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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.

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.

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 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.

The overnight period was seasonably cool with temperatures lingering near the freezing point. Post sunrise the sky was mostly cloudy and it warmed into the mid-forties by early afternoon. Ares came to the box at 1:30 AM. He left and then returned at 2:30; Astrid followed close behind. They seemed to be starting a ledge display when she abruptly stopped and leaped out of the box again. Ares remained in the box for hours after that. Perhaps Astrid came to the box thinking he had a gift for her, but he disappointed her. At 5:20 Ares was giving long calls from the box. He flew out and perched on a high ledge on the State Building. At 6:51 AM we noticed that he had moved to the northwest lookout on the State Building roof. Most likely he was hunting. At 7:12 he came to the nestbox, and Astrid joined him at 7:16. She was out on the crossperch and the two were conversing. At 7:19 they mated on the steeple. Ares returned to the box afterwards. They mated again at 7:46. She left the steeple at 8:26 and he started exuberantly calling in the box. At 8:47 both falcons were there but not for long. While they were together, they had a remarkably loud conversation. Astrid was out after only a minute and flew to a perch on the steeple. They mated on the steeple at 8:55 AM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSKppv0rRfA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQoMJZVf0YM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhjQGWZ0BmY

At 9:35 AM Ares was giving long calls from the crossperch. She flew to the box for a ledge display a half-hour later. Ares bailed after five minutes and then Astrid set to puttering in the nest. She concentrated on biting the wooden lip of the box. Meanwhile it was Ares’ turn to perch on the steeple. At 10:25 Astrid moved out to the west veranda. They mated there moments later; and then again at 10:40; and again at 11:19. Ares was at the box after that. Five minutes later Astrid was asking to mate again. Ares jumped out like he was going to oblige but then didn’t boomerang back. Perhaps he became distracted by something. At 11:48 Astrid did some wing stretches and then flew over to the steeple. Ares was at the box a few minutes later. At 11:52 Astrid flew and then Ares flew. He had become super determined not to let her out of his sight. Both were out of view until he came back to the box at 12:30 PM. She landed on the State Building seconds later and he called to her very excitedly. She came right over to the crossperch, and the pair had another spirited discussion. She then flew to the steeple. Ares tried to mate with her there, but his trajectory was off, and he had to abort the mission. He was back to the box a minute later. Once again, when she took off, he took off. She then headed back to the box. She hopped onto the west veranda just as he went inside. While in the box Ares did an up and down motion with his body that resembled brooding – was he practice brooding? It doesn’t seem so farfetched given that they do practice incubation changeovers and egg shading, why not brooding too? At 1:17 the pair mated on the west veranda. Astrid then moved to the long perch at the box. From there she flew to the steeple and then back to the box at 1:45. It was then Ares’ turn to perch on the steeple for a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXFGJjWV8tQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-2kVOD571Q

At 2:18 PM Ares came to the nest. Astrid then left the nest and went to the steeple. She was doing a lot of going back and forth between the steeple and the box! At 2:34 they mated on the steeple. He came to the box directly after but was not there for long. At 2:44 we heard Ares calling from somewhere in the canyon. A moment later he was at the nest. At just before 3:00 PM Astrid left the steeple and went to the office perch located west of the nest. Ares’ squeaking calls alerted us to her move. A half hour later there was an aborted mating attempt. She left the office perch shortly after that and Ares yoyoed back to the box. At 4:05 Astrid came to the crossperch. He jumped into the box and was tremendously excited. The mated on the crossperch five minutes later. At 4:35 Ares screeched over to the box. He had prey in his talons. Astrid accepted it on the east veranda and then brought it over to the hotel.  A few minutes later Ares was again doing some practice brooding in the box. At 4:48 the falcons mated on the east veranda. He went to the hotel after that but wasn’t there for long. At 5:37 Ares was back to the nestbox. Astrid was asking to mate and that’s what they did a few moments later. She then departed and he came back into the box. At 6:18 he was calling like he saw her. Ten minutes later he flew off towards the hotel. Sure enough, Astrid was there, and he flew over her head. In a moment she took off and he darted back to the box to watch for her return. As she flew around the State Building his excitement grew. She then flew to the crossperch and hopped to the east veranda. He was making quite a fuzz as if he hadn’t seen her for a year. They mated on the east veranda on 6:39 PM. She was up a few minutes later. We thought the show was over at that point, but then Ares returned to the box at 6:52. That falcon puts in very long days (his day started at 1:30 AM)! He left the box at just before 7:00 PM. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbpCckREs4w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnRKbVDrgh8

