Author: Matt Perry

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 6, 2018 –

It was cold overnight with temperatures dipping into the mid-twenties. Later in the morning the temperatures rose into the thirties. Occasional snow flurries made it seem like a real winter day. The afternoon was sunnier and it did manage to get into the mid-forties by day’s end. Winds were strong and persistent. Astrid had returned to the nest box at 7:38, Thursday night. She settled onto the eggs a few minutes later. As far as we know, she stayed tight on the eggs all night long. Ares screeched up to the box at 4:24 AM. He had a Woodcock in his talons. Astrid showed no interest in taking it and so he flew back into the darkness with it. He screeched in protest as he left. At 5:21, Astrid was getting hungry. We think that she expected him to come back with another meal choice, but that didn’t happen. She got off the eggs and stood on the lip of the box for a little while. She flew out but then came back only a minute later. Finally, she got back onto the eggs. The eggs had been in the open for about 14 minutes. With a temperature of 25 degrees, that gets into dangerous territory. At 5:57, Ares was heard giving a cackle-type alarm call. Astrid was quick to jump from the nest. Two minutes later Areas came into the nest and climbed onto the eggs. Astrid flew to the State Building and took a high perch. At 8:06, she came to the box, but she was just checking on things and she didn’t oust Ares. She went back to the State Building again.

At 9:15, Ares left the box and buzzed by Astrid on the State Building. She came down and took her place on the eggs. Ares was on the State Building for a few minutes only and then he flew. At 9:50, the pair switched out at the box and Ares was once again on nest duty. At 11:00, Astrid left the State Building, and Ares blasted out of the box at the same time. Somehow she was working on a meal on the upper ledge of the Hotel. We think it was that Woodcock Ares tried to give her ealier. At 11:16, both were back at the nest. He was in the box and she was out on the cross perch. He was lying on the eggs and she began bowing and signaling her desire to mate. After about a minute, he dove out of the box; headed into the canyon; boomeranged back and the pair mated right on the cross-perch. Following that, he went over to the Hotel and she took over incubating the eggs. By this point in the day, snow flurries were becoming more organized. At 11:28, Ares left the Hotel ledge and was out of our camera view for a while. At 12:55, Astrid was clearly close to laying the 3^rd egg in the clutch. This time it was no false alarm. Astrid laid egg # 3 at precisely 1 PM. Forty five minutes later, Ares got his first look at the new egg. The pair vocalized  and bowed to each other while Astrid brooded the clutch.  She wasn’t ready to switch incubation duties, so he went on his way. At 2:20, Astrid became very excited. She began chirping loudly and got up off the eggs. She went over to the west veranda. She left, but then came right back to the cross-perch. She was there for only a few seconds and then launched into the canyon. A pair of intruders was in the canyon! No one knows exactly what happened, but there were four Peregrines flying in the sky above the canyon (many thanks to Theresa White for seeing this and reporting it to us!), but it seemed that Ares was trying to chase out the interlopers and Astrid joined him in his efforts. Ares came back to the box at 2:31. He got on the eggs right away. Initially he left one egg out, but thankfully he noticed and tucked it beneath him. Astrid returned to the State Building at 2:43. At 3:57, Astrid relieved Ares at the box. She settled on the eggs, but for only a few minutes. Just after 4:00, she was agitated again and left the box. Both were flying around the State Building in pursuit of an intruder. At 4:08, Ares brought a small prey item to the box. He brought it in and set it down next to the eggs for a minute and then left with it. He came back a few minutes later without the prey and began incubating the eggs. Astrid was on the State Building again by 4:20.

