Ares brings a Woodcock for Astrid – She didn’t want it
The overnight was wet and cool. The temperature was in the mid-forties but dropped about 10 degrees during the course of the day. The wind was already strong and it picked up as the day progressed. There were no late night or early morning visits to the box by Astrid or Ares, which was likely due to the nasty weather. One of them showed up on the State Building at 5:37 AM, but we weren’t sure who it was. Ares screeched to the box with a Woodcock at 5:44. He immediately began calling for his mate. Astrid arrived moments later on the east veranda. She showed no interest in taking the Woodcock (no surprise) and he flew off to store it after about five minutes. The falcons mated on the east veranda at 5:51. At 6:46 Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was up on his lookout post. He came to the nestbox at 7:20, flew off and returned a few minutes later. He was calling anxiously and trying to get Astrid to come in for a ledge display. She went to the steeple at 7:34. They mated there a minute later and then both came to the nest – her to the east veranda. At 7:43 they mated on the veranda. At 10:04 Astrid was on the steeple and Ares returned to the nest from the State Building. He was very excited and trying once again to get her into the box. She moved to the west veranda instead. At 10:29 the pair did a ledge display in the box. She stayed inside to do chores after he left. At 11:10 Ares was at the nest again and Astrid was on the State Building.
The falcons share a ledge display
Ares was in and out of the box about a dozen times in the early afternoon. It’s likely we missed some matings during this period since the wind was drowning our audio feed. We thought there was a mating attempt at about 2:22 PM. Ares brought prey to the box at 2:48. Astrid showed up to take it, but we don’t know where she went with it. The pair shared another ledge display at the nest a few minutes before 3:00. Again, Ares was in and out of the box fairly frequently during the late afternoon hours. For part of this time Astrid was on the west veranda. The wind was still an issue (for us) and it was effectively masking their sounds so we couldn’t confirm matings. Whenever they left the box, they would simply open their wings and let the wind carry them off. At 5:10 both falcons converged at the nest, but she didn’t stick around. They were on the State Building at 6:00 PM. Twenty minutes later Ares was back at the nest and calling for his mate. He left and then came back with her a few minutes later and the pair shared a dance. At 7:04 Ares came to the nest with prey but she never arrived to take it. He came back without it five minutes later. He left the nest at 7:28 presumably to go to a night perch. Goodnight falcons.
It was seasonably warm overnight with some showers and thunderstorms coming through. The skies cleared by morning and the temperature hit 60 degrees before noon. Ares arrived at the nestbox at 10:50 PM Friday night but stayed for only a few minutes. Both then came together to the box at 3:22 AM. She moved onto the east veranda, and he immediately hopped inside the box and disappeared into the shadows. When we checked later, we couldn’t even tell he was in there. But he was and he was sitting upright. If we didn’t know better, we would think that he was the one laying the eggs. She called to him a few times, but he just stayed still like he was waiting to have contractions. The rain began at 3:38. They began seriously conversing at 4:30 and suddenly both took flight. Moments later when they came back, Astrid moved onto the west veranda and he jumped into the box. He was giving squeak calls and she was delivering her famous donkey-like vocalizations. They finally mated on the west veranda in the rain at 4:47. At 5:17 Astrid was calling out to Ares, but we weren’t sure where he was. Thirty minutes later he arrived at the box with prey. It looked like most of a Woodcock, but it was hard to tell. He probably had taken it from one of his pantry ledges. Whatever it was she accepted it on the crossperch and then took it over to the hotel. We were able to follow her with the camera, but it was so dark where she came down on the ledge that we couldn’t tell if she was eating it or not. Finally, we made the determination that she was. Perhaps it wasn’t a Woodcock then. If it was, she probably wouldn’t be having it for breakfast. Meanwhile, Ares was giving long calls at the box.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqWHpOTp5zI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLiTrCXKi30
Both falcons were back to the nest area and conversing at 6:06 AM. She was wiping her bill on the west veranda perch, and he was inside the box. At one point he came out on the crossperch and she leaned forward and adopted her mating stance. He jumped back into the box – because what he really wanted was a dance. They mated on the west veranda at 6:15. Five minutes later he brought prey to ledge west of the box, but it must have been quite small, and he didn’t offer it to Astrid. He flew off instead. She also flew but landed on an east ledge. At 6:48 three crows flew by the nest and she had no reaction. That surprised us, since she usually gets touchy about crows (or anything) moving to close to the nest. At 6:53 Ares arrived at the box with a freshly caught grackle. Astrid showed no interest in coming over to take it, so he began plucking