Ares decided he wanted to be present for the laying of this egg. He arrived just seconds before Astrid produced her second egg of the season!
Author: Matt Perry
Another Day, Another Intruder – Expect a New Egg Sometime Tomorrow
Astrid spent last night at the nest box but left at 3:30 AM when Ares arrived with her breakfast. I don’t think that she took it though. It was very dark and I could barely make it out on our PTZ camera, but it looked like they tried to mate on the State Building before 5 AM, which may be a record early time for that kind of thing. He tried to give her another food offering at 6:00 upon her return to the box, but she still wouldn’t take it. Things seemed quiet in the canyon for the first half of the morning, but that tranquility was disrupted when an intruder came blasting through. There was pandemonium for a while. Astrid seemed particularly put out this time. Following some chasing Ares assumed his usual lookout position on the top corner of the State Building and surprisingly, there he received a hazing from the other bird. Following that, our pair again took the upper hand and the intruder wasn’t seen again for the rest of the day. In the late morning a long chatter alarm call given by Ares was probably in response to some other species of raptor (not a Peregrine) migrating over the Downtown area. Thankfully, the afteroon was much less contentious. Astrid was seen drinking water from puddles on the Hotel ledge no less than three times and there were as many as six mating seen and/or heard between afternoon and dusk. Ares brought some dinner (it was an unrecognizable hunk) to Astrid in the early evening. This she accepted; she flew over to Hotel ledge to devour it. We expect the second egg of the season to be laid sometime in the early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!
The Breeding Season is Off to a Start With One Egg in the Box
For the first time in nearly a year, we began the day with an egg in the nest box. Astrid had remained in the box all night long. Just before 6 AM, Ares flew up to the box perch with his usual introductory screech. He had a Woodcock in his talons, but just as he was about to hand it off to his mate, something in the darkness caused him to issue an alarm call. He dashed out of the box taking the prey with him. He reappeared on the State Building a little while later and we still have no idea what spooked him. Was it an intruder? He returned to relieve Astrid about an hour later and we believe this was his first opportunity to see the new egg. He fussed over it for a short time and even settled down on it as if he was going to incubate. Of course, leaving the egg uncovered for extended periods is normal at this time. Full incubation doesn’t typically begin until half the clutch has been laid. This helps insure that the intervals between the hatches will be smaller than those between the egg layings. This means that the differences in size of the nestlings won’t be so great, and that serves to lessen competition for food in the nest and increases survival chances for the younger nestlings.
At around 10:45 Ares retrieved the same Woodcock from storage and brought it to Astrid. This time she was quick to accept it and flew over to the hotel to feed.
Generally falcons prefer windy, sunny days and this afternoon they were able to do some effortless sailing around the canyon, but only rarely were both out of view of the nest box. Our monitoring of the falcons was somewhat lacking during the latter part of the day, but as far as we know, at least one ledge display and three matings took place. Astrid was also seen making two trips to the hotel ledge in order to drink water from a puddle. At 3:45 Astrid was back at the box and seemed to be semi incubating and semi shading the egg. As evening came the pair converged at the hotel for more drinks from ledge puddles. Ares tried again to give Astrid a food tribute, but she wouldn’t accept it and he stored it instead. Astrid ended her day where it began – at the nest box. We expect a second egg to be laid sometime tomorrow night or Tuesday morning.
Active Late Morning in the Downtown Canyon
Astrid spent the entire night in the box, but again neglected to produce an egg. The pair were together at the box a few times in the predawn hours and even mated on the nest box perch in the darkness and fog. At dawn it was Ares turn to spend some time minding the homestead. Persistent snow and then rain through mid-morning kept pair’s activities levels low. Both loafed on State building for a while. As the precipitation slowed, Ares got peppier and the pair mated on the State Building at 9:20. He then retrieved most of a Woodcock from a ledge on the State Building and tried to give it to Astrid. She declined the gift and so, waste-not want-not, he partook of some himself. At 10:00, the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project held its first public walk of the season around the falcon’s canyon and the birds didn’t disappoint. Both flew around the Downtown area and, especially Ares, put on a really great show. The pair mated at the box and on the steeple. To the delight of all, they met at the box several times and performed a couple of ledge displays. Toward the end of our walk, an immature male Peregrine followed Ares as he flew in to join Astrid at the box! That was a surprise. The stranger was escorted out quickly and the resident pair reunited at the box and then on the church steeple. Through the afternoon we weren’t able to keep very close tabs on the falcons, but as far as we know, they didn’t seem very active. Ares made a few visits to the nest box and Astrid was occasionally seen perching on the State Building and the steeple. By evening, Astrid was back in the box and she remains there now at 6:50 PM as I write this update. Will she spend the night in the box again? Will anything else happen? I’ll say “maybe”.
Rain Rain Rain and then Some Action in the Late Afternoon
Astrid came to the nest box at 4 AM on Friday. She didn’t seem like she was ready to lay an egg, so we had no expectations. She stayed at the box until Ares came in and relieved her. She was back by 7 o’clock, and at that point Ares tried to interest her in a Woodcock breakfast, but she wouldn’t take it. He came back a little later with some unrecognizable piece of prey. That she took and presumably ate. For the balance of the morning, Ares was popping in and out of the box with great frequency. Rain was coming down steadily and it didn’t seem to bother him. On the other hand, Astrid is no fan of the rain and she mostly kept tight to a ledge on the west face of the State Building. Ares desperately tried coaxing her back to the box, but she wouldn’t budge. That is until noon, when she made two rapid fire visits. Each time Ares hoped she would come in for a ledge display, but he was disappointed. In the early afternoon, he couldn’t get a rise out of Astrid no matter what he did. He tried wailing, bringing food, buzzing by her and more, but there was no response from his mate. Finally at 3:30 PM, the rain slowed down and Astrid participated in a ledge display at the box. They then proceeded to mate five times in the next two hours! At 6 PM, Astrid finally took the Woodcock that Ares first tried to give her in the early morning. The pair ended their day with a quick ledge display at the box. Following the display, Astrid remained at the box and is still there as I’m writing this at 10:20 PM. Will she lay her first egg of the season tonight? We shall know tomorrow.
