Author: Matt Perry

It was another big day for the Utica Peregrine Falcons. The day was off to a cold start with temperatures in the low thirties. Astrid stayed very tight on the two nestlings and remaining eggs all night. Ares brought food to the nest box at 4:00 AM. We couldn’t be sure what species the prey was since it was so dark out, but we think it was a Starling. Astrid took it and began feeding the two chicks. After the chicks had their fill, she took the leftovers out of the box and presumably stored them. At 4:27, Ares brought prey to the box again. We weren’t sure if it was the same food as before, but whatever it was, Astrid took it and attempted another feeding. However the chicks were still satiated from their earlier meal and wouldn’t even put their heads up. During a changing of the guard at around 7:00 we determined that there was a pip on egg # 3.  Twenty minutes later Astrid was back and feeding the chicks again. Meanwhile Ares spent quite a while perching on a sunny spot on the upper ledge of the hotel. Another feeding took place at 10:38. After that it was clear that the two chicks had full crops. At 11:49, the “pipped” egg looked more like it had been sawed in two. Obviously a hatch was imminent. At 12:21 PM, Astrid shifted just enough for us to see that the third egg had hatched. A pinkish new chick was just visible and Astrid was eating some of the eggshell.  At 1:58, After Astrid left the box to escort some Turkey Vultures out of the territory, we got a look at egg # 4 and we were fairly confident it showed a pip. A little later on the small hole seemed to develop into a large crack and the egg looked like it was about to burst open at any minute. Later on, better views of egg # 4 revealed that it had in fact become cupped inside the half-shell of egg # 3. This meant that were not about to experience another hatch in short order. It’s still possible that egg # 4 is pipped, but so far we haven’t gotten a good enough look to tell for sure, at least not yet. At 5:30 PM Ares brought more food to the box, Astrid took it and then quickly flew off with it. Ares brooded the clutch until Astrid returned a few minutes later to do a feeding. This time all three young were fed. As I finish this update, Astrid is in the nest with the young and the remaining egg. Ares is standing guard on the State Building. It’s clear that after yesterday’s rather rough start, A & A are very much back in the swing of things and they are once again ready for prime time. If there are any more interesting developments this evening I will be sure to write a quick update.

It was a very cold night with temperatures hovering around the freezing point. Snow was falling in some areas. At approximately 1:30 AM the first chick of the 2017 season hatched. It was the first egg laid back on April Fools Day. At 5:54 The parents switched at the nest and Ares got to see the new chick for the first time. Astrid was back to the box in a few minutes with the remains of a pigeon. There was no feeding at this time, but for some reason Astrid brooded the chicks, the three eggs and the pigeon remains. This was some behavior we hadn’t seen before! Why was she sitting on the food? Regardless, she stayed brooding like this (adjusting things several times) for about two hours. At 10:00, Ares got a few minutes brooding in (he excluded the pigeon remains) before Astrid rushed in to take over. At 10:58 she gave an alarm call, but only a few Turkey Vultures seemed to be in the area. In other words, there seemed to be no real threat and Ares didn’t scramble after them. At approximately 11:25, egg # 2 hatched. Astrid continued brooding both chicks and ate most of the egg shell. At 12:10, she started feeding the first chick some of the pigeon that was still in the box. This was the first and only feeding of the day. At 2:00 PM both parents were out of the box and apparently dealing with an intruder. In just under ten minutes Astrid was back brooding again. At 3:27 Ares got another few minutes in the box and he got to see chick # 2 for the first time. In short order Astrid was back on duty. At 5:44 she was calling a lot and adjusting the clutch frequently. An hour later she flew out of the box, but Ares came dashing back a minute later. He began to tear into the meat of the pigeon wing (which was still in the box). He acted like he was going to do a feeding but he didn’t. Instead he flew out with the meal and held a conference with Astrid on a window ledge on the State Building. He soon came back to the box and took another shift brooding. Meanwhile she spent a few minutes preening on the hotel ledge. At 7:05 PM she returned to the nest box and took over – probably for the night. Will there be a nighttime feeding? It’s hard to say. We’re pretty sure egg # 3 is pipped, so there may be another hatch in store for us tomorrow. Stay tuned

 

