Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, March 16^th, 2023

It was cold overnight with temperatures down around 26 degrees. The day was mostly overcast with a high temperature of 48 degrees. The sun finally came out only a couple of hours before sunset. Ares arrived at the nest box at 4:43 AM – bright and early, although maybe not so bright. Astrid arrived on the long perch right after Ares but she only stayed for a couple of minutes. We think she was hoping he had a food gift for her. He didn’t. He just wanted to dance. Astrid declined the invitation and flew over to the State Building. At 6 o’clock Ares was back to the box. This time he had a Woodcock dangling from his talons. He waited for a while for Astrid to come over and take it but of course she didn’t. She still doesn’t like Woodcocks. At 6:08 Ares went and stored his catch. After that both Falcons were on the State Building. At 6:55 Ares returned to the box and was wiping his bill on the crossperch. That usually means there was a food exchange, but Astrid was still on the State Building and didn’t appear to have anything, but we couldn’t tell for sure. At 7:09 the falcons mated on an east the ledge. Thirty minutes later Ares was on the east veranda with a fresh caught Starling. When Astrid wouldn’t leave her ledge to come over for it, he hopped over and gave it to her. At 8:07 Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was taking a nap on the crossperch.

At 10:06 AM the Peregrines performed a ledge display inside the box. Ares left after about ten minutes while Astrid stayed to do some housework. She spent some time standing in Ares’ scrape and then she bit at the lip of the box for a little while. A very important task indeed. At 11:05 the pair performed another ledge display. This one was short, and Astrid bailed right at the beginning. We are not sure if she was spooked by something or what the issue was. At 12:12 PM Ares brought food inside the nest box. Astrid barreled in, grabbed it and headed for the hotel. At 12:28 Ares was back to the nest box and Astrid was on the State Building again. At 2:38 PM she had moved to the west office perch (also known as Deb’s perch) and Ares was inside the nest box. At 4:55 Ares gave Astrid more food at the nest box. He was in super provider mode today. Once again she took her gift over to the hotel. At 5:27 Ares was back in the box and Astrid was on the steeple. At 6:14 the falcons performed their third ledge display at the box. Ares was out after four minutes and went to the steeple. Inside the box Astrid made a scrape on top of Ares’ super scrape and did some more housework. Astrid then sat still in the nest for more than an hour while Ares remained on watch on the steeple. When Astrid begins doing long-ish sittings in the nest we know that egg laying isn’t all that far off. Perhaps it’s only ten days away or maybe less. One thing was for sure, it wouldn’t be tonight. They both left for their night perches at around 7:40 PM. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, March 15^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MunwLDwS9lw

Overnight was cold with temperatures in the mid 20s. It was sunny during the day and the temperature peaked at 34 degrees in midafternoon. However, it was windy and that made it seem colder. Ares arrived at the nest box at 5:30 AM. At 6:23 he started squeaking inside the box – and that was our notification that Astrid had arrived on the State Building. At 6:59 Ares was up on his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. At 8:07 Astrid came to the box. Ares landed on the east veranda with a food gift. He then hopped into the box to give it to her. She flew out but we are not sure where she took it. Both falcons were on the State Building at 8:30. At 10:41 the pair came to the nest box and performed a ledge display. It was a lively one. Ten minutes later they were both out. At 11:05 it is possible that Ares brought food to Astrid’s perch on the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Z_JLeHP50

At 11:55 AM Ares was in the nest box working on and around his mega scrape. At 3:05 Astrid came over and the pair performed another ledge display. At 4:43 we thought they might dance again – Ares was already in the box, eager and willing, Astrid showed up, hopped inside, but then dove right out again. Ares seemed disappointed that he didn’t get his third dance. We think she left because one of our box cams had been shifted slightly by the wind. She notices everything. At 5:12 PM Ares was in the nest box and vocalizing. Astrid was on the State Building at that time. For the next hour he was in and out fairly frequently. Each time he left he would simply spread his wings and float off on the wind like a gull. At 6:45 Astrid joined him at the nest box and the pair performed another ledge display. It was another lively dance with lots of beaking but Astrid was obviously distracted and she kept looking up at the camera. Once again, she left prematurely. Ares remained in the box for a while after she left, but was gone to his night perch before 7:00 PM. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, March 14^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cJRc5jU79o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Eb_R8pMfS4

