Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, April 10^th, 2023

Overnight was cool again with temperatures just below freezing. After daybreak few clouds and lots of sun led to a substantial warm up. By midday it was 55 degrees. The high for the day was on the low 60’s. Astrid remained tight on the eggs all night long. At 6:05 Ares came to the box with prey. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and flew over to the hotel. Ares wasted no time settling on the eggs. At 6:25 Astrid was done with her meal and went over to a perch on the steeple. At 7:01 she came to the crossperch and asked to mate. Ares obliged and they mated a minute later. After that Astrid went into the box and got onto her clutch. It’s always interesting when they continue to mate after the last egg has been laid. Of course, there’s always a chance there will be a fifth egg, but Astrid has never produced one in the past. With the 4th egg laid on Sunday, Astrid has laid a total of 40 eggs during her tenure in Utica. At 8:29 Astrid began calling in the nestbox. Ares had been out of view for a while and he had just returned – landing on the State Building at 8:41. At 9:07 Ares came to the box and asked for a turn on the eggs. There was lots of conversation between the two, but Astrid did not want to relinquish her clutch. He did not press his case and left instead. At 9:16 Astrid began calling loudly. Obviously, she was upset about an intruder. Sure enough Ares was dealing with a Red tailed Hawk and was repeatedly diving at it as it flew over the canyon. Each time Ares kept flying up higher to set up each power dive. Deb watched them as they disappeared in the northwest. A few minutes later Astrid was calling again; she was remaining on the eggs, but clearly upset and vocalizing. This time Ares was dealing with another Peregrine. It was apparently an adult female. Ares was in pursuit of her and they both sailed off to the north. For a few minutes the intruder was perched on the roof of the State Building and Ares repeatedly dove at her. At 9:31 Astrid left the box and for a minute both Astrid and Ares were involved. Ares then broke off and headed to the nestbox. He resumed incubation while Astrid determinedly pursued the stranger south. Astrid was back to the State Building after only a minute. At 10:29 Astrid was up again, and we weren’t sure where she went. She showed up at the box at 10:54. She had a full crop, so she likely was having a snack somewhere. She stayed on the crossperch initially and asked to mate. Ares got off the eggs, flew into the canyon, circled back and the pair mated. Following that Astrid hopped into the box and settled back onto the eggs.

At 12:21 PM Astrid began excitedly calling again. She came off the eggs only seconds later. She initially flew to the State Building but then darted off to the north. At 12:23 Ares came into the box and climbed onto the eggs. At 12:29 he started vocalizing and came off the eggs again. Initially, he was on the lip of the box and then he flew into the canyon. It was 51 degrees at that point. Astrid returned to the box at 12:31 and she immediately got onto the eggs. At 12:58 Astrid was calling again but this time it was because Ares just flew into the Canyon from being away and he landed up on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. At 1:07 Astrid started calling again. Ares was on the State Building at that point but soon took off, flying fast and heading north. At 1:40 he returned. Astrid called out when he landed on the State Building. At 2:08 Ares came to the nest box and asked for a turn on the eggs. She was not ready to leave and sent him away. At 2:52 Ares was back. This time he was a bit more pushy and went behind Astrid to compel her to cede the nest. She did leave, gliding over to a perch on the north face of the State Building. At 3:08 Ares had gotten off the eggs and was on the lip of the box. He then flew out, leaving the eggs alone. We don’t know if he did this because of an intruder or what his reason was. It was 60 degrees, and the sun was flooding into the box, so the eggs were unlikely to get cold very quickly. As it was, they weren’t left alone for long, Astrid returned only 5 minutes later and came right onto the eggs. At 4:52 Ares was up on the lookout post. Was he hunting or watching for intruders? He left at around 5:15 and then was back at 5:24. Once again, Astrid called out when he landed. A little while after that he was up again and returned to the lookout at 5:36. He was still there more than ninety minutes later. Astrid remained on the nest and appeared to be there for the night. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, April 9^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM_QIW368jk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziot8ibpGak

