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Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, April 24^th, 2023

Overnight was cool with some rain showers. The temperature was in the low forties. Conditions changed little during the day – light rain was intermittent, and the wind picked up. The high temperature peaked at around 50 degrees. Astrid was on the eggs all night long and from 4:10 the previous afternoon. Ares showed up at 5:16 AM to take over incubation. Astrid had been on the eggs for 11 hours and was eager get out and stretch her wings. She initially flew over to the State Building. At 6:32 she was on the hotel, most likely trying her luck at hunting Pigeons. For a little while there were two Rock Pigeons perched on the same ledge as her, but since falcons only hunt birds in flight, they were safe. She was back to the nest for at around 7:30 and they switched. At 8:14 Ares arrived on the State Building and his arrival was announced by Astrid. At 9:39 AM there was another changing of the guard and Ares was back on the eggs. At 10:10 AM Astrid made a quick visit to the nest. She was there and then up again. She flew back to the State Building. Forty-five minutes later there was an intruder in the canyon. It was on the lookout on the roof of the State Building and then it landed on one of the building’s upper ledges. Ares was off the nest and dealing with the situation while Astrid returned to the eggs. Meanwhile, the intruder audaciously upped Ares from his perch twice. They also did some low intensity sparring through the canyon. It was more reminiscent of the type of behavior that takes place between a parent and their offspring. Its immature plumage meant it was a yearling and its size told us it was a male. It could have been Percy from 2022. We don’t know for sure but given the observed behavior it was a possibility. At one point Ares went to the lookout and the intruder flew in circles over the west part of the canyon. He then returned, buzzed by Ares, and landed on a ledge next to him. They did some more sparring after that – some of which was captured our PTZ camera. Finally both disappeared towards the northwest. At 11:30 Ares returned to the State Building. Astrid announced his arrival with some chirping calls.

By 12:15 PM the wind was picking up in the canyon. The falcons switched at 12:57. Ares took over on the eggs, adeptly tucking all four beneath him while Astrid flew to the State Building. Astrid was seen feeding on the hotel after that. We don’t know if the prey was something from the pantry or if it was a fresh catch. The pair executed a quick switch at 2:34. An hour later it was raining in the canyon. Ares was on the State Building keeping watch on the territory. He stopped briefly at the nestbox just as the clouds broke and a rainbow appeared. Astrid didn’t stir and he flew over to the steeple. At 5:06 PM we heard Ares give some long calls from somewhere – first quite distant and then much closer. Astrid responded with excited calls of her own. Ares arrived at the nest and the pair did a fast changeover. The next switch was at 6:21 and then Astrid was back on the eggs. Twenty minutes later we heard Ares giving long calls again. Astrid called back to him. This time it seemed like they were reacting to an intruder, but we were unable to confirm it. Ares was seen flying around the State Building, but he didn’t appear to be chasing anyone. He then went up onto his lookout post. He was there on and off until just after 7:30 PM. Most likely he was hunting. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, April 23^rd, 2023

It was cool and rainy Saturday night. The temperature was in the high 40’s. Rain showers were intermittent through the day and the high temperature was only in the 50’s.  Astrid spent the night incubating as expected. Ares screeched to the nestbox at 6:08 AM (Sunday). He screeched in and she screeched out. She was eager to leave. She was back to relieve Ares sometime before 10:50 AM. Astrid was on the hotel in hunting mode after that. There was a Turkey Vulture circling over the hotel at 11:30. We believe it was attracted by the falcons’ leftover meals. We didn’t see Astrid go after it but she may have subsequently. Either that or she was chasing a Pigeon. At 12:23 PM Astrid was on the south facing steeple perch. She still appeared to be hunting. They switched at around 12:35 PM and Astrid took over on the eggs. The next changeover occurred at around 2:30 and Ares got his turn. He was on until 4:10 when Astrid returned. Astrid was on the eggs for the rest of the afternoon and evening at that point. We didn’t see Ares again that evening. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, April 22^nd, 2023

It was cool overnight with some light rain showers. By morning it was sunny and the temperature was in the low 50’s. The temperature peaked in the mid-seventies by midday. A storm front came through in the evening and dropped the temperature back into the fifties. Astrid was on the nest all night long. Ares came at 5:07 AM and they did a quick switch. He got onto the eggs and she bolted out the door. It was dark out but Astrid’s wings caught the ambient light from the city as she floated in front of the west face of the State Building. As she checked out the contents of Ares’ pantry, she resembled a white balloon or a UFO. Perhaps she found something palatable. We saw her next when she landed on a ledge on the north face of the same building. Ares called out when she landed and clued us in. At 10:10 Ares was vocalizing on the nest. We don’t know if that was because of what Astrid was doing or some other reason. Perhaps he wanted to be relieved. She came to the crossperch at 10:32 and then hopped into the box. She crowded up behind Ares and he got off the eggs pronto. She took over incubation as he darted off.

