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Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, June 12^th, 2023

It was warm overnight with temperatures around 60 degrees. The sky was overcast through the morning with a high of 73 degrees. Later in the afternoon it was close to 80 degrees. Rain came before evening and the temperature dropped into the 60’s. Astrid was in the vicinity of the nest for most of the night. Ares was visible on the State Office Building until at least late evening. There were no overnight feedings. When Astrid left the east veranda at 4:45 AM the nestlings became very active. At 5:18 Ares screeched in with prey. He brought it to the lip of the box and Niles grabbed it at super sonic speed and took it to the corner. When Astrid arrived on the perch, she was quickly resigned to not doing a feeding. The nestlings were screeching and very excited. Amelia had gotten the food away from Niles but was only footing it and not eating it. At 5:31 Astrid was back. She made another try to recover the food and was successful. She then proceeded to do a feeding. She concentrated on feeding Amelia while Niles picked at some scraps in the corner. A couple of minutes later, Astrid was feeding Niles. At 5:56 Astrid was on the office perch (Deb’s perch) located on a window ledge west of the nest area. We think she landed there to show the nestlings a possible future destination. At 5:58 Ares came to the nest with food. Astrid took it and started a feeding. She began by feeding Amelia. At 6:35 Astrid went up to the roof of the nestbox. She was anticipating people being in offices. At 7:39 Astrid made another short visit to the crossperch and got the nestlings squealing. She came back five minutes later. At 8:17 AM Niles was doing a lot of squealing. He could see Ares on the east veranda. At 9:34 Ares brought prey to the east veranda. Astrid took it, flew away, came back, and immediately lost it to Niles who, once again, grabbed it away at light speed. Niles nibbled away at it in the corner. Ares was then heard giving long calls from somewhere. At 10:00 we heard Ares giving long calls once again. The nestlings were screeching in response. At 10:19 Astrid arrived at the nest. Something made her mad and she cackled before flying out again. At 10:29 Ares was on his pillar perch and Astrid was back on the roof of the nestbox. An hour later Astrid visited the east veranda. Predictably, the nestlings went wild and started squealing. At 11:40 Amelia was doing a lot of wing flapping. She has lost a considerable amount of her white down and is looking more like a fledgling every day. Niles also lost a lot of down but is still – developmentally a few days behind Amelia.

At 12:48 PM Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid took it intending to do a feeding but Niles grabbed it and brought it to the corner. Astrid didn’t try to recover it. Niles picked away at it in the corner and then Amelia had a go at it. At 1:20 Astrid came to the nest, picked up scraps and started feeding it out to the nestlings. Ares spent quite a while on his pillar in the afternoon. He was still there at 2:15 PM. At 3:23 he was on the east veranda. At 3:50 Astrid came to the box for a chick check. After that she perched on a light pole on the roof of the bank building. It was the second time in recent days she has perched up there. She appeared to be in hunting mode. At 4:17 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid got it before it was stolen this time and began a feeding. Amelia was first up to be fed. After the meal Amelia got some good wing exercising in. At 5:04 Ares was on Deb’s Perch to the west of the nest area. It was the first time we have seen him perch there in quite a while. We think the parents may be showing the nestlings different perching places they can use post fledging. At 6:23 Astrid came to the crossperch and that got the nestlings melting down. They both engaged in a flapping-fest after she left. At 7:50 Ares brought prey to the box. Astrid met him there, took it, hopped into the box, and lost it to Niles. He absconded with it to the corner and Astrid left. By 9:00 PM Astrid was on the east veranda, the nestlings had settled down and Ares was on the State Building. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, June 11^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1bTcHdSJj0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JSQSI_2Gv8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWpRYAMY96w

