LATEST NEWS

The overnight was chilly but during the day the temperature surged into the mid-70’s. Astrid remained on the nest through the night. Ares arrived to relive her sometimes between 5:00 AM and 5:15. Forty minutes later Astrid landed on the steeple and Ares gave some squeaking calls to acknowledge her move. The next switch happed at around 6:50 and this time Astrid was taking over incubation. At 8:37 Astrid called out, inadvertently drawing our attention to the fact that her mate had taken a perch on the State Building. At 9:51 Ares brought prey to the long perch. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to get and then flew off into the canyon. We thought she would go to the hotel right away, but she didn’t show up there until two minutes later. I guess she took the scenic route. At 10:02 she was finished with her meal, and she flew to the steeple. At 11:14 Astrid came to the box and asked to take over incubation, but Ares didn’t want to leave. She let him have some more time. At 11:44 Astrid returned and this time they did switch. At 12:55 PM, Ares was giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid called back from the nest. As the temperature came up into the mid-seventies during the afternoon, Astrid began panting, but she continued incubating; we didn’t see her switch to shading the eggs. At 3:32 she did some vocalizing. We thought maybe she was calling Ares over to switch, but when he showed up at 3:51 she showed no inclination to give up incubating. Ares stood inside the box with her for about eight minutes. He wasn’t being pushy about taking over, he was just standing next to her. He probably expected that since it was getting increasingly warm in the box that Astrid would want to leave, but she didn’t. Finally, he took his exit. He was back at 4:42 and this time Astrid had no problem ceded the nest to him. While in the box he mostly incubated but he also did some shading. Like Astrid had done before him, he was panting a bit. At 4:51 he started calling out excitedly from the nest. Apparently, there was an intruder active in the canyon. Astrid was probably dealing with it, although we had no visual to confirm what was occurring. He calmed down after a while, having never left the eggs. Astrid was back on the State Building at 5:16. She was up and down at least once in the subsequent hour. The last switch of the day occurred at 8:15 PM. Astrid climbed onto the eggs and looked to be in place for the night. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update – As of early Sunday morning the pipped egg in the Little Falls nest still hadn’t opened completely. We still have hope that all is OK with it, and we will put out another update tomorrow.

Last night was another cold one with temperatures in the low thirties. By afternoon, clear skies helped the temperature rise to near 60 degrees. As expected, Astrid was on the eggs all night long. Ares arrived on the State Building at 5:20 AM. Astrid gave a few light calls when he landed. Five minutes later he was at the box and the pair carried out their first switch of the day. She flew around the canyon after leaving the box. Ares gave squeaking vocalizations when she landed on the State Building at 5:38. The next changeover happened at 7:05. Astrid took over on the eggs and Ares went to the State Building. He was up again ten minutes later. She vocalized as if she saw him at 10:10 but we couldn’t locate him with our cams. At 10:52 Ares came to the box, hopped inside, got behind Astrid and started trying to oust her. He stepped on her tail and then bent it over to the side. He really wanted his turn! She ceded the nest to him without much complaint. At 12:28 PM he was vocalizing as if he saw her in the canyon, but we couldn’t locate her until 12:47 when she appeared on the north face of the State Building. The next changeover took place at 1:37 and it was uncontested. At a few minutes before 4:00 Ares was back for another quick switch. At 4:26 he called out from the nest a few times as if she was watching Astrid doing something, but we saw nothing. Sure enough, she showed up on the State Building a minute later. At 4:36 he gave out a loud cackle-type warning call. He must have been reacting to a non-falcon raptor or vulture flying through the canyon. Neither he nor Astrid gave chase. She came to the box five minutes later and tried to take over on the eggs. but Ares didn’t want to leave. After about a minute of fruitless negotiation, she gave up and let him stay a while longer. She then flew back to the State Building. At 6:10 PM she was back to the nest and the pair switched for the last time. As of today we are on the 27th day since continuous incubation began. We will begin looking for pipped eggs in three days. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Falcon Update: Today there were multiple feedings that took place at the Little Falls nest. The ones seen were at 5:55 AM, 7:40, 9:40, 12:26 PM, and 5:58. As of 7:35 PM the last of the three eggs had a very large pip in it and it seemed a hatch was imminent.

