Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, May 10^th, 2023

It was cold last night with low temperature in the mid 30s. The high during the day was close to 70 degrees. Astrid began the night in the box with the two nestlings and the two eggs. At 2:25 AM Astrid abruptly left the nest and when she did one of the two chicks somehow got flung out of the box. Perhaps the chick had gotten up under her wing or attached to her underside in some way. Regardless, the chick went down 15 stories to the sidewalk and apparently died on impact. I arrived at the scene about 25 minutes later and found the lifeless chick on the sidewalk beneath the box. It was a mystery why Astrid left the box so abruptly, but she had come back only a minute later with a large prey item, possibly a woodcock. So, was it just a food run? She then proceeded to feed the one remaining nestling. At 3:10 AM Ares came to the box with more prey. Astrid took it and tried to do another feeding. After about 10 minutes she was brooding the chick and eggs. It’s hard to think that Astrid and Ares wouldn’t notice the loss of one of two nestlings, but they acted like nothing unusual happened. No alarm calls, no swooping, no irritation manifested, nothing like that. Perhaps a chick that is less than a day old, and that doesn’t represent a large investment of their time and energy, is not as likely to be missed. All of the repercussions of the loss are unknown at this point. However, if the remaining two eggs fail to hatch, that would leave the single offspring with no siblings to practice flying with or to hone its skills with. In that scenario, the loss of the chick this morning could result in a juvenile bird that is less prepared for independence. If at least one other egg hatches, then this morning’s loss would likely not be felt so keenly.

At 7:10 AM Astrid left the nest and came back with prey. She then conducted another feeding. The one chick was unable to eat very much having been fed not long before. Astrid went ahead and finished the leftovers. She was brooding the chick and the eggs again by 7:16. At 9:19 Ares brought food to the long perch. Astrid came out onto the crossperch to take it. She then did another feeding. After the meal she was out, and Ares came in to babysit. His turn lasted less than a minute. Astrid was back and immediately took over on the clutch. Ares went over to the steeple for a little while. At around 10:50 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid called back from the nest. At 11:34 Ares did a check-in at the nest. He looked in and then was out again. He was back up on the State Building for a little while before flying off and perhaps hunting. At 12:10 PM Astrid began giving a loud cackle alarm call. We did not see any non-falcon intruders in the canyon but her eyes are better even than our optics, so who knows. At 12:28 Ares came to the long perch with food. Astrid took it on the crossperch and started a new feeding. It was at this time we thought it possible that one of the remaining eggs had a pip in it, although we could not be sure. At 12:35 Astrid left the box with the leftovers from the meal. Ares came to the nest in the interim. Astrid was on the State Building for about two minutes and then came back to the nest. Ares knows the drill now and left without argument. At 2:01 Ares was back to the nest asking for a turn with the clutch. To our surprise, Astrid allowed it. After she left Ares didn’t do a very efficient job brooding. She was back at 2:08 to take over again. Ares again, seemed OK with leaving.

At 3:44 Astrid was jostling the brood which made us wonder if one of the eggs had a pip in it, but on subsequent checks we couldn’t confirm it. At 3:59 we heard Ares give a screech call. He was then seen flying around the State Building. He then came to the nestbox, hopped inside and peered really closely into the new camera. He then lobbied Astrid for a turn on the clutch. She didn’t budge and he gave up and left. He came back just before 5:00 PM. They conversed for a little while and then Astrid consented to leave. Ares stood over the chick and the eggs for only a couple of minutes and then Astrid returned with food. Ares hopped out onto the crossperch and Astrid proceeded to do a feeding. The chick didn’t take too much before toppling over and falling asleep. Astrid finished the leftovers right there in the box. When she was done she went back to brooding. At 6:05 Ares came to the box once more. Astrid made it clear she wasn’t going anywhere, and he left. He went to the east veranda for a while before flying off and out of view. The falcons did a late switch at around 7:00. Ares brooded the chick and eggs for about five minutes before Astrid returned and took over. Goodnight Falcons.  

