Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 1, 2018

Overnight strong winds developed and temperatures dropped into the high twenties. Rain and snow began falling and the higher elevations in the region were treated to an inch of snow. By afternoon, conditions had improved. It was still very windy, but the sun was out in a big way. Astrid and Ares had a very active overnight session. She arrived at the box at 7:30, Saturday night. At 9:36, she very abruptly bailed out of the box. She seemed to be watching something intently just before exiting, but we have no idea what she saw. We heard her giving some vocalizations about five minutes after flying. An hour later, she was back and  settled in the box, but then the same thing happened again. She heard or saw something, and at 10:37 PM, she dove out of the box. This time she did a lot of vocalizing, but again, we couldn’t locate her with the cameras. It sounded like it was only her calling but we couldn’t be sure of that. Although her vocalizations conveyed agitation, there were no cackle-type alarm calls heard. Both falcons came to the box at 11:18 PM. She limited herself to the cross-perch while he came all the way in. In a minute, Astrid was gone again and Ares lingered for about 10 minutes. She returned to the nest at 2:07, he came a little while later, but she sent him away with harsh vocalizations. There was a really quick food exchange at the box at 3:43. The prey was small, but she took it just the same. We don’t know where she went to feed on it. At 7:42, the pair came to the nest box and did a ledge display. Lots of beaking took place during that display and Ares’ mating chatter was hear shortly afterwards, which is a solid indication that they mated. She left at around 8 o’clock. Twenty minutes later, Ares came back to the box with prey. Astrid grabbed it and flew off into the canyon.  Both were back at the box 8:45 for an impromptu ledge display. It was an extra fast dance and neither falcon stayed long afterwards.

After spending some time on the State Building, Astrid flew over to the box at around 9:20. Five minutes later I checked the video feed and right after that she was snoozing in there. Twenty minutes later, Astrid and Ares performed a short ledge display at the box. She remained after he left and did some serious housework. She made at least four scrapes, bit at the lip of the box for a while, and then moved on to digging in the hole she started the other day. After a while she stopped her chores and went to the side of the box when she makes scrapes. She seemed somewhat anxious and unsettled, She shifted positions a few times before settling on a spot that had her facing the inner corner of the box. After a few barely perceptible contractions, at 9:55 AM, Astrid laid her first egg of the season.  Initially we could only see a tiny bit of it, but its rich brown shell color was unmistakable. She immediately hunkered down on it. Ares came to the box at 10:20. This was his first opportunity to see the new egg. The pair did a sort-of ledge display – during which, Astrid kept in position over the egg. They did some beaking and then after about five minutes, Ares stepped around to the other side of the box. She turned right with him while straddling the egg and effectively keeping him from really getting an eyeful. He left after that and flew over to a ledge on the State Building. At 11:10, Ares returned to the box and this time Astrid had no problem with allowing him to see the egg. As a matter of fact, she got up and left the box, leaving the nest and contents all to him. He fussed with the egg for a little while and then carefully rolled it under his chest, but after a few minutes, he was up again and left the box. She flew back a couple of minutes later and took charge of the egg. At noon, they switched again. Ares spent only a few minutes with the egg and then he was gone. He was utilizing the high winds and soaring at great speed through the canyon. It seemed they were leaving the egg in charge of the nest. Twenty minutes later he was back in the box and guarding the egg. It’s important to point out that continuous incubation will not begin until at least half the clutch is laid. At 1:35, Astrid and Ares mated on the State Building. Afterwards, she came immediately back to the nest. She left at 1:43, and the egg was left unattended until Ares returned at 2:17. Seven minutes later he was speeding through the canyon again. He flew right up to Astrid’s perch on the State Building and they mated again. Following that, Astrid returned to the box. He quickly joined her there and the pair had a conversation in falcon-speak. They beaked one time and then she left. He left only minutes later and did some impressive wind surfing.

Astrid came back to the box at 2:47. The afternoon sun was flooding into the box at this point and she seemed to be appreciating its warmth. She napped for only a minute or two. At 3:30 they switched out and Ares was on duty again. She stayed on the State Building until about 4:50, and then she ventured out of our camera view for a short while. Ares was in and out of the nest, but at 5:05, he started giving excited vocalizations. He saw Astrid come back into the canyon and land on the State Building. He remained at the box for another ten minutes and then dramatically launched out onto the wind and sailed off to the north. He ended up on the roof of the State Building, but didn’t stay long. He dashed right back to the box, and then right back to the State Building. For around five minutes he was perched near Astrid on the structure’s north face, but then he vanished. Less than a minute later he was at the box with a large hunk of prey. Astrid glided down to meet him and accept the gift. She soon flew away with it, but we couldn’t find where she went to feed. Ares came back to the nest at 6:07 and Astrid showed up on the State Building at about the same time. They mated shortly after that. Astrid was at the box by 6:20, and that’s when she began her stewardship of the egg. She will most likely be guarding it all night long. She’s not beginning to incubate yet, but she’s also not going to permit it to freeze. She will most likely lay her second egg sometime Tuesday evening. Ares was last seen on the State Building at 7:40. He’s not expected to take any night shifts with the egg, but may bring food for Astrid at some point during the night.

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.