Author: Matt Perry

Temperatures were in the single digits in the early morning. Thankfully, things moderated a bit later on and the mercury surged into the low twenties. Ares first showed up at the nest box at 6:15 this morning. Astrid wasn’t seen until 7:30, when she landed on the State Building. The pair mated twice before 8 PM. Shortly after that, both appeared together at the box, but there was no display; Astrid left right away and flew over to the Hotel ledge. There she remained until 10:20. At some point Ares may have dropped off a tidbit for her. She was seen picking at something small, but it could have been something already on the ledge.

Right before 10:30, the pair shared a ledge display at the nest box. It was shortand Ares left first. Ten minutes later, he was at the box again and she was gone. They had switched out; it was almost as if they’d been sharing incubation duties. All indications are that such a thing is not far off. Astrid appears to be laden – as if egg development is well underway. It’s quite conceivable that egg number one will make an appearance in the coming few days. If it does it would constitute a record early egg-date for this pair and this location.

At just before 11 o’clock, there was a failed mating attempt. At 1 PM, Ares issued an alarm call, but it was probably just a warning to some transient raptor flying over the canyon. Ares didn’t give chase. As a matter of fact, he flew over and mated with Astrid right after the non-incident. Twenty minutes later, Ares came to the box with a starling. He plucked it on the State Building and then flew around the canyon with it a few times.  Ultimately he stored it on a ledge. Astrid remained sedentary for most of the afternoon. Meanwhile Ares was out of camera view for several hours. Was he out hunting? At 3:30, Astrid grabbed the starling that Ares had stored earlier, picked at it for a while and then took it over to Hotel ledge and made a meal of it. At 3:50, Astrid and Ares had a “dance” at the nest box. The display was seven minutes long. At 7 PM, Ares flew in with prey, landed on the same ledge as Astrid, and possibly gave her the food. He had a pretty big crop at that time, so he must have been feeding himself. The falcons did some more moving around right before sunset. Ares spent a little time on his “top of the world” perch on the State Building roof, while Astrid soared around to the south side of the building. By 7:10, we were convinced the birds had gone to their might perches.

This morning started out even colder than yesterday morning. Temperatures were in the low twenties. But the strong gusty wind made it seem colder. Temperatures moderated into the 30’s by mid-day. Of course March 17th is Saint Patrick’s Day, and in Utica there is a big parade that crosses right through the falcon’s canyon. No one expected a conflict and there wasn’t one. The falcons weren’t especially early birds today. Both showed up at the box together and performed a very short (five seconds) ledge display. Astrid flew right back into the darkness and landed on a high ledge on the State Building. Ares stayed at the box for a little while, left when she flew, and then and came back to the box when she returned to her perch. The falcons continued in a similar manner for few more hours. One was on the roof of the State Building for a few minutes. At one point Ares flew off in the direction of the Utica Marsh, but both falcons were on the State Building by 9:30. Ares had flown in with some prey and was feeding on it. Astrid moved in closer to him and “asked” for a share. He then abandoned it, thus allowing her to take over.

The Saint Patrick’s Day parade started at 10:00, and Astrid and Ares had seats in the high bleachers. But honestly, other than the canyon being a little noisier than an average day, the falcons didn’t seem to notice anything unusual, green hats and bagpipes notwithstanding. Both falcons did take off at around 11 AM. Astrid was seen doing some nice slow soaring. Afterwards she came back to the State Building and he returned to the box. At 11:30 he made a stop on the hotel ledge. At one point he launched after something, or at least we thought he did. Regardless, in two minutes, the pair was mating on the State Building. He was back to the box afterwards and she was flying around in the canyon. Her return to the State Building was announced by Ares in his  own squeaky speak.  While up on the lip of the box, it seemed like Ares finally noticed the parade – or he was looking in its direction anyhow. He seemed less than captivated by it. After all there was no pigeon float or troupe of starlings dressed in green, playing the pipes. Not much of interest for a Peregrine Falcon there.

