Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, March 1^st, 2023

It was another chilly night with temperatures down around 25° F. During the course of the day it warmed up to about 35°. Some rain and snow came in the afternoon. Ares first arrived at the nestbox at 5:50 AM. Five minutes later, Astrid buzzed by him and landed on the ledge close to the nest, but somewhere out of our view. We think she was on a ledge below the box which is highly unusual. The falcons loudly conversed with each other for a while and that culminated with Astrid flying up to the crossperch. At 6:30, before daybreak, the pair performed their first dance of the day. He left two minutes later. At 6:48. We think Ares brought Astrid a gift but we’re not positive about that. Ten minutes later, he hopped into the box from the west veranda just as she landed on the crossperch. From there she darted over to the steeple. At 7:39 Astrid moved again – this time to an east window ledge. Ares returned to the box and to the crossperch at 7:56. At 8:05 the falcons had their second ledge display of the morning. She was standing over Ares’ super scrape for most of the dance. After he departed she made a scrape inside his mega scrape. This was interesting since the last time Ares had a super scrape, Astrid didn’t like it so much and preferred to scratch out her own normal-sized scrape on the opposite side of the box. At 9:39 PM Astrid was out on the crossperch and Ares was inside the box working on his crater project. There may have been a failed mating attempt at 11 o’clock. At 11:07 Astrid flew over to the west face of the State Building. Ares started giving long calls at the box. At 11:52 Ares came back to the nest with prey. Astrid immediately flew over and took it from him.

At 12:10 PM. Astrid returned to the canyon after finishing her complimentary meal. When she flew in she zipped around the corner of the bank building, dashed by the box, and landed on the east veranda. Ares became very excited. He responded, predictably, by hopping into the box and giving squeaking calls. At 12:17 the pair mated on the east veranda, but it was very short and probably could not be considered a successful attempt. At 12:20 Astrid flew over to the west office perch (Deb’s Perch). She stayed there for a few minutes before flying off to some unseen place. Ares also was out of view until 2:30 when he showed up on an east window ledge. At 4:00 Astrid was on the east veranda and Ares was out of view again. Eighteen minutes later Ares brought food to the box and Astrid took it from him on the east veranda. She flew away with it but we couldn’t track where she went. At 4:50 Astrid was back from her undisclosed location and perching on the west veranda. At 5:10 Ares was at the box on the crossperch and Astrid was hazing the 15^th floor of the Bank building. At one point she landed at the box near Ares, but she stumbled and fell through the gap between the crossperch and the box! We couldn’t see how far she dropped before she was able to deploy her wings. Regardless, she recovered quickly and did a couple of close passes by the 15^th floor before landing on the crossperch. She then started bowing and apparently asking to mate, but it was atypical how she was asking. She was fanning out her tail feathers and drooping her wings. It looked more like mantling. Indeed, this is how she acts when she tries to hide her Pigeon from Ares – except for the fact she had no food. As it happened Ares wasn’t interested in mating and he flew off – probably to his night perch. Astrid remained at the box until a few minutes before 6:00 PM. Goodnight all.

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

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

The winter storm which began Monday evening packed snow and wind and continued intermittently through the day. The temperature hovered around the freezing mark for most of the day. Ares came to the nest box at 4:04 AM. At 4:22 he started calling, which made us think that he had Astrid in view. We didn’t see her anywhere. At 7:34 Astrid joined her mate at the box for a ledge display. There was lots of vocalizing and some beaking, but not much dancing. Lately Astrid has been acting a little distracted by a new camera that we placed in the box. She never likes anything different. After 10 minutes Ares left the box and flew up to his pillar perch. Astrid left the box in favor of the east veranda. Ares returned to the nest at 8:22 and by that time Astrid had tucked in on the veranda. There was snow on the roof of the box and on the verandas and we could clearly see Astrid’s footprints in the snow. Seeing Peregrine footprints is a rare sight in nature. The Falcons held their positions for most of the morning as the snow continued to fall. At 11:34 Ares left the box but then he came right back. At 11:54 Astrid was calling from the veranda. Ares had taken off only a minute before and we thought perhaps he was aiming to catch something for her lunch. He came back empty handed 2 minutes later and joined her briefly on the east veranda.

