Author: Matt Perry

Peregrine Breeding Log for March 15 – 16, 2019:

Friday, March 15^th was the warmest day yet, with temperatures reaching the 60s by the afternoon. It was windy but the winds were mild. Relatively light rain fell during the first half of the morning, but the skies cleared nicely after that. The falcons’ day began extremely early. Ares was at the nest box with prey at 3:17 AM.

The prey appeared to be most of an American Woodcock, which would be the first woodcock of the season. As Ares waited for Astrid to come and take the food offering, he fed on it. She showed up on the west veranda at 5:40 and he anxiously encouraged her to take the food. After a couple of minutes of posturing, she scrambled over the perch and took it from him. She flew away with it but didn’t go to the hotel ledge. In fact we’re not sure where she took it but she was only gone for about ten minutes, so she either stored it or dropped it. Astrid was never fond of woodcock flesh. At 7 AM, the pair converged at the box again. They may have performed a short dance. If so, we missed it. Afterwards, Ares fetched a different tribute for Astrid. It was small and may have been a bat. Evidently this was worthy of being taken to the hotel to feed on. A little while later he was back at the box and she was on the west veranda. There was a failed mating attempt at 7:30. An hour later, the falcons were doing a lot of vocalizing. We thought they may have been reacting to an intruder. Since Friday, migrant raptors have been taking advantage of favorable winds and moving through the region. It could have been a Peregrine they were “talking” to, or it could have been something else.

At 9:30, the pair mated again – this time successfully. At this point the rain was falling heavier in downtown and it served throw a wet blanket on the falcons’ activities. By 10, the precipitation slowed down a bit and Ares flew up to the lookout. We couldn’t find Astrid for a little while, but then we noticed her on one of the steeple perches. We expected Ares to try to mate with her there, but instead he was busy flying back and forth between the lookout post and the box. At 11:00, he tried to mate with her, but pulled up again before landing on her back. A half-hour later, he came to the nest box perch with a freshly caught American Robin. He proceeded to pluck it right there on the main perch. When it was failing to have the intended effect on Astrid, he screeched off into the canyon with it and stored it somewhere. He then came back to the box without it. At noon the pair shared a ledge display at the box. It lasted about ten minutes and featured little movement on the dance floor. Ares spent the end of the dance standing in his huge scrape, just looking at Astrid. Once he left, she went over to his divot and stood in it for a few minutes. It was as if she was trying it on for size. She did some housekeeping chores after that and dug a nice scrape of her own on the other side of the box. When she left the nest at 9:40, she landed on the State Building on a ledge right above where he was perched. At 1 PM, Ares was up and then so was she. There was a lot of falcon vocalizations echoing through the canyon. We didn’t know what was going on, but we suspected an intruder was spotted. He was back to the box ten minutes later. He was chirping as if he saw her, but we couldn’t locate Astrid with our optics. Deb last saw her flying to the north.

Ares returned to the canyon at 2 o’clock and took a perch on one of the hotel ledges. A half-hour later he flew to the box and was calling. It sounded like he must have had Astrid in view, but we still couldn’t spot her. He left and then came right back with a food offering. When Astrid didn’t come, he rushed off with it, screeching through the canyon. One of the falcons – probably Ares, was then seen plucking away at something on the west face of the State Building. Astrid finally showed up again on camera at 3 PM.

Other than Ares coming to the box at unpredictable intervals and giving long wailing calls, the birds were enjoying a less than dramatic afternoon. But then, at 4:30, sharp falcon vocalizations filled the canyon and both our birds were engaging with another Peregrine. Deb saw three in flight with two actively sparing, but she couldn’t get any good details on the stranger. At 4:45, Astrid and Ares made a brief stop at the nestbox and then bolted out again, presumably to resume their pursuit of the interloper. While Deb was scanning for falcons, she noticed a pair of Bald Eagles flying north of the canyon. Ares returned to the box at 5:10, but he appeared anxious, which meant his mate probably wasn’t back yet. Apparently, she had been on route. Upon her return the pair shared a short ledge display, after which Ares retrieved a gift. He gave it to her at the box and she took it to the hotel.

