Author: Matt Perry

A cool and moonlit predawn gave way to a warmer, sundrenched day; warm is a relative term. Temperatures hit the mid-forties by noon and hit 50 degrees after that. Astrid first came to the box at 1:36 AM. The moon was like a spotlight on her in the box. Well, she does have that special star  appeal, at least to us. She sat inside looking like she was going to lay an egg until 2:26, when Ares came with food. The prey was a Woodcock. After an awkward scramble on the cross-perch, she grabbed the prey in her bill and fled into the night. Ares left shortly after. She was back only ten minutes later and we think it’s likely she didn’t feed and perhaps only stored the Woodcock. At 5:10, a second food transfer happened at the box. It looked suspiciously like the first one and involved the same kind of prey. We think it was likely the very same Woodcock that he brought earlier. This time she took it over to the hotel and even though it was still dark out, we could just discern her working on the meal. At 5:45, she was on the State Building and that’s where the pair mated. Both were at the box at 6 AM; Ares was inside and she stayed out on the cross-perch. It was a short meet up; she was there for less than a minute and then she went over to the State Building. In the next hour both were up and down too many times to cite. Both were at the box again at 6:20, but it was just like before – Astrid never went farther than the cross-perch and before a minute was up she was out of there. We were not sure where she went that time, but he was in and out of the nest box many times in the hours following. At 8:12, she returned again for an encore presentation of:  Talk to Ares and then abruptly depart.  It was the third time she had done that today. We were starting to think that she wanted to be at the box without him there. When she left she flew to a window ledge on the State Building. At 8:25, the pair was having a ledge display in the box. It was the first true one of the day. This one, like many recent ones, was heavy on the beaking behavior. After he left she did the usual work around the box. She made scrapes in both of their favorite places on either sides of the floor.

Based on their heightened activity levels and frequent absences during mid to late morning hours, we think it’s possible there was an intruder active in falcons’ territory. At nine o’clock, the pair returned to the box, vocalized excitedly and then flew back into the canyon still calling. It did seem like there was an intruder nearby. Although, when I went downtown to check, I didn’t see one. Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was at the nest box – both calm as could be. But then at 9:45, Astrid took off from her north facing perch, made a tight bank around the east side of the building and headed south. I didn’t see Ares leave, but suddenly he was gone too. Ares returned a half-hour later, but then took off again, heading in that same southerly direction. Could there be an intruder or pair of intruders setting up shop somewhere on the southern periphery of A&A’s territory? Maybe. There are no good nesting opportunities out that way, but it’s possible some falcons are game to try. Astrid and Ares came back together at 10:30. Astrid went right to a one of two steeple perches we can’t see with our cameras. Very tricky! At one point Ares flew over to mate with her, but aborted the attempt and flew back to the box. She remained until 11 o’clock, at which time she went to the box, talked to Ares and relaunched into the canyon. They were both at the box a half-hour later, but it was another highly truncated summit. Ares was coming in and out of the box at varying intervals. He was really quite the Jack-in-the-box today.  She also has been more active than we would expect for an “expectant” hen falcon. If he was the Jack-in-the-box, she was the yo-yo. They were both at the box at 12:30. They occupied the same space for a minute, but there was no display. She did the usual post-display housekeeping stuff. She made three scrapes and then bit the wooden lip of the box for a while. Ten minutes later, she got excited when she her mate flying. We think he was pursuing prey at the time. Soon after that he landed on the east veranda with her lunch. She hopped out onto the cross-perch and side stepped over to take it. He was holding it out for her, but he also wasn’t letting go of his end. She really had to yank it away from him. She took it over to the Hotel to eat and he remained at the box and did a few chores. She was on the State Building after that and stayed there until about 1:30, after which we lost track of her for a while. She did show up briefly at 2:45, but then managed to eluded our web cams for a bonus two hours. At quarter to five, she was back on the State Building and an hour later the pair mated there. After mating he bounded back to box.

