Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 4, 2018 –

It was overcast and rainy overnight. Fog developed before morning. Early morning temperatures were in the low 60’s and rose into the 70’s by midday.  Overcast skies persisted through the first half of the afternoon and then the sun came out for a while. Temperatures rose into the 80’s. A tornado watch was issued for our county – effective from early evening through 10PM. Although we did have some high winds and rain, there were no thunderstorms or anything so severe. Temperatures fell back into the 60’s after the front came through and the sunset was visible through the breaking clouds.

Astrid had taken over at the nest box at 3:40 Thursday afternoon and she remained there all evening and right through the night. Ares came to relieve her at 3:55 AM on Friday. We didn’t catch a view of her again until 5:30 when we located her on a pillar west of the nest box. By 6:50, she had moved to the State Building. At 6:58, the falcons switched again, and Astrid took over on the eggs. Ares was on the State Building for a short time and then we spotted him on Hotel Utica eating breakfast. The prey was too disassembled to tell what it was for sure. Fifteen minutes later he had gone and we couldn’t locate him with our cameras. We didn’t see him again until the next changing of the guard took place at 8:35. Astrid eventually showed up on the north face of the State Building. After spending quite a while on that perch, at 10:10 she returned to the box. She sat on the cross-perch for a little while before hopping inside and standing next to Ares. After about eight minutes, Ares got the hint and left the box. He perched on the State Building for a little while before darting off somewhere. At 11:28, Deb discovered him perched on the west face of the State Building. At a little after 12 PM, Astrid stood up and gave us a chance to scrutinize the eggs for pips. None were seen. At 1:03, Astrid stood up from incubating, went over to the cross-perch and launched into the canyon. She swooped around in front of the State Building for a minute and then landed on the north face. At that point, Ares darted in from the north and carried out some incredibly fast maneuvers. He was at the nest and on the eggs by 1:06 – only three minutes after Astrid had left.  Ares was just in time to experience the hottest part of the day in the box – something Astrid gladly cedes to him. It had been mostly cloudy, that was until the latter part of Ares’ shift. The sun drenched the box and all he could do was endure it and protect the eggs.

She was mostly on the State Building for the next three hours. She made a few short forays into the canyon, but returned to the north face of the building each time. At 5:34, Astrid came to the box. Surprisingly, Ares didn’t hop right up. After a minute or so he slowly got up and left incubation to the Mrs. For the next hour, it was Ares turn to come and go from the north face of the State Building. By 6:30, a line of strong storms was coming into the region. Strong winds blew in by 6:40 and then came the rain. Ares remained on the north face of the State Building throughout. Our view of him was often obscured by water on the camera. Thankfully the storms were not nearly as bad as predicted and the canyon was merely sprayed down a little. Ares left his perch at 7:15. At close to 8:00, he was seen having super at the hotel. We think he was just picking at leftovers, but it was hard to tell. He was gone only minutes later. As for Astrid, she had settled down on her eggs. Will we have our first pipped egg of the season tomorrow? It’s a possibility. We’ll be sure to let everyone know, but feel free to watch the streaming video yourselves and let us know if you see anything.

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 3, 2018 –

The day began warm with rain threatening. As it turned out, it did rain, but only very lightly. As the morning progressed the sun occasionally broke through the clouds and the temperatures surged into the 70’s. Light rain fell in the later afternoon and storms threatening in the evening.

Astrid had come back into the box last evening at 5:00. She climbed onto the eggs and stayed there through the night. Ares screeched up to the box with prey at 4:13 Thursday morning. Astrid wasn’t interested in taking the food or leaving the nest, so Ares screeched off back into the darkness. Did he put the food in storage? Low light conditions made it difficult to see Astrid in the box, but we could see a white downy feather that was stuck on the top of her bill. She had been preening a little earlier and that’s how she picked up the beak ornament. Perhaps she will start a trend and soon all the falcons will be wearing them. At 5:22, Ares came to the box again – this time without prey, and the pair switched. At 5:53, Astrid was seen launching off from her steeple perch and heading west. A half-hour later, she was back on the steeple and by the look of her crop,  she must have been feeding. Ares saw her fly in and he was excitedly chirping. The falcons switched again at 8:43 and Astrid came back onto the nest. At 9:40, she was standing over the eggs instead of incubating. It was about 70 degrees at that point, so her break-times weren’t jeopardizing the viability of the eggs.  Deb heard Ares give a screech at about 10 o’clock  but the bird himself was nowhere to be seen. Deb did notice a calling card he left on the State Building. It was prey he had stored on a north face ledge.

