too much for him and he went out onto the cross-perch. Meanwhile Astrid was on the ledge at Hotel Utica. She had a big hunk of something – Pigeon or Mourning Dove, and hopefully not the old Woodcock. She brought it right over to the nest box and the feeding began. Ares departed as soon as she came in. She finished the feeding at about 7:15 – she left and Ares came back. He immediately started brooding the chicks; a much easier task now that their bellies are full. Astrid spent some time on the State Building and then returned to relieve Ares at 7:37 PM.