Author: Matt Perry

It was another chilly day in the falcon’s canyon. There was intermittent snowfall in the morning with steady winds developing. By afternoon the wind was stronger and more constant. Temperatures again remained in the 30’s. Ares was heard well before he was seen in the predawn hours. Right before 6 AM, he showed up on the State Building. He arrived at the nest box at 6:10 and was very vocal for about five minutes. In a few minutes he flew out and was immediately replaced by Astrid. He flew back to mate with her on the cross-perch, but the attempt failed. Twenty minutes later they successfully mated on the same perch. At 6:45, Ares came to the box with prey – probably a starling. He left and likely flew by Astrid with it. He came back to the box once more with the prey and then again without it. Did he hand it off to Astrid somewhere? If he did, she dropped it, since only a minute later she was perched on the steeple without a meal. At 7 o’clock, Astrid joined Ares at the box and much to Ares’ satisfaction, she consented to a ledge display. After some fancy footwork, the pair engaged in some intense beaking while standing on their favorite scraping spot on the west side of the box. This was the first time this season they did that. At 7:45, Ares was again trying to give Astrid a Red-winged Blackbird. He came back to the box with it three times – each time the meal was a little bit smaller. Just before 8 AM, Astrid met Ares at the box and she finally took the prey. She flew west with her gift.

A little after nine o’clock there was a failed mating attempt on the State Building. Ares was back to the box following that and while there he made lots of squeaking vocalizations while perched on the scrape. This guy really wants eggs to look after! The next two hours seemed to be relatively quiet, but it’s conceivable that we missed something. Realize, sometimes we are only able to keep track of these guys by periodically checking our phones. At 11:45, the pair mated (for real this time) on the State Building.  About one half hour later. Ares was seen feeding on something on a ledge just to the west of the west veranda. A few minutes later he screeched away with the prey in tow. He was probably trying to gift it to Astrid again, but she didn’t seem very keen on the idea. At 12:20, Ares made his warning call cackle. Was there an intruder? We couldn’t see one, but then again such things are easy for us to miss. Ares was back at the box again at 2 PM, but Astrid’s whereabouts were unknown. For the next couple of hours, the falcons mostly loafed on one building or another and then they spend some time out of camera view, so we didn’t know what they were up to. At 5:10, I could hear Ares’ screech calls over the monitor. He came to the box after that and was seen wiping off his bill as if there was another food exchange. A half-hour later, Astrid flew right past the box; Ares conversed with her as she made a few swings through the canyon. She was taking advantage of the wind to get some free flying in. A little before 6 PM, she was feeding on something on a window ledge west of the nest box. It was possibly a blackbird or a starling. Shortly after that, both falcons wrapped up their activities for the night. Until tomorrow, falcons!

It snowed lightly through just about the entire day today. Temperatures again stayed in the 30’s. The poor weather did at times seem to inhibit the falcons’ activities. However, things started out on an intense note. Ares arrived at the box at 4:34 AM and was extremely vocal. At five o’clock one of his screeching long calls seamlessly transitioned into an alarm call.  That was weird! He was flying in and out of the box quite a bit at that time. At 6 AM, we got our first glimpse of Astrid as she was landing on the west face of the State Building. Meanwhile Ares had gone over to a window ledge located west of the nest box. Evidently he had stored prey there; suddenly feathers were being cast into the air. He was plucking something sizable. It was a Woodcock. He hastily brought it over to the nest box, gave a few calls, but then dashed off again with it. We could hear his screeching calls as he flew by Astrid’s perch on the State Building. In a minute he was back at the box. She followed him over and piled into the nest. She grabbed the food and within a minute she was back at the State Building. An hour later, she joined him at the box again. We noticed her crop wasn’t very full and that meant she didn’t eat much of the Woodcock. Obviously, it’s not her favorite food. She probably stored it in one of Ares’ ledge pantries.