At 11:33, Ares came out of nowhere and the pair did a lightning fast switch on the eggs. Following that, Astrid went to the State Building, but wasn’t there for long. Just before noon, Astrid darted off after something and was out of camera view for a while. A half-hour later, a Turkey Vulture flew through the canyon but no one seemed put out by it. Right after the Vulture two very low flying jets tore through the falcon’s airspace! What was that all about? At 1:04, Ares got off the eggs and went out onto the cross-perch. At first we thought “Oh no, here we go again. He’s going to chase off the latest raptor hooligan.” But as it turned out, he didn’t go anywhere; he just stood on the perch for a few minutes and then went back onto the eggs. When Astrid showed up on the State Building at 1:19, we were glad to see her and relieved that she didn’t try to chase down those jets. It’s not that she couldn’t have caught them if she really had wanted to. She returned to the north face of the State Building at 2:50. The falcons switched at the box at around 3:40. Ares went to the State Building and from there he made several hunting forays. At 6:57, Ares left his perch and in little more than a minute, he was on the ledge of Hotel Utica plucking a fresh-caught flicker. He ate nearly the whole thing and then flew off and out of our camera view. It seemed that Ares had no intention of relieving Astrid before nightfall. She seemed to be OK with that, but did have some restless moments in the evening. At one point she was off the eggs and busily digging to China in the corner. Good night falcons!

Friday will be the 30^th day since full incubation began, which means that we may see our first pipped egg as early as Saturday or Sunday. Most likely we won’t have a hatch any earlier than Monday. Although, it may be later as a result of the interrupted incubation that occurred at the start of the process.

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 2, 2018 –

The day had a warm start and then the temperature got close to 80 degrees by noon.  The skies were mostly clear and the wind was not insignificant. Temperatures rose well past 80 degrees by afternoon’s end. By late afternoon, clouds rolled in and there were a few light showers.

Astrid came to the box and relieved Ares at 8:20 last night.  She remained on the eggs all night long. Ares came with a food tribute at 4:04 Wednesday morning, but she wouldn’t leave. He departed the box screeching and then he came back with the same prey only a few minutes later. Of course he got the same response from his mate. They finally did switch at 5:19, but that time Ares didn’t have the food anymore. We didn’t see Astrid again until she showed up on the steeple at 5:54. She had a large crop and was compulsively wiping down her bill. It was safe to conclude she had just eaten. Perhaps she ate the prey that Ares tried to give her earlier. At 6:13, she did a quick check-in at the box. After she satisfied herself that everything was right she went over to the State Building. At 7:08, the Peregrines switched again and Astrid was back on the eggs. Interestingly, after leaving the box, Ares landed on a ledge adjacent to where Astrid had been perched only a minute before. Why he landed there instead of on a hundred other ledges on the building is something of curiosity.  At 8:21 he was up again ; he put down on the steeple. We thought he must be hunting and then sure enough, ten minutes later we saw him feeding on Hotel Utica. We couldn’t tell what the prey was giving the distance and the fact that he had already made a big dent in it. At some time after 9:30, Ares came to the box with food, but just like earlier this morning, Astrid wasn’t interested and sent him away. At 10:12, he screeched back to the box and without the food. This time they did switch out.  Post departure, Astrid was on the State Building for a little while and then she did some soaring around the canyon.