It was quite cold overnight with a low temperature of 25 degrees. Sunny and relatively cloudless conditions in the morning led to a milder day. The high temperature was 53 degrees. Astrid remained on the eggs all night. Ares came to the box at 6:20 AM and the two birds executed a quick switch. Ares wasted no time in covering the eggs while Astrid flew to a perch on the State Building. At 6:40 Ares was off the eggs and on the lip of the box. The Falcons mated seconds later. After which, Astrid came back to the nest and to the eggs. The eggs had been alone for about one minute. At 7:01 Ares was up from the State Building. A few minutes later he brought food to the box. Astrid took it and flew over to the hotel while he took over incubating. At 7:27 Astrid was done with her meal and she flew over to the steeple. At 7:50 she came to the nest and negotiated a turn on the eggs. A minute later Ares was out and Astrid was on the eggs. At 9:36 Ares was on the southwest corner of the hotel’s upper ledge. In the background the Utica marsh was visible. At 11:36 Ares had been out of view for a while. Astrid was still sitting, and presumably getting close to laying her 4th egg. At 11:52 Ares came to the box. He tried to get a turn on the eggs but Astrid sent him away. At 11:57 it was clear that Astrid was having contractions. She laid her 4th egg at 11:58 AM. When she stood up we could see the new egg was glossy and a more reddish brown than the others. She did not allow us much of a look and she quickly came back down on them. At 12:33 PM Ares came to the nest. He walked in a circle around Astrid. She stood up and revealed the full clutch of four eggs. She then sat back down again. After his inspection was complete Ares left the box and flew over to the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtjLKz2ZAcc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyyA4piNvyQ

At 1:43 PM the falcons switched. That time Astrid seemed like she was ready to leave and Ares was very happy to take over on the clutch. At 2:25 Astrid came to the box and was asking for a turn on the eggs. She walked around behind him but was not very pushy. He left on his own volition and flew over to the State Building. At 3:26 we noticed that Ares was up on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Was he hunting or watching for intruders? The next switch happened at 4 03. Ares came in and requested a turn and Astrid relinquished without complaint. At 5:08 Ares came off the eggs, went to the lip of the box, and launched into the canyon. The eggs were left alone. Ares flew up to the lookout post again, while Astrid stayed on the north face of the State Building. At one point Ares switched to the lookout post on the northeast corner of the building. By 5:15 it was clear that Ares was dealing with an intruder. The intruder was a Peregrine Falcon, and that was all we could tell. We saw it fly low over the State Building roof and then Ares chased it off to the north. Without missing a beat Astrid flew to the nest and got onto the eggs. They had been alone for about 5 minutes and the temperature was in the low 50s. In other words, it was not problematic. A minute later Ares returned to the fold and was back up on his lookout post. He was up and down a couple of times within the next hour. At 6:56 Astrid was giving some squeaking calls from the box and Ares took off from the lookout shortly after. She seemed to be in place for the night and Ares, if he didn’t do it already, was bound for his night perch. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, April 8^th, 2023

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQE9O1ozxkc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmmjQE-pT1I

It was cold overnight with a low temperature of 26 degrees. It warmed up slowly during the day, with the temperature eventually peaking at 43 degrees. Astrid stayed tight on the nest all night long and there was no super early visit from her mate. Ares screeched to the box at 6:08 AM and the pair switched. Astrid did a lot of vocalizing as she got up and left and as Ares settled on the eggs. It was obvious she was very eager to get out of the box. At 6:21 Astrid landed on the east veranda perch. Ares had been vocalizing and she gave her famous donkey call upon arrival. It was just a check in, and she was gone again in less than a minute. She went over to the steeple. At 7:01 Astrid returned to the nestbox and started negotiating with Ares about switching. It was clear he did not want to leave. She did some beaking with him, but the soft approach was not having its desired effect and she had to resort to shoving him off. At 7:18 we heard a few long calls from Ares from somewhere in the Canyon. At 7:58 Ares brought prey to the crossperch. Astrid took it and flew over to the hotel while Ares took over on the eggs. At 8:30 Astrid was done with her meal and went to perch on the steeple. At 8:54 she moved back to the crossperch. Ares did not take much coaxing to leave that time and she went back to incubating. After 9:20 Ares was up and down from the State Building a few times. perhaps he was hunting. At 10:24 Ares came into the nest. He wanted to switch but Astrid did not want to leave. He got up close behind her and pushed her off the eggs. She left and he took over incubation. At 10:34 Astrid was on the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXzSu7ZUBjU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIP1oFlfApI