Things were actually quiet for a while after all that. Ares got up off the eggs at 5:43. He flew over to the State Building and landed on a ledge right next to the one Astrid was on. We couldn’t hear them well, but it sounded like they were having a conversation. After that, Ares flew in a circle around the canyon and landed on another ledge on the State Building. A minute later Astrid flew to the nest box and climbed onto the eggs. Ares made a few forays into the canyon – returning each time to the State Building. The first couple of trips Ares made were punctuated by Astrid’s light call notes. He was gone for little while and then suddenly he showed up on the Hotel at 6:30, but he wasn’t there long. At that point, Astrid seemed to be settled for the night. Or so it seemed. She became highly agitated at 6:43. She came off of the eggs and began calling loudly. She flew out of the box like a missile. I’m afraid that only intruders would elicit that kind of response from a female Peregrine that would otherwise be committed to keeping her eggs warm as night fell. Ares came to the box at 6:53 and took over on the eggs, but it was obvious that his attention was elsewhere. His mate was out of range and involved in a territorial dispute with at least one other falcon. He left the box at 7:18 and went to his lookout spot on the roof of the State Building. Where was Astrid? The minutes went by; an hour went by before she finally came back to the fold. She came into the box looking rather exhausted but apparently unharmed, and she got back onto the eggs. The eggs were uncovered for a total of 40 minutes – well into the red zone, I’m afraid. That could very well mean that the first two eggs laid in the clutch will not be viable, but we shall see.  This pair of Peregrine Falcons has shown us that holding their territory is more important than a clutch of unhatched eggs. That makes sense since as long as they keep the territory, they retain the ability to create more clutches in the future.

 

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 5, 2018

It was quite windy and cold today with temperatures remaining in the low to mid-thirties. Astrid came to the nest at just before six in the evening on Wednesday night. It was the first night since the commencement of full incubation and she was taking it seriously. She stayed tight to the eggs without interruption until Ares came to relieve her at 4:35 AM. He had no food for her at that time and she did seem to be hungry. We believe she was checking Ares’ pantry on the north side of the State Building. We couldn’t see her doing this, but only surmised it was happening based on the chirp calls Ares gave as he monitored her movements. He’s very attuned to her every move. Regarding Ares’ pantry, it’s likely all the food stored on the building’s ledges was blown down by Wednesday’s high winds. That was unfortunate. Astrid returned to the box after only 15 minutes and when she hopped in she expected Ares to switch right away. He really balked at leaving, but she had her way in the end. We don’t know where he went after that, but ten minutes later we heard some of Ares’ long calls. He was calling from some distance away. Maybe he caught something and was signaling his imminent return. At 6:05, Astrid got herself up off the eggs and called for Ares to relieve her. She left, but within a minute was back and on the eggs. At 6:27, Astrid started calling from the box. She was still hungry and wanted Ares to bring breakfast. Five minutes later, he brought a Woodcock to the cross perch. She came towards him to take it as he shifted it between his talons and bill and positioned it for the handoff. She stretched out to grab it and it fell between the cross-perch and the lip of the box. In a nanosecond both Peregrines dove straight down to intercept it. It’s always disconcerting to think of the falcons diving down toward the street at full tilt. We didn’t see precisely what happened, but a minute later Ares was climbing onto the eggs and Astrid was feeding on Woodcock over at the Hotel. Obviously they recovered the falling prey, but did they get it before or after it hit the ground?

Ares left the eggs alone at 6:46, but then came back at 6:54 to resume incubating. On a chilly day like this, if there is a more than ten minute gap in incubation, it could be detrimental to the development of the embryos inside the eggs. A few minutes after that, Astrid came to the box and tried to take over incubation, but Ares didn’t want to go and this time she yielded to his wish. She’s nicer to him when she’s not hungry. At around 8:40, the pair did their switch and Astrid took over on the eggs. At 9:26, Ares sailed by the box with prey. That peaked his mate’s interest. She climbed off the eggs and scrambled out on to the cross-perch. He came back and landed on the long perch with the food. This time there was no transfer mishap, she grabbed the food and flew off on the high winds. She took the meal over to the Hotel and to the same ledge corner where she ate the Woodcock earlier in the morning. Ares cleaned his bill on the perch, flew off, but then returned only a minute later and settled on the eggs. At 11:10, Astrid came to the box, but there was no switch. Instead, she flew around the canyon a few times. An hour later, Ares got off the eggs and launched into the canyon. Astrid came into the box less than a minute later. At 12:26, Astrid began calling loudly. Ares had left his perch on the State Building and she was communicating via long distance. Soon after, he went back to the State Building. She left the box twenty minutes later, but came right back. We think she wanted him to take a shift in the box, but he kept flying off his high perch on the State Building and returning. He was taking advantage of the strong winds to get some free flying in. Every time he launched into the air, Astrid reacted with chirping calls.  At 1:46, Astrid left the box and Ares came in almost immediately and covered the eggs. He remained until 2:30, at which point he was out of camera range. The eggs were uncovered for ten minutes – that’s how long it took Astrid to come into the box and settle down to incubating. It was a chilly afternoon with a strong cold wind, but the sun was hitting interior of the box, so the eggs probably weren’t in of jeopardy becoming too cold. She was only on the eggs for two minutes when Ares arrived with prey. After playing tug-o-war with the food, she snatched it from him and then sailed to the State Building – almost landed, but then opted to go to the Hotel instead, and that’s where she had her meal.