Saturday, March 16^th had a cold, windy start and it pretty much stayed that way. Actually, it even got windier as the day progressed. Snow squalls were intermittent. A few minutes before 6 AM, Ares was heard screeching somewhere in the canyon. He was probably flying by Astrid’s perch. A minute later he came to the box. He had a Woodcock in his talons. When Astrid failed to appear, he shot out again into the darkness. He was still screeching. At 6:20, Ares returned to the box with his gift. Astrid was not coming fast enough so he stored the plump sandpiper on the east face of the State Building. At 6:30, the pair came to the box together. He had the food again and this time she took it. She towed it over to the hotel ledge where we could just barely make out her form tearing away at it. It was still dark, and a steady wind made the PTZ camera shutter like a leaf. As it was, she didn’t eat that much of it. Woodcock is just not her favorite. After the handoff, Ares screeched out of the box like a wild man. He is getting increasingly intense as we get deeper into the breeding season and closer to egg-laying time. After feeding, she flew up to perch on the State Building. He sailed up to the lookout post. The strong winds were allowing the falcons to fly much faster than usual. Essentially, they were doing everything at double-speed and with little or no effort.

At 7:00, Ares took a perch right above Astrid’s ledge on the State Building, but he didn’t stay there long. He was desperately trying to get her over to the box. He flew there himself and sat on his mega scrape for a while. If we didn’t know better, we’d think he was incubating eggs. By 7:30, he had gone to the hotel and was feeding on the leftovers from Astrid’s breakfast. Ten minutes later he brought that food (or something else) to the box. He gave a long screech call and then flew out again. He then brought it up to the ledge right next to where Astrid was perched – then he was up again. His next stop was to the nest where he resumed sitting on his scrape.

By 8 AM he was back to the State Building and on a ledge adjacent to Astrid’s ledge. There they stayed for the better part of two hours. It was almost as if they were waiting for the Saint Patrick Day parade to begin. Afterall, they had very good seats. Just before 10:00, both falcons were up again. In what may have been a flight display, Astrid flew around the State Building at lightning speed and then landed back on a north face ledge. The pair mated right after that, but it may not have been a successful mating. To the music of bagpipes (thanks to the parade), Ares brought Astrid another food tribute. He brought it right up to the ledge she was perched on. Now that’s service! Right after that, he dashed back to the box and wiped his bill on the main perch. At 11:10, Ares was sitting on his big scrape again and making squeaking vocalizations. He wanted Astrid to come to the box. She left her perch but did not come to the nest. He followed after her and the two were out of camera view for the next couple of hours. At 1 PM, I stopped downtown to check on them and saw they were both perched on the east face of the Adirondack Bank building. There they were out of the wind and snow. Ares was snoozing and Astrid seemed to be giving me “the look”. She is no fan of the paparazzi. At 1:50, the pair came to the box in tandem and kind of performed a ledge display. Well, Astrid was doing her usual part, but Ares was just standing in his scrape. With this behavior, we think he was indicating to Astrid where she is supposed to lay the eggs. He left after 8 minutes and in his absence, Astrid came over and stood in Ares’ scrape for a little while. She even did some touch up work on it – moving a few loose stones about and checking the wall above for soundness.

After being out of view for a while, Ares returned to the box at 2:40. He was chirping and very excited. Despite his day-long exhibition of raw energy, or perhaps because of it, he fell asleep on his scrape. He was gone at 3 PM, but then back to the nest a half-hour later. We noticed he had some blood on his talons, which meant he probably just returned from a successful hunt. Following that he was back and forth between the box and somewhere else a few more times in rapid succession. Yes, he was back to being boundless energy man. At 4:00, he wasted no time in chasing after a possible intruder – some migrant raptor that likely only innocently strayed into the canyon. Astrid was back on the State Building at that time and she took the opportunity of Ares’ police action to circumnavigate the building and then return to a north face perch. Both were on the State Building at 4:30. A half-hour later, he was observed feeding on leftovers on the hotel. Still, no time for sloth, he bounced back and forth between the State Building and the box twice in the subsequent twenty minutes. At 6 PM, the pair mated on the State Building. He then very purposefully soared up to the lookout perch where he stayed for about 15 minutes. He then buzzed by her at high speed, doubled back and took a perch right near her. Astrid retired for the night at 6:30, but Ares kept going for a while longer. He came to the box a few times and uttered plaintive long calls. He was last seen at 7:10, perched on the hotel ledge. Goodnight falcons.