It was relatively warm overnight with temperatures in the 50’s. The day was warm with highs in the low 80’s. Astrid spent the night on the east veranda. Ares was on the State Building in the evening but left sometime in the predawn hours. There were no overnight feedings. At 5:15 AM Astrid came to the box and the nestlings became highly excited and vocal. Ares appeared on the steeple at around the same time. Astrid had prey on the hotel moments later. At 5:22 she brought it to the box. Amelia was first in line to be fed. Six minutes later Amelia moved off and Niles got a turn. At 5:31 both nestlings stopped eating and so Astrid started polishing off what was left. After Astrid left, Niles did some serious wing flapping. Meanwhile Ares was on the hotel looking for food scraps left over from Astrid’s prey processing. At 5:50 Astrid was on the east veranda. At 6:16 Ares brought prey to the box. Astrid took it and mostly fed Niles. A few minutes later she left with the food. At 6:49 Astrid was on the east veranda and Ares was on his favorite pillar perch. At 7:18 Ares gave some long calls and Astrid, some interactive calls, but they were still on their perches. At 7:28 Astrid flew up to the roof of the nestbox. She had moved over to the State Building at 8:50. At 9:24 Astrid flew back to the east veranda and the nestlings went wild. Amelia was picking at food scraps in the back corner of the nestbox. Astrid then hopped up to the top of the box. Amelia started flapping her wings and Niles looked at her sideways and upside down. Amelia then let out a loud cackle call. The nestlings did some beaking after that. At 9:38 we heard the parents giving chirping type alarm calls. That meant a Peregrine intruder was in the canyon. Both parents were out of view for about fifteen minutes. Presumably they were dealing with the intruder. At 10:00 the nestling began squealing which likely meant they could see one or both of the parents returning. At 10:09 we saw there was one on the State Building. At 10:37 Astrid plunked back down on the roof of the nestbox. We heard Ares screech to a landing on the State Building at 10:45. Ten minutes later he was plucking prey on a window ledge west of the nest. At 10:57 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid met him there but was too late to take it. Niles grabbed it from Ares and took it to the back of the box. Both nestlings tried to feed from it for a while. At 11:09 Ares was back on his pillar and Astrid was on the State Building. At 11:21 Astrid came to the nest, plunged to the back of the box and recovered the stolen food and then proceeded to serve it out to Amelia. At 11:33 the meal was over and Astrid left the nest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asw8kAsBZiQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp8p22A9z-8

At 11:55 AM Ares arrived at the nest with food. Amelia rushed him. Ares held onto the food this time and started plucking it against the lip of the box. Neither nestling got in line to be fed – they just stood and screeched. Ares started giving little call notes. He moved to the center of the box and Niles pushed past Amelia to get served. Ares then proceeded to do a feeding. First Niles was getting every bite, but then Ares positioned himself between the nestlings and then Amelia got a few bites too. Interestingly Astrid was on the State Building during the entire meal and didn’t not feel compelled to fly in and take over. At 12:03 PM Ares went out onto the crossperch. The meal was over and he had done a very good job. At 12:07 Amelia was putting on a one nestling flap-fest. Niles watched her with great interest, cockling his head one way and then the other like a perplexed dog. We noticed that the nestlings’ plumage, with is blotchy salt & pepper appearance – a study in browns, whites, tans, and grays, is a near perfect match for the feather strewn floor of the nestbox. The afternoon was fairly hot in the box and the nestlings looked uncomfortable some of the time. Long gone were the days of shading. At 2:00 Ares made an appearance on the east veranda and the nestlings became highly excited. It was possible that Ares brought food and they stole it from him, but we couldn’t confirm it. It does seem like they always have something squirreled away in the back corner of the box these days. Both parents were out of camera view between 3:10 and 3:40. Astrid finally visited the nestbox at 5:00 PM. She kept trying to recover some food from the back corner of the box but the nestlings were blocking her. Fifteen minutes later, she managed it and started a feeding. She fed Amelia first and then Niles. Astrid turned her body to block Niles so she could feed Amelia. At 6:07 Ares showed up on his pillar perch. It was the first time we had him in view for about four hours. At 6:44 Ares was up on his lookout post – in hunting mode. At 6:56 Astrid was at the nest. She plucked some prey from the back of the box and started a feeding. The meal was over after six minutes and Astrid was out. At 7:10 the nestlings were engaging in some intense wing flapping. At 7:41 Ares brought prey to the nest. Amelia tugged it away from him and took it to the back corner of the box. Astrid showed up and, after a few valiant attempts at recovery, she managed to grab the food and start a feeding. The nestlings were fairly well behaved during the feeding session. This was probably the last feeding of the night, Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, June 10^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLQcuMsRV0Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3v8MINGiK8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmixzte3Ofo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSxIS2SEu_A