At 6 PM, Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was at the box, when suddenly she began vocalizing. She was bowing and giving standard “chirrup” type calls. Ares was calling too, but I got the sense there was a third falcon in the mix, although I couldn’t find it on cam. After a few minutes she flew up and landed on a window ledge west of the nest box, but then she was in flight again. At 6:50, Ares brought more prey to the box. Astrid flew over to meet up with him. She maneuvered over to him and tried to take the gift on offer, but he again didn’t seem to want to let go. Ultimately he did release the food; she took it and flew off and out of camera view. At 7:30, the pair performed what would be their last ledge display of the day. It was short and sweet and there was lots of beaking. While bowing to his mate, Ares literally turned his head up-side-down and swiped bills from that position. Ares left the box a few minutes later and likely went to his secret night perch. Meanwhile Astrid appeared to be settling in for a long stay in the box. We shall see if Easter Sunday yields any falcons eggs. We aren’t that confident since it’s April Fool’s Day as well.

 

 

Rain fell for most of the night – sometimes heavily. By morning precipitation was lighter and temperatures were in the high thirties. The wind seemed to be constant and quite strong in the downtown canyon. Astrid had come into the box at 6:40 PM Thursday evening and remained there until 1 AM Friday morning. During that time she sat on her scrape for quite a while but didn’t lay an egg. She also spent a lot of time out on the cross perch. She returned to the box sometime before 3:15 – I can’t be precise because our recording failed. At about 3:30, Ares came to the box and the two falcons did an extremely abridged ledge display. His departure was very abrupt and it was almost as if he had been thrown out. She stayed until 4 o’clock. Both falcons were visible on the State Building by 6:30. Ares was on his rooftop lookout, probably watching for prey. Rain and high wind aren’t as much an impediment to Ares’ flight as they are to the flight of most of his prey, which tend to keep grounded on bad weather days. Fifteen minutes later, he was at the box and chirping excitedly. Astrid soon arrived at the nest and the two shared an extremely short dance. Afterwards she flew out on a southern heading. At 7:30 AM, she put down on the north face of the State Building. First Ares landed at the box and left after only a few minutes and then, ten minutes later, Astrid came. I think they need work on their timing. Both birds were back on the State Building by 8:30. He was in and out of the box a few times before 10:45. Right after that we found them both on the Hotel. A minute later, Astrid was back on the State Building and she had prey (Starling). We had no idea where the prey came from. It probably came from Ares or maybe from Ares’ pantry. He regularly stores prey on the ledges of the State Building and Astrid sometimes rummages through them to find what she likes.

At 11:15, Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was back at the box. They mated on the steeple at 11:26. Afterwards, Ares returned to the box. Twenty minutes later he had flown and then taken a perch on the State Building. Astrid was still on the steeple. For the next two hours, Ares moved around a few times, but Astrid was sedentary. At 1:15, Ares was flying around the canyon. Deb observed another raptor-type bird soaring through. It was noticeably larger and was probably a Turkey Vulture. It first seemed that Ares was going after it, but then he diverted and went for a Pigeon instead. The larger bird continued passing through without being hazed. After missing the Pigeon, Ares came back to the box. He remained in hunting mode for a while and was seen pursuing prey in the canyon a little while later. In that time frame, a flock of Pigeons flushed and flew around the bank building. One hit a screen on the east side of the bank. That Pigeon was not hurt, but did perch on a window sill for a while to recover. At 2:30, Astrid finally took off. She headed west and we aren’t sure where she went after that. She ultimately showed up on the Hotel at 3:10. She wasn’t there for long. She took advantage of the strong winds to gain altitude and circle high above the canyon. She was obviously playing on the wind. He also did some beautiful soaring before coming back to the box. She landed on the State Building, but again, didn’t stay very long. By 4:10, we lost sight of both falcons. Ares returned to the fold about a half hour later, but Astrid didn’t come back for a couple of hours. Where does she go? Ares kept watch for her – first from a high window ledge on the State Building and then finally from his rooftop lookout. At 6:08, when he saw her heading for home, he darted back to the nest box and began vocalizing. His vocalizing became quite intense as she made her way into the canyon. She landed on the State Building and left him lobbying for her to come over for a ledge display. She was bound to make him wait. At 6:22, Astrid and Ares mated on the State Building. Only five minutes later, Ares retrieved most of a Woodcock out of storage and brought it to the box. Astrid came right over and took the gift. Ares didn’t let go right away and so she had to do some tugging to get it. She flew over to the Hotel, where she ravenously ate her dinner – and she finished the entire thing. Ares watched her feed from his high lookout. Once she had finished her meal, both converged at the box and had a ledge display. It was a short one, but and it mainly consisted of beaking. After the dance, Ares left and Astrid did some scrapes and other housework. At 7:10, it got a little weird: Astrid had been in the box and then suddenly jumped out onto the cross-perch. She was chirping loudly and seemed to be irritated. She blasted off and at the same time, a falcon (presumably Ares) left the rooftop and headed north. Both were out of sight for a little while and then Ares showed up on his rooftop lookout. He came back to the box and chirped as Astrid soared back through the canyon. She landed on the State Building, but didn’t stay very long. At 7:38, he left the box and at 7:43, she left her perch. Both probably went to their night perches at that time. Astrid will probably come back to the box sometime later this evening. We shall see.  Will she lay an egg? Don’t ask me.