Wednesday, March 13^th had a cold start but conditions moderated as the day went on and by noon temps were well into the 40’s. The Peregrine Falcon pair were very active today and, although we confirmed no ledge displays, there were 9 or 10 matings and three food exchanges. This morning Astrid surprised us by being the first one to the box. She came in chirping at 6:15. We didn’t see Ares until 6:40 when he appeared on the State Building. Shortly after that, suddenly he was in the box and she was gone. At 7 AM, she was relocated on a window ledge east of the nest. Ten minutes later (judging by the lively vocalizations), some manner of interaction took place. All we knew was that she was in the box and he was gone. He came right back with prey and proceeded to pluck it on window ledge west of the box. At 7:30, Ares gave some long calls and took the food tribute over to the box. Astrid accepted it and hauled it over to the hotel to eat. The first confirmed mating of the day took place on the box’s long perch at 8:50. Another happened at 9:07. The third confirmed mating of the day took place on the west veranda at 9:30. An aborted mating attempt happened fifteen minutes later and the fourth successful one of the morning occurred at 10:20. Astrid spent some time on the steeple after that. We thought there may be a mating there, but it was not to be. The next bit of action came in the form of a food tribute. Just before 11:00, Ares brought prey to the box and Astrid dashed over to accept it. She took it over to the hotel and made short work of it. When she finished, she flew over to the west face of the State Building. Ares squeaked from the box when she passed by. At 11:45, he gave a cackle alarm call and scrambled out of the box. He was chasing something to the west, but we didn’t know what his target was. Astrid kept her perch during his sortie.  He screeched back to the nestbox at around 12:15.

During the early afternoon, Astrid remained fairly sedentary while Ares was in and out of the box a few times and also made a few visits to the lookout. At 2:10, Ares made a scrape in the box – and yes, it was in his king-size divot area. Somehow, after that they made another one of their seamless quick switches and then it was her in the box. Five minutes later, Ares brought food to her and she accepted it. This time she brought it over to the State Building. Both were at the box again at 2:30. A possible mating or even short dance may have happened at that time, but it couldn’t be confirmed. However, the fifth successful mating of the day took place at 2:45. He was back at the box an hour later and she was out on the perch again, asking to mate. Of course, he was lobbying to have a ledge displace, but she wouldn’t comply and in short order, they mated for the sixth time. Both falcons were at the box at 2:30 and they shared a lively conversation. Fifteen minutes alter they mated. Suddenly she was the one that was in and out of the box. Both were at the nest at 3:45. Once again, Ares wanted to dance and she was only interested in mating. Neither happened at that moment. The dance versus mating thing repeated itself at 4:15. A seventh mating occurred at 5:20 and then another at just before 6 PM. You can tell that these two put daylight savings time to good use! We located Ares on the hotel at 6:30. He had caught prey and was taking a share off the top. A minute later he brought his mate a chunk of it. She scrambled down the veranda perch to reach him and accept. She then took the food to the hotel. When she finished, she flew over to the State Building and unceremoniously upped Ares from his perch on the lookout.  She stayed in that place until close to 7 PM. He remained in sight for a short time after and then, presumably went off to his night perch.