It was cool again overnight. It was also foggy, so foggy that we could not see the state office building with our PTZ cameras. The day was partly cloudy with a high temperature of 73 degrees. It was quite breezy. Astrid spent the night close to the nestbox on the east veranda. There were no overnight feedings At 7:19 we heard Ares screech by the box. That got the nestlings up and vocalizing. Five minutes later Astrid was up. Ares had landed on top of a pillar to the west of the nest box. When Astrid came to the crossperch at 5:39 the nestlings went completely bonkers. They were obviously quite hungry. She left a few minutes later and then Ares came for a chick check. When Astrid came to the crossperch Ares flew out. Astrid then hopped into the box and rummaged around for lost food. When she found something, she began feeding it out to Niles. Amelia came over and tried to get some, but the meal didn’t last and Astrid headed out onto the crossperch. We speculated on how well Ares’ pantry was being stocked this year. Without visually inspecting it we couldn’t know for sure but we suspect that it was not overflowing. At 6:20 we heard Ares screech from someplace close. Astrid came to the crossperch briefly and then flew over to the steeple. At 6:32 Astrid came to the nest with food. Niles grabbed it and took it to the corner. Astrid then had a tugging match with Amelia. Astrid prevailed and she proceeded to do a feeding. Both nestlings fed ravenously. At 6:39 Ares was up on the lookout post. It was still very foggy in the canyon. At 6:49 Niles was working on some food scraps in the corner of the box. Both of them did some wing flapping. At 7:07 Ares brought prey to the crossperch. Astrid took it and did a feeding. Niles was first in line to be fed but Amelia did get some. At 8:40 Astrid did a quick stop at the box. Ares had screeched by moments before and she may have thought that he had brought food to the box. He hadn’t. At 9:24 both nestlings were squealing. They were likely reacting to something they saw a parent doing. At 9:37 we noticed that Ares was on the bank roof perched on a light pole near PTZ two. Astrid was up on the roof of the nestbox. She was eyeing the office window. It’s Saturday, Astrid, Nobody is going to be in there. At 11:10 Astrid left her perch on the steeple and darted over towards the hotel. Ares had been on the State Building, but he followed after her. Astrid banked and headed south – flying relatively low. We think she was trying to stir up the local Pigeons. After that the pair circled high over the canyon – Ares circling above Astrid; both drifting eastward. Five minutes later Astrid dove back and landed on the State Building. At 11:49 she flew over to the crossperch and got the nestlings screaming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkXoJkNU5VM

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

At 12:03 PM Ares did a dramatic dive after some unseen prey. He soon came back with nothing in his talons and landed on the steeple. Astrid circled the Adirondack Bank building, once again, trying to up some Pigeons. A minute later she went to a window ledge on the State Building, picked up some stored prey and brought it to the nestbox. A feeding session followed. Ten minutes later the meal was done and Astrid was out. At 12:59 Ares visted the nest for a quick chick check. The nestlings squealed and then did some wing flapping. A few minutes later they seemed to be feeding on something in the back corner of the box. At 1:21 Ares brought a Starling to the nest. Astrid took it and started a feeding. Niles was first up to be fed. At 3:40 Ares brought food to the box. This time Amelia was the one that grabbed it away and took it to the corner. At 3:50 Ares was back to check on the nestlings. They responded by squealing in his face. They both took turns flapping their wings after he left. Ten minutes later Niles was trying to feed on the stolen meal in corner of the box. Five minutes later Amelia was the one working on the scraps in the corner and Niles was laying down with his bill resting on the lip of the box. He was looking out into the canyon. At 5:50 Astrid came to the box. She obviously knew there was food in one of the corners and was trying to get to it but was being blocked by the nestlings. She finally grabbed it and immediately lost it to Niles. She then found another scrap on the floor and started feeding that to Amelia. That didn’t last long, and she started to leave. Niles had moved away from his stolen food and Astrid Took the opportunity to hop over and grab it. She then started to feed Niles. She left at 5:55. Amelia didn’t get any of that meal. At 6:01 Amelia backed up to and then stepped up on the lip of the box to defecate. We’ve seen nestlings do this before over the years and it always makes us nervous. At 6:24 Astrid arrived at the box with food – we think a Pigeon. She then proceeded with a feeding. Amelia was at the front of the line this time. The feeding went on for eighteen minutes. Both nestlings certainly had their fill. Ares arrived on the east veranda during that meal. He had prey in his talons, but realized it wasn’t needed and flew off presumably to store it.  At 7:08 the nestlings were sacked out on the floor of the nest. The parents were out of our view for a while. At 7:48 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the food and started a feeding. Amelia was first up this time. The meal was over at 7:54. Astrid left the nest and nestling became restless. Amelia did some serious wing flapping. At 8:12 Astrid was on a light pole on the roof of the bank building – an uncommon place for her to perch. She moved to the east veranda at 8:40 PM. Ares was on the State Building and the nestlings were sacked out in the box. The action was likely over for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, June 9^th, 2023