Ares remained on the eggs until 4:25. Astrid came in almost immediately after he left. It seemed like their incubation switches were getting faster and smoother. They switched again at 5:03, and Astrid did some impressive soaring on the wind. Soon he was up too and flying with her. They were off the eggs for a total of 12 minutes this time. That seemed risky. Still, the eggs were in the sun and they were probably getting some residual heat from the surrounding stone flooring in the box, so the interruption in incubation was probably not a big deal. Ares returned to the box, but soon was up again. This time he flew over to the State Building and mated with Astrid. This was the only mating we knew about that day. At 6:51, Ares came off the eggs again. He went over to the State Building where Ares was perched near her. Soon Astrid was up and flying and seemed to be in an agitated mood. Something was up; perhaps an intruder was somewhere around (somewhere we couldn’t see with our cameras). Astrid and Ares were in and out of camera view – mostly out. Astrid finally settled down in the box, but it didn’t last long; soon she was dashing around like a kid with a new bike. Ares finally came back to the nest but didn’t get on top of the eggs right away. Then came the most serious incubation infractions of the day. Ares stopped incubating at 5:51, and didn’t resume for 25 minutes! Why? Was it an intruder? Astrid was sure acting like something was amiss. A similar episode occurred at 7:38, when, once again, Ares came off the nest and Astrid didn’t fly in to take over. The eggs were uncovered for a total of 23 Minutes that time. Whatever was causing these birds to neglect their eggs was potentially throwing a monkey wrench into their breeding hopes. Was there was enough residual warmth from the stones in the nest to keep the eggs alive and developing? If not, there’s not a lot we can do about it. At just before eight o’clock, Astrid sat back down on the eggs. Ares had probably already gone to his night perch. We expect Astrid to lay the third egg of her clutch sometime around midday on Friday.

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 4, 2018

Ares

The weather gave us a roller coaster ride for sure today. It was overcast, rainy, and relatively cool in the early morning, followed by a break in the clouds and a gentle warm up by noon. Temperatures in the afternoon peaked in the fifties, but extremely high winds, dropping temperatures, and a variety of precipitation types occurred in quick succession during the afternoon. Astrid came into the nest box at 7:15 Tuesday evening. At the time we thought she was close to laying her second egg, but we didn’t know exactly how close. Through the evening as we watched her on the monitor, there were a couple of times we thought she was getting close to producing an egg, but it didn’t happen. It wasn’t until after midnight that she truly looked ready. At 12:54 AM, she produced the second egg of her clutch, although we couldn’t be sure at the time, since Astrid didn’t afford good looks at more than one egg at a time. That is, until she shifted at 1:19. We confidently pinned the egg laying time to 12:54. That means the interval between the laying of the first and second eggs in the clutch is 63 hours, which is about average for Astrid, although it could be considered on the long side for Peregrines Falcons.

Ares brought a Woodcock to the box at 2:55. Astrid accepted the gift and took it over to the Hotel ledge. Ares waited out on the cross-perch and resisted the temptation to investigate the new egg. In fact he didn’t really check it out until Astrid returned at 4 AM. At that time they did a minor face to face display over the egg, but then Ares left the box. Astrid hunkered down on the eggs after that. At 6:00, we were hearing Ares giving some long calls from somewhere not too far away. We weren’t sure what he was trying to convey. Astrid lifted her head and looked around during the first volley of calls, but didn’t for the second. Perhaps he was asking if she wanted to switch without physically coming to the box. At 6:20, they did switch out and Ares took a turn in the box. Astrid didn’t go far. She was on one of the pillars located west of the nest box. At 6:50, they mated on the pillar – and then they mated there again a half-hour later. Astrid came to the box after that, but before she was even settlde in, Ares arrived with food. Awkwardly loping onto the cross-perch, she leaned in and pulled the prey from Ares’ beak and then flew over to the Hotel with it. There she proceeded to eat it on a ledge. She was back on the same pillar by 7:45. A few minutes later, the pair mated again. Following that, Ares came back to the box and adeptily tucked the eggs beneath him. He is an old pro now isn’t he.