Today was damp and warm-sih (relatively speaking). Skies were overcast and temperatures lingered in the 40’s. Light rain began in the early afternoon and then became more significant later on. Astrid had arrived at the box at just before 8 PM, Wednesday evening and she remained there until Ares arrived with food at 3:00 Thursday morning. The prey was a Killdeer (Ares’ second one of the season). Astrid latched onto it and then flew into the darkness.  Ares remained at the box for a little while and then he too disappeared into the night. Right before 5 o’clock both of them returned to the box, but abstained from doing a ledge display. She stood on the cross perch for only a moment. He, on the other hand, remained for a half-hour. Shortly after he left, we heard distinctive chatter call he gives during mating. We didn’t know where she was but evidently he knew only too well. Five minutes later, both were at the nest again. They did a ledge display and for most of it they were right up in each other’s’ faces. Certainly, lots of beaking took place. At the conclusion, Ares bailed out and she started doing her box chores, which included making a nice scrape. She left at 6:35, and he arrived back only a minute later. He didn’t stay long and when he left he gave a loud screeching call that let everyone know there were falcons in the canyon. At 7 AM, Ares was back with a Woodcock, but only five minutes later he flew off and stowed it someplace. He then returned without it.

While he was at the box, we saw that he had some green staining on the white feathers below his throat. We had noticed it yesterday when he was out on the cross perch, but at the time we thought it was due to weird lighting. We aren’t sure what the origin of the green pigment is, but it doesn’t seem as bright as it was yesterday, so it’s probably wearing off. Judging by where the stain is, he probably picked it up while securing prey, but that’s the extent of our conjecture. Perhaps he’s becoming a new species – a Green-throated Peregrine falcon? Very rare! For a while, Ares was back and forth between the box and Astrid’s perch on the Steeple. At 8:26, they mated on the steeple. A half-hour later, both were calling loudly at the nest box. He was inside and she was out on the cross-perch. She flew out after only a few moments. At 9:20, both were on the Hotel ledge. Astrid was eating and Ares was watching for Jackals or maybe was just monitoring her while she fed.  He was back to the box before she finished. When she did finish she joined him at the box for a ledge display. It was another dance that featured the pair right up in each other’s faces and there was lots of beaking. A few minutes after leaving, Ares came back for a slight reprise, which seems to be a new thing around here. Following that, he went over and took a perch on the west face of the State Building where we can’t see him with our cameras. Meanwhile she was busy with housekeeping stuff. She bit at the lip of the box and made a scraped her talons at her favorite scraping place. At 10:20, Ares brought her more food and she took it; although just where she brought it is anyone’s guess. Just before 11 AM, Ares was back to the box. Twenty minutes later, he was getting all excited as if saw Astrid flying in. Indeed he was right. She flew in and put down on top a pillar located west of the nest box. Over the course of several hours, the pair mated 3 or maybe 4 times there.