The snow began falling Monday night and continued through most of today. It was heavy wet snow that really piled up. We had close to a foot in the hills to the south of the city. The temperature stayed around the freezing point all day. Our PTZ cameras were partially obscured by snow and ice; that meant we often couldn’t see what the falcons were up to, not that they were up much. Ares arrived at the nest box at 5:29 AM. He stayed there for two hours. At 7:33 he was back to the box with prey. Leave it to Ares to successfully hunt during snowstorm! Astrid did not come over to take it and so he flew off. He probably buzzed by her to show her what he had. He came back to the box a minute later and this time she followed him over and took the meal. We are not sure where they went after that. At 8:50 they were suddenly both in the box partaking of a ledge display. There was lots of beaking involved in that dance. Ares left after about 5 minutes. Astrid remained in the box until 11:15. We didn’t see a Falcon again until Ares returned to the box at 12:46 PM. He was in and out a few times in the next hour. Astrid arrived on the cross perch just before 2:00 o’clock. The pair then performed another dance albeit a short one this time. Ares was out after only a minute. Once again Astrid remained in the box for a while. At 4:10 she was gone. Ares was back to the box at 4:43. Just as before, he was in and out a few times for the next couple of hours. Both converged at the box at 6:15 for their third dance of the day. They both left within a minute of each other at 6 17 PM. After that, one of the Falcons, we suspect Ares, was on the north face of the State Building – no doubt keeping an eye on the nestbox. He was gone at 7:25 PM. Goodnight falcons.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR1O_iAzlsg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMA-2jZo9LY

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, March 13^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight With temperatures down around the freezing point. Intermittent snow flurries and rain fell throughout the day – a little sample of what’s in store for us tonight through Wednesday. Today’s high temperature was close to 40°. Ares came to the box and Astrid to the east ledge at 6:38 AM. They had a very lively conversation. Five minutes later they were both up again. Astrid returned to an east ledge at 6: 51. At 7:38 Ares brought a partially processed Common Grackle to the nest area. After a half-minutes long tug-o-war, Ares let Astrid have it. She brought it over to the hotel. The snow flurries had gotten a little more intense as Astrid ate her breakfast. At 8:04 Ares was inside the box and Astrid was out on the crossperch. She had obviously eaten well and was showing a large crop. The pair mated two minutes later. After which, Ares went to his favorite pillar perch. At 8:37 Ares returned to the nest box. The couple then had another lively conversation. They mated once more on the east veranda at 8:55. At 9 o’clock Ares was back on his pillar. At 10:50 Ares was in the nest box and Astrid was on the east veranda. Five minutes later – you guessed it, another mating. At 12:15 PM Astrid was asking to mate again, but Ares was busy preening up on his pillar. At 12:18 both Falcons were up and out of view. Two minutes later he was back in the box calling and she was on the west veranda. We were starting to see a pattern here. At 12:27 they mated on the west veranda. Ares then bounced back to his pillar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQelvteHET4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZY29XR5ZMg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLIwr1SOduw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgqkS4w35WU

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-xUF6ISbc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM79nuvEYts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ipCuKv34mA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5xINKQwRq8