The pair mated on the pillar again at 8:43 and then Ares retrieved a gift for Astrid.  At 8:50, Ares screeched out of the box. He took a perch on a ledge close to Astrid’s pillar. We don’t know if she took the gift, but he came right back to the box, so she may have. At 9:11, they switched out and she took a turn guarding the eggs. At 9:50, they switched again. At that point what they were engaged in was guard duty and not technically incubation. At 10:42, while Ares was in the midst of his shift he began incubating. Astrid came to the box at 11:04, and when Ares showed a reluctance to leave, she muscled up right behind him and compelled him get off the eggs and leave the nest. After a few minutes, she too was incubating. If this continues without interruption, in 33 days we can expect our first hatch. At 12:30, Astrid called when she saw Ares fly through the canyon. He made a stop at the Hotel and picked up some leftover meal, but he didn’t bring it to the box. Astrid left at 12:52 and Ares arrived only a minute later and resumed incubation. Astrid spent a short time on a pillar west of the box and then she was out of view for a while. When she left at 1:45, Ares screeched off after her and left the eggs unattended, but within five minutes he had resumed sitting on them. At 2:05, Astrid was in view again on the State Building and Ares went to join her. This time the eggs were uncovered for about 45 minutes, which means they full incubation couldn’t have started yet. Of course, the sun was flooding into the box by this time and the outdoor temperature had reached into the mid- fifties. So the interruption in incubation at this early stage likely wouldn’t be detrimental to the eggs’ development. At 2:45, Astrid was on the eggs again and Ares was on the State Building. By this point in the afternoon, the winds were becoming very intense. There were 35 MPH sustained winds and gusts of up to 60 MPH. Fortunately, the falcons can usually deal with high winds, being a species that normally breeds in some of the windiest environments in the world. The falcons switched at 4:00, and Ares was now in the box. He covered the eggs for about five minutes and then both falcons were flying in the canyon again. Both falcons returned at 4:30 – Ares to the box and Astrid to the State Building. We saw Ares come in, and he literally flew into the box sideways. No flapping at all, just riding the air escalator.

At 5:25, Ares left the box just after Astrid vacated her perch. One of them darted by our camera at breakneck speed. Fifteen minutes later, Ares flew in low toward the State Building and then swooped straight up to land on a top floor ledge. After that he used the wind to slide right back to the box. At just before 6, Astrid appeared on the State Building and Ares joined her over there. Five minutes later, Astrid floated over to the nest box and huddled on top of her two eggs. Ares did some more flying and then came right back to a high perch on the State Building. He stayed there until 7:35, when he likely flew to his night perch.

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 3, 2018

It was a chilly but dry start to the day. Temperatures were in the 30’s and, early on, seemed to be on the rise. The skies were overcast and rain began falling by late morning. Later on, rain was slightly more significant, winds increased and temperatures dipped back down. The previous night, Astrid remained out of the box until the last minute – coming in at 7:45, which was essentially dusk. She remained in the box until 11:47 PM, and then returned at 1:17 AM. Ares came in to relieve her at 3:23. He only stayed for a half-hour. A few minutes later, Astrid came into the box to resume guard duty. At 5:45 Ares arrived with prey; it was a Woodcock. Astrid took it and dashed over to the Hotel ledge. She fed until 6:05, and then flew over to perch on the State Building. At 7:30, she was on the building’s west face where we can’t see her with our cameras. A half-hour later, Ares was trying to lure her out with a Woodcock that he had gotten out of storage. She wasn’t at all tempted. Well, she did just had one for breakfast! He ended up flying it over to the Hotel and eating some himself before coming back to the box without it. By that time, Astrid had left the west side of the building and was now standing on one of the steeple’s lower perches. The pair mated there at 8:24. Twenty minutes later Astrid made several short trips to the box in quick succession. We think it was workmen in an office adjacent to the nest box that was the cause of her apprehension. As it turned out she didn’t become overly upset. At 9:17, Ares relieved Astrid at the box and she went back to perching on the State Building. However, only ten minutes later, some more covert drama caused the falcons to become all worked up again. One of them (probably Ares) went up onto the roof of the State Building. At 9:45, the all-clear was sounded and the falcons began behaving more normally.

