Peregrine Breeding Log for April 22 – April 23, 2019:
Monday, April 22nd started out overcast with misty rain. Temps were in the 40’s but rose into the 50’s by midday and the skies cleared. Astrid spent the night on the nest/eggs. At 5:30 she began making her low squeaking calls (AKA donkey calls). Obviously, she was anxious to be relieved. Deb was the first to spot Ares this morning at 5:41. He was on the lookout post on the top of the State Building. It was the first time we’d seen one of the falcons up there since the men working on the building began installing equipment on the roof. Ares finally came to relieve his mate at 6 AM. Astrid then flew around the State Building for quite a while. She made a few brief stops on west face ledges. We think she was looking for stored food in Ares’ pantry ledges. As workers power wash that side of the building, his storage places are emptied. Despite that, she must have found something since at 6:20 she was feeding on what appeared to be leftovers on the hotel ledge. Ten minutes later she had come back to the State Building. They switched at the nest at 7:30 and then Astrid was back on the eggs.
At 8:43, Ares was on the hotel feeding. A minute later he brought the food to Astrid at the box. She left with it and he took over incubation. When Astrid was next seen on the State Building, she didn’t have anything, which means she either stored the food or dropped it. At 8:50, she dashed from her perch as if she was chasing after something, but then she circled back and landed on the steeple. The falcons switched again at 9:30. Ares went to the State Building as Astrid settled on the eggs. The next changing of the guard took place at 10:44. It turned out to be a short stay for him, as Astrid returned less than twenty minutes later and wanted back on the eggs. She loomed over him for a few minutes before he decided to yield to her. At 12:38, Ares left his perch on the State Building and within a minute he was feeding on the hotel ledge. There wasn’t much of it and so it was probably leftovers. Five minutes later he was finished and flying again, but then he was right back on an adjacent ledge with different food (more leftovers?) At just after 1 PM, Ares seemed to be making hunting forays from a high perch on the State Building.
The falcons switched at 1:36 and then it was Astrid’s turn to make a few hunting sorties off the State Building. She came to the nestbox at 3:33 and the pair did a quick switch. Astrid took over during the warmest part of the afternoon (not usually her thing) but she didn’t seem to mind it. He remained on the State Building until 6:06, when they changed over and he got another turn at incubation. The last switch of the day was late for recent standards. It took place at 7:40 PM. Astrid came onto the eggs and Ares retired to some unknown night perch.
Tuesday, April 23rd had a cool start, but temps rose rapidly and were in the mid-70’s by noon. Astrid had spent the night incubating. Although I thought I heard him call at 5:30 AM, our first sighting of Ares came at nearly 6 AM when he was perched on the County Building. They did a rapid switch only a moment after that. Upon leaving, Astrid was not seen flying around the State Building as she has done so often. Also, Ares wasn’t giving squeaking calls, like he invariably does when he sees her flying in the canyon, so we assumed that was perched somewhere out of view. She showed up on the hotel at 6:55 and next she made a quick stop at the nest – just for a check in. She returned for a changing of the guard at 8 AM. Interestingly, the first place Ares landed after leaving the nest was on a ledge right next to the one Astrid had just vacated on the State Building. They do things like that frequently. At 8:40, Ares was spotted on the radio tower on top of the hotel. It had been a while since anyone has seen him perched up there. He wasn’t there for long. Next, he was on the southwest corner of the hotel’s ledge. The Utica Marsh was visible behind him.
At 10:44 Ares was on the hotel again. There was some prey next to him on the ledge. It’s possible he had been there for a while, feeding. At just before 11 AM, the pair switched at the nest and then Astrid was loose on the town. We didn’t have our cams on her again until 12:20 when she showed up on the north face of the State Building. At about that time, Ares was getting a little cagey sitting on the eggs. He had been picking at stones and then started calling out. She came to the box just before 1 PM, and they did a quick switch. Ares was on the State Building for a while and then he was off hunting. We saw him plucking a small item of prey on the hotel at 1:21. Deb had heard him screech through the canyon right before that. It didn’t take him long to eat his snack and then he was off again.
We heard lots of calling from A&A at 3:15 and thought maybe there was an intruder in the canyon, but none was confirmed. Astrid remained at the box during the “incident” and Ares was mostly accounted for on two different perches. By 3:30 he was giving long calls from a perch on the steeple. He was probably just asking for a turn on the eggs. Five minutes later the pair switched, and he got his chance. While he sat incubating, she spent nearly 1 ½ hour on the State Building. She then came to the box and stayed on the cross perch for about five minutes while Ares alternately made squeaking calls and pretended to be asleep. He didn’t want to leave the eggs. Finally, he did leave and she immediately took his place. It was just after 5 PM and starting to rain. The pair seemed to be settled in for the day – her on the nest and him on some unseen perch.