At 12:40, after one of the matings on top of the pillar, Ares went over to the Hotel to have a bite to eat. He then brought the leftovers to the nest box and tried to get Astrid to come over for it. He tried to coax her by buzzing by her repeatedly and then he returned right back to the box. She immediately came and grabbed the food – took off and went out of our camera view. He also left the frame, but not for long. Five minutes later he was back at the box and at 12:50, his lively squeaking calls told us that he saw her. Sure enough, she’d flown back into camera view and landed on the State Building. At 1:25, Ares was having a little snooze at the box. They so rarely rest at this time of year, both Deb and I took advantage of the situation and we took stills of him snoozing.  Then suddenly Astrid bounded onto the cross-perch. WAKE UP TIME!! She was a big blue surprise and he was extra excited to see her. The couple did one of their new standard ledge displays – the kind where both stand really close to each other and swipe their beaks together vertically. It’s probably no coincidence that they always do this on top Astrid’s scrape and not in the great bowl that Ares created on the opposite side of the box. Lots of housekeeping followed Ares’ departure from the box. Just lately she’s been digging in a little hole beneath our old camera. We’re not sure what she’s mining for there. She also did a couple of scrapes, including one in Ares’ super scrape spot. At 1:45, when Ares arrived with food she was out on the cross-perch. Five minutes later Ares was back at the box and that was her cue to leave. She flew west a short way alongside the building and landed on top a pillar. At 1:56, Ares flew over and they mated. An hour later they were still in the same positions and both were occasionally caught napping. So Peregrine Falcons do sleep! Lately we were starting to wonder! The mated again at 3:15. Forty-five minutes later, Ares had just returned from what we think was an aborted mating attempt. He went into the box and started giving squeaking calls. Astrid was still on the pillar, but her head was turned in his direction as if she was intently listening to his vocalizations. During the course of the next hour, Ares made at least three quick flights into the canyon and then back to the box. After the last one he landed on the east veranda instead of the box. It had been raining for a while at this point and it was obvious the falcons’ activity levels were flagging. They mated once more at 6:20, after which, Ares returned to the box and Astrid left the pillar.

At 6:35, Astrid was in the air. We rediscovered her on the Hotel ledge about 5 minutes later. At 6:40, she joined Ares at the nest box and the two falcons partook of yet another ledge display. This one, like most of the others, was heavy on the beaking action. Also, they again stood in very close proximity to each other over Astrid’s scrape. There was lots of vocalizing as well. After the dance, Ares went to the Hotel and stood on the ledge. He was there until 7:40 PM; that’s when we assume he went to his night perch. After their final ledge display, she had remained at the box. She sat out on the cross perch for a while and then at 7:38, she jumped back into the box proper. Will Astrid lay an egg tonight? Probably not, but maybe. Find out tomorrow in the next exciting installment.

 

Today began with light drizzle. Skies were overcast and temperatures ranged from the mid-thirties to the mid-forties. Our first view of the Falcons took place at 2 AM. The pair shared a ledge display which featuring some intense beaking. After the dance, Ares leaped out of the box and Astrid remained, looking a little like she was preparing to lay an egg. Ares returned at 4 o’clock and they switched out. The switch was carried out in a way similar to how they do it when they share incubation duties. Ares left the box at 4:20, only to return at 5:40. While he was there he ate a few stones – or looked like he did. At 6:30 he was on the corner of the Hotel ledge and Astrid was up on the roof of the State Building. A few minutes later she was at the box and he was on the roof. They mated on the long perch about 15 minutes after that. Soon she was up and he was at the box. In the next hour he was in and out of the nest several times. At 6:42, Ares arrived with a starling. He did some plucking but mainly he was just waiting with it. In fact, as late as 8:24 he was still waiting for her to come and take it. Finally he gave up; he flew to the hotel and probably stored the meal there. Anyhow, he came back to the box without it. Astrid showed up on the steeple at 8:52, and the pair mated there. She was at the box shortly after. While there she did some scrapes and some housekeeping. She bit the lip of the box which is apparently something that’s very important to do. Shortly after that she flew to the steeple and the pair mated. Only minutes later Ares brought food to the box and she came by to take it. She flew over to eat it on the Hotel and he followed her there. He perched close by and watched her while she polished it off.