The overnight period was cool, but not too bad when compared to recent nights. The sun was out for most of the day and the temperature rose from the mid 20’s up into the low 50’s by afternoon. Our falcons retired by late afternoon on Sunday, so we thought they might have an early start on Monday. As it happened, they didn’t get an early start – at least, not by their standards. We thought we could make one out on a State Building ledge at 5:00 AM, but we couldn’t rule out that we were looking at stored prey. At 6:00 there was definitely a falcon on the north face of the building. It was Astrid. That was made clear when Ares then screeched to the box at 6:45. He must have been sleeping in! The pair mated on the State Building five minutes later. He was up on his lookout post after that, but soon he darted off into the canyon. He came to the box at 7:10 but then quickly departed. When he returned minutes later, he had prey in his talons. At 7:15 he took his gift and flew up a ledge next to Astrid’s on the State Building. We couldn’t tell if he was eating it or not, but there was no transfer. At 7:44 he was back to the box with what we assume was the same prey. This time she came over and accepted it inside the box. She flew off but did not take it to the hotel. Ares went over to perch on the State Building sometime before 8:00 AM. We finally picked out Astrid on a low windowsill on the State Building. Perhaps she had eaten her meal there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3il8MEmLAQw

By 8:20 AM Astrid had left her windowsill perch and was sitting on one of the high ledges on the same building. Twenty minutes later we heard Ares screeching through the canyon. He’s very dramatic this time of year. At 8:50 Astrid flew over to the crossperch after seeing some movement in an office adjacent to the nestbox. Obviously, she is becoming more sensitive about any activity around nest. This sensitivity only increases as egg-laying time gets nearer. Ares came over to try to mate, but she rejected him. She was busy monitoring the nest site for anthropomorphic disruptions. Soon Astrid hopped into the box, but she didn’t remain inside for long. At 8:57 she was out, and he was in the box giving excited squeak calls. By 9:12 both falcons were on the State Building monitoring the nest site from across the canyon. She zipped back to the box again at 10:41. She was not happy with what she was seeing in office windows near the box. By contrast, Ares wasn’t so bothered and remained on his perch on the State Building. At 11:05 the pair mated on the crossperch. He went to the steeple afterwards. At 11:15 they had an aborted mating attempt, that time on the east veranda. By 11:30 AM Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was back on the steeple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6EILoGaB2U

At 12:28 PM both falcons were out of view. Seeing the local Pigeon flock in panic mode made us think that Astrid was actively hunting them. At 12:35 Ares came into the box with his usual exuberant vocalizing. Astrid landed on the crossperch but stayed for only a moment. She flew over to the steeple while he remained in the box and did housework. He also made a scrape in the gravel.  At 12:47 both falcons were out of view once more, but they returned at 1:04. Ares came to the box and squeaked, and Astrid came in for a landing on the State Building. He was over there with her a few minutes later. By 1:20 he was up again. Ares came to the box again at 2:06. Twenty minutes later the pair shared a ledge display there. Once again, A&A did a lot of beaking during the dance but there was no side changing – they both kept their positions. He bailed after five minutes. She stayed to do a scrape in the stone and some digging in the corner. At 2:45 Ares brought prey and gave it to his mate on the east veranda. We couldn’t find where she took it. At 3:30 PM Ares was on the crossperch and calling. He was gone again about ten minutes later. Both were at the box at 4:25 – her on the crossperch and him inside. He wanted to dance, and she wanted to mate – the same old story with those two. It took her almost ten minutes to convince him, but it ultimately worked, and they mated on the crossperch. He went to his favorite pillar perch right afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxVi8E2fxaw

