Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, April 30^th, 2023

It was rainy and overcast overnight. The temperature was in the high 40s. Not much changed during the course of the day. There was lots of rain and it was blustery. The temperature pretty much stayed in the high 40s. Astrid was on the eggs all night long as expected. Ares arrived at the nest at 5:09 AM. They did a quick changeover. We did not see where Astrid went afterwards. At 6:45 Astrid stopped at the crossperch and then hopped to the lip of the box. She ascertained quickly that Ares did not want to leave and she flew away. She returned at 7:10. That time she came all the way in. She used gentle persuasion to get Ares to leave. It worked like a charm, and he was out. At 9:53 Astrid started calling in the box. Obviously, she saw Ares somewhere in the canyon. He came to the box, and they switched. Ares settled onto the eggs and, once again, we were not sure where Astrid went. The next changeover occurred at noon. Ares quickly ceded the nest to Astrid and she took over incubation.

At 1:19 PM Ares came to the crossperch. Astrid made it clear that she did not want to leave the eggs. He hopped over to the west veranda and from there dove back into the canyon. Less than a minute later he was up on his favorite pillar perch. We noticed he was very wet and he proceeded to preen for a while. At 1:51 Ares came to the nest. This time it was his turn to use gentle persuasion. He beaked with Astrid and restrained himself from going behind her and stepping on her tail and wing tips. She declined to leave, and he didn’t press it. He went to an east ledge after that. At 3:07 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere not too distant. Astrid called back from the nest. He then came to the box and the pair did a quick switch. Astrid disappeared into the canyon and Ares got comfortable on the eggs. At 4:00 Astrid came to the east veranda. 30 minutes later she was in the box requesting a turn on the eggs. She started out being nice about it – beaking with him and such, but then she started stomping on his wingtip. After a minute or so he was out. He was up on his pillar at 4:45. At 5:52 Ares was back to the nest and impatiently asking for one last turn incubating. He stepped on Astrid’s tail and wingtips and she got up and left. Astrid came to the crossperch at 7:35, but Ares wasn’t stirring so she flew off again. She didn’t reappear until 7:52 and by then it was getting dark. Ares was quick to get off the eggs. She took over and was set for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, April 29^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight with a low temperature of 48 degrees. Rain fell intermittently through the night. Conditions did not improve throughout the day. Light rain was intermittent, and the temperature barely breached 50 degrees. Astrid was on the nest all night long. Ares came to the box at 4:30 AM and they switched. At 6:24 Astrid came to the crossperch but Ares showed no sign of getting off the clutch. She left instead. She was back 15 minutes later, and they did a quick switch. At 7:30 Ares screeched into the Canyon with prey. He brought it to the west veranda. Astrid met him there and presumably took the food (we didn’t see the transaction). Ares then came into the nest and settled on the eggs. At 8:06 Astrid was back to the box asking for a turn on the eggs, but Ares did not want to leave. After about 5 minutes of persuasion, he did consent to leave.

At 9:54 AM Ares returned to the box and the pair did a quick changeover. The next changing of the guard happened at 11:21 and then it was Astrid’s turn to incubate. Another changeover occurred at 12:41 PM and Ares came onto the eggs. Astrid got her next turn at 2:12. They switched again less than an hour later at 3:08. After leaving the nest Astrid flew over to the west side of the State Building as Ares settled onto the clutch. The next switch was that 4:0) – that time Astrid took over on the nest. At 5:21 Ares came into the box and got behind Astrid. He really wanted to take over on the eggs, but she would not leave. He left instead, only to return at 5:48 and that time acting was twice as pushy as the time before. He pried her off the nest and took over on the clutch. It was interesting that he would do this so late in the day. Astrid returned to the nest for the last switch of the day at 7:00 PM. Goodnight Falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, April 28^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight with temperatures in the low forties. Mostly sunny skies prevailed during the day and the high temperature was in the low 60’s. Astrid spent the night on the eggs with no interruptions. Ares came to the box and they did a quick switch at 5:19 AM. They changed again only an hour later, and Astrid resumed incubation. At 8:05 Ares was up on his favorite pillar perch. He was giving long calls and Astrid was calling back. That went on for a couple of minutes and then Ares came to the box for a quick switch. Astrid left without argument and flew over to the State Building. At 9:34 she was back at the nest and negotiating with Ares to take over incubation. He held out for about 7 minutes and then got up and left and was out of sight for a while. At 11:07 Ares returned to the canyon. He landed on his pillar and gave a series of long calls. At 11:40 he came to the box and requested a turn on the eggs. Astrid didn’t want to leave, and he didn’t press the matter. He left instead.