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, May 9^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trwNTL-N36I&t=240s

It was a powerfully exciting day for both Utica and Little Falls. For a while we weren’t sure if the pipped eggs in Utica were ever going to hatch and I think Astrid was starting to have her doubts as well. Last night was chilly with the low temperature in the high 30s. During the day the high temperature was 63 degrees. Astrid was on the eggs all night. Occasionally we heard the chicks inside the two pipped eggs calling out, and we were also heard Astrid jostling the eggs and trying to induce hatching. Ares screeched to the box with a small food item at 3:57 AM. Astrid was very vocal and sent him away. At 5:08 he was back with another small offering. Once again Astrid sent him away. Five minutes later we were hearing one of the chicks inside an egg calling. It was as if it knew it had missed mealtime. Astrid was vocalizing as well. At 5:15 Ares was heard giving long calls from the State Building. At the risk of anthropomorphizing, Astrid was acting like she was extremely frustrated. She started calling incessantly and jostling the eggs like mad. It seemed like she really wanted those pipped eggs to finally hatch. Ares returned to the nest at 5:30. They had a lively cconversation,but it was clear that Astrid was not going to leave. Ares initially went to the east veranda before flying off. As for Astrid, she went back to semi-manic calling and jostling the eggs. Finally, at 5:40 AM we suddenly saw a broken eggshell appear in front of Astrid. The first chick had hatched! We only caught a short glimpse of the new chick and then it went immediately underneath Astrid. Once she had a hatch she calmed down and did not seem to be so frustrated. By 8:17 it was clear that a second hatch had occurred. More eggshell pieces appeared in front of Astrid. A small, wet, pinkish chick was glimpsed beneath her when she moved. Indeed, there were two nestlings on the scrape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGXGw_12Kgk&t=2s

At 8:42 AM suddenly Astrid started giving cackle-type alarm calls and she left the nest. We are not sure what brought that on. Most likely a non-falcon intruder came through the canyon and that was unacceptable to mother. Ares came right over and got to see the two new chicks for the first time. His visit with them was very brief indeed as Astrid returned right away and took over brooding. Ares left the box and Astrid went about brooding the two eggs and the two chicks together. We were wondering when feeding time was going to come. It seemed like Astrid was watching out for Ares that he wasn’t showing up. And then at 11:45 we saw him over on the hotel plucking fresh prey. After having some bites off the top he flew over to the nest and delivered the food to the crossperch where Astrid received it. Astrid then proceeded to conduct the first feeding of the new chicks. She tore minute pieces of meat from the carcass and fed it to both chicks. The nestling that was second to hatch fell over backwards a few times but it did end up getting some of the food. Just before noon, feeding time was over and Astrid took the leftovers out and presumably stored them. After she left, Ares came into the box with a mind to start brooding. He was only there for a few seconds before Astrid piled back into the box and took over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wz0BdtS1ms

At 1:53 PM Ares came to the crossperch with prey. Astrid took it from him and started another feeding. The mealtime only went on for a few minutes and then she resumed brooding. At 3:13 Astrid was calling on the nest and doing some jostling of the eggs and chicks. We wondered if another egg was pipped, but could see no evidence of it. At 3:54 Ares came to the box. Astrid took the opportunity to leave for a while. After she was gone Ares seemed at a loss about what to do. There were two chicks and two eggs. He opted to shade one of the eggs while eating one of the broken eggshells. After a few minutes he settled on brooding the eggs and leaving the chicks on their own. They were lying down in the sun and seemed fine. It was 63 degrees and breezy. At 4:14 Astrid was back. She immediately came over to the chicks and began brooding them while Ares continued sitting with the eggs. She then decided that she wasn’t needed and left again. After she left, the chicks were woke up and began begging. Ares did some squeaking in response but remained in place on the eggs. At 4:28 Astrid came in and Ares left. Astrid brooded the chicks for about four minutes before she realized that the eggs were alone. In a moment she pulled them over and then was back to brooding both the nestlings and the eggs.

At 6:14 PM Ares came to the crossperch and then hopped into the box. He asked for a turn, but Astrid didn’t seem to be in the mood to go anywhere. However, after a minute, by her own volition, she left the box and flew over to a low perch on the State Building. In the box Ares sat several inches away from the chicks and the eggs, apparently contemplating his next move. After a few minutes he came closer and pulled one of the eggs underneath them. There he stayed for a couple of minutes until suddenly he began giving chirping-type alarm calls. That usually means there is a falcon intruder in the canyon. Ares hopped up onto the lip of the box and continued to chirp. The two chicks responded by sitting up and begging in a similar manner to how they behave when Astrid is feeding them and giving motivational chirps. At 6:23 Ares left the nest. He flew over to the State Building, perching just above Astrid. They conferred for a moment and then he took off towards the north, presumably in pursuit of the intruder. After a moment Astrid came over to the box and resumed brooding the chicks and the eggs. At 7:04 Ares brought prey to the long perch. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and flew over to the hotel. She then proceeded to have it for dinner. Ares stood behind the brood while she was gone. At 7:18 PM Astrid was back at the nest and Ares took his leave. He was on the State Building for a little while and then he flew out of view – probably to a night perch. Astrid was on nest duty for the night. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update: The fourth egg hatched on Monday evening at 10:29. Anna and Erie now have a full house – four chicks to raise and fledge!!

