Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, March 21^st, 2023

The overnight was cool with some light precipitation. The temperature was close to the freezing mark once again. There was a significant warm up during the day and the afternoon high was 50 degrees. Ares came to the nest box with prey at 2:18 AM, his earliest arrival time yet this season. He flew off a couple of times in quick succession, probably to flyby Astrid’s night perch. The prey looked like it may have been a Woodcock, but we weren’t positive. Astrid came to the nest at 2:44 and actually accepted the prey inside the nest box (which meant it probably wasn’t a Woodcock). She flew off with it that we couldn’t find where she flew to. Ares did not stay long after Astrid’s departure. He screeched back to the box at 5:13 AM. Astrid came to an east ledge about an hour later. Ares began excitingly calling inside the nest. The pair mated 5 minutes later. At 7:02 they mated once again; and then again at 7:41 – that time on the steeple. At 7:43 Aries brought food to the nest box. When Astrid didn’t come right over for it, he brought it to her on the steeple. He tried to give it to her for several minutes, but she wasn’t interested in taking it. He finally gave up and flew away. At 7:56 the pair had an aborted mating attempt. Ares returned to the box right afterwards. At 8:03 he worked on his mega scrape inside the box. It was looking pretty good. At 9:36 Astrid was on the east veranda tucked in close to the window and Ares was on the steeple. He moved to the box at 10:00. At around 10:40 the pair converged at the nest box for a ledge display. After Ares left, Astrid stayed to do housework. Mostly she was digging in the stones and inspecting the wall behind Ares’ scrape. This time of year Ares keeps very close track of everything that Astrid does. If she flies out of view for a minute, he goes with her. He just doesn’t let her out of his sight.

At 12:13 PM Ares was on the crossperch wiping off his bill. That usually means that he handed off food to Astrid and, sure enough, she was up on a ledge of the State Building feeding on something. At 2 21 Astrid was on the crossperch and Ares was inside the box. He wanted her to come in for a dance and she wanted to mate – their age-old dilemma. For the balance of the afternoon the falcons were up and down from the State Building and Ares was in and out of the box. At 5:52 Astrid was on Deb’s perch. A few minutes later Ares landed on the ledge just east of her with food. He was trying to give it to her but she wasn’t taking it. He flew over to the box and ate a little bit of it before attempting to give it to her again. This time he tried to do it from the windowsill behind her and from the ledge just to the west of her perch. She still wouldn’t take it. He flew back to the box and ate a little bit more of it. He then tried one more time to give it to his mate but she still refused it. Instead, she wanted to mate and began bowing behavior. Ares flew back to the box at eight AM with the rest of the gift. Perhaps it was leftover Woodcock. The pair mated again at about 6:35. Astrid left for the night a little while after that. Ares remained at the box until close to 8:00 PM. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, March 20^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHk4j3zBMJ4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2vq0gR2ebY

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

The first day of spring had a chilly start with temperatures around the freezing point. The high for the day was in the mid 40s. It was breezy but the sun was out for much of the day. Astrid arrived at the nest box at 3:07 AM. She left briefly but then came right back to the long perch. It seemed like she was waiting for Ares to bring her breakfast – something that he wasn’t doing in a hurry. At 6:09 Ares arrived’ he hopped into the box, but had no food gift. Astrid unceremoniously left and flew over to an east ledge. The pair mated there at 6:35. After that Astrid went back to the long perch at the box. Ares brought prey to a west ledge at 6 57. It appeared to be a Starling. Astrid did not come and take it from him until 7:11. She then had her breakfast over on the hotel. At 7:46 Ares was giving chirping-type alarm calls in the box. This is the alarm call they typically reserve for instances when there’s a falcon intruder in the Canyon. However, Astrid was perched on the State Building and Ares was still at the box. It certainly didn’t seem like either one of them was outraged enough to mount a pursuit. At 8:04 AM Astrid was on the east veranda perch and both falcons were having a spirited discussion. She then went back over to the State Building at 8:05 and, as far as we know, they remained in place until 10:15. That’s when the two took part in a ledge display. During the dance Ares stayed on his mega scrape and Astrid was crowded up to him. There was some enthusiastic beaking in this display but little footwork. At 10:24 Ares brought a food gift to the east veranda. He then hopped into the box with it. It was very small and she really didn’t have any interest in it. She just hopped out onto the crossperch, seemingly ignoring the guy with the gift. Ares tried once more to give it to her, but she flew off. It was then that we noticed there was what looked like an entire Woodcock stored on a west ledge.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkWqLBXFae4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-9YDZp5vrA

