Naming Contest for the Utica Peregrine Fledglings

Naming Contest for Utica’s Peregrine Falcon Chicks
The Utica Peregrine Falcon Project (UPFP) is asking for public participation in naming this season’s two Peregrine Falcon chicks.  Individuals are asked to submit no more than two names of either gender. It is believed that one nestling is male and one is female, but it’s too early to tell for certain. All names submitted will receive careful consideration and selected finalists will be voted on by a UPFP naming committee. Participants whose names are chosen will be eligible for a prize to be awarded during the start of Fledgling Watch in early June. The Watch, which is organized to ensure the safety of each young falcon’s early flights, will take place in the vicinity of the Adirondack Bank Building in Downtown Utica. This naming contest is free and open up the public.
Participants are asked to refrain from submitting the names of celebrities (including actors, musicians, athletes and politicians). Additionally, participants must include the reasons why they selected their names. All submissions must be sent via email to:
The deadline for  submissions is Monday, May 23rd. Selected names and contest winners will be announced on the UPFP website (uticaperegrinefalcons .com) and the Falcon Watch Utica Facebook page.
Two Chicks May 12 2016
Chick #1 is on the right and Chick #2 is on the left.

May 13 – Late Afternoon Feeding

Dinner arrives for the chicks on time. As usual Astrid does the feeding.

May 12 – Astrid Attempts to Shade the Chicks

In this clip from late Thursday afternoon, Astrid is desperately trying to keep the chicks and the eggs shaded. The trouble was she couldn’t keep everything together. The chicks were too far apart. This is the kind of thing that usually happens just to Ares

Ares on Duty – Also: Only Two Chicks this Season, Folks

In this clip from early this morning we see Ares taking a short shift on the nest. He seems a little perplexed about what to do. Should he sit on the eggs or should he brood the young? The chicks clearly want food but he doesn’t have anything to give to them. He seems to finally decide on what to do and then Astrid comes in with food and he has to leave.
Also – the wait for the other two eggs to hatch has ended. We can now say that there will only be two nestlings this season.

A Second Evening Feeding – The Two Nestlings Eat Well Tonight

Another feeding! Ares brought a chunk of prey to the nest. Astrid took it and started feeding the chicks. They were surprisingly hungry even though they had eaten not long before