Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, April 5^th, 2023

It was relatively warm overnight with temperatures in the mid 40s. Astrid stayed on the nest for most of the night. It was very windy during the day a steady rain started in the evening. The high temperature for the day was in the mid 60s. At 3:12 AM it looked like Ares had prey on a west ledge but then we lost track of him. A few minutes later he flew up to the west veranda with a Woodcock. Astrid left the box at that point but we don’t know if there was a food exchange. One of the Falcons left the veranda and we lost track of the other one. Astrid came back to the nest at 3:21. She Immediately moved to the east veranda but did not stay there long and was soon back in the box and back on the eggs. At 4:43 Ares was on a west ledge plucking something. It’s hard to tell what color anything is beneath the blue lights that shine down from the bank roof, but there were lots of dark and light feathers floating away from the ledge as he plucked away. At 5:50 Ares hopped onto the west veranda perch. He was wiping his bill and cleaning his talons. Did he leave the prey on the ledge? He then came into the box and asked for a turn on the eggs. He walked around behind Astrid to encourage her to get up and leave. It worked, and she flew out. Ares did not stay with the eggs for more than a minute. He was out on the lip of the box until he left at 5:22. Five minutes later both falcons came to the nest. Ares had prey and Astrid took it from him inside the box. She then flew away with it. At 6:09 Ares was back in the nest and Astrid was on the east veranda. They mated there at 6:13. After that Astrid got on to the eggs. A switch took place sometime before 7:00 and then Ares was with the eggs. As usual he didn’t stay long and by 7:16 he was out of the box. Astrid moved to the east veranda at 7:22 and the pair mated there a few minutes later. By 7:30 she was back on the eggs. At 7:48 Ares brought prey to the box. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and then flew off with it. At 8:02 Ares gave a loud cackle-type alarm call but remained on his perch. We are not sure if the reason for the alarm was a non-falcon raptor or was it caused by someone coming into the office adjacent to the nestbox. At 8:18 Astrid came to the east veranda. Ares was calling inside the nest box while she was asking to mate. A few minutes later she buzzed by him twice and then flew to Deb’s Perch. Ten minutes later she was on the west veranda and Ares was on the crossperch. They mated there at 8:38. They mated again at 8:57. After that Astrid climbed onto the eggs. It had become quite windy in the downtown canyon by this point.

The falcons did a changing of the guard at 9:41 AM. After only a minute with the eggs Ares was up on the lip of the nestbox and Astrid was over on the State Building. The pair mated at just before 10:00. Astrid was back on the eggs only a minutes later. Another switch happened sometime around 10:50. At 11:03 the falcons had probably mated again since Ares had made a quick trip between the box and the State Building where Astrid was. At 11:25 one or both falcons were giving cackle type alarm calls but both kept their perches. The cause of the excitement was likely some Turkey Vultures flying overhead. At 11:39 the Falcons mated on the crossperch once more. Astrid went back with the eggs right afterward. At 12:26 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it on the crossperch and flew off to some undisclosed location. Deb saw her flying along the east face of the bank building. By 12:49 Astrid was on the State Building. The Falcons switched at 1:17 and Astrid took a turn with the eggs. Ten minutes later Ares was up on his favorite pillar perch. At 2:22 Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was at the box. The way Astrid was sitting on the eggs you would think that continuous incubation had begun. However, when Ares is in the nest he is not incubating. They are not on the same page yet, but these are early days. At 12:42 PM Astrid was seen drinking from a puddle on the hotel. It used to be said that Peregrine Falcons do not drink water and get all of their water from the animals they consume. We proved that wrong several years ago. In fact, falcons drink water semi-regularly and Astrid seems to have a particular need for it during the egg laying process. Astrid went back to the State Building after she was done with her drink at the hotel. At 4:00 both falcons were still in place. The wind had gotten stronger but it was warm out. Still, storms were threatening the region and were predicted to hit come evening. At 5:36 Astrid moved to the east veranda and from there, she went into the box. At 5:39 Ares was up on his pillar perch. He left a few minutes before 6:00 but then came right back to his pillar. By 7:24 PM Aries had left for his nightperch. Astrid seemed set for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, April 4^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91rwc9LfR9I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVHYR5mgn9g&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR7TuT3HJ0M