it on the east veranda. They both went over to the State Building a few minutes later – Ares following her. He continued trying to get her to take his gift. He came back to the box with it and kept looking over in her direction and giving squeak calls. By 7:40 he was starting to eat it himself but was still holding out hope that she would take what was left. He tried to give it to her for hours. At 9:38, when she came to the crossperch and asked to mate, he offered her that same food. Finally, she jumped into the box and took it. His amazing perseverance (three hours!) ultimately paid off. She didn’t bring the food to the hotel, so it was possible that she stored it somewhere. Of course, that means we may see it again at some point. In other words he might pull it out and try to gift it to her again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_gDhVjznS4
At 9:54 AM the falcons mated on the east veranda. He went into the box afterwards. Another mating occurred at 10:16 and then again an hour later. At 11:22 Ares was highly excited for some reason. Astrid moved from the veranda to an east ledge, which didn’t seem like the most exciting thing in the world, but then again, we are not Ares. At 12:12 they mated on the east veranda. Directly after that she came to the box calling. She proceeded to do some work in the box while still occasionally vocalizing. Ares came to the nest at 12:15 and joined his mate for a ledge display. They switched two times and did a fair amount of beaking during their dance which lasted about seven minutes. At the end Ares bailed out and Astrid did some serious digging in the gravel in the corner of the box. At 12:33 we noticed that Ares was on his pillar perch to the east of the box. Astrid moved over to the State Building at 12:47. He came back to the nestbox at 1:39 and gave a lot of long calls. At 2:16 PM both falcons were out of view. He came to the nest a minute later and she went to the State Building. They often travel as a package these days. At 2:34 they mated on the State Building. He was back to the box five minutes later. She joined him for a ledge display. It was a relatively short dance. He screeched in and out of the box a few times during the succeeding 30 minutes. There may have been a mating that we missed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGxcYdHXtkg
At 3:40 he came to the box with prey. He called, but Astrid didn’t come for it. He flew out and perhaps brought it to her or maybe he stored it. The latter scenario is more likely. What we know for sure is that when he came back to the box at 3:45 he didn’t have it anymore. At 4:00 it was clear that rain was coming. There was a line of thunderstorms passing through the region. Ares was calling from the box and Astrid was still on the State Building. At 4:22 she was on the crossperch, and she remained there for the brunt of the storm. Ares stayed inside the box. The rain and wind blurred our camera’s vision, but we could still see Astrid. They mated in the rain on the east veranda at 4:32. Ten minutes later, Ares was on the State Building and Astrid was at the box. At a few minutes before 5:00 the pair tried to mate again, but it was short and probably a failed attempt. At 5:45 Ares brought a small prey item to the nest. She went inside the box to take it and then flew off into the canyon. She didn’t take it to the hotel, and she was nowhere in camera view. At 6:00 she reappeared on the steeple. At 6:20 they tried to mate on the steeple. Ares flew in and it looked like his trajectory was right and she was in position, but something was wrong, and they had to abort. Both flew to the nest, and she went over to the west veranda. At 6:30 she was asking to mate again, and he was giving long calls in the box. Five minutes later it was raining again. Ares was standing on the lip of the box and seemingly wondering why she didn’t want to share a ledge display. A few minutes later they mated in the rain on the east veranda. He was on one of the steeple perches after that. They both were up and probably off to their night perches by around 7:30 PM. Goodnight all.
A relatively mild overnight was followed by a very foggy early morning. The fog rose not long after sunrise and the temperature did as well; from the high 30’s to over 60 degrees by midday. Astrid spent almost the entire night on the crossperch at the nest box. At 12:00 PM Ares came over and the pair shared a quick midnight dance. After saying how Ares rarely sleeps and how Astrid never seems to sleep at all, we got to see Astrid napping in the early morning. She always must prove us wrong! Regardless, the falcons only take catnaps. At 6:35 Ares emerged from the darkness and came into the box. He was excitedly calling, but Astrid immediately flew off and disappeared into the foggy canyon. She reappeared on a west pillar at 7:20 and they mated there a few minutes later. He then returned to the box while Astrid enjoyed a short snooze. At 8:00 she landed on the west perch. They mated there a few minutes later and then she came to the box. They mated again at 8:20. Ten minutes later we heard Ares screeching from somewhere in the canyon. He then appeared at the nest with a Killdeer in his talons. It may have been the same one he brought yesterday, and he just took it out of storage. At 8:44 both falcons were perched on the steeple, but that didn’t last long, and Ares flew back to the nest. The pair mated on the steeple at 9:40.
