Author: Matt Perry

A month after fledgling and our 3 young Peregrine Falcons continue to been seen in their Urban Canyon. A few of our falcon watchers have continued visiting Downtown to witness the aerial feats of these now accomplished fliers. Although a least one of the youngsters has been seen in a practice dive (called a stoop), we have not been able to confirm that any one of the 3 has captured prey for themselves. The way they continue to beg and harass their parents seems to indicate that they still rely on them for food, but no doubt that is soon to change. Meanwhile individuals continue to visit the nestbox at unpredictable intervals. Yesterday Leda made 2 visits. It was evident that she had been eating well lately since her throat was bulging (in other words, she had a full crop).

Three weeks after fledging, the young Utica Peregrine Falcons are all still together and doing fine. Weeks of chasing each other and sparring is preparing them well for their future life of hunting and protecting territory. Certainly their flying abilities have improved markedly – so much so that the falcon watchers need not cringe when one of them comes in for a tricky landing. None of the family including the parents are tied to the nest box anymore, but once in a while one of them will pay a visit to the old homestead. Currently the young are spending the majority of their time in the artificial “canyon” that constitutes the small Downtown area. Their favorite buildings are the State Office Building and Hotel Utica, and the young birds do most of their chasing and other aerial stunts around these places. The parents are becoming more elusive of late. Probably hunting farther afield in order to keep up with the growing appetites of demanding young. In fact the begging screeches of the young falcons have become a common part of the Downtown sound-scape. Soon enough though the younsteers will be expected to hunt up their own grub. I expect that Ares may be counting the days until that comes to pass!

 

Utica’s Youngest Peregrine Falcons continue to hone their flying skills as they chase each other all around the downtown area. On Thursday morning I watched Indi and Tres chasing one another and engaging in some sparring. The size difference between these 2 fledglings is the most dramatic in the family – Indi being bigger than even her mother and Tres, undisputedly the smallest of the bunch. Later on Tres and Leda started in. Being more evenly matched in size, their ariel maneuvers were more synchronized and quicker paced. All of these birds are more experienced fliers now, so fortunately we don’t have to hold our breath anymore when they fly upside-down, lock talons or tuck in their wings and plummet toward the Earth. A bit later in the morning Leda was seen high on the steeple of Grace Church standing on one of his parents’ favorite perches. This was the first time we’ve ever seen one of these youngsters use that spot. I was not surprised that Leda was the first to figure out how to land there.

On Friday evening, Dave and Candis Cesari saw some interesting action. Tres flew in proudly carrying a bird in his talons (presumably he got the food from one of his parents). Tres landed on the State Office Building and began feeding, but before long his big sister Indi showed up and stole the food away! Easy come, easy go!

On July 4th Tres was brought back into town after spending a full week at Kindred Kingdoms – a Wildlife Rehabilitation facility in Pennellville run by Jean and Len Soprano. Tres’s release went off without a hitch. We were able to introduce him back into the family’s territory by putting him through the hatch at the back of the nestbox. From there he hopped onto the box’s perch and after only a minute, took to the sky again. His flight was strong (as was the wind) and it led him east toward the County Building. The Fledge Watch volunteers followed, and after some searching, found him perched on the roof on the building’s south side. After about 1/2 hour, Astrid and Ares came over to check him out. Astrid made low flights over him and even hovered above him. Ares did the same, and then Tres began to call. Both parents took turns landing briefly on the building thus allowing the fledgling to approach them. That was all it took, and Tres was accepted back into the fold. His parents soared back to the home “canyon” and Tres joined his 2 siblings on the State Office Building. He actually flew up and adeptly landed right between Leda and Indi. I guess he was anxious to relay his alien abduction story!

 

Lately there’s been a lot more running around involved for some of the Fledge Watch volunteers as they try to keep track of where Leda and Indi are going. For the most part the family have restricted their activities to a 2 to 4 block area, which is considerate of them! Indi’s flying continues to improve. She is the largest of the family (noticeably bigger than her mother) and her sizable wings are proving a great advantage in keeping her aloft. So far her flights are not of long duration, but she continues to practice flapping (while perched) in order to strengthen her wing muscles. We are now reasonably certain that Leda is a male and not a female as first thought. Seeing him in flight next to his mother and Ares has allowed us to make size comparisons not possible when the birds were together in the nest box. Leda’s flights are amazing to watch. His aerial maneuvers are becoming more and more graceful and precise. Also, the length and frequency of his flights have greatly increased. He often skillfully lands right next to (within inches)  his sister or his father. Landing next to Ares is usually a plea for food and is accompanied by shrill begging calls. Leda has recently started chasing after his parents. On Wednesday he went after Astrid and even kept pace with her for a few moments, which is no mean feat!

I don’t have an update on Tres yet, but I expect to hear from the rehabilitator today. We await details of a reintroduction plan.