Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, March 11^th, 2023

Thank you to all that came out and represented the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project in today’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. It was the first time our falcon project took part in this event and it was a great experience. Thank you to all for braving the snow and cold temperatures to carry our banners and hand out fliers. We appreciate it!

It was chilly overnight with snow showers. The temperature stayed around the freezing point for much of the day. Snow flurries continued through most of the morning. Ares arrived at the nest box at 4:08 AM. He started vocalizing at 5:27 when Astrid landed on a west pillar. Once again there were a lot of crows calling and flying around in the downtown area before dawn. The falcons don’t pay much attention to them. Ares left the box at 6:24 but came back about 5 minutes later. At 6:37 the pair mated on a west pillar. Astrid came to the box at 7:22. Ares was in the box and she was on the cross perch at 7:45. They were having a spirited discussion. Much to Ares’ pleasure, that led to ledge display at 7:50. It lasted for about two minutes. Ares was back in the nest box at 9:16. His mate was on the State Building at that time. She left her perch at 9:25. At 10 o’clock Ares was snoozing inside the nestbox but he woke up when the Saint Patrick’s Day parade started to become lively on the main street below. At 10:09 Ares was calling inside the box. Astrid was back on the State Building at that time. At 10:32 Ares once again returned to the nest box and was calling. In the background we could hear the music of bagpipes coming from the parade.

At 10:36 AM both Peregrines were on the north face of the State Building. The parade was in high gear by that point. At 11:07 Astrid had moved to a perch on the steeple. She was on the east facing perch which looks away from the parade. She’s not a big fan of any kind of festivities. At least there weren’t any fireworks, Astrid!! At 11:26 Ares was back to the box. He stayed for about 10 minutes. At 1:19 PM Ares was on the steeple and we weren’t sure where Astrid was. At 3:40 Ares came to the box with a freshly caught Starling. He stayed for about a minute and then flew off into the Canyon. At 3:49 both Falcons were back on the State Building. A few minutes later Astrid came to the crossperch and Ares jumped into the box and stood in his mega scrape. At 4:54 Ares had a sizable prey item on the hotel and he was plucking it. At 5:09, after he had fed for a while, he brought it to the east veranda. He soon left with it again only to return to the crossperch a few minutes later. Astrid follow him over that time. She took it from him and flew over to the hotel. At 5:27 Ares was once again at the nest. Astrid had finished her meal on the hotel and flew off, perhaps to her night perch. Ares stayed at the box until 6:03 and then he retired for the night. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, March 10^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCGNYSWKOL0

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

It was cold overnight. The temperature got down to 20 degrees. There was a gradual warm up during the day. By midafternoon the temperature had reached the high 30s. Astrid arrived on the state office building at 5:08 AM. We noticed that the crows that roost in the area were particularly vocal and were heard the consistently for the better part of two hours. Astrid came to the nest box at 6:14. Shortly after that we saw Ares on a west ledge plucking and then feeding on prey. At 6:41 he brought Astrid what was left and she took it to the hotel. At 8:17 Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was on the hotel plucking a rather large prey item. At 9:27 Ares came to the box. It seemed he decided not to give Astrid his leftovers. He probably stored them. While in the box Ares worked on his mega scrape project. At 9:30 Astrid came to the crossperch. Soon after she was bowing asking to mate. They mated less than five minutes later. At 10:00 o’clock Ares was on the steeple. Minutes later he flew to the box and did some more work on his scrape. At 10:23 the falcons mated on the east veranda. At 11:00 o’clock Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was back in the nest. At 11:30 both falcons were in the box having a ledge display. Ares left about 10 minutes later. Astrid stayed in the box for a long time afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrdbHE2hTA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da_vno92n1Q

At 12:45 PM Ares was back to the box and Astrid was out. At 2:08 Astrid was on the crossperch and Ares was calling from inside the box. Moments later they mated. At 2:33 we thought there would be another mating. Although, that time, Ares flew out and didn’t come back. At 3:31 Ares came to the east veranda with some unrecognizable chunk of leftovers. It was the leftovers he had stored earlier. After a ludicrous tug-o-war that lasted for about a minute, he let her take it and off she flew. At 3:47 the pair mated on the east veranda again. At 4:55 Ares was back in the box and Astrid was on the east veranda once again. She was asking to mate. They mated at 4:59. By this time it had begun to snow. Despite the wind and driving snow the falcons seemed dedicated to stay out. At 5:32 Ares was on his pillar perch. Astrid was once again calling and signaling that she wanted to mate. At 5:54 Astrid left the veranda, but she wasn’t going to retire. She went to the west office perch (AKA Deb’s Perch). By this point it was snowing even heavier. It was also very windy. At 6:05 Astrid was up and probably off to her night perch. Ares retired at 6:15. Goodnight Falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, March 9^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he-2D0mRFoE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z3VxAFT-D4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQIH36UeT1A

Last night was another chilly one. The low temperature was in the mid 20s. The high for the day was only 34 °. It was mostly sunny and not quite as windy as it has been lately. Don’t get me wrong, it was still windy. Both Falcons came to the box at 3:15 AM. We might just call that an early start! Astrid didn’t stay but Ares did. She immediately flew over to the State Office Building. Both Falcons were on the State Building at 6:10. Ares was up on the roof on his lookout post. Most likely he was hunting from that high vantage point. Sure enough, at 6:38 he was seen plucking prey on the hotel. At 6:48 Ares brought his leftovers to the State Building and to the ledge next to where Astrid was perched. After a little while she flew over and took it from him. We think she ate it right there on the ledge. Ares came to the box at 7:20. He stayed there and had a nap. At 8:43 he was back to the box again and calling out like he saw Astrid in flight. A few minutes later she was on the steeple perch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc25BamRjPY&t=54s