At 10:46 PM Astrid was perched on the steeple and Ares was at the box. At 11:08 Ares started chirping in the box as if he had an intruder sighted. Minutes later both falcons were out of view – presumably giving chase. Were they dealing with an intruder? At 11:30 Ares was once again in the box and giving chirping calls. Astrid had returned to the State Building. Ares soon transitioned into giving long screeching calls, also known as terradactyl calls. At 11:35 there was an aborted mating attempt on the State Building. Ares circled back to the box afterwards. At 1:41 PM the falcons were together in the box having another ledge display. Ares was out after about 10 minutes. At 3:25 Ares was back in the nest box and Astrid was on the State Building. As it happened, they were up and down quite a few times in the next two hours. So much so they were difficult to keep track of. At 6:11 Ares brought a small food item to the box. He called out for Astrid to come over, but once again she didn’t seem to be in any hurry. It was a bat; the first one we’ve seen Ares catch this season. A few minutes later Astrid came, presumably to take her gift, but by then there was no gift. Ares had finished it. She doesn’t like bats anyway. For her they are on the same list as cuckoos and woodcocks. Instead of a food exchange, the pair preformed another ledge display. At 6:22 Ares was out of the box and Astrid remained. She had moved to the west veranda by 6:30. Fifteen minutes later she was on Deb’s Perch and Ares was in the box. She was asking to mate. They then had an aborted mating attempt at Deb’s Perch at 7:04.It seemed that both falcons had retired for the night by around 7:30 PM. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, March 19^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5MR2OVZyTk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTw4uZNHTb8

The overnight was like the dead of winter with a low temperature of only 19 degrees. Strong winds and some lake effect snow squalls persisted through much of the day. The high temperature for the day came close to the freezing point. Ares made his first appearance at the nest box at 4:07 AM and stayed for about an hour. At 6:41 he came back to the nest with a prey item. At the time Astrid was in a windowsill on the State Building. When she didn’t come over to get her gift Ares flew over and landed in the window next to hers. She still didn’t want the food, so Ares flew back to the nest with it. Ultimately, he stored it on one of his pantry ledges. The prey appeared to be part of a Woodcock which might explain why Astrid wasn’t interested. At 8:00 Ares was taking a nap inside the box. Astrid was still on the State Building. At one point Ares was awake and perched over his mega scrape. It almost looked like he was trying to lay an egg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSf3e7fCNkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y-3BpI2s5Y

At 10:15 PM snow squalls started hitting the downtown area. Ares had been up but he returned to the box at 10:42. At 12:46 PM the snowfall had paused and Ares was up. He returned to the box at 12:53. At 1:39 the pair held a ledge display inside the nest box. There was a fiar amount of beaking involved in that dance. After it was over, about 8 minutes later, Ares flew out. Once again it was snowing heavily. At 4:37 Ares returned to the box. Astrid had been on the State Building for a while at that point. The snow squalls were continuing on and off. At 5:37 both falcons were out of view for a little while. Ares returned to the box at 5:46 and a minute later Astrid joined him for a ledge display. During most of the dance Ares was standing on his scrape. Like the last display, this dance featured a lot of beaking. Ares left at 5:55. At 6:26 PM Ares came to the box with leftovers of something. Astrid accepted it in the nest and flew over to the hotel with it. Meanwhile the persistent wind was buffeting the PTZ cams. At 6:36 Astrid was done with her meal and she flew back to perch on the State Building. As she arrived, Ares left his perch on the same building and went to the box. At 6:49 both falcons were on the north face of the State Building. At 7:00 Pm both were out of view and perhaps off to night perches.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, March 18^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight with the temperature staying close to 32 degrees. The high for the day was around 40 degrees. Some light precipitation fell in the afternoon mainly in the form of snow but there was little or no accumulation. Ares first came to the box at 3:27 AM. He stayed for about 8 minutes. He then returned at 4:05 with a Woodcock. He spent some time on the crossperch plucking it. As expected, Astrid didn’t come over to take it. At 5:12 Astrid and Ares came to the box together and held a ledge display. At 6:52 Astrid was on a window sill on the State Building and Ares was on his lookout post on the roof of the same building. At 6:54 both falcons went after something. We don’t know if it was prey or an intruder. One landed briefly on the long perch at the nest box. It was Astrid, and when she fanned out her tail feathers we noticed that one of her feathers was broken. Fortunately, that shouldn’t hamper her flying at all. She soon floated away on the wind like a kite. Indeed, the wind was getting stronger which comes as good news if you are a Peregrine Falcon. At 7:17 Ares was back to the nestbox with prey. It appeared to be the Woodcock again. Astrid still wasn’t interested. At 7:22 he was on the hotel but without his prey. At 7:43 he returned to the box and, once again, he had the Woodcock in his talons. Astrid was on the State Building, and he called out to her to try and encourage her to come for her gift. She wasn’t budging, but he wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. He made a special delivery right to her ledge. Of course, she still didn’t want it. Ares was back at the box at 8:00 and doing some work on his mega scrape. At 8:53 both falcons were flying. We think they were dealing with an intruder but we could not confirm that. A minute later Ares was back to the nest and Astrid was on Deb’s perch. At 9:11 the falcons were involved in a ledge display the nestbox.