When Astrid came to the box at 11:46 AM she initially stayed on the crossperch. Ares came off the eggs, flew out, doubled back, and mated with Astrid on the crossperch. She then got onto the eggs. The next changing of the guard occurred at 1:00. Ares took over on the eggs and Astrid went to the lower steeple perch. At 3:05 Astrid came to the crossperch. Ares was sitting tight on the eggs and looked like he was pretending to be asleep. Astrid stood behind him for 10 minutes waiting patiently for him to decide to leave. Finally, without her need to strongarm him, he did leave and flew over to the State Building. At 4:25 Ares returned to the box and the pair did a quick switch. Ares took over incubation and Astrid went back to the lower steeple. It was obvious that Ares had now become very serious about incubation. At 6:52 Astrid came to the crossperch. Aries flew out, boomeranged back, and they mated. Ares then flew off – probably to his night perch and Astrid got on to the eggs. That was probably the last switch of the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, April 7^th, 2023

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGc2Y9dEZtQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CVw62r897I

It was cold and windy overnight and it stayed that way pretty much throughout the day. The low temperature was in the mid to high 30s and the high temperature during the day was only 40 degrees. The day was partially sunny, but it remained extremely windy. Astrid was on the nest all night long. Following a few contractions, she laid her third egg at 12:50 AM. Ares came to the west veranda with a Woodcock at 4:12. Astrid sat up but, unsurprisingly, she was not interested in taking the gift. After a minute Ares flew off and presumably stored the prey. At 6:06 Ares was up on the lookout post on the roof of the State Office Building. Ten minutes later he came to the box and they switched. Ares settled on the eggs and Astrid flew over to the State Building. At 6:38 Ares left the box to mate with Astrid. He returned right afterwards and got back onto the eggs. It was clear by this point that continuous incubation had begun and it seemed that Ares had gotten with the program. At 7:41 the pair switched again and Astrid took over incubation. Ares went to the State Building. At 8:24 He came to the long perch with prey. He hopped into the box with it, but Astrid didn’t want it and she sent him away. At 9:19 Astrid got off the eggs and went out onto the crossperch. She was giving chirping-type alarm calls. However, she didn’t leave and after a couple of minutes she got back onto the eggs. At 9:31 Ares was back for a switch. She didn’t want to leave so he got behind her and more or less pushed her out. After she flew, he started to get onto the eggs but became distracted and went to the lip of the box instead. He took off a minute later. As it happened, he left in order to mate with Astrid on the State Building. A minute later Ares was back in the box, incubating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CVw62r897I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfsmT1vXs7U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYMNoxwsfZ4

At 10:23 AM the falcons switched again, and Astrid took over egg duty. Ares had been on the State Building but took off at 11:26. There was a Peregrine Falcon intruder (probably an immature) active in the Canyon. Ares dealt with the stranger first but then he came to the box and fetched Astrid. This was an indication that the intruder was a female – therefore more of a threat to Astrid and more worthy of her big guns. So, Ares took over incubating while Astrid took over the police action. At 11:39, after presumably escorting the stranger out of the territory, Astrid returned to the State Building. At 11:42 she took over on the eggs. At 12:34 Ares was on the State Building. He took off from there at 12:50. At that point we believed that there was another intruder in the Canyon. Astrid became upset. She came off the eggs went to the lip of the box. After looking around she returned to her eggs. At 1:08 Astrid got off the eggs again and went to the crossperch. She flew away like she was on a mission. Obviously, she was in pursuit of something. Ares came back to the nest immediately and took over on the eggs. We glimpsed a raptor flying southwest of the State Building but soon lost sight of it. Was that Astrid or an intruder? At 1:12 Ares got off the eggs and went to the lip of the nestbox. A minute later he flew off leaving the eggs alone. It was 39 degrees. At 1:17 Ares returned to the box and Astrid returned to the State Building. Ares got back on the eggs. They hadn’t been left alone long enough to get cold. The next changing of the guard took place at 2:56 PM. That time Astrid took over on the eggs. At 3:41 Ares brought food to the box. Astrid took it and flew over to the hotel. Instead of staying with the eggs Ares flew over to watch Astrid eat. Thankfully, he was back in the box and on the eggs after only a few minutes. Astrid finished her meal and was on a high ledge on the State Building again at 3:58. The next switch took place at 4:18. Astrid came in and was not very pushy. She beaked with him and he got up on his own volition and left. At 4:13 Ares was back at the box asking for a turn on the eggs. Astrid left without argument and Ares got a turn on the eggs. At 5:30 we saw that Astrid was on the State Building. At 7:11 Ares was off the eggs and to the lip of the box. Astrid came right over. He left and she settled on the eggs. That was it for the night. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, April 6^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEllNK5UBq8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1XSMQBKSoA