At 10 AM, Astrid joined Ares at the box, but they were only there for a few seconds. Something  had gotten them agitated again, but we didn’t know what. Both returned to the box five minutes later and they had a lively conversation. Following that, the falcons seemed more at ease. Well, as much at ease as can be expected for high-strung Peregrine Falcons during the breeding season. At 10:16, the pair mated on the cross-perch. Ten minutes later, Ares was back with a gift for his partner. She took the small undifferentiated hunk of meat to the Hotel and ate it there. At 10:38, she was back at the nest box. She hopped from the cross-perch to the west veranda and a moment later they mated there. Ares then went to the west face of the State Building and perched in the very same place Astrid had been earlier. He flew back through the canyon at 12:15. Astrid thought he was flying in to mate. She leaned forward, but he landed in the box instead. They vocalized together for a few minutes and then she flew off and out of camera view. He sat with the egg for a few minutes, but then went out onto the cross-perch. At 12:30, Ares took a stroll around the east veranda. He gave a few low intensity long calls and then went back into the box to check the egg. It’s still there, fella.

Solely due to a failed mating attempt, we found out where Astrid was hiding from our cameras. Ares went behind the steeple, gave a short mating chatter and then dashed around from the other side. Evidently she was on one of two steeple perches we can’t see with our cameras. At 1:13, both falcons were at the nest. She was out on the cross-perch and he was inside the box giving chirp-calls. She was alternating between ignoring him and signally the desire to mate, and he seemed to just want her in the box. She won out in the end and ten minutes later they mated. Following the subsequent guard duty switch, she moved out onto the east veranda and was again asking to mate. He jumped out of the box, boomeranged back through the canyon and presto, another mating occurred. Following that, Ares assumed a perch on the west face of the State Building and she stayed in the box. By mid-afternoon we had entered the egg-laying window for Astrid. Since she was remaining in the box so long, we thought that maybe she would lay early. Nope. The falcons switched out again and she took a perch on the State Building. She made a quick visit to the box at 4:05, and used the time to have a loud conversation with Ares, but the time wasn’t right yet to lay her egg and so she flew back to the State Building. Meanwhile, he was content to be in the box. She returned to the nest at 5:10, and again, she was asking Ares to mate. He obliged and afterwards she got comfortable in the box; she adjusted the egg and used her bill to do some digging in the corner. We thought it was pretty likely she would stay in the nest until it was time to lay the egg, but she had other ideas. At 5:38, she abruptly flew out of the box and out of camera view. He came to the nest at 6:00, and it was obvious he was very wet. She had landed on the State Building, but was soon up and flying. She flew low over through the canyon and disappeared. He also took off with purpose. One might think a female Peregrine Falcon would avoid unnecessary energy expenditures right before egg-laying time, but one would be wrong to think that. We then went for another stretch without knowing were Astrid had gotten to. Finally at 7:05, she showed up at the box and the pair mated on the east veranda. Ten minutes later she was in the box, Ares had retired to his night perch (presumably) and Astrid seemed poised to lay egg # 2. Intervals between eggs may differ with different individual female falcons. Astrid tends to lay her eggs an average of 58-59 hours apart. Once she took as long as72 hours between eggs. As I’m writing this update we are closing in on 59 hours after the first egg was laid. Will there still be a new egg on the scrape tonight. The likelihood is pretty good.

Utica Peregrine Falcon Update for April 2 2018

It was seasonably cool this morning, but temperatures got up into the 50’s by midday. It was mostly sunny and the wind picked up in the afternoon. It was favorable conditions for falcons, surely. Astrid settled in to the nest box at 6:20, Sunday night and stayed with her new egg until 12:35 AM. She flew out at that time, only to return at one o’clock to resume her guard duty. She is not engaged in full incubation yet, so the egg is often left on its own; merely guarded and not sat upon. Ares brought Astrid a Woodcock at 2:20. She took it over to the Hotel ledge to eat. She ate only a small portion before shoving the leftovers to the back of the ledge and returned to the nest at 2:40 AM. The nest and egg were alone in the interim. At 6:06, a food transfer took place at the box. Astrid took her gift over to the Hotel ledge and this time she ate the whole thing. Whatever it was, she liked it better than Woodcocks. When she was finished at 6:30, she landed on the steeple. He came to the box and did some of his long wailing calls and then at 6:45, they mated on the steeple. They both returned to the box at the same time, but she didn’t stay. Instead she flew back to the steeple and he drew box duty for a while. Soon enough he took to the air again. Both falcons interacted at the box at 7:45, but Astrid left directly following that meeting.