Thursday March 14^th, was warmer than it has been in some time, with temps topping out in the 50’s. It was a little windy but the winds were not cold for a change. The falcons were very active again today, with matings, ledge displays, and food tributes. The pair remained in view of our cameras for nearly the entire day and spent much time in the general vicinity of the nest box.  Our first view of the falcons took place at almost precisely 6 AM, when Ares arrived at the nestbox. He came in chirping which meant that Astrid was likely within his view. Sure enough, she was. Even though it was well before sunrise, lights from the city illuminated her from below as she flew around the west face of the State Building. Right before 6:30, both were at the nest box. He was on the gravel floor asking her to come in for a ledge display and she was on the main perch, bowing and asking to mate. She soon moved to the perch on the west veranda. He left as well, and we weren’t sure if there was a mating attempt or not at that juncture. The next we saw him he was on the lookout post on top of the State Building. He soon dove back to the nest and began vocalizing. He also did some housekeeping which included making a scrape in the growing crater he’s been chipping away at on the right-hand side of the box. At 7:20, he left the box and successfully mated with Astrid. Only ten minutes later, she was asking to mate again, and he complied. The pair mated at 8:00. A half hour later, they tried again, but the attempt was unsuccessful.

At 8:45, Ares returned to the box with a food offering. Astrid didn’t seem interested and instead was requesting another mating. He waited a few minutes and then hopped onto the west veranda platform. That peaked her interest. She tried to tug the food from him, but he wouldn’t let go. She then grabbed it with one foot and he relinquished his hold. She took the gift over to the hotel ledge and proceeded to eat it. While she fed, a Pigeon buzzed right by her. The bird was likely protecting its nesting site beneath the ledge. When she was finished with her meal she remained for a little while and basked in the warm sun. Next, she joined Ares at the box for a 9:15 ledge display. At the end of their dance, Ares spent a few minutes sitting in his giant scrape. After he dove out, she did go over to his super scrape and stood in it as if trying it out for size. She even made her own scrape on top of his! After that she spent some time doing housekeeping chores around the nest – picking up and moving stones and biting at the lip of the box – all important stuff! At that time, Ares was up on the lookout post, but whether he was looking for prey or intruders, we couldn’t say.

By 10:20, both falcons had disappeared from our view, but then Ares screeched back to the box at 10:35. I thought I heard some cackle alarm calls right before he arrived, but we could find no evidence of an intruder. Almost 20 minutes later, Astrid flew to a window ledge on the east side of the nest box. The pair mated at 11:12. We didn’t see Ares for a half hour after that. Finally, Deb picked him out on the west face of the State Building. A few minutes later he flew. Astrid (still on west veranda) was expecting him to come and mate with her, but he passed right by her and went into the box. While there he spent some quality time on his mega-scrape. At 12:40, she was back and he was gone. Obviously, the pair was keeping a near constant presence at the nest – shadows of things to come once they begin incubating. After flying around the State Building at top speed, Ares put down on the lookout post – a popular stop as of late. He was soon back to the box and she had moved to the west veranda perch. The pair mated at 1:15 PM, it was the fifth known mating of the day. Five minutes later, Ares was back with a food tribute. He obtained it so fast, we thought he must have gotten it out of storage, but who knows. When he saw she wasn’t interested, he flew out with it, but then came right back to tempt her a second time. What happened next was an exact repeat of the prior food transfer. He went over to the west veranda, she grabbed the prey from him and took it to the hotel. Both were at the box again at 1:45. The pair shared a highly abbreviated ledge display that ended abruptly when both participants dove off the dance floor – first her and then him. Both were out of view until Ares returned to the box at 2:20 PM. She then landed on the west veranda. They mated for the 6^th time. She stayed put for a few hours after that. For the most part Ares did too, but he did make a few brief forays into the canyon – always returning to the box.

At 4:30, they tried to mate again, but Ares came in too high and had to abort the attempt. He diverted and landed at the box instead. Another failed mating attempt occurred at 5:30 ish, but then they succeeded with their next try only ten minutes later. For the next couple of hours, Ares was going between the nest box and the lookout. They were both at the nest at 6:00. She signaled that she wanted to mate, but as soon as he flew out, she jumped into the box. He must’ve noticed that because dashed up to the lookout instead of boomeranging back around to her. At 6:30, Ares launched from the lookout and flew with purpose toward the west. We didn’t know what he was after, but he came back into view a few minutes later. Both finally went off to their night perches at around 7PM. Good night falcons.

