Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for June 7, 2018 –
Astrid spent part of the overnight period on a window ledge just east of the nest box and Ares was on the State Building until quite late last night. Of course, neither stayed in place for long. Ares visited the box at around 3:40 AM. He didn’t bring food at that time, but was only doing a check. Astrid came to the long perch a little while later. The first feeding took place at 7:00. Ares brought prey over and, after a dramatic exchange at the box, Astrid did the feeding. Petra was the first in line to be fed. While Astrid was feeding him, Angel went behind her and nipped her tail. He then got in line to have some grub. Milo finally pushed his way between his brothers and got some service. He actually stole part of the meal from Astrid and went to the corner to work on it. Astrid reverted to feeding only Petra after that. At 8:37, Ares brought in some unusual prey; it was a Common Gallinule (a first for Ares). As usual, Astrid grabbed it in a frenzy and then began feeding the nestlings. She went to Petra first, but he wasn’t interested. Angel then came over and started taking food as fast as Astrid could tear it off. A few minutes later, Milo joined in. Together they made short work out of what had been a fairly big meal.
At 10:40, Ares was seen plucking a Pigeon on the ledge at Hotel Utica. A couple of minutes later, he was flying back through the canyon. Astrid met him on a window ledge just west of the nest box. That’s where they made the food exchange. Astrid brought it to the box and conducted the feeding. While she was doing some food prep, Milo had the urge to bite her tail. Angel was getting fed first this time, but Petra soon worked his way in. Milo wasn’t far behind. This meal lasted for almost 20 minutes, after which Astrid took away the leftovers and stored them. Ares took a perch on the steeple following the food drop and he remained there for quite a while. He was showing a nice large crop. Obviously the whole family was very well fed this morning. Astrid ended up on the window ledge east of the nest box again. She really likes that spot. By 12:30 PM, both parents were gone. At 12:49 they showed up again on the State Building on adjoining ledges. Angel screeched when they came back into view.
At 1:42, Ares did a quick chick-check, After that he spent some time on the east veranda. At 4:23, he was back to the box with prey. Then with tacit approval, he conducted an entire feeding of the chicks all on his own. His mate watching from the State Building but not interfering. Angel and Petra were getting most of the attention in the beginning, but Milo eventually joined in. The feeding went off without a hitch right until the last bite was given out. Well done, Ares! He did some nice soaring around the canyon following his feeding session. Weather conditions were perfect for Peregrines: windy, sunny, and cool. The parents took extended leaves a few times during the course of the day. For all we knew, they were soaring high above the canyon. Our cameras don’t tilt that high! At 6:53, it seemed like we were going to get a repeat performance. Ares came to the box with prey and seemed intent on doing another feeding. It was a cuckoo. He started feeding one of the chicks while perching on the lip of the box. He had just barely started, when suddenly; he pulled the meal back and flew out with it. Now even Ares doesn’t want to feed the nestlings cuckoos! What’s this world coming to? I guess he did have Astrid leering at him from afar.
As the evening progressed, Astrid went into hunting mode. The youngsters were watching her dart out after prey again and again. Each time she’d fly through, they would squeal and screech. It was quite a show. Ares had retired to the State Building by that point. By 8:30 PM, it looked like there wasn’t going to be another feeding. She finally returned to the steeple from the hotel, and all the chicks squealed their heads off. With that, another eventful day in the canyon came to a close.