At 7:10, the pair mated at the nest box and, a half hour later, Ares gifted a partially plucked Red-winged Blackbird to Astrid. As far as we were aware, the pair was fairly inactive for the next couple of hours and then at 10:45, Astrid did some quick flybys for her mate who was inside the nest box. Following that display, she landed on the box’s cross-perch. She was bowing and requesting mating. We’ve seen this behavior a lot lately: she wants to mate and he wants her to come into the nest box for a dance. Fifteen minutes later, she got her wish, but the mating was a little more raucous than usual. We’re not sure why that was, but it’s possible that one of his talons dug into her back when he landed on her. Normally, he curls his talons over to the side when on her back. Regardless, she gave some shrill calls and seemed to throw him off her back with more force than usual. He ended up dropping between the lip of the box and the cross-perch. She was calling very loudly afterwards and it made us wonder if he was OK. We looked around with the PTZ cams, but couldn’t find him. He finally reappeared at the nest box a half-hour later. He looked fine and had not a feather out of place.

At 11:30, Astrid flew back and forth in front of the box. We thought it was another flight display for Ares’ benefit (he was in the box at the time), but it probably was her way of protesting the movement of people in the office adjacent to the box.  A half-hour later, Ares gave some loud cackle type alarm calls, but he didn’t leave the nest. The calls were probably his reaction to the sounds of furniture being moved around in the office behind the box. At 12:44 PM, the characteristic chatter call that Ares gives during mating was heard. That meant the pair had mated again, even though we weren’t sure where either of them was. An hour later both falcons were at the nest box. He was inside and she was out on the perch facing in. That’s right, she was asking to mate again, and within ten minutes that’s what happened. Afterwards she took a perch on a window ledge located west of the nest box and then from there moved over to her steeple perch. Ares returned to the nest box at 3:10, and it looked like he had a full crop. Maybe he had some of the Woodcock Astrid had stored earlier. We weren’t sure when she got there, but at 4 PM, Astrid was perched on top of a pillar on the south face of the ADK Bank. She was there for quite some time after that. The pair mated there at least once that we know of.  She remained on that perch until it started to get dark at 6:00. Ares had been in the box but left only five minutes after she did. Until tomorrow, falcons!

Tuesday was relatively mild for a winter day. Temperatures never left the 30’s, but the sun and lack of persistent wind made it seem more temperate. Our first view of a falcon came at 5:10 AM, when Ares made an appearance at the nest box. While there he did some screeching long calls and then zoomed out again. A few minutes later it was Astrid’s turn. She came to the box at 5:20 and made some “chirrup” calls. We thought that Ares would rush back to mate, but he didn’t seem to be around. Perhaps he was out trying to rustle up breakfast. As it turned out, he came back with empty-talons and at 6:10, they mated at the box. A half hour later, they had switched – Ares was at the box and Astrid was on her steeple perch. Shortly after that, Ares saw something and launched after it. Astrid followed ten seconds later. We have no idea what they saw but at 7:10, Ares was back at the box with prey. We missed it, but we think he handed the meal off to Astrid on the Hotel Ledge. All we knew for sure was she had been over there and then suddenly Ares was in her place wiping his beak off. This is what he usually does following a food transfer. At about this time the streaming video feed from our nest box cameras went out so we missed some action. When Deb was checking the connections at the modem box, she came face to face with Ares who was on the long perch right outside her office window. At 7:30, the falcons mated again, this time on the steeple. A few minutes later, Ares was doing some serious feather plucking on a window ledge west of the nest box. By the look of the feathers, he must have caught a starling or blackbird.

By 8 AM, all cameras in the nest box were up and running again and Ares was there in the box. A half-hour later, both were there together. Astrid seemed to want to mate, but Ares was looking for a dance. Sorry buddy, she left instead, but then fifteen minutes later, they again mated on the steeple. Spring fever continued in falcon town: The pair met at the box again at 9:30, and ten minutes later, the mated on the perch. For the next two hours, Ares was in and out of the box a lot. Astrid did a short flight display for him during that period. At a pretty good clip, she buzzed by his perch a couple of times. I can safely say that we were all impressed. At 11:12, Ares suddenly gave his most serious cackle alarm call. There must have been an intruder, but we saw nothing. Later when reviewing PTZ footage, we saw no third falcon, if that was what he was going after. Whatever it was, we think it was probably flying high and out of our field of view. Regardless, he saw it and dashed off to the northwest. Meanwhile Astrid stayed on her perch on the State Building. He was back at the box in a half-hour. While there he made a scrape near the box’s west wall. Both falcons have thus far been doing most of their scrapes in this same place. It’s really turning into a deep divot. They are half-way to China.