At slightly after 1 PM, the pair had a ledge display at the nest box. There was no fancy foot work or any beaking this time. The display consisted of deep bows, with Ares standing on his masterpiece of a scrape. The “dance” was only about five minutes long. Ares left first and flew over to the State Building. No doubt he was hoping that Astrid would make him the happiest bird in town by laying an egg right in the center of his scrape. Well, she didn’t do that. She did make four scrapes herself – at least one was in Ares’ trench. She also bit the lip of the box a few times. When she left, she went over to the State Building, but wasn’t there for too long. Shortly after two o’clock, she was out of view of our cameras and stayed that way for the next 4 hours. At 2 PM, Ares was on the ledge of the hotel feeding on prey. Unlike his mate, Ares made a few appearances at the box, but then disappeared from our cameras at 3:40. It’s possible the pair mated around that time. Deb thought she heard Ares’ mating chatter call. Astrid finally came back onto our radar at close to 6 PM. She landed on the cross-perch of the nest box, but didn’t stay more than a minute or two. Ares was seen ten minutes later. He had a leg of some bird prey in his talons and was calling for Astrid to come take it. He had a nice big crop himself, so we were pretty sure that he had a share of that prey (and possibly all but the leg he was holding).  Astrid was last seen on the roof of the State Building at 6:47. After stowing the food, Ares spent some time on the cross perch of the nest box. The early evening light lit him up beautifully there. Where are all the photographers when the lighting is this good? He went to his night perch a few minutes before 7 PM.

We had a colder start to the day than usual. Temperatures were only in the mid 20’s, although the persistent wind made it seem colder. Indeed, the winds increased as the day went on. The falcons weren’t seen super early this morning. Both showed up at the box together at 6 o’clock sharp. Ares had a small food tribute for Astrid and she took it without any fanfare. Both falcons were in and out of view after that; Astrid was mostly out of view. At 8:10, Ares was seen feeding on something on the hotel ledge. By 8:30, the pair had a rendezvous at the nest for a ledge display. After Ares left the box, Astrid spent a few minutes sitting in Ares’ mega scrape – perhaps trying it out for size. At 9:10, the falcons mated on the State Building. Only five minutes later he was at the box with prey. We think he ended up storing that food, but we couldn’t be sure of that. Regardless, following a short interlude he came back to the box without it. After that, the falcons were out of view for the better part of two hours. They were back at 11:15 AM. Ares stayed at the box until noon and only left when he saw Astrid fly off. He likes to keep especially good tabs on her during this stage in the breeding process. When she flies, he gives squeaking calls, and when she goes out of his view, he follows after her. He is a hyper dedicated mate. When Astrid left her perch we saw her soar very slowly in front of the west face of the State Building. She then rose out of camera view. Ares made course for her and soon he was out of our camera view as well. Fifteen minutes later, he was back at the box. She flew in and took a perch on the State Building again. At 12:30, Ares flew across the canyon to her building; he slowly rose in elevation until he was above her. He then came floated down and tried to mate, but the angle was wrong or she wasn’t ready. Regardless, the mating was aborted and he flew back to the nest. At 12:50, he got a meal out of storage and brought it right to her ledge. Now that is service!

At 1:40 PM, the falcon pair came to the box twice in a row. They were calling and very animated. We never figured out the reason for their excitement. Was there an intruder in the canyon? Within twenty minutes, they had mated again on the State Building. Deb said that Ares was fluttering like a butterfly during the act. Forty minutes later, they mated again in the same location – and again at four o’clock! Meanwhile the wind gusts were incredibly strong and temperatures were in the twenties. At 4:30, Ares brought a food tribute up to the ledge near where Astrid was perched on the State Building. She flew over to him and, after a tugging match, she prevailed. He flew off and she ate her gift right there on the ledge. Ares was out of view for a while after that. He made a suitably dramatic (screeching) return to the box at 5:45. Twenty minutes later, he flew from the box, made some nice and leisurely maneuvers in the canyon (in spite of the howling wind) and then arced upward toward Astrid. Yes, they mated for a fifth time – and it’s perfectly conceivable that we missed a few. Ares took a perch only a few window ledges down from Astrid; even as the snow squall intensified in the canyon. When he left at 6:25, Astrid was still in place. We are not sure if she is being so sedentary this afternoon because she’s close to laying her first egg, or is it due to the weather? Time will tell. At 6:35, Ares came to the box with prey. Astrid came right over this time and quickly snatched it away. She flew back over to the State Building and had her dinner. Ares left right after she took her food and he probably went off to a night perch.