Peregrine Breeding Log for March 11 – 12, 2019:

Monday, March 11^th featured sustained winds throughout the day. The temperature stayed just above freezing, but the wind made it seem colder. Generally, the Utica falcons were fairly inactive – at least when compared to the last few days. However, they were quite visible through much of the day, remaining on the north face of the State Building for extended periods. In fact, that’s where we found them perched at 5 AM when we first checked the cameras. At dawn, crows from the local roost were filtering through the canyon. As I’ve mentioned before, the falcons don’t usually pay them any mind, but today was different. At 7 o’clock, one of the pair made a dramatic dive after a crow that flew too close to the State Building. I’m not sure if the falcons hit it. I don’t think so. Following that, a falcon flew a lap around the State Building while the other perched up on the lookout post. It seemed like a territorial proclamation. A minute later, both zoomed over to the box. Astrid stayed on the main perch for less than a minute and then returned to the State Building. He left soon after and made an appearance on the hotel ledge. At 7:40, they were calling loudly to each other from their respective perches on the State Building. Ten minutes later, Ares blasted by Astrid with a food tribute. They both converged at the box for the exchange. She took the small gift over to the hotel and made sort work of it. One of them (we think Astrid) did some fancy flying around the State Building before joining its mate on the building’s north face. The two were up and down a couple of more times before noon. At that point, Astrid took off toward the northeast and Ares followed right behind her. It had all the earmarks of a hunting foray. At around 12:30, Theresa White saw black feathers flying near an office window on the east side of the bank building. That was probably Ares plucking a Starling. Astrid had returned to the State Building by that time. Ten minutes later Ares came screeching over to the nestbox, but he had no tribute in hand. We figured that he either ate it or stored it somewhere. In the early afternoon, both falcons took turns flying through the canyon and usually retuning to the State Building in short order. Astrid did a short flight display for him during one of his brief visits to the box. In the second half of the afternoon, Ares made a couple more visits to the box – each time doing a little work on his scrape and making it deeper. We figure he’ll have a pool put in there by this summer.

Just before 5 PM, Ares came screeching around from the back of the bank building and proceeded through the canyon, apparently struggling in the headwind, He had a food tribute in his talons. He called as he flew by Astrid on the State Building. He came to the box and she followed him. Ares went right inside the box this time and Astrid hopped in to accept the food. She tugged at it with her bill, but he wouldn’t let go. Finally, she grabbed it with her foot, wrested it away and flew to the hotel with it. She ate it pretty quickly. Both falcons remained visible on the State Building until just before 6:30 PM, when one peeled off to go to its night perch. The other falcon left about 15 minutes earlier. Good night falcons!

Tuesday March 12^th, weather-wise was almost identical to the day before. There were some snow flurries in the early morning and then a steady wind blew throughout the day. Temps were around the freezing point, but the windchill made it seem colder. The first falcon sighting of the morning occurred at 6:10 when one landed on the State Building. The other joined it only minutes later. There was a mating attempt at just before 7 AM, but it was too short to be successful. Twenty minutes later Ares screeched to the nest. He called to his mate, but she was content to stay on the State Building. While in the box, he ate a few stones. At 7:30, she was flying. The pair’s mating vocalizations were heard twice in a row, but we weren’t sure where the birds were. Following that, Astrid was at the box. While there she took the opportunity to ingest some stones as well. It seemed to be the day for that particular activity. Both falcons were back on the State Building after that and they were definitely in hunting mode. They were making frequent forays after prey. Interestingly, both left in tandem each time, which suggested cooperative hunting. At 11:40, Astrid and Ares were both on the hotel. Astrid had prey (probably a Starling) and was feeding while her mate stood by. It wasn’t clear which one originally captured the prey or if it was a food tribute from him to her. After she fed for about twelve minutes, he came over and tried to take some! We thought he wasn’t doing that kind of thing anymore. Regardless, she flew off with the food, but then came right back and put down in the same spot. He tried to take it again, and they both flew off, only to return yet again to the very same place on the ledge. He stopped trying to muscle in on the food and yet they flew off and came right back one additional time. At that point, it was hard to believe they weren’t just having fun. It was very windy after all, and falcons love the wind. It accentuates their already awesome superpowers. After she flew away, he checked out the leftovers. It was just feathers. She finished it all. When she left the hotel she flew back to the State Building and Ares came to the box. He called to her, but again, he wasn’t able to persuade her to come over. At 1:15, Ares had caught his own meal (a Starling) and was eating it on the hotel. After finishing his it, he joined Astrid on the State Building. In the mid-afternoon, he came to the box a couple of times. He was still trying to lure her over. At one point she did some fancy soaring around the canyon, but she didn’t stop at the box, despite his invitations. In the late afternoon Ares was out of sight for a while. Finally, at 5:40 PM, he reappeared. He had prey and was plucking it on a ledge to the west of the nestbox. After processing the meal and feeding on it for a while, he brought it to the nest. Astrid joined him and they did a food transfer. She took the morsel over to the hotel and ate it. She was back on the State Building at 6:10. A minute later Ares gave a cackle-type alarm call and dashed out of the box. We saw him soaring high around the canyon, but we didn’t see what had gotten him upset. He landed on the lookout post. For the next hour or so, he kept switching to different lookout positions on the roof of the State Building. After that he went to his night perch, like Astrid had done about an hour before.