By noon, both falcons were up and they were out of camera view. Thirty minutes later, Ares came screeching in from the east and landed at the box. He was giving interactive calls, so we knew she was close by, still we couldn’t find her with the PTZ cams. Finally we noticed her on a window ledge west of the nest box. He was giving a lot of light squeaking calls, trying to lure her into the box, but she was staying put. He zipped over to her, but she wasn’t in the right position to mate so he flew right back to the box. At 2:30, Astrid joined Ares at the nest box. It looked like she was asking to mate, but then she hopped into the box and they shared a ledge display instead. There was no beaking or fancy footwork in this dance, just a lot of conversation. When he left, she made a scrape in the stone thus bringing them that much closer to china.  Less than a half-hour later, Ares brought a food tribute and she took it from him on the cross-perch. She took the meal over to the Hotel and he flew over to watch her eat it. It’s always nice to have a waiter standing by.

The pair was out of view for a while after that, but then at 5 PM, they returned in tandem. He came to the box and she sailed through the canyon and landed on the west face of the State Building. He flew over and tried to mate with her, but the attempt failed and he dashed back to nest. Both were at the box at 5:26, and they shared another dance. This one was short but featured an abundance of beaking. At one point Ares itched his face with his talon, while beaking ensued. That was different. Following Ares’ dramatic “cowabunga” dive out of the box, Astrid did housekeeping. She bit the lip of the box and then moved some stones around – all important stuff. Within a couple of minutes, Ares returned with food. By the looks of it, it was something he just pulled out of storage. Astrid accepted it and flew over to State Building with it. Ares flew up to the roof of the same building where he remained for another half-hour. Neither was seen after that. Goodnight falcons.

It was chilly again today with temperatures remaining in the 30’s. The snow that fell on March 2^nd remains very much with us and its reflective qualities make the pre-dawn hours in Downtown seen especially light. Undoubtedly this assists the falcons with nocturnal flying and hunting. Ares showed up at the nest box sometime before 5 AM. He remained there for about an hour, calling out occasionally. At 6:00, he flew over to the State Building, screeching the whole way. Astrid’s response was to immediately come to the box. Ares returned and the pair did a quick ledge display that featured an extraordinary amount of beaking. The falcons took turns bouncing in and out of the box for the next hour. After that, Ares was seen on the Hotel ledge plucking prey and then feeding. At 7:05, Ares came to the box with the leftovers in his talons. Astrid dashed over, impatiently grabbed the food from him, and then made off with it like a thief. He wanted you to have it, Astrid!

 

At 8:30, Astrid was at the nest box. Ares came over and the two conversed a bit, beaked once, and then Astrid departed. She seemed disappointed that he didn’t have more food for her. Apparently, Ares got the hint, and at 8:45, he was back at the box with a meal. However, this time he had a hard time getting Astrid’s interest. He came and left a couple of times and produced some loud vocalizations (according to Deb in her office), but nothing worked. Astrid came over and the food transfer happened right inside the box. Interestingly, at 10:30, she was in the box again. He came over and the two switched out in a manner similar to how they behave when sharing incubation duties. No eggs yet, kids. Perhaps they were simply getting some practice in. At just before 11 AM, the pair mated on the State Building. Through early afternoon, Ares was in and out of the box quite a bit. Astrid seemed to be content to remain on a ledge on the State Building, and that’s where she was when they mated again at 12:30. Two hours later, Astrid was on the west veranda’s perch and seemed to be signaling a willingness to mate. Ares flew in, but instead of obliging her, he tried to coax her into performing a ledge display inside the box.  That day, neither falcon had their way. A half-hour later, both converged at the box again and this time Ares had a gift for his mate. She accepted it inside the box and then flew to the Hotel ledge to eat it.

A little after that, Astrid had moved to the far northeast corner of the box, and there she remained there for a while. After being undetectable by our cameras for about 90 minutes, Ares made an appearance at the nest box. Astrid joined him soon after and the two exchanged some vocalizations. Astrid did some of her low pitch “donkey” calls, which are usually not heard outside of the breeding season. So, if there was any doubt, and of course, there wasn’t, breeding season in falcon town is well under way. At 5 PM, Astrid was signaling to Ares that she wanted to mate again; this time he obliged her, and the pair mated right there on the nest box’s cross perch. Less than a half hour later, Astrid was gone and probably off to her night perch. Ares was seen perched on the County Building until at least six o’clock, after which he too had gone to his night perch.