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, May 8^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight with temperatures in the 40s. It warmed up quickly during the day although it was windy. The high temperature was in the mid 60s. Astrid was on the eggs through the night. There was no hatch overnight. We saw Astrid shuffling and jostling the eggs several times during the night. We heard the chick inside the egg calling at 1:00 AM and again at 5:00. Ares landed on the State Building at 5:25 AM. Astrid started calling after he arrived. He soon flew off – probably on a hunting run. At 5:33 we saw that he was up on the lookout perch. Five minutes later he came to the nest and the pair switched. We could clearly see that all four eggs remained intact and there was no hatch. At 5:43 both Ares and the chick inside the egg were giving squeak calls. At 6:39 Astrid returned to the box and the pair switched again. It was a quick changeover and we were not able to get a good look at the eggs, although we could see that there were still four of them. At 8:30 Astrid was doing more egg jostling in an attempt to induce them to hatch. Two hours later we started hearing the chick inside the egg again. Still, there was no hatch forthcoming. At 11:30, the same thing once more, Astrid shuffling and jostling the eggs and the chick inside the egg calling, but no hatch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlQUcdDTFQw

At noon it was clear the pip was getting larger. Astrid did some more egg jostling and then the pair switched at 12:07 PM. We were hearing the chick calling more frequently at this point. At 12:09 we momentarily thought a second egg had a pip, but it was only a blemish. At 1:13 Astrid was jostling the eggs once more. At 2:35 Ares screeched to the box and the pair did another quick changeover. There were still four eggs but the pip in the first egg looked a little larger, Ten minutes later we noticed that a second egg really did have a pip in it. Astrid came to the box at about 3:10 and it took her at least five minutes to convince Ares to leave the nest. She got a little pushy at the end. After taking over she immediately started jostling the eggs. At 3:50 PM we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the Canyon. Less than a minute later he brought food to the crossperch. Astrid went out and took it from him and then brought it into the nest. We thought for a moment that she was going to start trying to feed the eggs! She didn’t. However, she was vocalizing like she does when she feeds young but in that case, she was feeding only herself. It was a small meal and when she was done, she got back to the serious work of egg jostling. Once again, we could hear a chick calling from inside an egg. At 5:09 Ares came to the box. He quickly got behind Astrid and pushed her off the nest. He then took over on the eggs. Astrid went to the State Building; taking the same relatively low perch that she has favored lately.  At 5:30 Astrid was back to the box and negotiating with Ares about taking over on the eggs. It was obvious that she really wanted him to leave but she was using gentle persuasion. She beaked with him for a minute and then, just when it looked like she was going to get behind him and push him out, she abruptly left instead. She went back to her low perch on the state building. At 5:41 Ares was doing some egg jostling, which is something we don’t often see him do. A chick inside the egg was calling while he moved the eggs around. It was clear that one of the pips was getting larger. At 5:52 PM Astrid was back to the nest asking for a turn on the eggs. They did some beaking and then he got up and left. The pip clearly looked bigger on the first egg. Still, there was no hatch, not yet. However, we should have some news by tomorrow. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Dv5UjRCaQ

Little Falls Falcon Update:

The Little Falls Peregrine Falcons (Anna & Erie) now have three hatchlings on their nest scrape. There is also a possible pip on the last egg.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, May 7^th, 2023

It was cold overnight with temperatures in the high 30s. There was a dramatic warm up after sunrise. The temperature rose to 70 degrees by early afternoon. Astrid was tight on her nest through the night. Ares was first seen on the State Building at 4:20 AM. He was up and then back at 4:50. He came to the nest at 5:11 and the pair executed a quick switch. Astrid initially flew over to the west face of the State Building. As is her habit, we expect that she was checking the pantry for any viable meals. At 5:30 she was flying in front of the west face – again perusing the ledges. At 6:30 Astrid perched on the steeple. The next switch occurred at around 6:50 AM. Astrid took over on the eggs and Ares was a free agent in the canyon once again. At 10:15 Astrid was calling from the nest. We then heard Ares giving long calls from the steeple. He gave long calls on and off for the next 35 minutes and she continued answering him. At 10:54 the falcons did a rapid changing of the guard. Ares got behind Astrid and she immediately left the box. She flew over to a relatively low perch on the State Building as is her recent habit. At 11:33 Astrid was back on the steeple perch. She stayed there for about 25 minutes and then went to the hotel and sat in the sun for a little while. After her stunning session she was back to the steeple. She was out of view for quite a while after that.

