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Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, May 1^st, 2023

The night was overcast, rainy and cool with temperatures in the mid to high 40s. During the day there were a few breaks of sun, but the skies were mostly overcast with infrequent rain showers. The temperature barely breeched 50 degrees. Astrid was on the eggs all night long. Ares appeared on the State Building at 5:47 AM. He came to the nest to switch ten minutes later. At 6:25 Ares called out a few times – most likely reacting to something Astrid was doing. She was on the west face of the State Building at 8:00. Fifteen minutes later she arrived at the nest for a changeover. At 9:48 AM Astrid started calling on the nest. Ares was on the north face of the State Building at the time, so it didn’t seem like she was reacting to anything he was doing. That is, unless she was asking him to bring her lunch. At 10:49 Ares was at the nest asking for a turn on the eggs. They did a lot of vocalizing, but Astrid wouldn’t vacate and Ares left without argument. They switched at 12:21 PM and Ares got his turn. At 2:21 Astrid was back and there was a relatively fast changing of the guard. At 2:41 Astrid was calling on the nest. We’re not sure what that was about. Ares didn’t move from his perch on the State Building so she probably wasn’t reacting to an intruder. At 3:16 something was afoot. Astrid abruptly left the nest – perhaps she was pursuing an intruder or maybe Ares left prey for her somewhere. That possibility was supported by the fact that Ares gave a few long calls only moments before she flew. Ares was at the box and on the eggs less than a minute later. Astrid was on the north face of the State Building for the next couple of hours. She came to the box at 5:15 PM and they did their last switch of the day. It was raining in the canyon once again. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update

Things seem to be going well for the Little Falls Falcons. As expected, the pair (Anna & Erie) have been sharing incubation duties during the day and Anna sits at night. They have now entered their hatch window. There may be news of a first hatch within the week!! Stay tuned

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, April 30^th, 2023

It was rainy and overcast overnight. The temperature was in the high 40s. Not much changed during the course of the day. There was lots of rain and it was blustery. The temperature pretty much stayed in the high 40s. Astrid was on the eggs all night long as expected. Ares arrived at the nest at 5:09 AM. They did a quick changeover. We did not see where Astrid went afterwards. At 6:45 Astrid stopped at the crossperch and then hopped to the lip of the box. She ascertained quickly that Ares did not want to leave and she flew away. She returned at 7:10. That time she came all the way in. She used gentle persuasion to get Ares to leave. It worked like a charm, and he was out. At 9:53 Astrid started calling in the box. Obviously, she saw Ares somewhere in the canyon. He came to the box, and they switched. Ares settled onto the eggs and, once again, we were not sure where Astrid went. The next changeover occurred at noon. Ares quickly ceded the nest to Astrid and she took over incubation.

At 1:19 PM Ares came to the crossperch. Astrid made it clear that she did not want to leave the eggs. He hopped over to the west veranda and from there dove back into the canyon. Less than a minute later he was up on his favorite pillar perch. We noticed he was very wet and he proceeded to preen for a while. At 1:51 Ares came to the nest. This time it was his turn to use gentle persuasion. He beaked with Astrid and restrained himself from going behind her and stepping on her tail and wing tips. She declined to leave, and he didn’t press it. He went to an east ledge after that. At 3:07 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere not too distant. Astrid called back from the nest. He then came to the box and the pair did a quick switch. Astrid disappeared into the canyon and Ares got comfortable on the eggs. At 4:00 Astrid came to the east veranda. 30 minutes later she was in the box requesting a turn on the eggs. She started out being nice about it – beaking with him and such, but then she started stomping on his wingtip. After a minute or so he was out. He was up on his pillar at 4:45. At 5:52 Ares was back to the nest and impatiently asking for one last turn incubating. He stepped on Astrid’s tail and wingtips and she got up and left. Astrid came to the crossperch at 7:35, but Ares wasn’t stirring so she flew off again. She didn’t reappear until 7:52 and by then it was getting dark. Ares was quick to get off the eggs. She took over and was set for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, April 29^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight with a low temperature of 48 degrees. Rain fell intermittently through the night. Conditions did not improve throughout the day. Light rain was intermittent, and the temperature barely breached 50 degrees. Astrid was on the nest all night long. Ares came to the box at 4:30 AM and they switched. At 6:24 Astrid came to the crossperch but Ares showed no sign of getting off the clutch. She left instead. She was back 15 minutes later, and they did a quick switch. At 7:30 Ares screeched into the Canyon with prey. He brought it to the west veranda. Astrid met him there and presumably took the food (we didn’t see the transaction). Ares then came into the nest and settled on the eggs. At 8:06 Astrid was back to the box asking for a turn on the eggs, but Ares did not want to leave. After about 5 minutes of persuasion, he did consent to leave.