Ares doing more practice shading
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPyep95GeZI
At 9:47 AM Ares was in the nest giving squeaking vocalizations. At one point he made a scrape in the gravel. At 10:17 he switched to giving long calls. She didn’t come to the nest for another half hour and when she did, he left. Their urge to relive each other at the nest is getting stronger as they come closer to egg incubation time. They mated at just before 11:00. At 11:40 Astrid and Ares were at the box again and conversing. She moved over to the west veranda, and they mated soon after. At close to noon Astrid hazed the fifteenth floor of the bank. It was a light hazing – consisting of only three flybys. She landed on the office perch after, but then relocated to the steeple. Meanwhile, Ares returned to the nest. She abruptly darted off at 12:31 PM and he followed right after. At 12:36 a human hand came through the hatch in the back of the nestbox, grabbed a pesky feather that had been stuck on the fisheye camera and then disappeared. It was a lighting fast operation. Fortunately, Astrid didn’t see it happen. At 12:50 Astrid came back into view when she took a high perch on the State Building. At 1:20 she stopped at the nest but then was up again after only a few moments. He came to the box squeaking at 1:35 PM. She flew onto the crossperch and shared some words with him. She then jumped into the box for a ledge display. The dance lasted less than five minutes and then Ares was out. She the lingered inside the nest to do housekeeping and to make a scrape. She left at 1:49 and we’re not sure where she went. Ares was back at the box squeaking at 2:10, so she must have been somewhere close by and somewhere he could see. He flew five minutes later and then both were out of view.
Astrid on the steeple
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z1_AP80Do4
At 2:33 PM Astrid reappeared on the State Building. Ares showed up at the box at about the same time. The temperature had reached 68 degrees and the sky was almost cloudless. Ares screeched out of the box at 2:45. He was being very intense. Ten minutes later he showed up with prey. Astrid flew to the box, and they did a quick food transfer on the east veranda. She took the meal (which looked just like a hunk of meat) to the hotel. Ares stayed at the box for a little while and gave some long calls. At 3:15 the pair got together at the nest for a ledge display. He was out after five minutes, and Astrid stayed on to do more housekeeping chores. She left at around 3:30. He was in the box at just after 4:00 practicing shading eggs. He did it for about 45 minutes, so he was practicing pretty hard! At 5:00 PM both falcons were out of view. He was back to the box and calling ten minutes later, but then he was up again. At 5:20 we heard his mating chatter call which meant that they were somewhere nearby. As it happened, she was on the steeple. There was an aborted mating attempt there at 5:46. He came down on her but she wasn’t ready and threw him off. He diverted and came back to the nest. At 6:00, first Ares and then Astrid darted from their perches. Astrid came to the box a minute later. Ten minutes later Ares arrived at the east veranda with prey. It looked to be the same Killdeer he tried to give to her before. This time she accepted it and took it over to the hotel. While she fed two Pigeons were a few yards away from her on the same ledge. At 6:20 we saw that Ares was perched on a light post on the roof of the Adirondack Bank. He doesn’t perch there very often, so consequently, we don’t often look for him there. Since he was perched close to our PTZ 1 camera we were able to get some nice video of him. Of course, one of the advantages of that spot was that he was able to see both Astrid on the hotel and the nestbox – the two things he’s most interested in. At 6:28 Astrid arrived on the crossperch, and Ares came into the box. Both vocalized loudly. She moved onto the east veranda, and they mated there a couple of minutes later. Ares went to the County Building after that, and Astrid joined him there at 6:48. He used that as his cue to go back to the nest. They flew off to night perches at around 7:35 PM. Goodnight Falcons.
The overnight was again relatively mild with temperatures in the forties. During the morning, conditions warmed to 60 degrees. The day was partly sunny and some wind. Astrid came to the nestbox at midnight and did some vocalizing. At 1:44 AM Ares brought prey to the box. She took it and flew off into the night. After only a minute, he was gone as well. At a few minutes after 5:00 both were back at the nest. Ares had a whole Robin in his talons and was eager to gift it to Astrid. She in turn wanted to mate. Finally, she hopped into the nest and accepted the gift on the crossperch. And then, for the second time this morning she darted into the night fully laden. He left the box but then came right back and was giving his squeaking calls. At 5:14 she was back on the west veranda. There’s no way she could have eaten her meal that fast – she must have stored it. At 5:34 she was asking to mate again, but he was more interested in staying in the box. Actually, it looked a little like he was trying to lay an egg. At 6:19 the falcons mated on the west veranda. He returned to the nest at 6:41 and the pair shared some spritely conversation. Ten minutes later they mated again on the west veranda. At just before 7:00 Ares was over on the hotel, but soon he was back at the box. They mated at 7:30 and then again fifteen minutes later.
