LATEST NEWS

The overnight was chilly with temperatures staying just above the freezing point. The sun ruled after daybreak and by noon we were close to 60 degrees. The afternoon was windy, but the temperature surpassed 70 degrees. Astrid was on the eggs all night last night. Ares called as he did a flyby at 3:35 AM. It wasn’t clear if he had prey. At 4:25 he came to the box and this time he did have prey in his talons. He flaunted it on the long perch, but Astrid showed no interest in coming over to take it. At 5:35 Ares screeched to the nest and this time the pair did a quick switch. At 5:56 Astrid was flying around the State Building, possibly checking Ares’ pantry ledges for prey. She landed on the north face but didn’t remain there very long. At 7:27 the pair switched at the nest and Astrid was back incubating. At 8:35 Ares was on his favorite pillar perch and the two were talking – her from the nest and him from the pillar. At 10:38 he came to the box and tried to take over incubation. He didn’t even make it off the crossperch. She excitedly called out and he reacted by hopping onto the east veranda and from there – an east ledge. At 12:21 PM he was back to his pillar where he got into some heavy preening. Ten minutes later she was vocalizing again, and it brought Ares back to the crossperch. Once again, she excitedly called in his face and discouraged him from entering the nest. He went onto the west veranda again. By 12:51 he was back on his pillar.

Astrid’s desire to remain on the eggs today was interesting. It was almost as if she thought hatching time was near. Of course, we area about ten days out. We also thought that since today was the first real warm day in a while, that she would vacate the nest when the afternoon sun’s hit it most directly and flooded the interior. That’s when she would let Ares take over to do the shading. At 2:03 Ares flew to an east ledge. He was calling and it was clear that he wanted a turn on the eggs. She wasn’t encouraging him. He came into the box fifteen minutes later and tried to oust her, but still, she wouldn’t leave. At 3:33 Astrid began shading the eggs. It was the first time this season that either falcon performed this function. At 4:29 PM Astrid finally let Ares take over on the nest. She had been on the eggs for nine hours straight. When Ares took over the sun was flooding the box at full power. The temperature was 70 degrees. He was mostly shading the eggs. At 5:12 he began giving warning calls from the nest while he continued to shade. He didn’t leave the box at that time, but at 5:45 he was excitedly calling once again. This time he did leave the nest. Most likely a male Peregrine was active in the canyon. He returned from chasing off the intruder at 6:17 and he screeched to a landing somewhere we couldn’t see him with the cams. He was on his pillar at 6:24. At 6:50 Ares was seen dashing through the canyon at very high speed – aided by the wind. At 7:08 he was back to the nest and asking for another turn on the eggs. His wish was granted, and the pair did a quick switch. At 7:25 Astrid was on the State Building. She appeared to be making forays – probably hunting. At 8:13 she came to the crossperch and asked to take over for the night. Ares didn’t get up right away so she lit out again. She was back at 8:16 and this time they did switch. She was on the eggs for the night most probably. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDCweLGm2cE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kcDVAus-E0