Peregrine Breeding Log for March 9 – 10, 2019:

Saturday, March 9^th had a cold beginning but like the day before, the temperatures rose quickly and by noon it was above 30 degrees. Full sun and the lack of significant wind made it seem even warmer. We glimpsed our first falcon at just before 6 AM when Ares landed on the State Building. I thought I heard a distant screeching call that matched his landing time. A few minutes later he was at the box. His lively vocalizations told us that his mate was nearby. In fact she flew by him on her way to the hotel. Right then he dashed up to the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. From there he could monitor her movements as well as the movements of everything for at least two miles in all directions. A few minutes later both falcons were up again. He excitedly returned to the box, apparently expecting her to do the same, but she bypassed the nest and landed on the extreme west end of the bank’s façade. Distant as she was, he had no trouble recognizing her signals. He flew right over and the pair mated. Deb noticed that when Ares came to mate, Astrid held herself parallel with the ledge, instead of the normal “tail out” posture she adopts. This gave Ares a much tighter and more difficult space to navigate in, but he managed it. Following the successful mating, Astrid came to the box and Ares went hunting for something to gift to her. At ten before 6, Ares returned with a food tribute for his mate, but when she tried to take it from him, he flew off. He did the same thing again only a few minutes later. Interestingly, each time he returned, the gift (which was never large to begin with) became smaller – and that was because he was eating it. Fortunately, and before it was completely gone, Ares did pass it off to Astrid. She accepted it as if it really was something and flew over to the hotel with it. There she polished it off in only a few minutes. At least he gave her something, folks!

It was obvious to us that despite her recent “meal” she was still hungry. She soon switched to hunting mode. At 9:20, we spotted her back on the hotel ledge with a Pigeon. She fed on it for an entire hour while Ares monitored from a perch on the State Building. It was noteworthy that he did not try to muscle in on her meal – as he did with pretty much every Pigeon she had all winter long. The breeding season has compelled him to switch gears and now he is more dedicated to his mate’s nutritional needs than he was before. However, as soon as she was done and had left the hotel, Ares dashed over to finish her scant leavings. At 10:30, Ares landed on one of the steeple perches. It was the first time we had seen him there in quite a while. He came to the nest box about twenty minutes later. By then Astrid had taken a perch on the State Building and she remained in that place for the next six hours! Meanwhile, Ares moved around a fair bit – mostly between the box and the lookout post.

During the course of the afternoon, he occasionally gave some long calls and appeared to be inviting Astrid over to the nest for a ledge display, but she was not inclined to move. However, at close to 4 PM, the pair did mate.  An hour later, we noticed that she was on a different perch on the State Building, but we don’t know if she did any significant flying in the interim – probably not. That changed at 5:30, when Ares came to the box and brought forth an explosion of chirp notes. Astrid landed on a ledge west of the box. Talk about exciting! She didn’t come over though. Instead she darted around the canyon and buzzed right by him as he stood out on the box’s main perch. That probably could be considered a flight display. Later, Ares was up on the lookout again. Our last view of a falcon for the day took place at 5:45 PM, when one of the pair was making a wide circle around the west side of the State Building. Perhaps it was another flight display, but we couldn’t be sure.