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

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

At 10:19 AM Ares came to the box with food. He then brought it to the State Building and to the ledge right next to Astrid’s ledge, just as he did earlier. However, this time she wasn’t interested enough to come over and get it. Perhaps she was full. Both Falcons stayed on the State Building for a while after that. At 11:44 Astrid finally decided she was hungry and took her gift. Ares went to the box and Astrid flew over to the hotel to eat her meal. Inside the box Ares did some work on his super scrape. He’ll soon be ready to pour the concrete for his pool. At 12:31 PM Astrid came to the crossperch. The pair then conducted a ledge display. It was more of a standoff than a dance, with lots of vocalizing and not much fancy footwork. Ares left at 12:40. Astrid stayed in the box for a while and did some housework. She made her own scrape on top of Ares super scrape. At 1:25 it was her turn to have a nap inside the box. At 2:52 Ares came back to the box while Astrid was still there and they had yet another dance. This one lasted for about 3 minutes. At 5:38 Ares may have given Astrid some another gift. She flew off the State Building heading towards the bank. At the same time, Ares came to the nest box and began wiping off his bill on the crossperch. That usually means that they did a food transfer. Astrid headed towards the northwest but she did not end up on the hotel. Only a few minutes later she came to the box and the pair partook of another quick dance. Ares was out after only a couple of minutes. She was out a few minutes after that. One of them was on the State Building briefly and then we assume they went to their night perches. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update:

Anna and Erie are being seen everyday at their nest area on the Adirondack Bank in Little Falls. They have been seen mating, feeding, and visiting their nest ledge.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, March 8^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGRjA91NbNU

It was cold last night with temperatures bottoming out in the low 20s. During the day the temperature rose to the freezing mark although the persistent wind made it feel colder. The sun was out off and on during the course of the day. Ares arrived at the nest at 4:40 AM. At 5:55 Astrid showed up at the box for a ledge display. It was active and featured some beaking but it was also very brief. Ares left first which is typical. At 7:07 Ares brought prey to the box and Astrid accepted it on the east veranda. She took it over to the hotel. At 7:23 she was done with her meal and glided over to the State Building. Ares excitedly called when she landed on her ledge. At 8:05 Astrid came to the crossperch and from there moved over to the east veranda. At 9:43 Ares was at the box and Astrid was on the steeple.

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

At around 10:25 PM we heard some cackle calls and there was some dramatic flying around. This was an indication that a non-Falcon intruder was in the Canyon. However, we never saw it. By 10:30 Astrid was back on the State Building and Ares was in the box. At 11 o’clock both Falcons were up again. Ares came to the box and was calling like he saw Astrid, but we couldn’t find her with the cams. He was gone a few minutes later. We didn’t see either Falcon again until 12:14 PM when one showed up on the State Building. One of the Falcons was briefly on the hotel at 1:11. We think it was Ares. At 2:43 Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was at the box. The pair shared another very brief dance at the box at 2:53. Astrid lingered in the box until 3:35 or so. After that, one of the Falcons was on the State Building but we are not sure which one. At 5:05 Ares buzzed by Astrid on her steeple perch. He retrieved some stored food and brought it to the box. Astrid flew right over to collect it and then brought it to the hotel. He went over to the State Building while she fed. By 5:20 both falcons had flown out of view and likely to their night perches. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, March 7^th, 2023

The overnight was chilly but calm. The average temperature was in the high 20s. The morning was bright and sunny, but clouds rolled in by midafternoon. The wind picked up in the afternoon and there were some periods of light snowfall. Ares arrived at the nestbox at 6:04 AM. He was calling like he saw Astrid but we could not find her with our cameras. He flew out a couple of times, perhaps in order to mate, but we did not confirm that either. At 6:32 it was clear that Astrid was on the State Building. Ares pulled some food out of storage and brought it directly up to her ledge. She accepted it and flew over to the hotel to have breakfast. At 6:56 Ares was back at the nestbox. He started calling when Astrid returned to the State Building. At 7:26 both were on the State Building. At 8:02 Ares screeched to the box but did not stay for more than a moment. For the next several hours he was in and out-of-the-box frequently, and Astrid was up and down from the State Building several times. Just before noon it was Astrid that came to the box for a change. She was gone fifteen minutes later. Directly after, there may have been a mating but we could not confirm it. At 12:32 PM Ares came to the box and was squeaking. He didn’t vocalize for very long and soon flew over to the State Building. At 12:41 he came back to the box. Again, he didn’t linger, but floated away on the strong wind. Indeed, it had gotten remarkably windy. Astrid was already on the State Building and Ares landed on a ledge close to her. At 2:05 both Falcons converged at the nest box for a ledge display. As it happened it was a fast one and Ares dove out after only a minute or two. Astrid then spent quite a long time in the box. It almost seemed as if she was preparing to lay an egg, but it’s way too early for that kind of thing! The Falcons were quite low profile for the balance of the afternoon. One or the other briefly perched on the State Building or on other downtown perches. Ares showed up at the nestbox at 454. He stayed for five minutes and then darted off – possibly to go to his night perch.