Peregrine Breeding Log for March 31 – April 1, 2019:
Sunday, March 31st, began relatively mild. The rain started before daylight, wind strength increased, and temps dropped. Later in the morning it was down to 37 degrees and rain had turned to sleet and light flurries. Astrid was in and out of the box during the night. At 2:30 AM, she was on the State Building, keeping an eye on the nest from across the canyon. She came back to the box when Ares arrived with prey at 4:00. She took the food (which appeared to be most of a Woodcock) over to the hotel. Ares remained at the nest while she fed. She was finished at 4:25 and went back to her perch on the State Building. Ares joined her there at 5:50. Astrid came to the box ten minutes later. While covering the egg, she stretched over to bite at the lip of the box. At 6:15 Ares came over and the pair switched. Fifteen minutes later I heard what I thought was Ares’ mating chatter, but I couldn’t confirm it. Both falcons were on the State Building shortly after.
It was getting hard to see the falcons with our PTZ cams. Rain water on the camera cover was obscuring the images. At 6:45. Ares was back to the box and Astrid went to the hotel ledge for a drink in a freshly recharged puddle. At the nest, Ares pulled the egg into his scrape. He then gobbled up a few stones from the floor. Astrid went to a steeple perch after leaving the hotel. That’s where they mated at 6:54. Less than five minutes later, Ares was at the box with a food offering for his mate. She came over but didn’t take the food. He left with it and then quickly boomeranged back. He began eating it himself on the cross perch. Following his meal, he moved the egg out of the scrape (where he had placed it earlier). The falcons switched at 8:00 and then Astrid was on guard duty. Ares made a quick stop to check on her a few minutes later. There was some vocalizing and Astrid was out at 9:05. Possibly Ares brought more food. When we checked, he was perched on the steeple and she was not in view. Afterwards he came back to the box to take over watching the egg. At 9:35, they mated somewhere out of site. Following that they were both seen on perched on the State Building.
Astrid was on box duty at 10 AM. Ares brought food to her twenty minutes later. She took the food to the hotel to eat. He was very active. He went to the box first and then the steeple – and then back to the box. We believe he goes to the steeple since from there he can see the hotel and therefore he can keep track of Astrid. We noticed that there were a few long slinters of wood in the box now. Those are the result of Astrid biting at the lip of the nest box. She’s bitten the box in previous years, but we couldn’t recall seeing the splinters before. The next full switch took place at 12:08. Ares was on duty again. He was in and out of the box several times in the subsequent hour. Right before 1 PM, Astrid came to tend the egg. The next switch happened less than an hour later. Ares was at the box and Astrid moved to the State Building. By 2:20, Ares was on the State Building too. Right after that one or both falcons gave alarm calls. We have no idea what happened. Probably a raptor flying over the canyon triggered them. Astrid came to the box and seemed to have calmed down. As for Ares, he never left his perch on the State Building. The falcons switched out again at 2:50 and Astrid flew of to the State Building. There was an aborted mating attempt only a few minutes later. She was back to the box by 3:28 PM. The next switch occurred at 4:00 and then Ares was on guard duty. Astrid had prey on the hotel at 4:25. Did Ares get that for her? Less than five minutes later he brought still more food to the box but unsurprisingly, Astrid showed no interest. They were both up within a few minutes. At 4:30, Astrid was over on the hotel, perhaps trying to have a drink of water. She was back to the box in short order. The next switch happened just before 6 PM and it was Ares’ turn with the egg. However, soon he was out again. Astrid was to the nest at 6:30. She was very vocal and that drew Ares right over. He had more food. This time she took the prey and flew to the hotel. For a few minutes, while she ate, he stood a few feet away, apparently guarding her. Ares was the first back to the nest. She then spent some time on the State Building, digesting. When she returned to the nest, she immediately hopped over to the west veranda and requested mating. At 7:15, the pair did mate on the veranda. She came into the box about ten minutes later. Ares took a perch on the State Building, but wasn’t there for long and went off to his night perch. She was in place for the night.
We fully expect Astrid to lay an egg sometime in the early morning hours, if not before.