It was cool overnight with temperatures just below 50 degrees. There were rain showers off and on through the morning and afternoon. The high temperature was only 61 degrees. Astrid spent most of the night in the vicinity of the nest. She was primarily on a window ledge east of the nestbox. There were no overnight feedings. Astrid was giving some of her trademark donkey calls at 4:49 AM. That was because Ares had just landed on the State Building. At 5:19 he brought food to the box. It was stolen by Niles and absconded with to the corner. Astrid had come to the crossperch to take it but she was too late. She made attempts to get it but whenever she hopped into the box Amelia rushed her and she had to retreat to the crossperch. At 5:30 the nestlings were doing a lot of wing flapping. Nile also moved his ill-gotten goods to the opposite back corner of the box. At 5:36 Ares was on the State Building and Astrid was on the steeple. In the box Amelia had found the abandoned food and was picking at it. At 6:03 Ares screeched to the nest with more prey. Astrid took it on the crossperch and then hopped into the box to do a feeding. Predictably, she started off by feeding Niles who is very insistent. About five minutes into the meal Niles walked away and Astrid began feeding Amelia. Several minutes later Astrid left with the leftovers. She was back on the steeple soon after that. At 7:48 Ares came to the nest with more prey. Astrid took it on the crossperch and hopped into the nest. Niles immediately tried to steal it. It was a tugging match, but Astrid prevailed, and she started feeding both nestlings. At 8:48 Astrid was up on the roof of the nest box. She started cackling shortly after that. At 9:10 another feeding was underway. We weren’t sure where it came from, but Astrid was in charge. And 9:44 Astrid was cackling. A couple of minutes later she was on the west veranda and then from there up to the roof of the nest box. Ares remained unperturbed on his State Building perch. At 11:28 Ares landed on the steeple. He was soaked. He must have taken a bath somewhere. A short time after that Astrid landed on another steeple perch. She looked wet too but not quite like she had just swam the Channel like Ares. They both sat preening for a while.

At 12:13 PM Astrid came to the crossperch. Two minutes later Ares arrived at the long perch. He and Astrid gave some cackle calls. We don’t think it was because of activity in the offices this time. Instead, we think it was a hawk or some Turkey Vultures flying over. At 12:21 Ares had moved to the east veranda. Astrid was back up on the roof of the nestbox. Meanwhile Niles and Amelia were reclined in the middle of the box. Niles, once again, was resting with his bill on the lip of the box so he could look out into the canyon. At 12:30 PM Ares was up and Astrid had started cackling. She did not cackle for long though. By 12:57 it was raining downtown once again. Astrid was on the long perch. She flew off five minutes later. At 3:18 Astrid was in the box with prey – we think a Pigeon. She began by feeding Niles for about several minutes straight. Amelia started off seemingly uninterested and against the backwall, to being increasingly interested and walking up along side Niles. By 3:41 both nestling had walked away from the meal. Astrid went on for a couple of minutes longer – getting every last bite. After the meal the nestlings were highly active in the box – flapping their wings, strutting around, interacting, and notably, beating up our whitewash camera. Amelia kicked in a few times and bit at it. At 4:04 Astrid landed on the east veranda but did not stay there very long. She did return to it forty minutes later. At 5:25 Ares brought prey to the lip of the box. Niles grabbed it from him and took it to the back corner of the nest. Astrid arrived but was too late to prevent the theft. Her third attempt to recover it was successful and she was able to start a feeding. This time Amelia was first in line to be fed. The meal was over after five minutes. There were no more feeding for the rest of the evening. Ares was hunting from the lookout and made a few forays out after prey, but never brought anything else back to the nest. Astrid also tried for a few targets, but seemed to be unsuccessful. She perched on the hotel for a while looking out for Pigeons. After that she was on the State Building for a while. The nestlings were, for the most part, settled down by 8:15 PM. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, June 8^th, 2023