A&A partaking of a ledge display
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2xfJaVE0zQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMDxT1uefrI
At 8:03 AM Astrid and Ares were engaged in a ledge display in the box. The dance was less than five minutes in duration. Ares was out and Astrid moved back out onto the west veranda. At 8:38 Ares brought an unrecognizable hunk of prey to the box. Astrid accepted it, flew off, and promptly disappeared. We couldn’t find her with the cameras. At 8:45 Ares was giving long calls on the east veranda. She flew to the crossperch at just before 9:00 and then moved onto the east veranda. They mated there a minute later. We noticed that Astrid had a crop, so she must have eaten that last meal. They mated again at 9:22 and then at 9:38. He was in the box after that and picking through stones. He left and then came back with prey at 10:36. It was probably some leftover Woodcock from his pantry. A minute later both were in the air. Ares yoyoed back but didn’t have the prey that time. She returned from her outing at 10:42 and came right to the nest. He hopped into the box excitedly. At 10:56 they mated on the west veranda. He brought prey to the east veranda less than ten minutes later. She walked over to take it, but he backed up and she flew off instead. She boomeranged back and landed on the west veranda. He was still clinging to the gift on the east veranda when she started asking to mate. He then left and came back moments later without the food. One of them then abruptly gave a cackle alarm call and both took flight. He was immediately back to the box and issuing more alarm cackles. He flew off once more, still cackling. Obviously, an intruder had entered the falcon’s airspace – most likely a non-falcon raptor or a Turkey Vulture. At 11:16 Ares was back to the nest and giving interactive squeaking calls again. These were directed to his mate who had just landed on the State Building.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aF1h-t83O0
At 11:56 AM Astrid landed on the crossperch. She was asking to mate and, as is typical, he was lobbying for a ledge display. Her idea won out and the pair mated at 12:05 PM. She left after that, and he came back to the box. At 12:09 she flew to the west veranda, and he went back inside the nestbox. Astrid had been asking to mate, but at 12:13 both gave cackle calls and darted to the east. Once again, some raptor or vulture had come too close to the heart of their territory. They dealt with the situation swiftly and he screeched back to the box only a minute after leaving. Right away he began calling to Astrid. She then arrived on the crossperch. After a few minutes she flew to the steeple. At 12:34 he started giving long calls. She left the steeple and flew to a perch on the State Building. He gave more long calls at the box, flew into the canyon, and then yoyoed back to the box and started calling again. At 1:08 he once again he gave his intruder alert call, but soon his cackling segued into long calls. By 1:20 his volleys of long calls were become more closer together and more intense. At 1:38 he flew off and retrieved some stored prey. He brought it back to the box for processing. It was a Killdeer, perhaps the one he had caught and tried to interest Astrid with on Wednesday. He then flew across the canyon and landed on the same ledge Astrid was on. He was still trying to persuade her to accept the meal, but she refused to take it. He soon gave up and stored it on one of his pantry ledges. He then came back to the box. In fact, he was back and forth for the next couple of hours. Was there a mating that happened during some of his forays? Perhaps, but we didn’t hear Ares’ famous mating chatter. At a few minutes before 4:00 both falcons were at the box sharing a ledge display. He was out after few minutes – leaving her to do some chores around the box. At 4:27 Ares brought his mate more food – this time an unrecognizable scrap of something. When she wouldn’t take it, he fed a bite of it to her. That did the trick. She accepted it and flew over to the hotel. After finishing her meal, she remained on the hotel, perched in the sun for quite a while. Meanwhile, holding the fort, Ares gave long calls and squeak calls at irregular intervals. At 5:28 Astrid arrived on the crossperch. They mated there a couple of minutes later. At 6:50 she had moved to the east veranda and the pair mated there several minutes later. At 7:00 PM she flew off just as he came to the box. She was on the State Building after that and Ares directing his somber angst-filled calls in her direction. By 7:41 both were off, we thought to their night perches, but then Astrid returned to the long perch at the box and she is still there as of this writing. It seems that these falcons never really go to sleep. Goodnight all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrKGKR-qcJ0
The Little Falls pair of Peregrine Falcons continue to be heard and seen at their nest ledge on the Adirondack Bank in Little Falls. Today they were seen mating a few times on a large communication tower not far from the downtown nest site. They seem to be on track with their nesting this season.