It was mostly clear today with temperatures in the 30’s and moderately strong winds developing by the afternoon. These make for favorable flying conditions for falcons and the Utica pair ultimately took full advantage of it. Astrid was in view on the State Building by five o’clock this morning. Ares joined her on an adjacent perch about 45 minutes later. At 6:30, there was a failed mating attempt and directly following that, Ares came to the nest box. Astrid came right over and the pair performed a short ledge display. As is typical these days, Ares made several visits to the box during the morning hours. Astrid was seen on the State Building for a while and then, following a lengthy absence from our view, she showed up on the ledge of the hotel.  At 11:15, Ares was at the box and Astrid was on the State Building when a third Peregrine flew through the canyon and landed on the roof of the same building. Ares immediately flew into action. The stranger saw him coming and left his perch. Meanwhile, Astrid hadn’t moved. The stranger flew around the west side of the State Building and Ares was right with him. Just the fact that Ares was pursuing (and not Astrid), made it more likely the stranger was a male. After what may have been the quickest and least fierce dogfight in history, the interloper made a quick exit toward the north. Right then, Astrid came to the nest box and Ares joined her for another brief ledge display. They may have mated following the dance, but we couldn’t be sure of that. By this point (12:15 PM), Deb was in the canyon and got to watch Astrid and Ares soar high above the State Building; this time with a Red-tailed Hawk. They proceeded to escort the probable migrant out of the territory. Following that, Ares pulled in his wings and dove in a flawless “J” pattern to make a perfect landing right on the rim of the nest box. Astrid came in next and the two performed yet another ledge display. This dance featured a considerable amount of beaking behavior and certainly more than the previous two.

After the display, Ares left the box and zoomed around the canyon. Deb saw him nearly hit a crow that was flapping his way by the Grace Church steeple. The crow squawked as Ares zipped past him. Meanwhile, Astrid was doing housekeeping inside the box. She was digging in the corner, biting at the rim of the box, and she also made at least one scrape into the stones with her talons. Following those activities, she stood on the cross-perch at the box for a while.  Ares was next seen at 12:45 PM; he was flying higher and higher above the State Building. This time there didn’t seem to be an interloper, it was more likely he was engaged in hunting. Sure enough, 15 minutes later he was seen plucking prey at the nest box. The catch appeared to be a starling. We figured that he would just pluck it and present it as a gift to Astrid (who was waiting at the box), but he started feeding on the meal and seemed to be in no hurry to give it up. At about 1:10 PM, Ares finally came to the box with the leftovers. He stood on the cross perch with the gift in his talons. She bent outward from inside the box with her wings spread out for balance. She managed to grab the prey in her bill, but in doing so, she leaned in too far and fell down through the gap between the cross perch and the rim of the box. Ares zoomed down right behind her. Well, nobody expected that to happen! Fortunately the distance to the ground is great and she had plenty of time to get her wings working. She flew with her meal over to the Hotel ledge and wolfed it down. Meanwhile, Ares returned to the box.

For a while during mid-afternoon, both falcons took a siesta out of our camera view. Deb found them on the east side of the State Building. Ares came to the box again just after 4:30 PM. He was chirping and seemed ready to resume wild falcon activities. A half hour later, he brought prey to the box (another starling). Astrid was perched on the north face of the State Building at that time, but she wouldn’t come over to take the gift. He flew through the canyon, buzzed by her and returned to the box four times – still carrying the prey, but Astrid showed no interesting in coming to take it. The fifth time, he came back without it. Most likely he stored it in his pantry on the State Building. Ares spent some time on the box’s cross perch before he began looking almost straight down at something – we weren’t sure what. Sure enough, when he left he dove almost straight down – probably in pursuit of some bird. The next time we saw him he was on the roof of the State Building. By 5:30 PM, both falcons were out of our view and would appear to have gone off to their night perches. It was the end of a very active day in the canyon.