At 9:50, Astrid went to her steeple perch and Ares went to the box. There she remained for the rest of the morning and up until 3:36 in the afternoon. Ares seemed quite content with her position on the steeple. He could easily see her right from the box. In other words, he could keep track of the two things that were most precious to him – Astrid and the nest site. The steeple is also a perfect place to mate since there’s unlimited headroom. He doesn’t have to scrunch himself down or pull in his wings like he does when they mate on the State Building. For certain, Ares’ anxiety levels had ratcheted down quite a bit during this period. Before 3:36, while she was on the steeple, the pair had mated three times successfully and there were two aborted attempts. Following the last successful mating, Ares went up to his lookout post on top of the State Building. Since there was no indication of an intruder, and since Astrid was accounted for, he was more than likely using it to watch for prey. At 4:10, Ares came to the box with prey. It was a Woodcock that he probably caught before dawn and had stored somewhere. When Astrid didn’t come for it, he flew off and probably put it back into storage. Both came to the box at 4:40 and performed a ledge display. This one featured a moderate amount of intense beaking. Afterwards he darted across the canyon and took a perch on the steeple while she did some chores around the box. It looked like she was digging a small hole at the edge and box beneath our original wall camera. What that was about is anyone’s guess. She made a scrape and bit the lip of the box for a while before hopping out onto the cross perch.

At 5:30, the falcons became very animated. Both converged at the box and engaged in some high volume vocalizations. She flew out and the came right back and then jumped onto the east veranda. Then she was up again. Ares was right behind her as she flew east and then north. We lost track of them after that and didn’t see hide-nor-feather for about an hour. That’s when Ares came back to the box. He was giving long wailing calls, which morphed into excited chirrup notes when he saw his mate. We couldn’t pick her out with the cameras, but he obviously knew where she was. He flew from the box to the State Building and then back to the box. This time we saw here for a second before she disappeared behind the east side of the State Building. Ares was up and down a few more times and he spent some more time on his rooftop lookout post. At 7:41, we got a good look at Astrid. She was feeding on the Hotel ledge. Ares landed on the ledge nearby and was monitoring her. Five minutes later, Ares was up and probably off to his night perch. Astrid finished her meal at 7:52 and came to the nest box. She made loud chirrup calls on the cross-perch before settling into the box and onto one of the scrapes. This is the earliest she’s come to the box yet this season. She may very well produce her first egg of the season tonight or early tomorrow morning. We shall see.

