Author: Matt Perry

As expected Astrid had taken the night shift in the box. It was a cold and windy night and she appeared to remain tight on the eggs the whole time. Ares came by with a Woodcock at 5:50 AM, but she didn’t seem interested and left the box without taking it. About 15 minutes later she was seen having a drink of water on the roof of the hotel. The pair shared incubation duties fairly evenly for much of the day, although it seemed that Ares drew more time during the afternoon when the sun was flooding the inside of the box. Only a single mating attempt was seen today and no food transfers were witnessed. Astrid did have a good sized crop in the late morning, so we believe that she did eat something. There were also the remains of a woodcock on the sidewalk below the nest box ledge, so that’s another indication of recent feeding. At one point in the afternoon the pair left the eggs for nearly 10 minutes, which is risky on such a cold day, but at that time the sun was exerting its full force in the box and so in our opinion, the eggs should be fine. Ares was seen zipping around the canyon at full tilt in the mid-afternoon. The winds were right for it, so why not. It looked like he went on a hunting foray to the south a little while after that. Despite the cold and wind we had an excellent turnout for our Downtown falcon watching event this morning. Participants got to learn all about our falcons’ habitat and see Astrid and Ares’ favorite hangouts. We even checked out the original nest site used by Maya and Tor back in 2008 & 2009.  Our falcons weren’t very active during our walk, but there were other birds of interest flying by the canyon including an adult Bald Eagle. Thanks to all that attended and hopefully we’ll see you in June during Fledgewatch if not before. We are expecting Astrid to lay a fourth egg sometime tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

Astrid and Ares were serious about incubation today. Following Astrid’s long overnight vigil, both falcons took turns incubating the three eggs. In fact, since the day was so chilly we hardly got any looks at the new egg. It was virtually always under one falcon or the other. Today there may have only been one food exchange that took place and no matings were reported for the first time in weeks. A fourth egg will likely be laid sometime Sunday morning.  Tomorrow the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project people will be in Downtown Utica to give a tour of the falcons’ canyon and see Astrid and Ares. Anyone and everyone is invited to come and see these amazing raptors in person. We will be at the Adirondack Bank parking lot tomorrow at 10:00 AM.

It was very rainy off and on today – mostly on! Despite that the falcons had a fairly active day. As usual, it started early with Ares bringing a meal to Astrid at 4:27 AM. She didn’t take it, but let him have his early turn in the box. He stored the meal and then came right back. Throughout the day the pair took turns being at the nest box – sometimes incubating and sometimes only guarding the eggs. We believe that continuous incubation did begin in the late afternoon.  The pair mated at least five times today, including once during heavy rainfall. There were at least 3 food exchanges – one appeared to be a bat. Finally, Astrid laid egg number three at approximately 7:40 PM. We only glimpsed the new egg for a second when she shifted and so we have no pictures of it yet. We will be sure to post some tomorrow once the light returns.

 

Tuesday evening we lost track of Ares for a while. It’s possible that he had gone hunting in the late afternoon and got stranded somewhere during heavy rain fall. Astrid seemed to be calling for him in the evening, but he didn’t respond. By early morning (5:15 AM) he reappeared and took his turn guarding the eggs at 6:20. The pair has yet to begin full incubation, which is normal at this stage. The pair were more active in the late afternoon. Astrid was seen on several different perches around the downtown canyon. Ares brought back a Mourning Dove at 7:20 and Astrid ate it on the Hotel. There were a total of four matings today (that we know about) and at least two food exchanges. Astrid was also seen drinking water on the Hotel. We should see the 3rd egg laid sometime in the early evening on Thursday. Full incubation could begin at any time. In fact it may have already commenced, which would mean that the countdown to the first hatch would also begin!

Astrid spent the night in the nest box again last night and at 6:45 AM she produced her second egg of the season. What was different this time was that Ares was at the box when the egg was laid. In the course of four seasons, Astrid has laid a total of 14 eggs and this was the only one that Ares was present for. Astrid was a little more vocal when laying this egg and we think it may have been a more uncomfortable experience than usual for her. She did seem fine afterwards and for the rest of the day. Today there were a couple of food exchanges – the only recognizable prey item was a starling. Astrid was seen drinking water on the Hotel ledge once in the afternoon and she took a brief shower while standing on the box’s perch in the rain. The pair both took turns sitting at the box and sometimes sitting on the eggs, but full incubation has not yet begun. Rain fell off and on throughout the day today, but the heaviest rain was in the late afternoon. There were a total of five matings reported today. We expect the next egg to come sometime Thursday in the late afternoon or early evening.