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

At 12:56 PM both Falcons were at the box, perhaps on the verge of having a dance, or mating, but then Astrid saw someone in a nearby office window and she flew off. Ares became very excited as he watched her fly and he started calling to her. Astrid returned to the crossperch at 1:13. At 1:47 Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid took it and flew over to the hotel. At 1:55 she had finished her meal and flew back through the canyon. That got Ares calling again. At 2:12 Astrid was on the west veranda. A few minutes later she was asking to mate. If they did mate again, we missed it. Following that, he was stationed on the east veranda, and she was on the west. They were guarding the box. At 3 o’clock he was inside the box and she was on the east veranda. The pair then mated on the east veranda. At 3:36 Ares was back on his pillar. At 4:33 the Falcons mated again. We thought Astrid had flown away after that but then we saw she was tucked in next to the window on the west veranda. Meanwhile Ares was back on his pillar perch. At 5:31 they mated on the west veranda. Ares came right back to the box afterwards and Astrid was immediately asking to mate again. He dove out like he was going to come back to her, but instead diverted and went back to his pillar. He left at 5:50 and she left five minutes later. We thought that would be it for the night, but then she returned to the west veranda at 6:00 and he came to the box at the same time. They mated on the west veranda at 6:09 PM. At 6:28 Astrid took off and we again thought she was retiring, but she retuned to the long perch at the box. Ares was on a west ledge plucking prey. He gave it to her on the east veranda at 6:36 PM. At 6:50 Astrid was back to the west veranda and Ares was in the box again asking for a dance. Maybe they are not going to bed tonight! They mated again (for the ninth time that we know of) at 6:57 PM. She flew at 7:16, but then was right back to an east ledge. She only stayed there for a few minutes and then she was up. Goodnight falcons?

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, March 12^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjkqOHqx0Jk

It was cold overnight with a low temperature in the low teens. It remained chilly through the morning but the afternoon brought some warmer temperatures. The high for the day was in the evening when we reached 40 degrees. Ares screeched to the nest box at 6:30 AM. With then time change, it was still pre-dawn. Astrid landed on the State Building 5 minutes later and Ares became very excited about it. He went inside the box and started chirping. Once again, the crows were very noisy in the pre-dawn hours. We saw a few of them flying by the bank building. The Falcons paid no attention to them nor did the crows seem overly concerned about being in the Falcons realm. At 6:51 the falcons mated on the State Building. A few minutes later Ares was on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. It seemed like he was in hunting mode. At 7:55 there was a food exchange at the nestbox. Astrid brought her gift over to the hotel. At 8:19 Astrid came to the east veranda and the pair had a conversation. They mated again on the east veranda at 8:24. Five minutes later Ares was on the steeple. He left just before 9:00 o’clock. At 10:38 Astrid was still on the east veranda. She was tucked in close to the window. At 10:46 she came to the crossperch. Ares came over and hopped right into the nestbox, hoping for a ledge display. Astrid declined his invitation and went back to the east veranda. At 10:56 Astrid was on the steeple.

Just before noon Ares came to the nestbox and did some work on his mega scrape. Indeed, it’s coming along very well. At 12:12 PM the falcons finally had their ledge display. Ares was out after 5 minutes and Astrid remained to do some housework. She did some digging behind Ares’ scrape. At 12:36 Ares brought some food to the east veranda. Astrid flew over but then decided not to take it and flew away without it. Ares left to store the food and then he came back to the box. At 1:52 Astrid was on the crossperch and Ares was out of view. At 2:08 Ares arrived at the box, hopped inside, and asked his mate to come in for another dance. She didn’t want to, and after a few minutes she left. At 3:46 Astrid was back on the crossperch and Ares was nowhere to be seen. Ten minutes later he was up on the lookout post. At 4:40 Ares was at the nestbox and Astrid was up. It was possible that he gave her something. A few minutes later she was on the steeple. She stayed there for about 15 minutes. The 5:20 Ares was at the box. He was giving squeaking calls in reaction to Astrid landing on the State Building. At 6:22 one of the Falcons, we think Ares, was back up on the lookout. He was there until about 6:25. Astrid showed up on the west veranda at 6:31. At 6:44 PM Ares brought food to the box. It appeared to be the wing of a Blackbird. Astrid took it on the west veranda. By 6:55 both falcons were out of view and presumably off to their night perches. Goodnight to all.