At 10:50, Ares began giving volleys of sharp chirping calls. This is often what he does when he sees an intruder flying overhead. After a few minutes he left the box and the eggs and presumably went to check out or intercept the stranger.  After about three minutes went by, Astrid came to the box and took over on the eggs. At 11:14, he was back and perching on the State Building; and then only a minute later he was gone again. He snuck back onto another window ledge when we weren’t looking. Very tricky! They switched again at 12:57, and Ares was on the eggs again. The sun was just beginning to flood into the box, so he was in line for manning the hot shift. Astrid took a perch on the State Building – on the cool north side.  She flew from that perch on 1:42, and then we weren’t sure where he was for a while.  At 2:11, Ares began calling from the nest again. He saw an intruder. He got off the eggs and shot out of the box. Here’s what Deb saw and heard from her office window:

“I heard Ares chirping as if there was an unwelcome visitor to the canyon. I checked out the window but saw nothing. Ares became more agitated and left the nest. I saw him fly directly toward the east side of the State Building. He was serious in his intent! Then I saw him fly up above the building and dive down at something toward the southeast corner. He did this a second time. I still had not verified a second bird. The sky was quiet for a moment then I heard the calls from two falcons. As I looked out my window I saw Ares and an immature Peregrine doing air combat. They were so close I could clearly see the brown back of the young one. They disappeared from my view but I could still hear the obvious calls of them doing battle for a couple more minutes. I continued to look out the window but could not see either of them. Astrid was not in sight throughout the whole confrontation. I do not believe that Ares and the youngster made actual contact but they may have when they were out of sight. Ares came back to the nest within a couple minutes of their calls ending.”

Four minutes after Ares left the eggs he came back to sit, but he was still very agitated. He took off again to joust with the young falcon, but then returned to the nest at 2:20. At that point he was done with his police action. After the excitement, it had gotten so warm in the box that Ares had to shade the eggs. Astrid returned to the fold at 2:38. She had been conspicuously absent during the incursion, but more than likely she had been monitoring from someplace close by. We found it interesting that she left it to Ares to watch the nest as well as drive off the intruder. Perhaps she was busy with another interloper. Hard to say – and she’s not talking.

After an afternoon shift characterized by high temperatures and an intruder, Astrid relieved Ares at a few minutes before 5 PM. As she settled on the eggs, he screeched over to the State Building. He was only there for a few seconds before he bolted to the north. He flew in a wide circle around Hotel Utica and then darted back into the heart of the canyon. He landed back on the State Building and then proceeded to make several hunting forays from there. We last saw him at 6:27 PM. Meanwhile Astrid was seen taking a few preening breaks in the box. Of course it was warm enough so that she didn’t have to stay tight on the eggs at all time. By about 7:45, light rain was falling in Utica and the falcons seemed to be in for the night.

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for May 1, 2018 –

It was cool overnight with temperature in the 40’s. A low and dense fog passed through the downtown area at dawn. Interestingly, the fog was only about five or six stories high and so our cameras could see above it. Under mostly clear skies, the air warmed up quickly and temperatures reached into the 60’s by midday. The skies became mostly cloudy by mid-afternoon, but the temperature continued to climb into the low seventies.

Astrid returned to the nest box at 7:52 PM, Monday night and she stayed on the eggs right through to morning. Ares came to relieve her at 5:12 AM. For a while after she left, Ares chirped at her as he sat on the eggs. He could probably see her flying around, but we saw nothing on the cams. At 5:53, She flew into view from behind the State Building and perched on the steeple. She had probably just eaten. She was opening and closing her bill a lot as well as wiping it and scratching at it with her talons. Perhaps she had something stuck on it, but if so, it was invisible to us. At 7:00, she stretched her wings and then flew over to the box. The falcons switched places and Astrid was back on the eggs. Area went over to the State Building, but wasn’t in place for long.