Though the morning, Ares continued visiting the box periodically, but Astrid stopped taking shifts in the mid-morning. In fact, hours were passing and we weren’t seeing Astrid in the canyon. Ares didn’t seem to be overly anxious about it, and he normally gets very agitated when he doesn’t know where she is. Deb got a call about a dead falcon found about a mile or so southeast of the canyon. Both of us get calls like this at least several times a year, and they usually turn out not to be falcons. Most involve Cooper’s Hawks or Sharp-shinned Hawks. Of course, since we hadn’t seen Astrid in a while, the call took on a more troubling aspect. Deb went to collect the bird. Indeed it was a Peregrine Falcon. It was an un-banded first-year male. Perhaps this was an intruder the pair had been dealing with recently. The unfortunate young falcon had been struck by a vehicle, but we couldn’t rule out that it had been in a fight as well. It had sustained multiple injuries and perhaps one or two were consistent with being in a dogfight with another Peregrine. We will never know for sure. The stranger had been on the periphery of Astrid and Ares’ territory, so it’s possible there was an altercation of some kind. Most likely, since he was in juvenile plumage, they more likely would have only chased him out and not really harmed him. However, they do get more serious about incursions into their territory once they begin nesting. After identification, the DEC was notified and the bird was turned over to them.

At 10 AM, Astrid came back into the fold and the pair had a noisy reunion at the nest box. It was a ledge display but there was no beaking or fancy footwork involved – only conversation. Directly after, Astrid flew out, but then came back twenty minutes later and took over guarding the egg. As it turned out, her shift was a short one; Ares came back at 11 o’clock and the pair switched out. There was an aborted mating attempt just before noon on the State Building. Following that, Astrid came to the box for another shif. After she settled down, she began trying to bring up a pellet. Every 30 seconds or so she would thrust her head forward, point her head up and open her bill wide. She did this about a dozen times after which, she quieted down and settled back on the egg. The pair switched out only fifteen minutes later, and Ares went over to the State Building. In few minutes, they mated. After they both changed perches at least a half-dozen times, they mated again – this time on the steeple. At 2:12 they mated yet again on the steeple. Directly after that, Astrid darted up to the box, but didn’t stay. And that’s how it went for the balance of the afternoon really. Astrid didn’t take another shift sitting with the egg. In fact the egg was often left on its own in the box. On a day like this, that is no problem, since it wasn’t too cold and since incubation has yet to begin. At 2:25, Ares came to the box with food. He actually brought it right inside the box. Astrid wasn’t coming to get it and we joked that he was going to try to feed the egg, but that didn’t really happen. Ten minutes later, Astrid did come over to take the food from him. She fed over on the steeple. At 3:30, the pair mated on the State Building and they did it again about an hour later – and then again; that time exactly an hour later.  We were beginning to see a pattern!

At 5:52, Ares brought prey over to a ledge just west of the nest box. He was plucking like mad for a few minutes and then he brought it briefly to the box. Without a good look, we couldn’t identify the thing, but it seemed big. He flew past Astrid a few times with it, but she didn’t seem interested, so he stored it instead. At 6:15 they mated on the steeple. Five minutes later, Astrid was soaring around the canyon. She took a perch on the County Building for a little while and then disappeared from our cameras for about an hour and a half. As it got darker, Ares seemed like he was more than ready to be relieved from egg duty at the box, but she didn’t seem to be in any hurry to return. Finally, at 7:41, she came over and landed on the west veranda. Ares dove out of the box and the pair mated one last time. Directly after that, she came into the box and settled with the egg. He presumably went off to his night perch and she was likely in place for the night. We don’t expect a second egg to be laid until sometime tomorrow evening.  Goodnight falcons.