It was cool and rainy overnight. The temperature was around 43°. Light rain continued through the morning. The temperature ultimately got up to 50° by evening. Astrid spent most of the night in the nestbox. At 11:50 Monday evening she left the egg and went out on to the crossperch. It was raining at that time. At 12:20-ish she left, but then returned only a minute to an east ledge. She left the ledge at 1:12 and came back to the box. She spent a few minutes on the long perch before going into the nest box.  Ares showed up at 5:22-ish and the pair did their first switch of the day. Astrid flew to the State Building and Ares was on egg duty. At 5:50 the pair mated on the State building, after which, Astrid came over to the nest. The falcons did another switch at 6:39. Astrid flew back to State Building while Ares got some preening done on the crossperch. They mated again at 6:53 – presumably on the State Building. At 7:14 Astrid came to the east veranda and Ares to the box. They mated on the veranda at 7:40, and then again at 8:15. Astrid then moved to the Steeple, and at 8:17 and there was an aborted mating there. At 8:25 the falcons converged at the nestbox and conducted a ledge display. Ares was out at 8:28 and Astrid stayed and settled onto the egg. At 8:52 he came back to the nest and ask for a turn with the egg. She sent him out. Astrid then moved onto the west veranda and the pair mated there at 9:19. At 9:55 Astrid was still on the veranda and Ares was talking to her from the box. She was asking to mate again. At 10:22 Astrid was in the box and on the egg. Ares came in at 10:56. They kind of conducted a ledge display but it was also an attempted switch. Mostly it seemed that Ares was checking to see if there was another egg yet. He walked around behind her during the interaction and peered underneath her. She sent him away after a few minutes. Ares was on his pillar perch at 11:31. A minute later he was back at the nest and lobbying for a turn with the egg. Once again, he walked around behind Astrid to see if she was concealing a second egg. Of course, there wasn’t one and she sent him away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na8yIgVOUiQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MVv6dgDFoo

At 12:15 PM, after a couple of perceptible contractions, Astrid laid her second egg for the 2023 season. The interval between the two eggs was 59 hours and 46 minutes which is  a little on the short side for Astrid who usually produces eggs at intervals of 60 to 62 hours. The new egg was wet and glossy, and appeared more reddish brown than the first one. At 12:19 Ares came into the box. He walked around behind Astrid once again, and this time he perceived two eggs. Of course, she sent him out. At 12:55 Ares brought prey to the long perch. Astrid didn’t come out to accept it and so he left. Most likely, he stored it on one of his pantry ledges. A few minutes later, he was up on his pillar perch. He had some gore on his bill and some blood on his talons from the prey he just had. At 1:30 Ares came back to the box and this time Astrid consented to switch. He came onto the two eggs as soon as she left. She ended up on the east veranda. The pair mated there at 1:34. Five minutes later, Ares was back on his pillar perch, and Astrid was back with the eggs. The next switch occurred at 2:27. Astrid went to the steeple and Ares took a shift with the eggs. Sometime before 3:19, the falcons switched again. This time it was Ares that was on the Steeple while Astrid guarded the nest. At around 3:30 Ares brought prey to the box. Astrid took it over to the hotel. At 4:04 Astrid was back on the steeple. She had a large crop and had obviously eaten well. Meanwhile Ares was pulling nest duty. At 4:47 PM Astrid came to the nest and relieved Ares. He was on the State Building for a while but eventually left for his night perch. As for Astrid, she seemed to be settled in for the night. We expect the next egg to be laid late Thursday night or early Friday morning. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, April 3^rd, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY1JlMxHNuY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK8tzjXgG-M

It was cold overnight with temperatures in the mid 20s. It warmed up after Daybreak and by afternoon it was 62 degrees. It was windy all day, but the wind really picked up in the early evening. At 11:05 last night Astrid left the nest. She came back five minutes later and settled down on the egg. At 3:14 AM Astrid started vocalizing and came off the nest. She went over to the west veranda and continued calling. We thought that perhaps Ares brought food, but we didn’t see him anywhere. She flew off into the night without anything in her talons so there had been no exchange. However, after she flew off, we heard Ares screech four times in a row from some unknown location. Astrid returned a few minutes later, called a few times, and then climbed back on the nest. At 3:37 Ares came to the long perch with a Woodcock. Astrid came out to take it, but then, realizing what it was, she hopped back into the box again. Then she seemed to change her mind. She came back onto the crossperch and scrambled over to Ares. The transfer was awkward, and it seemed like she had a hard time getting her wings in the right position to fly. She finally managed it. I checked with the PTZ cam but I couldn’t find where she went. Ares stayed on the long perch for a little while before going into the box. He was squeaking a fair amount which probably meant that Astrid was view for him. At 3:50 the pair mated somewhere near the box. We know this because we heard Ares’ trademark mating chatter. Astrid came back into the nest a few minutes later. At 4:20 AM Ares came to the west veranda and Astrid left. He came into the box after that. By that time the temperature was 27 degrees. At 4:40 Ares was on the lip of the nest box. He left five minutes later. At 4:47 Astrid came to the west veranda and started vocalizing. It sounded like she wanted to mate, but there was no follow up mating. Instead, she came inside the nest and settled on the egg. By 6:14 the pair had switched and Ares took a turn guarding the egg. After a few minutes he was out on the crossperch. At 6:38 Astrid came to the east veranda perch. The pair mated five minutes later. They mated again at 7:02, and possibly again an hour later. At 8:52 no one was guarding the egg. Astrid was back in the nest at 9:10, and twenty minutes later they switched. Ares was with the egg for only a few minutes before going out onto the crossperch. At 10:32 they switched once more and Astrid came onto the egg. By 10:56 she was out on the crossperch. A minute later Ares brought prey to the west veranda. She went over to take it and flew off. She brought it to the hotel and Ares flew to the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE1GRZhGVTw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiUWTsf4m_E