At 7:40, Ares was seen flying around the State Building repeatedly. He was calling and obviously agitated, but no intruder was seen. At 8:11, he was spotted on the steeple by Theresa White. From there he went over to Hotel Utica and spent some time on the ledge there. A reckless and perhaps nearsighted Pigeon landed close to him at one point, but understandably, it didn’t stay long.  Ares was back on the steeple by 9:30, and at just before 10:00, he came to the box and relieved Astrid. Only five minutes later, Astrid saw another Peregrine flying high over the canyon and she launched from her State Building perch. Deb then saw two falcons flying high over the State Building. Ares saw the, too, and possibly heard them as well. At 10:08, Ares came off the eggs and joined the fray and all three falcons disappeared north over the Adirondack Bank building. Astrid came back only two minutes later to tend the eggs, but Ares wasn’t seen again until he screeched back into the canyon at 11:00. He landed on the steeple and stayed there until the pair switched again at 11:15. She was on the State Building on and off until around 12:40. After that she was out of our camera view. She showed up again on the State Building at 1:40. The next switch took place at 2:13. Ares ended up on the State Building at 2:55. Ten minutes later he flew off to the north and we didn’t see him again until the next switch at 5:23. Astrid seemed like she was super ready to go. As Ares settled onto the eggs, she flew over to the State Building and got into some serious preening. She stayed in place until 6:45 and then she was out of camera view. She returned to the north face of the State Building at 7:48, but was in no hurry to take over incubation. By 8 o’clock, Ares was asking to be relieved and began giving his version of Astrid’s Donkey calls. He didn’t have it quite right, but it was a good effort. Astrid came to the box at 8:20. She took over on the eggs and Ares flew off – possibly to his night perch.

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 30, 2018 –

It was seasonably cool again today with temperatures rising from the mid-thirties to the low forties by noon.  A wintery mix of rain and snow fell through part of the morning. In the afternoon, the precipitation ceased and the temperature surged into the 50’s.

Astrid came to the nest at 8:10 last night, which was significantly later than her arrival times on the two previous nights. Once in place she stayed on the nest without interruption until Ares relieved her at 5:22 Monday morning. He had appeared on the State Building about twenty minutes before coming over. At 5:40, Astrid went from the State Building over to Hotel Utica. She had prey in her talons, but it wasn’t fresh. It was likely the same bird Ares had given her on Sunday – the item that she herself had stored. After feeding she returned to the State Building. They switched again at 7:30, and then Astrid was back on the eggs. Ares went over to the State Building, but perched their only briefly. At 7:55, we located him on a ledge at Hotel Utica. He wasn’t there for very long, but when we checked the same place at 9:11, he had returned and this time he was feeding. He already had a large crop and so he must have been feeding for some time. The prey wasn’t recognizable. Five minutes later he flew over to the State Building. At 11:00, the pair switched out again. Ares took over on the eggs and Astrid went to the north face of the State Building.

The next switch took place at 1:12 PM. Astrid settled down on the eggs and Ares took a perch on the State Building. He remained fairly sedentary until the next switch took place at 3:38. After leaving the box she assumed a perch on the State Building. At some point she caught a Pigeon and was next seen over on the hotel feeding on it. It was 4:15, by the time we noticed her over there and by then she had already eaten quite a bit of it. Like yesterday, she singlehandedly finished nearly the entire thing, and at 4:37 she flew right to the box. She made a quick check on Ares and then glided to the Grace Church steeple. Her crop was comically huge. She looked like she had swallowed a balloon. She stayed there preening and loafing until 6:15, at which time she went back to the hotel to have a drink of water from a ledge puddle. After that she returned to the box and switched with Ares. That time it wasn’t a quick switch – the pair did some vocalizing and beaking before trading places. She had only been on the eggs for fifteen minutes when she spied something flying high over the canyon. Deb saw it too. It was another Peregrine. She got off the eggs and flew. Ares was on the State Building at the time, and he took the cue. He flew to the box and took over on the eggs.  If Astird did pursue the other falcon, she didn’t do it for long. She was back on the State Building in no more than a few minutes. Maybe it was just an excuse for her to stay out late again tonight. Ares didn’t seem to be complaining.

At 7:47, Astrid flew from her perch on the State Building. We thought she would go right to the box, but she didn’t. Instead she disappeared from view for a while. At 7:52, she did come to the box for what we sincerely believe to be the final switch of the night. Ares went over to the State Building, but within a few minutes he was off. Perhaps to his night perch or maybe even off to hunt.