Sunday, March 10^th began with some early morning mixed precipitation. Temperatures were around the freezing mark but rose during the course of the day. The winds picked up in the afternoon and the skies became more overcast. The clocks were set forward last night, so we weren’t expecting an early start from the falcons. However, with the PTZ cam we were able to pick one out on the west face of the State Building as early as 5:30 AM. Right about then Ares screeched to the nestbox. A half hour later he flew to the west face of the State Building and then Astrid appeared at the nest. She stood on the main perch with her tail pointing out and seemed to be indicating her willingness to mate. Ares showed up and jumped into the box. He wanted to do a ledge display. This time they did it his way; she hopped into the box and the pair shared a five-minute dance that features some nice beak swiping. At the end of the display, Ares spent a minute or so standing on the scrape he’s been working for a few days. Our joke was that he was indicating to her where he wanted the eggs to be laid. Maybe it’s not such a joke. After he left, she stood in his prize divot and did her own little scrape. Those of you who have been following the Utica Peregrine saga for a while may remember last year, when similar behavior was observed. Back then Ares had his “mega scrape” and Astrid ignored it. She preferred making her own less-significant scrapes on the opposite side of the box. When it came time to lay eggs, she used one of her normal scrapes. This year perhaps she’s considering doing it his way. We shall see.

After leaving the box, Ares was clearly in hunting mode. He kited on the wind before diving at some unseen prey near the County Building. Sure enough, at 8 AM, he came back with a food tribute for his mate. She had been anticipating the gift and called out loudly whenever he flew close. She took her meal somewhere out of our camera view. For the next few hours he stayed around the nest box, apparently on guard duty. As for Astrid, she was perched on the west face of the State Building. At the box Ares alternated between dozing and issuing loud screech calls into the canyon. That is his way of declaring to the world that the territory is taken. Just after noon, he quickly darted out of the box – probably after prey. Less than an hour later he was back.  At 1:20, both falcons converged at the nest and shared a ledge display; it was their second of the day. This time Ares began their interaction by standing in his super scrape. After the dance and his exit from the box, Astrid again stood in his divot and made another small scrape. At 2:00, some vocalizations near the box possibly indicated a mating attempt, but we weren’t able to confirm it. After that, Astrid was on the west veranda for an extended stay.

Just after 3 PM Ares brought her a food tribute, but when she tried to take it from him, he wouldn’t let go. They both tugged at it until she finally got it away from him, but in doing so she lost her balance and fell through the gap between the main perch and the lip of the nest box. Fortunately, she found her wings quickly and pulled out of her tumble, with meal intact. She was later seen feeding on the south face of the State Building (thanks to John Saltis for confirming that!) After the food drop, Ares took a turn manning the box for a while. He left at around 5 PM. Astrid then surprised us by being the first falcon to use a new perch that Bob Williams installed a few weeks ago. Astrid is not known for trying new things. Afterall, it took her two years to accept and use the verandas on either sides of the nestbox! The new perch is located several windows west of the nestbox.

And the day’s action wasn’t yet over. Ares brought Astrid yet another small tribute at 6 PM. I’m not sure if she stored it or dropped it, but she was back on the west veranda only a few minutes later. The falcons topped off the evening with another successful mating, after which Ares went to a perch on the State Building. She went off, presumably to her night perch at 6:20.

 

Peregrine Log March 8, 2019

Thursday, March 7^th was another cold day. In the early morning the temperatures were marooned in the single digits. By noon, we hit 20 degrees, but the wind kicked in with a vengeance and negated any benefit.  Ares arrived on the State Building at a few minutes before 6 AM. An hour later he came to the box and simultaneously Astrid landed on the State Building. Ares responded to seeing his mate with a great amount of excited chirping, but then, fifteen minutes later, he was dozing. At 6:30, she flew to the west veranda perch. That woke him up and brought him back to the pinnacle of excitement. Soon after they shared a lively ledge display that lasted nearly ten minutes. After the dance, he dove out of the box and she did a small amount of housekeeping, but she stopped short of making a scrape.