At 2:00 PM Ares abruptly left the nest. We don’t know where Astrid was at that time but it was 70 degrees so we weren’t worried about the eggs being left alone. Most likely it was an intruder that brought Ares off the nest but we could not confirm that. He gave some long calls which meant that he was trying to call Astrid over. Less than 5 minutes after he left the eggs he returned and was back on them. At 2:23 Astrid showed up on the State Building. Ares gave some squeaking calls which tipped us off to her arrival. Ten minutes later Ares was giving a cackle type alarm call. Most probably that meant there was a non-falcon Raptor flying through the Canyon. At 2:55 PM Astrid was at the box, taking over incubation from Ares. Ares flew over to his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. A few minutes later we started hearing what we believed were muffled begging calls from a chick inside one of the eggs. Astrid jostled the eggs after we heard the sound which was another indication that one of the eggs was close to hatching. Indeed, the jostling is done to induce and/or assist hatching. Since the start of the Hatch window is May 8^th (tomorrow) this took us by surprise. Astrid throws us some curveballs on occasion, all so we don’t get too smug and think we know it all. At 5:32 Ares came to the box and we got a chance to see the eggs during the changeover. Sure enough, one of the eggs had a pip or a hole in it. The chick inside was using its egg tooth to bang its way out of this shell. This means we could have a hatch at anytime, most likely tonight or tomorrow morning. Surprisingly, Astrid allowed Ares a nice long turn on the eggs even though a hatch is imminent. She is full of surprises. At 6:40 Ares came off the eggs and went on to the crossperch. He was calling, although it wasn’t an alarm call. After only about 30 seconds he got back onto the eggs. It was then that Astrid arrived. Ares left quickly and she settled onto the eggs. Most likely she is in place for the night. These are exciting times! We should have the first hatch of the season by tomorrow. Goodnight all.

The Little Falls Peregrine Falcons now have two hatchlings in their nest on the Adirondack Bank Building in Little Falls. The first hatch occurred on May 6^th at 3:56 AM. The second hatch occurred at 4:36 PM. There are still two more eggs on the nest scrape, and we will be sure to report any further developments.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, May 6^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNg2NUZJT0c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaS8aE_etQY

It was chilly overnight with temperatures in the low 40s. A full moon and patchy fog made the Canyon look quite beautiful and mysterious. During the day the temperature shot up into the high 60’s for the first time in a while and the skies were cloudless. Astrid was on the nest all night long. Ares seemingly came out of nowhere to switch at 5:07 AM. It was a quick changeover. Astrid went to the State Building but soon was checking Ares’ pantry on the west face of the same building. At 5:24 she was over on the hotel and she was in hunting mode. She darted after something 20 minutes later. Apparently, she was unsuccessful and went back to the west face of the State Building to presumably recheck the pantry. At 6:06 her luck changed and she caught a Pigeon. She landed on the hotel with it and proceeded to pluck it. She had her breakfast while the sun rose. Interestingly, her shadow was cast on the wall behind her and made it look like there were two falcons feeding. She showed no sign of being distracted by her shadow. At 6:39 Astrid was done with her meal and she flew over to the steeple. She was back to the nest for a switch at 7:01. As she took over on the eggs, Ares flew over to the State Building. At 8:17 Astrid was vocalizing on the nest. Likely it had to do with something Ares was up to. At 10:52 she was calling again. This time it was in reaction to Ares flying through the canyon and landing on the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIswGVmZS80

At 12:13 PM Ares came to the box and the Falcons switched. Astrid initially flew over to the State Building, but 20 minutes later she was on the hotel sunbathing. A couple of minutes later she was back to her steeple perch. At 1:10 she was up once more. The next changing of the guard occurred at 3:27. Astrid took over on the nest and Ares remained elusive for a while. At 3:57 Astrid was calling from the nest. That probably meant that she was watching Ares fly in and land somewhere. We thought we heard some long calls from Ares but they were distant and we could not confirm it. At 4:30 we noticed that Astrid was shuffling the eggs. Sometimes falcons do this to induce the eggs to hatch. It could be that she is sensing movement inside the eggs. At 5:23 Ares was up on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. For the next hour or so he was making forays out from that perch. Likely he was hunting but he could have also been on the lookout for intruders. It seemed like he was not going to relieve Astrid before nightfall. However, Astrid seemed OK with that. At least she wasn’t calling to be relieved. Of course, I wrote that too soon. Ares came to the nest at 7:00 and the pair switched. Astrid was on the State Building for a while and then she was out of view. She returned for the last switch at 7:28 PM. Ares seemed like he didn’t want to leave for a few minutes, but then he got off the eggs, flew out of the box, and headed to his night perch. Astrid settled onto the eggs. Goodnight falcons.