At 1:23 PM Ares was on his pillar perch preening. Five minutes later he dove after something. He must’ve missed it because he came to the box less than a minute later. They did a quick switch; Ares took over incubation and Astrid went to the State Building. The next changeover was at 2:28. That time Astrid took over on the eggs and Ares was out. He was out of view until the next switch at 4:40. By 5:20 Astrid left the State Building where she had been perched and then it was her turn to be out of camera view. At 6:53 PM we noticed that Ares was sleeping while on the nest. At that point it was clear that a storm was coming in from the southwest. Astrid was back on the State Building and was likely to come back to the nest before the storm hit. She came and relieved Ares at 7:13 PM. The rain had started, and Ares was out of view. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, April 21^st, 2023

It was cool overnight with temperatures in the high forties. Come morning the temperature climbed quickly and we hit the mid 70’s by midday and 84 by late afternoon.  Astrid sat on the nest through the night as expected. Ares was on a window ledge just west of the nest area at 4:00 AM. He was busily plucking something we couldn’t see. I suspect it was a Woodcock. He came to the nest at 4:11 without it. We think he stored it on one of his pantry ledges on the State Building. Astrid screeched quite loudly as they switched. It was likely she was expecting a meal. An hour later they switched again, and Astrid came back on the eggs. We don’t know if she had gotten any breakfast or not. At 6:18 Ares came to the long perch with a small prey item. She scrambled over the crossperch to take it. She flew off with it, but we were not sure where to. Meanwhile, he got comfortable on the eggs. She made a visit to the crossperch at 6:30 – just for a check-in? Ares didn’t stir. Clearly, he wasn’t ready to leave so soon. At 7:10 she tried again. She used gentle persuasion – beaking with him and not being pushy. It worked. He got up and flew. At 7:44 Astrid was calling while on the nest. It was possible Ares was dealing with an intruder, but we couldn’t confirm it. It was also possible he was actively hunting in the canyon, and she was just reacting to his efforts. At 8:47 Ares came to the box. He walked around behind her to compel her to leave. In other words, it wasn’t gentle persuasion. Regardless, it worked. Astrid was out and he was in. At 9:30 Astrid landed on the crossperch for another routine check-in. She was out again before Ares reacted. At 9:44 AM Ares left the eggs and the box and flew in pursuit of what was likely a male Peregrine intruder. The two birds darted off to the south. Astrid wasted no time coming to the box and resuming incubation. There were lots of raptors migrating through the region on the favorable winds, so we weren’t surprised the falcons were having issues. A Turkey Vulture floating over the canyon at 10:46 elicited no reaction from the falcons. By that time Ares had returned from his policing and was perched on the steeple.

At 12:15 PM the falcons switched, and Ares came back on house duty. Astrid initially flew to a ledge on the State Building. At 2:15 we heard a cackle-type alarm call from Astrid. Likely she was reacting to a passing non-falcon raptor or vulture. At 4:10 it sounded like another falcon intruder was in the canyon. This time Ares gave a few high chirps and then darted out of the nest. He seemed to be highly agitated. Obviously, he was in pursuit of something. When he left, the eggs were alone, but not for long, as Astrid came out of nowhere to resume their incubation. As for Ares, he was heading north after whoever it was that pissed him off. At 6:28 the falcons changed places. They did it very fast and businesslike. They did their final changeover for the day at 7:38. Astrid came onto the nest and Ares headed for the west face of the State Building. Goodnight all.  

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, April 20^th, 2023

It was cold overnight with temperatures in the mid to low 30’s. Clearing skies in the morning led to a warmer midday. It was in the mid-50’s by lunchtime and in the 60’s in the late afternoon. Astrid spent all of last night on the eggs. As referred to in yesterday’s post, she relieved Ares at just before 2 PM on Wednesday and he never came back to relieve her. Essentially, she sat incubating from 2 PM until 5:30 AM when Ares finally showed up. Interestingly, we didn’t notice her calling out for him, nor did she fly out and try to fetch him. We never did locate him with the cameras. Our best guess was that he was out on an extended hunting trip and was, perhaps, filling his pantry ledges on the west face of the State Building. So, Ares finally showed up for a switch at 5:28 AM. He took over incubation and Astrid flew into the canyon. At 5:52 she was flying around the west face of the building and perusing Ares’ pantry ledges. Apparently, she selected something. After perching on the west face for a little while, Astrid brought her meal over to the hotel. She ate it, but wasn’t satisfied. At 6:09 Astrid was on the northeast corner of the building’s upper ledge. She was in hunting mode. She made a couple of fast forays to the east, each time returning to the corner. She was back to the box for a changing of the guard at 7:29. At 9:36 Astrid was vocalizing while sitting on the nest, and she kept calling periodically (about every 5 minutes) to get Ares’s attention. She kept this up for over an hour. Meanwhile Ares didn’t seem phased or compelled to do anything. We think she was asking for him to bring her food.

At 10:42 AM the pair switched again, and Ares was back on the nest. At 11:23 Astrid was back on the hotel corner and, once again, she was hunting. She moved to the State Building at 12:47 PM. At 1:30 it was Ares’ turn to vocalize. He starting making chirping calls – the kind he gives when there is an intruder in the canyon.  He flew over to the State Building and landed near Astrid. She flew to the box and resumed incubation. She was still calling out to him after the switch. We believe that she wanted him to bring her some palatable prey – you know, for a change. At 3:28 Ares returned to the nest and the two falcons did a fast changeover. Astrid was on the State Building for a while but then she was out of view. At 4:34 PM we noticed that she was feeding on something on the hotel. She had either caught something herself (presumably a Pigeon) or she found something good in Ares’ cupboard. There wasn’t enough left of it for us to identify it at such a distance. At 4:44 she was on the steeple perch and her crop was pretty big so she had eaten well. Meanwhile, it was getting warm in the nest box and Ares was panting. The temperature was in the low 60’s but the sun was flooding the box. Ares was switching between shading and incubating. At 5:00 PM Astrid came to the crossperch. She sat there for about five minutes before coming into the box and relieving Ares on the eggs. This would be the last switch of the day. Ares was on the State Building for a little while after that and then up on the lookout. He flew from there at 7:15 PM. Goodnight falcons.