Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, March 31^st, 2023

It was cold last night with temperatures in the low 20s. After daybreak there was a modest warmup. By midafternoon it was in the high 30s although a steady rain had moved in by then. Astrid spent the first part of the night in the box but was out on the crossperch by 2:30 AM. I was not sure when she left the box because all of my recordings shut down sometime after midnight. She left at 2:33. Ares came to the box at 2:55-ish, and she came to the west veranda right after that. She spent some time preening while he lobbied to get her to come into the box. She finally joined him at 3:14 and the pair conducted a short ledge display. Ares brought food to the west veranda at 4:22. She took it and flew off but we were unable to locate where she went. He stayed on the long perch until about 5:00. Ten minutes later, they were together in the box participating in another ledge display. After Ares left, Astrid stayed in the box. At one point she fell asleep. Ares returned at 6:30 and the pair did a practice incubation switch. At 7:02 Ares had prey on a west ledge and was processing it. Five minutes later, he gave it to her but we didn’t know where she took it. At 7:28. Astrid was on the west veranda. The pair mated there a minute later. They mated again only five minutes later, and then again at 7:58. At 8:20 they were dancing in the box once more.

At 8:54 Ares was on the east veranda and Astrid was sleeping in the nest box. At 9:42 the falcons conducted another ledge display inside the box. They did a practice incubation switch at 10:26. Twenty minutes later they mated on the State Building. Just before noon Astrid was on the east veranda and Ares was inside the box. He wanted to dance and she wanted to mate. They mated one minute later. At 12:16 PM the pair engaged in another ledge display at the nest. They seem to be going for the record today. At 12:51 they did another practice incubation switch. At 1:35 Astrid was on the east veranda asking to mate. Instead of mating, Ares left the box and came back with a small piece of food. He gave to Astrid on the east veranda. She ate it right there while he watched. At 2:52 Astrid was asking to mate again. They did so at 3:12. At 3:38 Astrid was back on the east veranda. We noticed that Ares was in the box at 4:06. He had moved to his pillar perch a half hour later. Astrid asked to mate a couple of times, once while Ares was on his pillar and once when he was in the box. Both times he flew out as if he was going to oblige her, but then did not come back. At 5:05 PM Ares brought a small piece of food to Astrid on the east veranda. She took it and flew off with it. She returned to the west veranda at 5:17 and Ares jumped back into the nestbox. At 5:20 she was asking to mate. They did so less than a minute later. At 5:23 Ares was back on his pillar and Astrid was on Deb’s perch. Ares returned to the box at 5:37. It was then that we noticed he had a full crop. At 7:04 PM Astrid moved to the east veranda. The pair mated there ten minutes later. At 7:33 Astrid entered the nestbox. It looked like she would be doing another all-night sitting, but will it result in an egg? We shall see. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, March 30^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CciaBqCFnI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfls4W-O9co

The overnight was very cold with temperatures in the mid-20s. About an inch of snow fell in the evening and was still there in the morning. Our PTZ 2 camera was coated with ice and we were unable to use it to see the nest box. Thankfully, all the other cameras were working fine. Astrid spent the night in the box. However, she did not lay an egg. Regardless of whether there was an egg on the scrape or not, the pair did a practice incubation switch at 4:09 AM. Ares came in and Astrid went out. At 5:36 Ares was inside the box and Astrid was on the State Building. The falcons did another practice switch only 5 minutes later. At 7:02 Astrid left the box. She either got food from Ares or she took something out of his pantry on her own. However Astrid got it, she took it over to the hotel and had it for breakfast. At 8:36 Astrid was on the State Building. Ares screeched to the nest box only to screech out again less than a minute later. They mated on the State Building and he returned to the box right afterwards. At 9:03 Astrid was at the box and she was vocalizing. Ten minutes later she was reclined over Ares’ mega scrape. It looked like she was on an egg but of course she wasn’t. At 10:06 Ares was in the box and Astrid was out of view. We couldn’t find where she went but no doubt Ares had her in sight. It is possible there was another mating on the State Building at around 10 48. Ares came to the box right afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YA8yxjFbLo