At 9:54 AM Ares returned to the box and the pair did a quick changeover. The next changing of the guard happened at 11:21 and then it was Astrid’s turn to incubate. Another changeover occurred at 12:41 PM and Ares came onto the eggs. Astrid got her next turn at 2:12. They switched again less than an hour later at 3:08. After leaving the nest Astrid flew over to the west side of the State Building as Ares settled onto the clutch. The next switch was that 4:0) – that time Astrid took over on the nest. At 5:21 Ares came into the box and got behind Astrid. He really wanted to take over on the eggs, but she would not leave. He left instead, only to return at 5:48 and that time acting was twice as pushy as the time before. He pried her off the nest and took over on the clutch. It was interesting that he would do this so late in the day. Astrid returned to the nest for the last switch of the day at 7:00 PM. Goodnight Falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, April 28^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight with temperatures in the low forties. Mostly sunny skies prevailed during the day and the high temperature was in the low 60’s. Astrid spent the night on the eggs with no interruptions. Ares came to the box and they did a quick switch at 5:19 AM. They changed again only an hour later, and Astrid resumed incubation. At 8:05 Ares was up on his favorite pillar perch. He was giving long calls and Astrid was calling back. That went on for a couple of minutes and then Ares came to the box for a quick switch. Astrid left without argument and flew over to the State Building. At 9:34 she was back at the nest and negotiating with Ares to take over incubation. He held out for about 7 minutes and then got up and left and was out of sight for a while. At 11:07 Ares returned to the canyon. He landed on his pillar and gave a series of long calls. At 11:40 he came to the box and requested a turn on the eggs. Astrid didn’t want to leave, and he didn’t press the matter. He left instead.

At 12:36 PM Ares was seen flying a top speed and heading for a Turkey Vulture that was flying through the canyon. He didn’t strike the vulture but did cause it to change course and leave the falcons’ territory. After his police action Ares landed on a light pole on the roof of the Adirondack Bank building where he let our roof camera take some close-up pictures of him. Thanks Ares! At 12:49 Ares was back on his pillar. He moved to an east ledge after that, remaining for at least a half hour. The next switch occurred sometime before 2:15 PM. Ares was on the nest and Astrid took a relatively low perch on the State Building. At 4:05 PM she came to the box for but it was only for a fast check in. Ares continued incubating until 5:17 when Astrid returned for the last changeover of the day. She was then in place for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, April 27^th, 2023

The downtown canyon was very foggy overnight. In fact we could barely make out the State Office Building with our PTZ cameras. It was chilly too, with a low temperature of 34 degrees. The high temperature for the day was 61 degrees and it was attained in the late afternoon. Astrid was tight on her eggs all night long. Ares screeched to the nest at 5:05 AM. He left when Astrid failed to stir. He went to his pillar perch for a while instead. At 5:38 Astrid began vocalizing. Ares came over and they switched. The next changeover happened sometime before 7:50. Astrid took over on the eggs. Later on, when Ares landed on the steeple perch Astrid announced it. She also sounded off when he landed on the State Building at 10:12. He was out of site for a while after that. We then rediscovered him at noon sunning himself on one of the hotel ledges. A few minutes later, Ares was gone and there was a Pigeon in the same spot where he had been. Did Ares get so much sun that it transformed him into a Pigeon? I think we can safely rule that out.

The next changeover occurred at around 12:24 PM. Astrid had been sitting for quite a while and seemed eager to get a break. They switched again sometime before 1:52 and then Astrid was back on the eggs. At 3:02 Ares was giving long calls from the steeple. Astrid answered him back with her own distinctive vocalizations. At 3:38 Ares came back to the box and unceremoniously ousted Astrid to get his turn. It had gotten a lot warmer by then and the sun was flooding into the box. Ares did a little shading as well as incubating. At 4:10 he came off the eggs and stood on the lip of the box for a minute. It was warm enough to do without risking the eggs. At 4:23 he called out from the nest. As it happened, she had just landed on the State Building and he was announcing it, as she does with his movements around the canyon. At 5:54 Astrid came to the crossperch for a check-in. Ares didn’t want to leave and so she let him stay. She flew over to the steeple and got some good preening in. She was gone from the steeple by 6:24 and we didn’t see her again until she showed up at the box at 7:11 PM. By then she was ready for her night shift and Ares quickly ceded the nest to her. He was up on the lookout post for a little while after that. He finally flew about a half hour later. Goodnight falcons.