At 12:36 PM Ares was seen flying a top speed and heading for a Turkey Vulture that was flying through the canyon. He didn’t strike the vulture but did cause it to change course and leave the falcons’ territory. After his police action Ares landed on a light pole on the roof of the Adirondack Bank building where he let our roof camera take some close-up pictures of him. Thanks Ares! At 12:49 Ares was back on his pillar. He moved to an east ledge after that, remaining for at least a half hour. The next switch occurred sometime before 2:15 PM. Ares was on the nest and Astrid took a relatively low perch on the State Building. At 4:05 PM she came to the box for but it was only for a fast check in. Ares continued incubating until 5:17 when Astrid returned for the last changeover of the day. She was then in place for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, April 27^th, 2023

The downtown canyon was very foggy overnight. In fact we could barely make out the State Office Building with our PTZ cameras. It was chilly too, with a low temperature of 34 degrees. The high temperature for the day was 61 degrees and it was attained in the late afternoon. Astrid was tight on her eggs all night long. Ares screeched to the nest at 5:05 AM. He left when Astrid failed to stir. He went to his pillar perch for a while instead. At 5:38 Astrid began vocalizing. Ares came over and they switched. The next changeover happened sometime before 7:50. Astrid took over on the eggs. Later on, when Ares landed on the steeple perch Astrid announced it. She also sounded off when he landed on the State Building at 10:12. He was out of site for a while after that. We then rediscovered him at noon sunning himself on one of the hotel ledges. A few minutes later, Ares was gone and there was a Pigeon in the same spot where he had been. Did Ares get so much sun that it transformed him into a Pigeon? I think we can safely rule that out.

The next changeover occurred at around 12:24 PM. Astrid had been sitting for quite a while and seemed eager to get a break. They switched again sometime before 1:52 and then Astrid was back on the eggs. At 3:02 Ares was giving long calls from the steeple. Astrid answered him back with her own distinctive vocalizations. At 3:38 Ares came back to the box and unceremoniously ousted Astrid to get his turn. It had gotten a lot warmer by then and the sun was flooding into the box. Ares did a little shading as well as incubating. At 4:10 he came off the eggs and stood on the lip of the box for a minute. It was warm enough to do without risking the eggs. At 4:23 he called out from the nest. As it happened, she had just landed on the State Building and he was announcing it, as she does with his movements around the canyon. At 5:54 Astrid came to the crossperch for a check-in. Ares didn’t want to leave and so she let him stay. She flew over to the steeple and got some good preening in. She was gone from the steeple by 6:24 and we didn’t see her again until she showed up at the box at 7:11 PM. By then she was ready for her night shift and Ares quickly ceded the nest to her. He was up on the lookout post for a little while after that. He finally flew about a half hour later. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, April 26^th, 2023

The overnight was cold with temperatures in the mid 30’s. The day’s high was 50 degrees. Rain was intermittent and there were breaks of sun. Astrid was on the eggs all night long. Ares arrived on the east veranda with a Woodcock at 5:10 AM. Needless to say, Astrid wasn’t interested in taking it. He left with it a few minutes later and presumably put it into storage. At 5:30 he was back with a smaller offering. She wouldn’t cede the eggs for that either and so it went into the cupboard as well. At 5:55 he was back without any gifts, and that time she took him up on it. She left the box and he got settled on the eggs. The next changing of the guard occurred at around 7:10 give or take a few minutes. At 9:39 Ares buzzed by the box screeching a couple of times. We don’t know what that was all about. Afterwards he briefly stopped at the steeple and then flew to the State Building. They switched again at 10:31 AM and Ares got another turn on the nest.

At 11:32 AM Astrid came to the box and asked to take over. She beaked with him and seemed pretty polite at first but got a little pushier towards the end and muscled him off the nest. By 1:00 PM it was raining in the canyon. Ten minutes later Ares was at the nest, and they switched. Both falcons called loudly during the changeover. The next switch occurred at 3:02. It was a quick one and Astrid was back on nest duty. The next changeover happened at around 4:35 ish. Ares got comfortable on the eggs and Astrid went over to the State Building. At 5:45 PM Astrid came to the nest and asked to take over for the night, but Ares wouldn’t go. After a few minutes of soft persuasion, she gave up and let him have some more time. She did some hunting around the canyon instead. She was on a lower steeple perch for a little while, intently watching every Pigeon that flew by. At one point she darted after something. Astrid returned to the nest for the last switch of the day at about 7:40 PM. Ares flew over to the State Building but would likely be on his way to his night perch soon. Goodnight all.