At 11:05 AM both falcons seemed to be worked up about something. Perhaps there was an intruder in the canyon. Astrid was on the State Building and Aries was chirping inside the nest box. By 11:30 they had calmed down and were seen mating on the State Building once more. Just before noon Astrid came to the crossperch but she did not stay. At 12:20 PM we think there was another mating on the State Building but we couldn’t be sure of that. Ares came to the nest box directly after and was calling. Five minutes later he joined her on the State Building. At 3:02 PM Ares was in the box vocalizing again. Astrid was seen in flight flying over to the State Building. At 4:00 the Falcons were conducting another ledge display in the box. It featured a lot of beaking. Ares left after ten minutes. At 4:33 they were dancing again. At one point during the display, Ares walked in a complete circle around Astrid. This dance also featured a lot of beaking behavior. He left after five minutes. At 5:52 Ares brought food to the nestbox. Astrid seemed like she was interested for a moment but then opted not to take it. She flew out and then he left. Astrid went over to the hotel and sat in the sun for a little while. Ares went to the State Building where he could keep an eye on her. At 6:06 Ares returned to the nest. Ten minutes later Astrid moved to a steeple perch. She came to the nestbox at 6:28 and Ares went to the State Building. The falcons conducted yet another ledge display at 6:42. When it was over Ares returned to the State Building and Astrid remained at the nest box acting like she was considering laying an egg. She is still at the box at 8:30 as I do this writeup. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Falcon Update: Anna laid her 2^nd egg at 8:19 AM – approximately 60 hours after laying egg # 1. Good job, Anna!!

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, March 29^th, 2023

The weather was all over the place today. The overnight was cold with temperatures in the mid 20s. By afternoon it had warmed up to 50 degrees and the sky was partly sunny. Wind increased in the afternoon making life more difficult for people, if easier for falcons. Rain turned to snow in the evening and temperatures dropped into the 30s. Astrid spent most of the night in the nestbox. She left at 2:54 AM but then returned to the crossperch only ten minutes later. At 5:09 Ares arrived at the nestbox and Astrid took it as her cue to leave. Both falcons were on the State Building at 5:50. At 6:00 Ares came to the box with a Woodcock. He spent some time plucking it while he patiently waited for Astrid to come over and take it. To our disbelief, at 6:26 Astrid did come over and take it from her mate. She flew over to the hotel with it and started picking at it. To no one’s surprise she soon gave up and abandoned it on the hotel ledge. She was back on the steeple a few minutes later. The falcons mated there at 6:30 after which Ares returned to the nestbox

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

At 7:27 AM both falcons were at the nest area. Astrid was on the east veranda perch and Ares was inside the box. She was bowing and asking to mate. There may have been a mating at that point, but if there was, we didn’t see it. At 9:46 the falcons were partaking of a ledge display in the nestbox. Ares was gone 6 minutes later. After he left Astrid worked on her scrape in the middle of the box. At 10:17 both falcons converged at the box again for another ledge display. After 7 minutes Ares was out. Astrid spent some time in the box and we wondered if she was going to lay her first egg but at 11:45 she went to her steeple perch instead. At 2:47 PM Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was in the nest box. At 4:30 the falcons had another ledge display at the box. Ares was out eight minutes later and Astrid remained to do some work around the nest. At 5:10 Astrid was out of the box. At 5:23 Ares came to the nest and was giving chirping calls. We don’t know if that had anything to do with an intruder in the canyon. The falcons mated on the west veranda at 5:30 PM. Ares was on the State Building right after that. At 6:18 Ares came to the nestbox and Astrid left. She flew directly over to the State Building. By 6:45 it had become exceedingly rainy and windy. Ares was on the State Building and remained there until 7:18. At 7:39 Astrid arrived on the crossperch and from there she hopped into the box. It seemed like she was going to do a sitting. Perhaps tonight is the night for the first egg?! By 8:00 it had gotten much windier and rainier. By evening the rain was turning into snow. Our PTZ 2 camera was immediately obscured by ice. Goodnight Falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, March 28^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77SLv0vEbOI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYhM-JeBsbA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1UNUyDA5N8

It was cold again overnight. The temperature was around 32°. We had partly cloudy skies throughout the day with a persistent wind. The high temperature in the afternoon was in the high 40s. Astrid did not spend the night in the box. She arrived at the nest at 4:14 AM. She sat on the crossperch until Ares came at 5:10. At that point, she flew over to the State Building. At 6:30 we could just make out with the PTZ camera that Ares was on the west face of the State Building. A few minutes later, we saw him dart out after a bird. Sure enough, two minutes later he came to the box with a freshly caught Grackle. He took it to the hotel for processing. At 6:54 when he was done, he took his prey to the box. When Astrid failed to come right over, he flew up to the State Building and to the ledge right next to where Astrid was perched. She came over and took it from him and then flew to the hotel. At 7:44 Astrid was on the Steeple and Ares was on the State Building. They mated at 8:15. At 9:39 the falcons were together in the box partaking of a ledge display. It featured lots of talking and very little beaking. Ares was out after five minutes. Astrid stayed in the nest for a while after the dance. At 9:45 she was making a new scrape in the middle of the floor. Meanwhile, Ares was on the same steeple perch where Astrid had been earlier. At 10:04 Astrid joined him on the adjacent steeple perch. For the next 2 1/2 hours the falcons bounced back and forth between the steeple and the box. At 12:37 PM they conducted another ledge display at the box. Ares was out five minutes later, and Astrid stayed on to do housework. Mostly, she was digging in the corners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-NExPkv3Y4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=875PT95HFLI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJkkXtvmS58