Today started out cool and partly cloudy, but it became warmer and more overcast as the day progressed. Temperatures were in the twenties early on, but quickly reached into the low 40’s by mid-day. Light rain started falling in the early evening. Astrid arrived at the nest box almost precisely at midnight. Inside the box she sat on one scrape and then shifted to the other. She flew out at 2:49 AM, and Ares arrived one minute later. He only had a short stay. However, both came back to the box together at 3:26. Ares had prey, instead of gifting to his mate he abruptly left with it. Meanwhile, Astrid remained at the nest. At 4 o’clock Ares was back with the food and this time Astrid grabbed it and left. We don’t know where she brought it or if she consumed it. She was back at the box at 5:30. This time she was on the cross-perches and not on one of the scrapes so we knew egg-laying couldn’t be imminent. A half-hour later, both were at the box. Ares had a fresh-looking woodcock in his talons. Astrid wasn’t interested in taking it so he went off and stored it. He came back and the pair mated on the cross-perch. That was the first mating at the box in quite some time. At 6:04, he was back with different prey. Astrid didn’t like the looks of that either and three minutes later she had flown. She wasn’t seen for quite some time after that. Of course Ares was in and out of the box. At 7:49, he was feeding over on the Hotel ledge. Ten minutes later he brought a chunk of leftovers to the box, but as he waited for Astrid to come and take it, he kept nibbling on it. It was becoming a less and less significant gift. Astrid flew in from the southwest, but she didn’t stop at the box. It wasn’t until 9:26, that we saw her land on the cross-perch. Ares saw her coming first was giving over-the-top, excited chirping calls. She hopped into the box and they kind of did a ledge display. It was all bowing, no beaking, and no footwork. At the anticlimactic conclusion of the dance, Ares left the box, but came back only five minutes later for an encore. The second performance was almost identical to the first and featured little more than bowing. Astrid was occasionally shutting one eye during it. After Ares did his trademark cowabunga type dive out of the box for the second time, she did some housekeeping, which included biting the lip of the box. Fifteen minutes later, Ares came back to the box. Were they going to perform a third display? Nope. Astrid left. She landed on the State Building for a short time and then came back to the Adirondack Bank and perched on a pillar just west of the nest box. She was there between 11:15 and noon, and during that time the pair mated twice. After each time, Ares returned to the nest box. At noon Astrid flew around the canyon and put down on the State Building. They mated there at 12:27. It’s a bit awkward mating there since the ledge Astrid was on had very little headroom. Poor Ares had to really scrunch himself in there and do it in a way that allowed his wings to be extended. It’s hard work!

At 1:44, Ares was at the box again. He had been stopping by regularly, while Astrid, on the other hand, was not in evidence. Ten minutes later, Ares was calling excitedly (as he normally does when he sees her), but we didn’t pick her out on the cameras. Before three o’clock, Ares made three more visits to the box. During the last one he spent some time wiping his bill on the perch as if he had just eaten or had given food to his mate. Since not enough time had elapsed between his last two visits, we thought the latter scenario more likely. Ten minutes later, Deb located Astrid on the south face of the State Building – one of the many places our cameras cannot see. It looked like she had a good-sized crop, so perhaps Ares had dropped off something for her. Through the late afternoon, Ares continued coming to the box and occasionally giving long wailing calls. At 4:50, his mate finally flew in from the south side of the State Building. She put down on a ledge on the north face of the building, but only stayed there for two minutes. Then she was off to somewhere else out of camera view. Ares was up too, but he soon came back to the box and resumed with his angst-filled wailing. As 6 PM, he made a quick dash up to his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Fifteen minutes later, he dove back into the box. Again, he could barely contain himself – chirping and nervously twitching. At the risk of anthropomorphizing, he was acting like the classic expectant father, except he didn’t have three cigarettes lit at the same time. He obviously saw her and expected her to come into the canyon, but she didn’t. At 6:24, we saw a falcon feeding on the Hotel ledge. We thought it was Ares, since he had just left the box. It turned out to be Astrid. She was feeding very quickly as if she expected a troupe of hyenas to come in at any time steal the food away from her. After a few minutes she flew over to the County Building and wiped her bill down. Ares came back to the box and started making highly spirited vocalizations and nervously moving around the box. He flew over to her like he was going to attempt to mate, but pulled away at the last minute and returned to the box. At 6:40, she launched again and Ares was up right after her. We don’t know which way they went, and we thought they may have gone to their night perches early, on account of the rain. Nope. She showed up again; this time on the west veranda and he landed in the box. They had a loud conversation and then she went back to the County Building.  A few minutes later she was up again. This time she put down on the north face of the State Building. Ares came back to the box, but didn’t stay long. He flew over and mated with her. Following that, he did a few flybys in front of the building and landed on the roof. The pair remained visible on the respective perches until 8:00 PM. Will Astrid lay her first egg of the season tonight? There’s a chance. Stay tuned!