 

Thursday started out chilly with light snow falling. The wind had already kicked in and the temperature remained at or close to the freezing point. By the afternoon the sun was out, but it stayed chilly and the winds never ebbed. Astrid and Ares arrived together at the nest box at 4:48 AM and performed a long ledge display. Like other recent dances, this one was characterized by a comparatively slight amount of movement by both participants. Also, as has been the trend, beaking took place toward the end. Astrid remained at the box after Ares left. She did some calling and at least a couple of scrapes. One scrape was on the opposite side of the box from Ares’ mega scrape. At around 6:50, they had switched; Ares was at the box and Astrid was on the State Building. At 7:50, Astrid had just left the Hotel and landed on the roof of the State Building. Ares joined her there and the two preformed a short ledge display up there. Although we had previously seen the pair perform ledge displays in other locations, that was the first time we had seen them do one up there on top of the world. Forty minutes later, Ares brought prey to the box and Astrid came and grabbed it. She took it over to the snowy ledge of the hotel to eat. It was hard to tell what she was feeding on since it was hidden by the snow. Both were on the State Building for a while after that. At 11:07, it was Ares turn to be feed on the hotel. He was gripping the food right up against a snow drift, so we could see a little of it. It didn’t appear to be the same thing Astrid had been feeding on earlier. At 11:50, the pair mated on the State Building.

Early afternoon was fairly active. Ares did some screeching in the box. At 1:30, the pair mated again on the State Building. Fifteen minutes later, Ares became upset by something. His cackle alarm calls were heard, but no one saw what the cause was. Was there an intruder? Could it have been another Peregrine? For about 15 minutes the pair was unaccounted for, but soon enough things were back to the status quo, with Ares at the nest box alternating between giving his long screeching calls and working on his scrape. The next notable action occurred at 4:30, when Ares arrived at the box with fresh prey. Astrid was across the canyon on the State Building, but would not come over to take the tribute. Ares tried to entice her over by flying by her perch with the prey in his talons, but Astrid still wasn’t biting. Soon Ares was back at the box, but without the food. Presumably he had stored it. At 5:15, Ares did some nice flybys of the State Building. He was kiting and soaring on the strong winds. It probably was for Astrid’s benefit, but it didn’t seem like a conventional flight display. Ares spend a lot of time at the nest box after that and Astrid remained on her perch on the State Building. As early as it is in the season, it’s possible that she’s gearing up to lay her first egg. We hope she holds off for a while, but that’s not something no one can control, not even Astrid. At 5:45, both falcons left their perches and sailed into the canyon. We thought that that would be the last we saw of them for the day, but then at 6:30, Astrid was spotted on the hotel ledge eating a Pigeon. Later on she went over to a ledge on the north face of the State Building. Ares landed on the roof of the same building at about 7:10 and then he made one last visit to the box 15 minutes later. This was around the times the crows were passing by the canyon and retiring to their own night roosts. That turned out to be the final falcon sighting of the day.

The snow spigot never quite shut off today and it definitely had a cooling effect on the falcon’s activities. Temperatures stayed in the low thirties, but the winds really picked up by afternoon. Ares made his morning depute on the State Building at around 4:50 AM. He didn’t show up at the nest box until 6:25. He came and left a few more times in the subsequent half-hour. Astrid made her first appearance at the nest at 7:15. An hour later, the pair shared a ledge display at the box. They did some intense beaking, but not much fancy footwork. Astrid left when only five minutes into it. The pair mated on the State Building at 9 o’clock.

At 10:26, Astrid dove from her perch on the State Building. She was probably going after prey, but didn’t secure anything. Five minutes later the falcons were seen sailing on the wind just east of the State Building. A third bird that appeared to be with them was most likely only a passing crow. Afterwards, Astrid and Ares were both perched on high ledges on the north face of the State Building. At just before noon, Ares was back at the box. He was alternating between calling and making scrapes in the usual place on the floor of the box. At one point he calmed down and appeared to nod off, but soon was chirping again and preening. Deb said that he was “sleep chirping”. Through much of the afternoon, Ares was out of view for long periods, while Astrid mostly remained perched on the State Building. We presumed he was trying to hunt, but we never did see him with prey, nor was any food transfer confirmed between him and his mate. At 3:30, Ares was back in canyon again and there was a failed mating attempt. At just before 4:30, both falcons showed up at the nest box, but Astrid didn’t stay. Forty five minutes later there may have been a mating attempt on the State Building. We couldn’t be sure since the camera lens was obscured by an ill-placed chunk of ice. Speaking of which, many of our camera views were obscured today due to ice buildups on the lens covers.

Shortly after, Ares did some fancy flying in front of the East and North sides of the State Building. This may or may not have been a flight display, although he did appear to buzz by Astrid at one point. Ares was next seen at the nest box at 6 PM. Astrid came to the box too, but not until ten minutes after he left. When she departed she simply spread out her wings and allowed the wind to yank her airborne.  Although they can do without the snow, these birds truly thrive on high winds. For them it’s a free ticket to fly. We never did see the falcons with prey today and we assume that’s due to the weather and the lack of active prey. Hopefully, tomorrow will be an easier day for them and for all of us for that matter!