Goodnight Falcons and all
Monday, April 1st, was a backslide into winter. Temperatures in the high twenties, snow flurries and constant wind characterized the pre-dawn hours. The snow stopped after early morning and the sun was mostly unobstructed, but it was still cold and windy. Astrid stayed in the box all night and laid egg number two at 1:33 AM. Ares came to the box with prey at 5:30. It appeared to be a Woodcock and he was holding it awkwardly. I couldn’t tell if it were still alive or if the wind was catching it and making it move. Astrid wasn’t getting close enough to take it from him nor was he bringing it any closer to her. After a minute of confusion, they both took off into the dark canyon. She came right back to the box. His screech calls were heard a few times from somewhere in the canyon, but he didn’t try to bring the plump sandpiper back. He came back without it and got sent packing by Astrid. He came again; this time vocalizing with Astrid, but he was soon out again. At 6:35, he returned yet again, and this time Astrid let him stand next to the eggs for a little while before sending him out again. Of course, we finally got a chance to see the eggs as well. Astrid had been diligent about keeping them covered all night.
At 7:25 Deb saw Ares swoop down and catch a small bird. He took it to the hotel to eat and only brought a small piece back to Astrid. She took it over to the hotel, but once there didn’t seem to have it anymore. Perhaps she ate it while on route or dropped it. She went to the State Building after that. At 8 AM, while sitting on the eggs, Ares gave a cackle alarm call. He didn’t leave nor did Astrid leave her place on the State Building. He must have been warning off some passing raptor. Twenty minutes later they switched and Astrid was on the eggs again. It seems the falcons have begun full incubation. They are starting a little bit earlier than usual, but we trust they know what they’re doing. At 9:40, Ares began giving excited calls from his perch on the State Building. A minute later he was flying. He came to the box at 9:52 and asked to switch, but Astrid wouldn’t leave and sent him out.
At 11 AM, Astrid was calling from the box. Was it because she wanted Ares to take over or was it because she wanted food? It’s also possible that she saw a raptor or a raven. Eighteen minutes later, Ares was at the box and they switched. Ares was on the eggs and on his very own mega-scrape. That constitutes a good day for him, one would think. One might think that, but Ares was squeaking and focusing on what Astrid was doing in the canyon. She was flying around – possibly checking his pantry for stored food items. Whatever she was doing was very distracting to Ares. She flew over to the hotel and spent some time out of the wind on the sunny east facing ledge. At 11:40, she was up and flying around the canyon again. Ares was still on the eggs, but he was giving little chirp calls ashe watched her antics on the wind. At noon, she was back to the nest and the pair switched on the eggs. At 12:22, Astrid started vocalizing. She apparently saw an intruder. On the PTZ cam, I saw a falcon flying over the State Building and then make a large loop at high speed. It was probably Ares, but we couldn’t be sure. She jumped off the eggs and flew into the canyon. It looked like she was about to play enforcer. At 12:28, Ares returned to the box and climbed onto the eggs. They were only left uncovered for one minute. Astrid returned and took a perch on the State Building. We were never able to confirm the presence of an intruder.
At 1:40, Astrid left the State Building and then Ares came off the eggs and dove out of the box. A falcon (presumably one of ours) was seen flying high above the State Building. Astrid came back to the box and got on top of the eggs again. They were only uncovered for five minutes. Ares brought prey to the box at 2:10. Astrid took it over to the hotel. He was taking a shift on the eggs but then, five minutes later he began vocalizing and he continued for several minutes. There was likely an intruder in the canyon, but we couldn’t find it with our cameras, nor could we locate Ares. However, we could still hear his calls. Meanwhile, Astrid continued with her meal on the hotel and seemed unperturbed by whatever was or wasn’t happening. At 2:25, Astrid was up from the hotel and landed on the State Building. At 2:32, Ares returned to the box and got back on the eggs. Astrid came to the State Building five minutes later. The eggs were left uncovered for about 15 minutes. The sun was flooding into the box in the mid-afternoon and Ares got the brunt of it. Not that it was uncomfortable. It was a chilly day after all. She stopped at the hotel for a drink and possibly a bath. When the camera found her, it looked like she had been wading in the puddle. Shortly after, they switched at the box and she took over incubation. He was on the State Building for a while and then made his own stop at the hotel. At 6 PM he was on a window ledge west of the nest, diligently plucking prey. We thought he would bring the food to Astrid, but he didn’t. He probably stored it in the pantry. At 6:15 they switched without a food exchange. Ares stayed on the eggs until 7:30. Astrid arrived at the box a minute after Ares’ departure. She immediately hunkered down on the eggs. And another exciting day in the life of the Utica Peregrines came to a close.