At 2:50 PM Astrid was on the hotel feeding. We think Ares dropped food off to her probably on the State Building or near the box. At 3 o’clock Ares was calling. We weren’t sure if it was related to an intruder in the canyon. At 3:25 I heard the vocalizations of Ring-billed Gulls, flying through the canyon. We don’t think the falcons were bothered by that at all and likely the gulls didn’t get very close to the nest. At 3:34 Ares was vocalizing in the box. We think it had to do with him seeing Astrid fly up to her steeple perch. At 3:44 they mated on the steeple. Both falcons were out of view at 4:10. Ten minutes later Ares returned to the box and Astrid to the State Building. At 5:42 the falcons performed yet another ledge display at the nest. Ares left after about five minutes. They did a practice incubation switch at 6:08 PM. At 6:28 Astrid came to the crossperch. She was asking Ares to mate but he didn’t take her hint fast enough and she left. After that Astrid was on Deb’s Perch for a while and Ares stayed in the box. I looked like he was trying his luck at laying an egg. That trick never works. At 7:34 Astrid was back to the box and Ares took the cue to leave. She stayed out on the crossperch for a while before coming into the box for a sitting. Maybe this will be the night she lays her first egg? We shall see.

Little Falls Falcon update: In Little Falls, Anna and Erie have been busy with the full spectrum of breeding behavior. Anna laid her first egg Monday evening at 8:22. Congratulations to the pair! Once again, they are the early birds.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, March 27^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkYwwvPe89I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RESiDfyl1b8

It was cool overnight with temperatures in the high 20’s. Cloud cover became denser as the day progressed and rain came in the late afternoon. The day’s high temperature was in the mid-forties. Astrid arrived from the east veranda at 12:14 AM. She stayed there until 3:58. Ares showed up on the crossperch less than a minute after she had gone but he did not stay. Astrid flew over to the box right after he left. She left at 4:10 but returned ten minutes later. At 6:00 Ares came to the nest and Astrid left. We saw Ares fly over to the west face of the State Building and land on one of his pantry ledges. A while later he brought food to Astrid on the west veranda. She took it and flew over to the hotel. He sat next to her on the hotel ledge for a little while as she fed. By 7:03 he was back at the nestbox. Fifteen minutes later he was giving chirp-type alarm calls which could mean there was a falcon intruder in the canyon. He took off a minute later. At 7:29 we heard Ares’ mating chatter. They had mated on the steeple. They mated there again at about 7:43.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-TKVJFVIn8

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

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

Astrid was at the nest box at 9:10 AM. By 9:48 she had moved out onto the west veranda. Ares brought food to her at 10:10. She took it but she must have stored it because she was on the steeple only a few minutes later and did not have it. At 10:55 Astrid went to the west veranda briefly before returning to the steeple. At 11 55 she was back on the veranda. Both falcons were staying close to the box, but Astrid was not doing a sitting which meant that she was not close to laying an egg. At 2:03 PM Astrid was once again on the steeple and Ares was in the nest box. At 2:45 she had bounced back to the west veranda. She left the veranda and flew over to the box – seemingly to wake Ares up. He had been napping on his scrape. At 2:50 the falcons mated on the west veranda. Ares returned to the box afterwards. At 3:24 there was a ledge display in progress. The dance was mostly a standoff, but it did involve some beaking. At 3:38 Ares was back in the box and seemed to be lobbying for another dance. Astrid was on the crossperch but did not stay and flew over to the State Building. At 3:57 both Falcons were out of view for a while. Ares was back at the box 10 minutes later. We still didn’t see Astrid anywhere but it was highly likely Ares had her in view. Rain was falling by 5:15. Ares brought prey to the east veranda at 5:25. At that time Astrid was on the steeple. Ares buzzed by her once and then swooped up to the nest box. She took it from him at the nest and then flew over to the hotel. At 5:36 Astrid was back on the west veranda. Fifteen minutes later she had moved to Deb’s perch. Ares remained in the box. One would think he was the one that was going to lay the egg. At 7:22 they did a practice changeover – Astrid came in and Ares went out. Astrid stayed in the box until close to 7:50 PM and then she flew off to a night perch. Will Astrid be back tonight? We shall see. Goodnight all.