At 11:37 AM Astrid was on the steeple perch and Ares was at the nestbox. They mated on the steeple at 11:40. Just before noon Astrid was at the box. The falcons did another switch at 12:13 and then Ares was on egg duty. Astrid flew over to the State Building. They were both there at 12:39. At 1:10 Ares was out of view. Astrid was with the egg at 2:49 but was up again less than a half hour later. Ares came to the box sometimes before 3:15. He was giving screeching calls a little while after that. At 4:43 Astrid was in the box and on the egg, but a half hour later both falcons were on the State Building. At this time the temperature was 62 degrees. At 5:46 Ares was on the hotel plucking prey. A minute later he brought it over to a ledge adjacent to Astrid’s perch on the State Building. She wasn’t coming over for it so he flew to the ledge next to hers. When it was clear she wasn’t coming to get it, he brought it right to her ledge. After a minute she flew over to the hotel to eat her dinner. Ares came by and sat next to her for a little while and watched her feed. While Astrid was on the hotel the wind picked up even more and was really buffeting our PTZ camera. at 6:11 Ares flew to the nest to check on the egg. Astrid left the hotel at 6:20 and came to the west veranda at 6:42. Both falcons came into the nest box and did a hybrid ledge display/switch. Afterwards Ares was gone. At 7:00 PM Astrid left the box. Shortly after that Ares arrived with a small food item. It may have been a bat. He nibbled on it, flew away, came back, nibbled on it some more, and then was gone again. By this time it had started raining. At 7:25 Ares returned to the nest box and Astrid to the west veranda. It was getting dark at this point nearly time for their crazy night antics to begin. By 7:49 Astrid was in the box on the egg and Ares was out of view. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update: The Little Falls birds now have 3 eggs on their scrape. There was a more than 92 hour interval between the laying of eggs # 2 and # 3. This is far longer than the average interval. Regardless, all else seemed to be normal at that nest. A couple of days ago, wildlife photographer Bob Burns took some pictures of the Little Falls falcons. We are sharing some of those below:

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, April 2^nd, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7JFbZnDlKc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx8_enwhtHQ

It got cold overnight. The temperature dropped down into the mid-20s which was culture shock after the 70 degree afternoon. Rain in the evening did not turn into snow as was predicted. Astrid spent the night in the box. At 12:29 AM she laid the first egg of the 2023 breeding season. April 2nd is the second latest date for a first egg since 2014, which was the falcon’s inaugural breeding year. Obviously, it was dark inside the box so it was difficult to determine exactly what was going on but we are confident on the time. Her posture was correct, and she appeared to tuck something underneath her at that time. At 4:47 Ares came to the box, and they switched. Astrid flew out and Ares got to see the egg for the first time. As usual he was more interested in what Astrid was doing than anything else. He left the box only 5 minutes after arriving. At that point it was 29 degrees. Astrid came in right after Ares left and got back on the egg. Of course, they are not involved in full incubation yet. That won’t come until after the second egg is laid. That means that they will be leaving the egg alone and/or uncovered for extended periods of time. At 6:27 Aries was back at the nest. Astrid did not want to leave and so he flew out again. At 7:06 Ares came to the box with prey. Astrid accepted it and flew off while he stayed with the egg. After all these years it seems that Ares still doesn’t quite know what to do with a new egg. He gave it a little roll and then he went out onto the crossperch. He left less than a minute later. The nest was then unmanned until 7:37 when Ares returned. Once again, he only stayed for several minutes. At 7:58 Astrid came back to the nest and was on guard duty for a while. The next switch occurred at 8:57 and then Ares was back in the box. This time his stay was much longer although most of the time he wasn’t close to the egg. By 10:22 the egg had been left alone for a while. Astrid came to the nest a minute later. The next switch happened at 11:36. Ares was on the egg for about 6 minutes before departing. At 11:45 Ares came back to the nest and did another shift of guard duty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jma1vWWQ13I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RJU1A9sSLU