At 12:34 PM Ares brought food into the nest box. Astrid came in to take it and then dashed off into the canyon. We could not find where she dined. At 12:56 Ares started calling. He was announcing Astrid’s return to an east window ledge. At 1:02 there was an aborted mating attempt on the ledge. At 2:58 PM Astrid was at the crossperch at the box. Snow was coming down heavily. She soon moved over to the West veranda for a little while and then was out of view. At 4:36 Ares came to the box with a small hunk of food. Astrid appeared out of nowhere, hopped inside the box, grabbed the gift, and flew off with it. Ares hung around for a little while after that but then he departed. Most likely both went to their night perches. Goodnight Falcons.

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

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

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

The day began on the chilly side with temperatures close to 20°. By midafternoon the temperature reached 37°, but a stiff wind made it seem colder. The skies were partly clear for the first half of the day, and mostly cloudy in the second half. A winter storm threatened to hit the region in the evening. Ares arrived at the box at 5:38 AM. At 6:10 he excitedly called out and announced that Astrid had landed on the State Building. Twenty minutes later there was a mating attempt on the State Building. We don’t know if it was successful or not. At 7:54 Astrid was on the hotel, possibly with food, but we couldn’t confirm that. Both Falcons were on the State Building only five minutes later. Ares returned to the nest box at 9:30. At 10:20 he was giving long calls and trying to encourage Astrid to come over for a ledge display.  At 10:56 Astrid finally came to the box, but by that time Ares had gone. They just weren’t getting their timing tight today. Regardless, Ares came back only five minutes later, and the pair shared a long conversation. She was on the crossperch asking to mate and he was standing on his over-sized scrape requesting a dance. And then, just as Ares was obliging his mate and leaping out of the box, Astrid changed her mind about mating and jumped into the box instead. While inside the box, Astrid made her own scrape on top of Ares’ scrape-tastic creation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMP6JzGt2rU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc2uAvXjhYA

At 11:30 AM Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid took it and flew off with it somewhere. We checked around with the PTZ cams but couldn’t locate her. At 12:49 PM Astrid returned to her east ledge perch. Ten minutes later Astrid had flown again and was out of view. At 1:14 Ares was back in the box and calling very excitedly. Astrid had returned to her east ledge but then was up again after only a minute. At 1:28 Ares arrived at the box, followed closely by Astrid to the crossperch. There was an aborted mating attempt at 1:36. He went to his pillar perch right afterwards. At 2:30 Astrid was back on the crossperch and Ares was back in the box. Once more she was asking to mate. They tried five minutes later but it was yet another failed attempt. Perhaps the failures could be blamed on the relentless wind throwing off Ares’ trajectory. At 4:06 PM Astrid was on the crossperch once again and Ares was on his favorite pillar perch. At 4:33 Ares brought a small hunk of prey to the nest. Astrid took it right away and flew off into the canyon with it. At 4:48 Astrid was back and on the west veranda perch. When he moved to the east veranda, she took off again. He was then back to the box at 5:44. Astrid had gong to her night perch well before this and Ares followed suit 15 minutes later. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, February 26^th, 2023

The morning started out cold with temperatures in the high teens. It became more windy as the day went on and the temperature rose to 30° by noon. Ares arrived at the nest box at 6 o’clock sharp. Astrid showed up on an east ledge 45 minutes later, and her arrival was announced by her mate. She did not stay for more than a minute, and we didn’t see her again until she returned to the same ledge at 8 o’clock. Upon her return, Ares excitedly moved from the veranda to the box. He was hoping for a dance, but it didn’t happen. We noticed he had a large crop, so he must have eaten recently. Astrid abruptly flew from her ledge and was out of view until she returned to the very same place at 10 o’clock. Forty minutes later, she was up once again. For this entire time, Ares remained in the box, sometime snoozing, sometimes contemplating his huge scrape, and sometimes just guarding. He left the nest at 11:23. At 11:40 Ares came back and resumed his guard duty. Astrid arrived at the east veranda five minutes later.