The overnight was cool with some rain showers. The low temperature was in the mid 50s. After Daybreak there were some lingering showers. The temperature at midday was close to 60 degrees. Astrid spent most of the night around the nest area. There were no overnight feedings. At 5:00 AM Ares was on the State Office Building and Astrid was not in view. At 5:28 Ares visited the nest and got the nestlings calling and activated. Ares then flew over to his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. At 5:52 Astrid was on the steeple. The nestlings must have seen her land there because they began squealing. At 6:05 Ares brought a small prey item to the east veranda. Astrid took it, flew away, came back to the box, and hopped inside. Niles grabbed the food away from her and brought it to the corner. Astrid dove into the box to get it back. That time she did recover it and then set about feeding Niles. Initially Amelia did not seem interested in vying for the food. But after a few minutes she did start to contend. Meanwhile, Ares went back up to his lookout post and back to hunting. The meal was over at 6:15 and Astrid hopped out onto the crossperch. The nestlings did some interacting, including some beaking behavior. At 6:46 Astrid was feeding out another meal. We aren’t sure where it came from. She fed Niles for a few minutes before flying away with the scraps. The nestlings seemed to lose interest in the meal before it was over. After Astrid left there was lots of wing flapping taking place inside the box. At 7:08 Astrid was on the steeple and Ares, still on the lookout post. At 7:43 Ares brought more prey to the nest. Astrid took it, flew away, came back, and started a feeding. Once again Niles was the first in line to be fed. It was clear that Amelia wasn’t even trying to be fed this time. Astrid left the box at 7:52. Both adults were on the State Building for a while. Astrid was not yet obsessing about the office, but everyone knew that wouldn’t last. Sure enough, at 8:15 when people were arriving in the offices that is when Astrid started flipping out. At 9:42 Astrid was cackling with abandon. The nestlings squealed in response to their irate mother. At 10:57 we heard Ares give a few long calls. The nestlings began squealing again, Astrid was cackling, everyone was sounding off. At 11:33 Ares brought more food. Niles grabbed it and went to the back corner of the box. Astrid was quick to arrive but there was nothing for her to feed anyone. She tried to plunge into the back of the box to recover the lost food, but Amelia rushed her and sent her back to the crossperch. Perhaps more significant than Niles stealing the food and getting away with it was the fact he was actually eating it. At 11:45 Astrid was back to the roof of the nest box. That got the nestlings very excited, and they began squealing. Astrid was cackling on and off and making dramatic departures and arrivals. Hearing her plunk down on the roof of the nest box is always very distinctive.

At 12:46 PM Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was on the State Building. Astrid then came to the nestbox and found the food that Niles had stolen earlier. She then started feeding both nestlings. The meal lasted about 5 minutes. At 1:13 Astrid was up on the roof of the box again. We thought she had moved passed that – but nope. Fifteen minutes later she was in the nest with prey – presumably from Ares. Niles was standing in front of Amelia effectively blocking her from getting anything for part of the meal. At 1:54 it was raining in the Canyon once again. Niles was reclined with his bill resting on the lip of the box and he was looking out into the canyon. At 2:36 Astrid left the steeple and was on the roof of the box cackle calling. Her outrage was short lived. At 2:46 Ares came to the east veranda with prey, she left took it, flew away, came back and started a feeding.  Amelia was first in line to be fed this time. Niles joined in eventually, but walked away before the meal was done. Afterwards Niles did some nice wing flapping. He’s starting to get the salt & pepper look his sister has had for a while. Astrid left after only a minute, and we’re not sure why. Did she leave with the food? At 4:44 Astrid was on the steeple. It was raining again, and Astrid looked particularly wet. Ares was on the crossperch for a while but then flew to the north face of the State Building. They stayed in place for a couple of hours while both nestlings were relined and looking out into the canyon. At 6:36 PM Astrid came into the box and found food on the floor. It must have been stolen by one of the nestlings sometime earlier (Niles!). After a tugging session with Niles, she proceeded to serve it out to both him and Amelia. The meal went for twelve minutes and before the end both nestlings had had enough and walked away. Following the meal Amelia did some wing flapping and both nestlings interacted with each other. At 7:41 PM Astrid came to the crossperch for a little while before going over to the steeple. Ares was on the State Building at that time. All seemed set for the night. Goodnight all.