Heavy rain fell off and on overnight. The temperature stayed in the low 50s. Astrid spent most of the night in the box on the eggs. She did leave at 2:40 AM and returned 15 minutes later. Ares brought prey, possibly a Killdeer, to the west veranda at 3:47. Astrid came over to take it and then flew away with it. Ares was on the crossperch after that. Astrid came back to the west veranda perch at 4:12. The pair mated there at 5:25. Astrid went back into the nest at that point and took over on the eggs. At 6:30 the Falcons switched. Astrid went over to the State Building and Ares came onto the nest. However, he only sat for a few minutes, and then was out on the long perch. At 6:39 the pair mated on the State Building. At 6:42 Astrid came to the east veranda. They mated there two minutes later. Afterwards, Astrid went into the box and climbed onto the eggs. At 7:49 Astrid was up again and Ares was on the crossperch. Fifteen minutes later Ares was up and Astrid was on the crossperch. She then got back on top of her clutch. At 8:19 we thought that we missed a food exchange, and that Astrid had gotten a food gift, but only a minute later she was on the steeple without prey. Ares then joined her on the steeple. At 8:40 Astrid was on the hotel for a few minutes, but then went back to the steeple. At 9:39 she was back on the eggs. Five minutes later, Ares brought prey to the box. Astrid took it on the crossperch and flew off with it. She took it to the hotel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXroIWHLS78

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

10:04 AM Astrid was on the steeple once more but soon moved to the crossperch. The falcons mated there at 10:17. Ares went to the steeple afterwards and Astrid got back on the eggs. At 10:51, the pair did a changeover that featured some beaking. It was half ledge display and half a standard changing of the guard. Astrid left and Ares took over on the eggs. He was doing a good thorough job with incubation, that was, until about 12:06 PM when he left the eggs and went out on the crossperch. By this point there had been a few extended periods in which the egg was not being incubated, so obviously continuous incubation had not yet begun. At 12:10 the falcons mated on the State Building. At 12:11 Ares came back to the nestbox and got back onto the eggs. At 12:30 the falcons switched and Astrid took a turn on the nest. The next switch took place at 2:06 PM – that time Ares relieved Astrid. He was gone by 2:18 and the eggs were alone again for an extended time. At 3:09 Astrid was in the box incubating. At 4:22 Ares was on the State Building and Astrid was still on the eggs. At 4:39 they switched, He went to the box lip and Astrid went to a steeple perch. At 5:32 the pair mated on the steeple. Astrid got onto the eggs right after that. At 6:13 Ares brought prey to the long perch. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and flew over to the hotel. At 6:28 Astrid was done with her meal and went to the steeple. Ares remained on guard duty at the box – he wasn’t incubating, only standing by. Ares left the box at 7:15 and Astrid flew there less than a minute later. She soon got on top of the eggs. Tonight somewhere close to midnight Astrid should lay her 3^rd egg. It will be dark in the box at that time, but we will do our best to get the time.

Little Falls Falcon Update: Wednesday morning at approximately 8:14 AM Anna laid her 4^th and probably final egg of the 2023 breeding season. Congratulations on the full clutch!!