At 12:22 PM Astrid left her perch on the State Building and came into the nest. She left again sometime before 12:45. At 1:11 Ares screeched to the box. Astrid was back on the State Building by that time. Ares left the box at 1:51. The egg was then unguarded for an extended time. At 2:35 Ares came back to check on the egg. He stood over it for a little while before leaving again. Throughout the rest of the afternoon Ares periodically checked on the egg while Astrid stayed on the State Building. She did leave a couple of times but she did not come to the nest and returned to her perch on the State Building. At 5:10 Astrid was on the nest and Ares was on the State Building. They did a classic switch at 5:22 and then she was back to the State Building. He didn’t stay long post switch. At 6:31 Ares was soaring around the State Building. Astrid came to the box at 6:32. Ares was up on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Most likely he was there for hunting purposes and not because of an intruder. He darted by the box at 6:42. Astrid reacted to his flyby by making squeaking vocalizations. At 6:54 the Falcons switched. Ares came into the box and Astrid flew out. It seemed like Astrid was having a late night. However, Ares was still at the box so she must have been close by. Ares left the box at 7:30 only to come back five minutes later. Astrid came to the box at 7:38 and settled down onto the egg. That was probably it for the night. We will look for Astrid’s second egg to be laid in the early afternoon on Tuesday. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, April 1^st, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WDW4kt2KAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m781PkrKc74

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

There were thunderstorms overnight and the temperature was 43 degrees. The rain stopped after dawn. The temperature rose to 70 degrees in the afternoon. The wind speed increased through the day and rain returned in the late afternoon. Astrid was in the nest for most of the night. At 3:31 AM Ares came into the box and they did a practice incubation switch. Astrid moved over to the west veranda. It was raining heavily at that point with some lightning. Astrid tucked in on the veranda for a while but then came back out onto the veranda perch at 4:49. Five minutes later she tucked in on ledge adjacent to Deb’s Perch. At 5:15 it was still pouring rain but, despite that, Astrid was asking to mate. We think there was an aborted attempt shortly afterward. Ares returned to the nest and Astrid tucked in again on her ledge. At 6:31 Astrid was on a west ledge asking to mate again. Ares hopped into the box. He was calling and lobbying for a dance. The birds mated two minutes later, and then the rain finally stopped, not that the two things were related. At 6:44 Astrid was on the crossperch asking to mate again but she flew off before Ares had a chance to react. Both falcons were out of view a few minutes later. At 6:51 A&A came to the box. Ares had prey in his talons which he gave to his mate. She flew off with it. At 7:27 Astrid was back on deb’s perch. They mated there 10 minutes later. At 7:46 Ares was inside the nest box working on his scrape. It was then that we realized his mega scrape had migrated from its original position and was now closer to the center of the box. At 8:24 AM another mating occurred after which Ares returned to the box. We think there was another mating attempt at 904 and at 9:30, but we couldn’t confirm them. The falcons were together in a box for a legde display at 9:34. At 10:20 Ares brought more food to the nest. He arrived on the east veranda and then hopped into the box. Astrid took it and flew off. The prey was a House Sparrow. Astrid plucked it on the hotel and proceeded to eat the entire bird. At 10:33 Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was on the State Building. At 11:10 both falcons were out of view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIsFiX-E9Lk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjfItEF4X-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygDTbuIRQ-o

Ares returned to the nest at 11:39 which meant that Astrid must have been back too since he never lets her out of his sight. Sure enough, Astrid had put down on the State Building. At 12:37 PM we noticed that the wind was really buffeting our PTZ cameras but at least they were working satisfactorily. At 12:49 Ares was back at the nest and Astrid was on the State Building. She came to the box at 1:02 and did some vocalizing. At 2:12 Ares came into the box for a practice incubation switch. Astrid lunged out into the wind tunnel that was Downtown and flew over to the State Building. At 3:38 the falcons were together at the nest for another ledge display. Ares left a few minutes later and went to the State Building. At 4:13 the falcons performed another ledge display at the box. Ares left after only a couple of minutes. At 4:19,  yet another dance. We were wondering if Ares was initiating all these dances just for the opportunity to check to see if she had laid an egg yet. At 5:11 there was yet another egg-check dance. There was lots of beaking associated with that one. Ares left after about three minutes. At 6:00 they performed yet another ledge display at the nest. That time Astrid left at its conclusion. Ares followed her but came right back. We saw Astrid soaring around the State Building several times. She gained altitude and then darted off to the north. At 6:10 she landed on Deb’s Perch. Five minutes later Ares floated over on the wind and the pair mated. At 6:20 Ares came to the ledge just west of Deb’s Perch with prey in his talons. Astrid did not seem to want it and he departed with it. At 6:22 he came to the box without the food. Astrid took off a minute later. At 6:25 Astrid was once again flying around the State Building. We thought perhaps she was checking Ares’ pantry ledges for something palatable. After browsing the store ledges she once again gained altitude and drifted out of camera view. After being out of view for a while both falcons came to the box at 6:50 and held another ledge display. Ares left after a couple of minutes. He was on the State Building until about 7:27 and then he was off to his night perch. Astrid remained in the box – possibly gearing up to lay her first egg of the season? Goodnight falcons.