At 5:14 PM she was asking for another mating. He was inside the box, again asking for a dance. He dove out, flew back and aborted the mating attempt at the last second. Next, he was on the back steeple perch. Both falcons were up and out of view at 5:48. He then returned to the box and started calling to Astrid. She arrived less than a minute later, and she talked to him from the crossperch. This time his idea won out and the pair danced. The display contained lot of beaking, and one position change and it lasted about three minutes. Once he was out Astrid did some house chores. She left the nest at 6:19 and he left his perch on the State Building right after. At 6:30 she was perched on the back ledge of the Grace Church steeple. There was a failed mating attempt there at around 6:35. At 6:57 we heard him screeching as he flew through the canyon. He landed on the crossperch and wiped his bill down on the wood. This probably means he had caught prey and stored it someplace. He left the box by 7:00 PM and Astrid dove from her perch fifteen minutes later. He then came back to the box, gave long calls for a little while and then, presumably, went to his night perch at 7:24. Goodnight Falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Eu62uj2F0

The overnight was cold and windy with intermittent snow squalls. The temperature got down to around 15 degrees. Snow continued off and on through the first half of the morning. There were also breaks of sun. The temperature creeped up into the mid-twenties by noon and into the 30’s in the afternoon, but the wind continued to a factor. Ares screeched to the nestbox at 5:15 AM. At 6:53 Astrid flew through and landed on a high perch on the State Building. Both falcons were in the air right after that and we were not sure if there had been a mating attempt or not. Just like on Saturday, the sound of the wind inhibits our ability to hear Ares’ mating chatter. At just before 7:00 Ares was back to the box and Astrid was again on the State Building. About ten minutes later there was an aborted mating attempt. Astrid turned around on her ledge and scuttled Ares’ approach. At 8:00 Ares left the box. He flew over and landed on the same windowsill as his mate and the two shared a brief conversation. He then buzzed by her twice in what appeared to be a flight display. He returned to the box afterwards. At 8:07 Ares began giving a loud cackle-type alarm call at the nest. Some non-Peregrine raptors must have been flying through the territory. After a minute of calling, he scrambled into flight. Shortly fallowing that he was perched on the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XwqvdcAwXQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poPdHk_DmVg&t=62s

At 9:00 AM we heard Ares’ mating chatter from somewhere nearby. As it happened, Astrid had come to the steeple and that’s where they mated. At 9:15 both were at the box for a lightning-fast ledge display. Ares was again calling from the nestbox at 9:23. She joined him there and the pair had a proper-length dance. Astrid spent quite a while alone in the nest box after that. It was almost as if she was incubating eggs. For most of the time she was looking out in the canyon, watching for Ares to come back, and watching for interlopers. Raptor migration has been underway, and each day brings a good chance that hawks will be flying through A&A’s territory. At 11:23 Astrid started calling when she saw Ares sailing into the canyon. He took a perch on the State Building; a high, north-facing ledge where he had a good view of the nest and of the north and west parts of the territory. At 12:15 PM the falcons did a classic switch at the nest. It was just like the changeover they do when seamlessly sharing incubation duties – except for the fact that there are no eggs in the nest yet. Ares made squeaking calls as he watched his made dart around the canyon on the winds. She flew over to the western part of the territory and into West Utica. Likely she was looking to get a Pigeon. Ares seemed to understand that she was hungry. He left the box and then came right back with something from his pantry. He called out for her to come and get it – and that she did. The exchange took place on the crossperch and she took her gift over to the hotel to eat. Moments later he joined her there. It wasn’t a very large meal, and she was done by 12:36 – only ten minutes later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXe30fZINyM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uVhjMoHxr8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNbgqaDCI48