Day # 32 of incubation was a cold one in the falcon’s Downtown Canyon. Temperatures were in the low 30s in the early morning and barely reached 40 degrees in the afternoon. There were even a few snow showers and strong wind gusts. Understandably Astrid stayed very tight to the eggs through most of the morning. She adjusted them often and gradually moved the entire clutch all the way to the back northwest corner of the box. We presume because it was warmer there? Ares first showed up at 5:27 AM, but she sent him away. He showed up again at 5:55 and she threw him out again. With no switches taking place, we had no way of knowing if any of the eggs had pips in them. At 8:36 she gave an alarm call, which launched Ares into action. No intruder was seen, but it is conceivable that there was one. At 10:41 AM, Ares came back to the box and Astrid finally let him take over incubating. It was during this changeover that Deb saw that egg # 1 (the egg that was laid on April 1st) had a large pip in it. It was even a big enough hole to see the chick moving around inside. By 11:25, lots of calling was being heard from the chick in the breached egg. A little later when Ares was adjusting the eggs, it looked like egg # 2 might also be pipped, but this was a much smaller hole. By 12:30 Astrid was back on the eggs. Ares came back with food at 2:48 PM. Astrid took the food and left the box, but was back within 5 minutes to relieve Ares again. It really seemed like she wanted to stay with her clutch today. At 5:35 Ares was seen feeding on the hotel ledge. It wasn’t clear what the prey was, but he never brought any of it to the box. We assume that he stored it instead. A switch at 6:00 gave us another look at the eggs and we could see that the hole in egg # 1 was larger, but we still had no hatchling in the nest. At 6:35 Astrid came to the box to relieve Ares. He didn’t want to leave and so she gave him her light chatter call. He still didn’t leave, and so she flew out instead. She came back at 7:15 PM and this time they switched. He returned 15 minutes later with a hunk of food. Maybe it was intended for the chick(s)? She sent him away with it. We end today’s report with 4 eggs still in the nest. Maybe one will hatch tonight? If not, we expect tomorrow morning will give us one if not 2 hatches.  We shall see

 

It was cold and rainy again today. In the early morning the temperatures were in the low 40’s and they moderated little as the day progressed. The first changing of the guard took place at 5:24 AM. About ninety minutes later Astrid was seen feeding on a fresh kill (pigeon) on the hotel ledge. She appeared to eat nearly the entire thing. At every one of the quick changeovers that took place today we inspected the eggs for pips, but none were identified. At 11:07, Ares was seen on the hotel with a small scrap of food (probably the scant leftovers from Astrid’s meal). While he was there a particularly fearless pigeon first buzzed by him and then perched only two feet away on the same ledge. We’ve seen this behavior before in recent weeks and we believe it’s an example of a pigeon protecting its own nest site. During the late morning Astrid may have been reacting to sounds emanating from an egg (or eggs). She called and adjusted the eggs in response. For a minute I thought I could hear some light peeping sounds coming from the eggs, but at the time the audio feed was cutting in and out and so I couldn’t be completely sure of what I was hearing. Ares came to the box at noon, obviously intending to take over on the eggs. She sent him away, but at 2:26 she was ready to leave and he got his chance to incubate.  The final switch for the day happened at 5:24 PM when Astrid returned to the box. Ten Minutes later, Ares was feeding on fresh prey on the hotel. The falcons have now completed 31 days of incubation. If things proceed as expected, Monday or Tuesday should bring them their first hatch.

 

 

It was a little on the chilly side in the early morning with some light rain. Later in the morning rain became steadier, but temps were more mild. Winds were out of the south and were packing some strength. Those winds ushered in some migrating raptors; although none that drew the ire of the falcons. The Peregrines did their first changing of the guard at 5:30 AM. At that time it was hard to see the eggs well enough to determine if any of them were pipped, but subsequent changeovers gave us more opportunities to view them and we can confidently report that there were no pips. This means we expect no imminent hatching. However, it is day 30 of incubation and we so can’t be too far off from a hatch. Today seemed to be fairly calm and incident free, but for most of the day both Deb and I were monitoring remotely from our phones and so it’s conceivable we missed some action. Astrid did leave the nest and the eggs at around 2:00 PM, but Ares arrived and took over incubating leaving only a two-minute gap. Review of the days recordings seemed to confirm that it was a no-drama day. At 5:00 Astrid took over at the nest from Ares and presumably Ares retired early to his night perch. Heavier rain and cooler conditions helped insure an early night for the pair. Based on experience from previous years, we predict the first pip and first hatch to take place sometime on Monday or Tuesday.