The overnight was cold with temperatures in the low thirties. Conditions improved quickly after sunup and the temperature shot up into the mid-fifties. By late morning cloud cover came in but the temperature stayed in the fifties and precipitation held off. Light rain started in the early afternoon and continued until evening. Astrid was on the nest all last night. At 5:27 AM Ares came to the box and the pair did a very quick switch. At 5:52 Astrid landed on the State Building and Ares gave squeaking calls to mark the occasion. At 7:08 Astrid was back to the box and the pair executed another quick switch on the eggs. At 7:34 Ares was on the State Building. An hour later we could hear him giving long calls. At 10:36 he had landed on the east veranda. At 11:10 both were giving alarm calls – her from the box and him from his pillar perch. We weren’t sure what they were calling about, but neither left their stations. At 12:20 PM Ares came to the box and asked to take over incubating. Astrid refused to leave, and he left instead. Five minutes later he was back on his pillar, and they were both vocalizing. At 1:10 Ares was looking around a lot from his pillar perch. He was looking mostly up. Soon both were giving intruder alert calls. Astrid got off the nest and dove into the canyon. Obviously, she was chasing off an intruder – probably a female Peregrine. After a couple of minutes Ares came to the nest and resumed incubating the eggs. At 1:20 Astrid returned to the canyon and landed on the State Building. Ares gave squeaking calls when she landed. She was up again only a few minutes later. At 1:34 Ares was squeaking like he saw her, but we couldn’t find her. At 2:15 the local Pigeons were all stirred up. They were dashing through the canyon, and some were flying evasively. Ares was calling too which could have meant that Astrid was hunting them. At 2:36 Ares called out again and this time we located Astrid on the south facing ledge of the Steeple. She was there preening in the gentle rain until 4:09. After that she was on a perch on the State Building. At 5:00 PM Astrid came to the box. She then took almost ten minutes trying to convince Ares to let her take over on the eggs. After leaving he spent some time on his pillar perch. He was there until about 6:40. Most probably, Astrid is in place for the night. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update: One of the three eggs appears to be pipped meaning a hatch could come at any time. Anna was staying tight on the nest for most of the day and so it was difficult to see what was happening with the eggs. Also, unlike with the Utica Falcons, we cannot access the video stream remotely. In other words, someone needs to be on site to monitor them. We should know what’s happening tomorrow – Stay tuned

Overnight was chilly again with temperatures in the high thirties. Temps rose quickly after dawn, but once again the wind was unrelenting and it made it seem colder. The temperature was close to 50 degrees by noon. The afternoon was sunny and milder with temperatures in the mid-fifties. Astrid stayed tight on the eggs all night. We noticed that Ares was on the State Building at 4:00 AM. They switched on the eggs at 5:00 sharp. When Astrid left, she went to the State Building and to the same ledge that Ares had just vacated. At 7:58 the falcons changed once again, and Astrid took over on the eggs. Ares then flew back to the State Building. At 8:55 an intruder flew by the nestbox. Ares was still in place on the State Building, so we knew it wasn’t him. Astrid gave excited calls and quickly dove from the nest to give chase. Given Ares lack of action and Astrid’s swift response, the intruder must have been a female Peregrine. Ares came directly over to the nest and took over incubation. At 9:32 he was calling, and Astrid was back on the State Building. At 9:51 Ares was giving long calls from the nest. He momentarily got off the eggs only to get right back on again. At 10:17 Astrid moved to a steeple perch. She came to the nest 15 minutes later and they switched. Ares went to the State Building. At 11:04 Ares was up again. We heard him calling from somewhere in the canyon but couldn’t find him with the cams. A few minutes later we located him on the hotel. He was feeding on prey. He stopped short of eating the entire thing and flew off to store the leftovers. At 11:45 Astrid was calling from the nest. Ares was on the State Building so she may have been trying to ask him to come and take over or perhaps she wanted him to bring her a meal. She called on and off for the next hour. During that time Ares made a few forays from his perch but he didn’t come to the box.

At 1:05 PM Astrid was calling in the box and Ares was back on the State Building. At 1:47 Ares flew to the nest and relieved Astrid. She only took a little bit of coaxing to leave. At 3:02 Astrid was on the State Building. Five minutes later Ares was giving chirping alarm calls from the nest. He then dove out and left the eggs alone. Apparently, there was an intruder active in the canyon. Most probably it was male since he was perturbed, and Astrid wasn’t. Within a minute of him leaving the nest, Astrid was there and resuming incubation. At 3:25 Ares returned from his presumed joust and landed on the State Building. Astrid called out to announce his return. He made at least one foray out in the succeeding hour. At 5:43 he came to the nest and Astrid ceded the eggs to him. She initially went to the State Building but then was out of camera view for a while. She was back on the State Building before 8:00 PM and the falcons did their last switch of the day shortly after. Astrid was then in place for the night. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VpPeDnBwsE