Last night was cold with the temperature just below the freezing mark. Clear skies after sunup led to a modest warmup in the morning and temps hit 50 degrees by midday. Once again, it was windy all day long. Astrid was on her nest through the night. Ares arrived at the box at around 5:25 AM and the pair did a quick changeover. As Ares got onto the eggs, Astrid did some laps around the State Building, ultimately landing on the building’s west face. When she flew again several minutes later Ares gave squeaking calls to mark the event. By 5:42 she had moved to the north face of the building. At 8:11 the pair did their second changeover of the day and then Astrid was back on the eggs. At 8:27 Ares was on the State Building. He made a few forays out between 8:30 and 1:02 PM. At that point he came to the nest. The falcons did a quick switch and got another turn on the eggs. At 2:20 Ares was making squeaking vocalizations again. Astrid was out of view, so we weren’t sure if he was reacting to something she was doing or not. At 2:54 Ares began giving excited chirping calls. He got off the eggs and darted off toward the south. It was likely that he was reacting to an intruder, but we couldn’t confirm that. Astrid suddenly appeared out of nowhere and landed on the north face of the State Building. After a minute she dove to the nest and got onto the eggs. Ares then flew back through the canyon and set down on the State Building. If he had been drawn away by an intruder, he dealt with it in short order. The next changing of the guard occurred at 4:36 and then Ares was on the eggs. Astrid was on the State Building at 5:20, but then moved to the hotel at 5:45. She appeared to be hunting. At 6:06 PM Astrid was plucking a Pigeon on the ledge of the hotel. Evidently her hunt was successful. A half hour later, when she was done with her meal, she flew back to the State Building. At 6:53 she flew to the crossperch. Ares was already standing up to turn the eggs when she arrived. When she hopped in, he hopped out. By that time she was likely on the nest for the night. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Falcon Update: As of early Friday afternoon. The Little Falls falcons still have one egg that has yet to hatch. We believe there is still a chance that it will in the next day or two.

The overnight was cold with temperatures in the low thirties. After dawn the skies were mostly clear but conditions remained chilly with temps struggling to get to 40 degrees. The afternoon was warmer – in the mid-forties, but the wind was biting and something perhaps only a falcon could appreciate. Astrid was on the eggs all night. Ares screeched in at 5:30 AM and the pair did their first quick switch of the day. A few minutes after leaving the nest Astrid was seen flying around the State Building – probably checking out Ares’ pantry ledges for any non-bat or non-woodcock prey. She managed to find something to her liking and breakfasted on the upper east ledge on the hotel. She finished eating before 6:00 and flew to a high perch on the State Building. At 7:29 she came to the nest and changed places with Ares. It seemed like he was ready to go. At 8:25 Astrid was vocalizing and probably reacting to something Ares was doing, but we couldn’t locate him with the PTZ cams. An hour later he showed up on the State Building. He darted off after something at 10:12. At 10:20 Astrid began calling again. He came to the box with food two minutes later. She scrambled onto the crossperch to take it. She flew to the hotel as he took over incubation. By 10:35 she was done with her meal, and was back on the State Building.

At 11:27 Astrid came to the box and asked to switch, but Ares didn’t want to leave. They had a long conversation and did some beaking but still Ares wouldn’t budge. Finally, at 11:33 Astrid got pushier, and he finally gave up and vacated the nest. She took over on the eggs. At 12:46 PM Astrid began giving “chirrup” type warning calls from the nest. She was highly agitated. She got off the eggs and dashed out into the canyon – presumably chasing after a female falcon. Ares came to the nest three minutes later and resumed incubation. She was back on the State Building not long after. At 1:55 Astrid flew to the box and the pair did a relatively quick changeover. This time Ares didn’t need much convincing to leave. At 4:12 Ares was in the box lobbying for a turn on the eggs. He stood behind her and tried to oust her, but she was an immovable object. He relented and flew over to the State Building instead. He came back and tried again at 5:32 and, after a few minutes of negotiations, the answer was the same. Astrid was remaining on the eggs. They didn’t switch again that evening. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Falcons Update: The third and remaining egg has yet to hatch. There were two feeding seen today. One at 11:25 AM and one at 3:52 PM.

The overnight was cold and rainy. There may have been some snowflakes mixed in with the rain. The rain stopped during the morning but it remained cold, windy, and overcast. Astrid was on the nest all night. Ares screeched to the box at 5:12 AM and the pair did a rapid changeover. Astrid was seen on the State Building at 5:53. The next switch happened shortly before 7:30. Astrid took over incubation and Ares went to the State Building. She was vocalizing from the box at 8:18. He made a few forays out from the State Building between 8:20 AM and 12:16 PM. Most likely he was hunting. She called out a few times in reaction to his activities.  At 12:28 Ares relieved Astrid – it was another quick switch. She was out of view for a while, but at 1:29 she was back on the State Building. At 2:27 Astrid came to the crossperch. She had a conversation with Ares. The upshot was, he didn’t want to go. She let him stay and sailed back out into the canyon. The next switch occurred at 3:38 – Astrid came onto the eggs and Ares flew to the State Building. At 5:18 Astrid gave a very boisterous cackle call. She must have been reacting to a non-falcon raptor or Turkey Vulture flying through. We didn’t see it with our cameras. Ares was out of view at the time and so we don’t know if he hazed it or gave chase. Astrid stayed on the eggs until 6:10 when Ares showed at the box. He had been out of view for a while. After the changeover, she went to the State Building and made at least one foray out – probably to chase a Pigeon. She came back for a final switch at 7:51 PM. The temperature was only in the mid-thirties. It was going to be another cold night. Goodnight all.

The Little Falls Peregrines had two hatches today! The first one happened at 10:46 AM and the second, sometime between 7:30 and 7:45 PM. Congratulations to Anna and Erie! They have one more egg which is likely to hatch sometime in the next day or two.