Between 1:20 PM and 3:15 Ares was back and forth to the box at least four times. We didn’t hear or see any mating attempts during that period, but we could have easily missed one, given the constant wind sound and the fact that Astrid was spending a lot of time on buildings that were fairly distant. At 3:19 Astrid was in the nest, but we weren’t sure when the changeover took place. She proceeded to do some housekeeping activities. The pair mated on the crossperch at 3:26. Five minutes later Ares was in the box and she had flown. Another mating occurred at 4:12. That one happened on the steeple and so did the next. He was up and back several times before 5:00. At 5:00 Astrid had come to the crossperch and the two falcons conversed with each other. They were both back on the State Building after that. As it happened Astrid had taken a windowsill perch – we think the same one she had been on earlier in the day. At 5:45 the pair performed another very quick ledge display. Astrid started giving some Donkey calls which are – more or less, her version of a begging call. Coming right up! Ares sprinted and grabbed a bird he had in storage. The pair did the food transfer on the crossperch and then Astrid flew away with her prize. Ares came back to the box squeaking at 6:25 AM. This time Astrid didn’t show up; instead, she most likely was off to her night perch. Ares remained at the box area until about 6:26 PM. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2U_bIpwgrQ

The winter storm hit the region during the overnight hours continued well into the afternoon. The snow fell sideways in the strong winds and temperatures lingered just below the freezing point. Ares flew through the snow, wind, and darkness, screeching to the box at 4:15 AM. Astrid wasn’t visible anywhere at the time and our PTZ two camera was obscured by ice (it remained that way for the remained of the day). Ares vocalized a few times but mostly appeared to be snoozing inside the box. That changed when Astrid arrived at 6:32. The two shared a brief dance in which Astrid paused for a moment to ingest some stones. At 6:34 she had already flown to a high perch on the State Building. At 7:24 their was a food exchange at the box. We don’t have details regarding the transfer, nor do we know if Astrid took the prey over to the hotel. At 9:00 AM A&A were both in the box for another ledge display. This one lasted seven minutes and featured some beaking but little fancy footwork. Ares dove out at the end and Astrid stayed to do house chores. At 9:22 we noticed that Astrid seemed to be watching for Ares. Perhaps she was hoping for another gifted meal. Meanwhile, sound from a parade on Genesee Street was distracting Astrid. The annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was happening, despite the winter storm. The event seemed to be lightly attended and there were only a few marching bands. We did hear a lot of shouting which made us think the crowd was trying to make up in decibels what it lacked in number.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayCTUvGEhC8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm8X37VN67Y

At 10:42 Astrid was calling in the box. Ares came over ten minutes later, and the pair did a classic incubation switch; he came into the box, got behind her, she flew out, and he took her place. Indeed, it was smooth, the only problem being is that there are no eggs in the nest. Was this a practice run for incubation switching? At 11:13 Ares vocalized when Astrid landed on the State Building. Both were out of view for a little while and then Astrid landed back on the State Building. He was seen flying away from her perch a little while later. Perhaps that was a mating attempt? For the next ninety minutes he was mostly at the nest but would made repeated quick forays into the canyon, returning to the box each time. Were these mating attempts? Possibly, but we couldn’t hear his mating chatter over the sound of the unrelenting wind. At 12:54 PM both falcons were at the box. They shared a very brief dance and then Astrid went out onto the crossperch, opened her wings, and sailed away on the wind. By 1:30 PM the snow began to let up. Ares left the box and then came right back with a blackbird. He called for less than a minute and then flew out into the canyon again. Presumably he flew by Astrid’s perch with it (not that we knew where she was perched). He came right back and still had the bird, lingered for ten seconds, and then sailed out again. Perhaps he gave it to Astrid that time, but we couldn’t know for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY7VRYanA2A

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

At 1:50 PM Ares was back at the box and squeaking. At 2:13 Astrid joined him at the nest for a third ledge display. There was a lot of beaking involved and he was out after a couple of minutes. After that he was perched on the State Building. During the afternoon the temperature dropped into the low 20’s and the wind made it seem colder. At 3:45 the falcons were partaking of yet another ledge display. He was out about five minutes later. We weren’t sure when Astrid left. As for Ares, he was in and out of the box several times before 5:30. After that we assume they both were off to their night perches.