The overnight was chilly with temperatures staying just above the freezing mark. Sun after daybreak brought temps up into the high forties with gusty winds. The high for the day was 55 degrees. The skies became overcast in the afternoon and rain started to fall – it continued until late afternoon. Astrid was on her eggs through the night. Ares came to the box with a fresh Woodcock at 4:00 AM. She scrambled over the crossperch to take it and then flew over towards the hotel. For some reason she was coming in low, just below the building’s lower ledge. For some reason she made a “U” turn before landing and flew to the west face of the State Building. We couldn’t see where she landed. Was she putting the Woodcock into storage on a pantry ledge or was she stopping to feed? However, we know how she feels about Woodcock for breakfast. At 5:27 Astrid flew to the nest and the pair did a switch on the eggs. At 6:52 Astrid began giving highly animated vocalizations. There was an intruder in the canyon. She called from the nest for about five minutes and then Ares came in and relieved her. She dashed out and presumably gave chase. We saw her flying above the State Building, flapping her wings quickly to gain altitude and then she was out of view. She was back from her adventure at 7:22 and she took a high perch on the State Building. At 7:41 the pair did another switch and Astrid was back and incubating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN_cFnLoCk0

At 9:05 Ares came to the box to relieve Astrid. When she didn’t get up right away he went behind her and threatened to stomp on her tail, but she still wouldn’t go. He soon gave up and hopped over to the east veranda. He was back at 10:27. This time he tried the “nice guy” approach and did some beaking with her. They also had a long conversation – like what they do when conducting a ledge display (remember those?). Ares was sporting a white down feather on the top of his head which made him look very distinguished. Perhaps it’s a new style that all the male Peregrines in Paris are wearing this season. Regardless, his nice guy approach didn’t work either. She still wouldn’t leave the eggs. He gave up and hopped back over to the east veranda. By 11:10 Ares had moved to his favorite pillar perch. He spent some time preening while also guarding the nest. At noon he moved to the State Building. At 12:39 PM he flew back to the nest and once again asked for a turn on the eggs. This time the answer was yes, and Astrid relinquished the nest. She flew across the canyon to a perch on the State Building. At 2:13 Ares was calling from the nest. We weren’t sure what he was reacting to. They did a quick changing of the guard at 2:45 and she took over incubation. By this point it was raining in Utica. The next switch happened at 4:05. Ares got onto the eggs and Astrid flew to the State Building. The last changeover of the day (presumably) happened at 6:00 PM. Astrid was on the clutch and Ares went to the State Building. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Peregrine Update: We estimate that it has been at least 30 days since full incubation began on the Little Falls falcon nest. This means that a hatch can happen at any time. During changeovers we’ve been examining the eggs for pips and, thus far, we haven’t been able to confirm any. Regardless, a hatch or two may be imminent. We will continue to monitor and relay new developments.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs0oeNa3BJE

The overnight was rainy and chilly with temperatures in the high thirties. Some snow squalls occurred after dawn, but most were over by 8:00 AM and the sky began to clear. The temperature was 40 degrees by noon, although a driving wind made it seem colder. By late afternoon, we had reached 50 degrees. As expected, Astrid was on her eggs all night long. Ares showed up on the State Building at around 5:40 AM and he screeched to the box five minutes later. The pair did a quick switch and then Astrid went to the State Building. The next changing of the guard occurred at 8:35 and then Astrid was back on the nest. initially Ares was on the State Building but seemed to be making occasional forays. At 10:46 she was calling from the nest and reacting to something happening – maybe he was actively chasing prey. At 11:14 he was back on a State Building perch. Almost an hour later he was out on another mission only to return a few minutes after that. When he left at 12:52 PM we didn’t see him again on camera until 3:11 when he popped into the box to ask for a turn on the eggs. By that point Astrid had been sitting for well over 6 hours. She had called out a few times from the nest. We didn’t know if she was doing it because she saw him or because she wanted him to take a shift. Regardless, once he had arrived she took little convincing to leave and he climbed onto the eggs. At 3:14 she was on the State Building. At 4:23 they both began giving cackle-type alarm calls. Ares was quite upset; he got off the eggs and dove into the canyon. Without missing a beat, Astrid came right over and resumed incubating the eggs. She hadn’t had a very long break and now she was most likely going to spend the balance of the afternoon as well as the entire night on the eggs. As for Ares, he seemed to be making forays into the territory – hunting for birds most likely. He was seen on the County Building a couple of times before 7:32 and then he was off – probably to his night perch. Goodnight falcons.