Author: Matt Perry

There was quite the deluge of rain overnight and it lasted into the early morning hours. The falcons delayed their AM activities until conditions improved at around 7:00. Following Max’s landing mishap yesterday; he remained in the same window well at the State Building for about 30 hours. While he was still resting, Ares dropped off food to him at least once and he was visited by Astrid and a sibling. While Max was laid up, his brood mates were making great strides. They engaged in chases, sparring matches and some extremely high flying. At one point, at least two of them flew so high that they were difficult to pick out against the clouds. One of the most consequential events that took place today was a successful food transfer from Ares and Luna. Luna took his prize and ate it on the roof of the ADK Bank building. Other food drops took place during the day. Once Max finally finished convalescing on the State Building, one of the first things he did was to perch on the very top of the church steeple. He was soon joined by Zander and then later by Luna. Excitement reigns in the canyon these days as the young falcons learn the tricks of their trade and tear up the skies over downtown. I urge all to come and see the spectacle in person. It’s the greatest show in town.

 

The falcon fledglings became active at 4:50 AM on Friday morning.  For much of the day they practiced their flying and landings and even engaged in some sparing. At one point in the late morning, while trying to land on a window ledge of the State Building, Max miscalculated and tumbled a small distance down the side of the building before catching wind in his wings and recovering. Following that he managed to perch in a relatively high window sill on the State Building’s west side. There he remained for the rest of the day. Thanks to Kelly from the DOT office for noticing him and contacting us so promptly. Max  is probably a little sore, but we think he is OK. Videos taken by folks in the DOT office show that he looks good and appears not to be drooping a wing or showing any outward signs of damage. Fledge Watch volunteers will continue to monitor him and his siblings in the coming days. Unfortunately,  we only have sparse coverage for this weekend’s Watch  so we encourage falcon fans who are able, to stop down sometime and help us out. Scheduling a time is not necessary.

The Utica Peregrine Nestlings have all fledged now, but they continue to visit their nest box and continue to be fed there. This is different behavior than seen in the previous years. In terms of their flying: Their skill levels are gradually increasing. They are making miscalculations – primarily when landing, but this is all to be expected at this stage. Overall they are doing very well. Fledge Watch will continue through this early stage to insure that if they do get into real trouble, someone will be on hand to provide assistance if necessary. Please come down if you are able! It’s the best airshow in the Mohawk Valley

It was a really big day for the Utica Peregrines. Two more Fledges happened today and all went well. The day was quite windy and the flacons used that to their advantage. It allowed the young birds to hover and to execute slower and more careful landings. There were so many events – some unprecedented, that happened today, I’m not sure where to begin. Zander had fledged yesterday afternoon, but then returned to his siblings in the nest later in the day. It was almost as if he had “un-fledged”. We thought that was interesting, but then his two brothers, Max and Luna, did exactly the same thing.  All of them returned to the box repeatedly post fledging. Today, Max fledged at about dawn and Luna fledged in the late morning. No one claims to have witnessed the exact moment of either event, but both of these guys did really well in their flights. All three managed to converge with each other a few times; most notably, on the roof of the Adirondack Bank. Some landings were a little scary, especially a few that took place on the side of the Grace Church steeple, but all were recovered from nicely. It was an amazing day. The fledge watchers that showed up to help safeguard the fledglings received a fantastic air show for their efforts. As it stands now, Spirit is the only one of the brood who has yet to leave the nest. We expect her to give it a try tomorrow. This show has just begun! Come down if you can

Sorry – no time for a thorough update

Zander – as of last night, was still the only juvenile that has fledged. His flights around the canyon were good on Tuesday afternoon, even if some of his landings were rough. We couldn’t see one of the other three nestlings when nightfall came. This morning we’re not sure what is happening. Hopefully another update will come later on. Fledge Watch volunteers are needed.