At 12:33 PM Ares launched from the box and zoomed off to the west. The wind had become strong and steady by that point and it made the Peregrines’ flights more dramatic than usual. At just before 1:00 both Falcons were on the State Building. At 1:43 they both came to the box. Ares came inside, and Astrid only partially entered; for some reason she stayed in the in the front part, and just beyond the box lip. She stood there frozen for a minute and then backed out and sailed off into the wind. It wasn’t a dance. I’m not sure how to classify it. Regardless, Ares looked disappointed, and he soon spread his wings and soared off into the canyon. At 2:10 Astrid was on a ledge on the hotel. We noticed there were some leftovers near her on the same ledge. After a few minutes, she walked closer to them and began feeding. By 3 o’clock both Falcons were on the State building. They were up and down from their perches on that building several times for the better part of two hours. At 4:48 when Astrid darted off to the northeast, Ares came to the box. He called a few times before flying off again. It seemed like they went to their night perches early tonight – before 5:00 PM. Perhaps there were some matings and food exchanges today, but if there were we missed them all. Mostly what the falcons were seen doing today was guarding the box. Obviously a necessary and important task. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, February 25^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0PTnOX3ogA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0EBmSdVfrk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnEePZhp50Q

It was very cold in the early morning hours, only in the single digits. Light snow started falling early and continued intermittently through the day. The temperature eventually reached 20° by early afternoon. Ares came to the nest box at 6:20 AM. Astrid arrived on an east ledge 15 minutes later, and that caused Ares to vocalize inside the box. At 7:00 we noticed that he was working on his super scrape – moving stones around. Moments later Ares darted out of the box only to come right back with food. He brought it to Astrid on her ledge. She fed on it for only a few minutes and then flew off with it, perhaps to store it. He launched as well, but then was back at the box a few minutes later. At 10:30 AM Ares was still at the box, it is possible that he had flown off on some forays, but if he did, they were short ones. Certainly every time we checked, he was in there. Astrid reappeared on an east ledge at 10:35.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMKireT-sR8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D_nTaEg5bs

At 11:25 AM there was an aborted mating attempt on the east ledge. Astrid had tucked in on the ledge just as Ares was making his approach, and he was forced to veer off. He boomeranged back to the box, only to leave when Astrid abruptly took off. At 11:35 Ares returned to the box, went inside, and ingested a few small stones. A few minutes later, he walked over to the West Veranda. At 12:30 PM Astrid was back to her east ledge and Ares had transferred to his pillar perch. It was still snowing in the downtown area and that would continue far into the night. Astrid came to the crossperch at 1:11 PM.  Five minutes later Ares brought food to the box. Astrid accepted it on the west veranda. She flew off with it and, once more, we couldn’t find where she flew off to. At 1:25 Ares was calling like he saw Astrid fly through, but we didn’t see her, and he didn’t leave the nest. At 2:39 Astrid came back to her east ledge, which appeared to be her guard position for the day. They remained in these positions until just after 5:00 Pm when Astrid joined Ares in the box for a ledge display. It was a lively affair with lots of beaking. He left after a few minutes. She stayed in the box until 5:15. At that time she nodded her head a few times and then flew over to the east face of the State Building where no doubt she tucked in on a ledge that was out of the wind and snow. We presumed that Ares did something similar, but then he showed up on his pillar perch at 5:28. He stayed for about a half hour and then he too went to his night perch. Goodnight to all.