Following about an hour long absence from our view, Ares came back to the nest and Astrid returned to her favorite window ledge located west of the nestbox.  There was some spirited communication between the two, but they didn’t dance again, nor did they mate. Astrid left the box at 9:30, but then returned less than ten minutes later, and this time she perched on a ledge east of the nest. Again, Ares produced excited chirp-calls, but she wasn’t budging. The falcons kept these positions until around 11:15, and then Astrid flew out of view. Ares left too, but returned in the early afternoon. Astrid played on the wind before him and elicited some excited chirping. In mid-afternoon, they were coming in and out of view of our cams at irregular intervals. Ares made a couple of visits to the box. At 4:10, Astrid swooped over to the hotel with prey in her talons. She came in remarkably fast on the gusty winds. Ares flew in right with her but didn’t put down on the hotel. Instead, he took a high perch on the State Building while she fed. This time Ares didn’t bother Astrid during her meal. In fact, he allowed her to finish without any interference. At 4:54 PM, Ares was chirping again, but this time it was an intruder and not Astrid that warranted his calls. Soon it was clear that we had three falcons in the canyon. Ares soared around with the unknown Peregrine for a while and then perched on the roof of the State Building. At 5 PM, Astrid was done with her meal, she launched from the hotel ledge and pursued the intruder. Both contenders rose high and then disappeared from our camera view. Ares went over to the hotel and polished off Astrid’s leftovers. When finished, he tore off to the east. And that was the last either were seen that day.

Friday, March 8^th, began cold, but the sun was on duty and temps rose quickly into the high twenties. We got our first falcon view at 6 AM. It was probably Ares, but within five minutes both were at the nest area. He was in the box and she was on a window ledge to the east. Between them there was lots of lively vocalizing. As usual, he was trying to interest her in coming in for a dance. To those ends he walked in circles and made a few pseudo scrapes. It was almost as if he was performing a ledge display all by himself. As for Astrid, she had other ideas. Her stance and calls indicated she was asking to mate. So at 7:00 and then again at 7:20, that’s just what they did.

By 7:30, Astrid was on the hotel feeding. It was probably something she procured for herself, but we couldn’t be positive of that. Interestingly, just like the previous day, Ares didn’t pester her while she fed. Perhaps those days are over? We didn’t see where Ares was at all during the time she was feeding. Once she was finished, she took a perch on the State Building. He suddenly reappeared, flew back to the nest and began emitting long, shrill calls. He seemed to be filled with angst, but it’s not at all unusual for him to behave that way at the start of the breeding season. He won’t be satisfied until there are eggs in the box! While Astrid remained on the State Building for the balance of the morning and for part of the afternoon, Ares was in and out of the box  frequently. At 2:30, Ares was on a window ledge west of the nestbox. He was plucking and then feeding on something – probably a starling. He may have eventually gifted it to Astrid, since she was seen feeding on something like it a little later on. Fifteen minutes later both were at the box again. They were vocalizing up a storm. Astrid was giving some of her strange donkey-like calls, but again, she wouldn’t come into the box. The pair mated, and then did it again only 20 minutes later. Their fifth (known) mating of the day happened at 4:30 PM. The falcons remained active for the rest of the afternoon, Alternately visiting the nest and the hotel. At just before 5, Ares was seen feeding on the hotel. It appeared to be a bat and, if so, it would be the first one of the season. At the end of the day, the falcons were still highly active and sometimes vocal, and we were beginning to think that an intruder was the cause. However, we could confirm no intruder. Both resident falcons spent some time on the lookout perch, but never was a third falcon picked out by our cameras. As Deb was leaving the canyon (5:45), She spotted Ares tucked well into a window ledge on the State Building’s east side. Astrid was manning the lookout post. Good night falcons!