At 11:00 AM Ares brought prey to the nestbox. It appeared to be a Blackbird, but we couldn’t see it well the way Ares was holding it. He called a few times to get Astrid to come over. Surely, she would come over for a Blackbird? He plucked it on the crossperch for about ten minutes. After that he brought it to the east veranda and that’s when Astrid finally flew over to take it. She brought it over to the hotel and made a meal of it. At 1:10 Astrid was on the lower steeple perch. We hadn’t seen her there in a while. By 1:45 both Falcons were up and out of view. We saw a Turkey Vulture flying high over the downtown canyon. At 2:08 the falcons had their third ledge display for the day. At 4:36 both falcons were perched close to each other on the hotel ledge. Astrid was feeding on something large. It was probably a pigeon. Most likely she caught it herself, but we are not sure. We didn’t see Ares try to steal any. But then he was probably already full on Woodcock. At 6:25 the falcons held a fourth dance at the nest box. This time there were mostly displaying/gesturing around the rim of Ares’ super-scrape. After Ares left the box Astrid did some work around the scrape area, mostly digging in the stones. At 6:58 one of the falcons, we think Ares, was back up on the lookout post. He went out after something a few minutes later – we think prey. He came to the nest at 7:13 and then was gone at 7:30 PM, probably for the night. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, March 17^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlqI74IQAGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zllYMHk84J8

The overnight was cool with no precipitation. The temperature was around 35°. In mid-morning we started to get a mixture of light rain and snow. By late morning it became a steady rain and it continued through the afternoon. The high temperature was in the low 40s. Astrid was on the crossperch at 3:00 AM. We weren’t sure when she arrived. At 3:15 she hopped into the box for only a few seconds and then bailed out. Ares was on the west veranda right after that, but then he took off at 3:25. Five minutes later he returned to the box with a freshly caught killdeer, which appeared to be still alive. He soon dispatched it with a bite on the neck. He waited for Astrid to show up, but only a few minutes. He came back about eight minutes later and still had his prey. Once again, he left when Astrid didn’t promptly show up to take it. At 4:05 he came back, this time with a Woodcock, and started plucking it on the long perch. Predictably, she didn’t rush over to take it. He left at 4:14. He probably flew by her in an attempt to entice her to come to the box. He returned to the nest, but she still didn’t follow. He left again and came back at 4:16 – that time, without anything. It is likely that he stored both prey items. He left the box at 4:30 and then returned a minute later with a Woodcock which, oddly enough, didn’t seem to be the same bird. He couldn’t possibly have had enough time to get another one – could he have? He flew off two minutes later, only to boomerang right back – this time with empty talons. Astrid showed up on a west ledge at 6:54. It’s possible she was there earlier but we just didn’t notice her there. At 7:09 the pair mated on the east veranda. At 8:09 we think there was an aborted mating attempt on the steeple. Ten minutes later we heard chirping-type calls which sounded like the standard alert for a falcon intruder. In a flash Ares was up on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Both Falcons came to the box at 8:25. Ares went inside to work on his scrape. Meanwhile Astrid was on the edge of the east veranda and asking to mate. They mated at 8:33. At 8:51 Ares came to the box with a chunk of a Woodcock. No surprise, Astrid was not interested in taking it. He took it away and probably put it back ionto one of his pantry ledges on the State Building. At 9:09 Astrid was asking to mate again. And the pair did just that at 9:40.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eSxpa8Qkzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPE4ZDWdIt8

At 10:00 AM Astrid was still on the corner of the east veranda and Ares was back inside the box. She wanted to mate and he wanted to dance. By then it had started to rain. The pair shared a ledge display at 10:44. There wasn’t much footwork during the dance and Astrid took a break at one point to pick up some stones and maybe eat a few. After Ares left the box, Astrid did some housework around his mega scrape. While she was busy with that, Ares went up to his favorite pillar perch. at 12:16 PM the pair mated on the east veranda. Despite the rain, at 1:45 Astrid was asking to mate again. They mated one minute later and afterwards Ares returned to his pillar perch. At 2:12 Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid took it and started eating it on the east veranda which was unusual. A few minutes later she was up. She reappeared on the steeple at 2:41. They both stayed in place for a few hours – him inside the nest box and her on the steeple perch. At 5:15 PM Ares gave food to Astrid at the box. She took it over to the hotel. It may have been the killdeer that Ares had caught early in the morning. At 5:24 both Falcons were out of view for a while. Ten minutes later Astrid showed up on the west veranda and Ares, at 6:26. At 6:28 both Falcons took off. There was an intruder flying to the east of the State Building. It was too far away for us to identify. It appeared that both Falcons were hazing it as it flew. Given that it was raining again, we thought the falcons would retire for the night – that is, following their return from their hazing mission, but both came back to the nest area at 6:43. He was in the box and she was on the west veranda asking to mate. Both of them were very wet. She finally left for her night perch at around 7:30, and Ares retired a half hour later. Goodnight all.