The overnight was relatively mild with light rain and some fog developing by daybreak. Temperatures ranged from the low thirties up to 40 degrees by noon and 60 degrees by late afternoon. Ares screeched to the nestbox at 2:20 AM and then screeched out again only a minute later. At a few minutes before 5:00 Astrid and Ares were inside the box doing a ledge display. That lasted for about 10 minutes. Ares went over to the State Building and Astrid stayed in the box. She sat very still and rather upright in a manner we recognize as her pre-egglaying posture. This is not to say that she was about to lay an egg; she is likely more than a week away from that. Essentially, it was more like a practice session and it was her first such sitting this season. As for Ares, there is nothing he appreciates more than her sitting in the box. It means that eggs are coming soon and that’s what he is most interested in. At 6:36 Ares brought prey to her in the box. The exchange took place on the crossperch and then she took it to the hotel. Ares flew up to the lookout post where he could keep his eyes on both her and the territory. At 7:00 he came to the box. She finished her meal a few minutes later and then she went to a perch on the State Building. At 7:32 Ares screeched back to the box. Thirty minutes later the pair mated on the State Building.
Mating on the east veranda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIulXGaqo9k
At 8:18 AM Ares brought more prey to the box. He flew up to the State Building and to the ledge adjacent to Astrid’s ledge. We couldn’t hear them talking but we presumed he was trying to interest her in taking the food. Astrid then flew to the box and Ares to the veranda. They transferred the food on the veranda platform. She flew away with it and appeared to be heading for the hotel but that’s not where she ended up. A minute later she was on the steeple, and she didn’t have the food, so we assume that she either dropped it or stored it. Ares left the nest area after wiping down his bill on the perch. He screeched back to the nest at about 8:50 and then the pair mated on the steeple at 9:36. He went back to the box afterwards. He then spent the next hour and a half watching Astrid on the other side of the Canyon and giving volleys of long calls. There was an aborted mating attempt at 10:50. At 11:32 Astrid came to the east veranda. Ares jumped into the box and tried to get her to come in for a dance. She in turn requested a mating. Her way prevailed and at 11:40 they mated on the east veranda. At 12:16 PM the pair came together at the nest for a ledge display. It lasted for about 5 minutes and then Ares flew out. Astrid then stayed in the box and did some housework. She made two scrapes, dug in the stone, and bit the wooden lip of the box. At 12:33 she took off and both Falcons were out of view for a while.
Ares doing his “practice egg-shading”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWa1P6MjO6A
At 1:00 o’clock Ares screeched to the box with prey. It was a Killdeer, probably freshly returned from the South. She flew over and took it from him on the crossperch. Once she had it in her talons she flew West towards the hotel, but once again, she did not end up at the hotel. Ares flew over to the steeple end screeched as he landed on the perch. It is possible that Astrid was eating her meal on the West face of the bank building. Of course, our cameras cannot view that side of the building. It was clear that Ares knew where she was. He wouldn’t have been content otherwise, and he seemed unperturbed. Indeed, these days he has to keep her in sight at all times. At 1:04 Ares was giving long calls on the steeple. Minutes later he flew back to the nest. Astrid showed up on the west veranda at 1:07 (that was not enough time to eat her meal so she must have stored it). Ares hopped into the box and started giving volleys of squeak calls. He was trying to encourage his mate to come in for a ledge display. She flew off instead and went to the steeple. At 1:36 both falcons were up and out of camera view. He was back to the crossperch five minutes later. He began squeaking again as Astrid landed back on the steeple. At 2:25 Astrid became upset when she saw a person in an office adjacent to the nestbox. She left her perch and sailed over the State Building.
Ares looking at the camera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mI5Qx2r_nM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yNxHJxCKlc
Ares came to the box at 2:41 PM. Astrid landed on the crossperch a few minutes later. She was eager to mate, and he was eager to dance – the same old conundrum. She soon gave up and flew over to the steeple. At 3:12 the falcons were both out of view again. He returned to the box at 4:11. He then started practicing his shading techniques at the nest. He actually spent a considerable amount of time throwing shade on the floor of the box and keeping invisible eggs from overheating. Just before 5:00, first Astrid and then Ares flew out of view. Both came back to the nest area five minutes later – her to the east veranda and him to the box. Once again, Ares dedicated himself to shading the eggless nest scrape. He continued doing it even while Astrid was trying to persuade him to mate. Finally, at 5:32 he reluctantly abandoned his invisible eggs and obliged Astrid. They mated on the east veranda. At 5:42 the falcons were out of camera view once again. Where were they going off to today? She came back to the steeple at 6:00 PM and Ares returned to the nest. He spent some time cleaning his bill which likely means that he recently caught and stored prey. At a few minutes before 7:00 A&A met up at the box for a ledge display. He left after about three minutes, and we presume he went off to a night perch. Astrid stayed to do some chore in the box and to make a scrape. She finally left at 7:33. We thought she went to bed, but she was back at 8:25 PM. More on that next time. Goodnight all.
