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The overnight was chilly with temperatures in the high 30’s. The sun prevailed in the morning and the temperature surged to near 60 degrees. The afternoon was overcast, and a persistent wind made it seem chilly. Astrid was on the eggs all night and we heard/saw no falcon activity. The moon was bright, so it’s possible that Ares did some hunting. At 5:41 Ares screeched to the nest box and the pair did a quick switch. He called out from the nest as she flew around the canyon and eventually settled on the west face of the State Building. By 6:14 she had moved to the north face where she could better watch the nestsite. At 7:45 she returned to the box. Ares wasn’t ready to switch, but she made him leave just the same. By 8:52 he was on the State Building. At 9:33 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to get it and then flew over to the hotel. As she started feeding, he got onto the eggs. At 9:44 Astrid returned to the State Building and Ares acknowledged her move with squeaking calls. At 10:00 Astrid was on a steeple perch and the local Pigeons were actively darting around the canyon. Perhaps she stirred them up before landing. At 11:31 there was another changing of the guard and it was her turn to incubate the eggs.

At 12:05 PM we heard Ares giving warning chirp calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid got up off the eggs and she began excitedly calling. She then jumped into flight and headed west, leaving the eggs alone. We didn’t see what was bothering her, but odds on it was another female Peregrine. At 12:08 Ares was back on the State Building and still giving chirping alarm calls. Moments after, Astrid returned to the box and resumed incubating the eggs. They had been alone for less than five minutes. Ares was up and back to the State Building a couple of times in the subsequent 90 minutes. It’s likely he was hunting. At 3:03 PM Ares flew to the box and asked for turn on the nest. She refused to go, and he didn’t press his case. He was back at 4:12 and this time Astrid was ready to leave. They did a rapid changeover, and she went over to the State Building. She stayed in place for the next few hours. At 7:22 PM when she went to the steeple, Ares announced her move. Five minutes later Ares decided it was time to leave the nest. He unceremoniously flew out and Astrid arrived a few seconds later. As he landed on the State Building, she took her place on the eggs – likely she was there for the night. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH6hVlvZkro

The weather overnight was relatively warm and dry. The skies were mostly overcast in the morning but that didn’t stop the temperature from quickly rising into the 60’s. By noon it had reached the high 70’s. In the early afternoon there were gusty rain showers and that put a damper on the falcons’ activities. Once again there was no nocturnal activity with the falcons – at least none that we saw. Astrid was on the nest all night long and Ares didn’t show up to relieve her until 5:45 AM. At 7:16 Astrid came to crossperch and checked to see if Ares was ready to switch. He wasn’t and she blasted off again. At 7:37 she was on the steeple. Five minutes later they did a quick and seamless switch. Astrid was back on the eggs and Ares flew to the State Building. At 10:04 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid responded with her own vocalizations. A minute later Ares was on the steeple and still calling. He came to the box at 11:03 and had to eject her off the eggs. He went around behind her and stepped on her tail – that usually does the trick. At 11:38 we noticed there were several people up on the roof of the State Building. They seemed to be sightseeing and looking over the roof wall. Ares started calling, but not giving warning calls. Astrid was calling too, but we didn’t see where she was. She landed on the steeple and continued calling periodically but didn’t seem all that upset. There was a time when people on the roof of any of the falcons’ principal buildings upset Astrid greatly. Her typical response would be to issue warning cackles and conduct hazing runs. No doubt she will still be that defensive once they have young in the nest. By 11:45 the roof people had gone inside, and the Peregrines had stopped calling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebt_8sZXfaM

By 1:10 PM rain had started downtown. The wind had already been picking up, but it soon became much stronger. Astrid weathered the elements on the State Building while Ares manned the nest. At 2:52 she flew over to the box and the pair did a quick switch. Ares flew out into the horizontal rain and Astrid settled onto the eggs. At 3:07 Ares was on the hotel feeding on some leftovers. It was probably Woodcock. She started calling in the box at 4:12. It’s likely she was reacting to Ares flying over to the State Building. The rain began easing up at 4:45. Ares came to the box for a quick changing of the guard at 5:06. He took over on the eggs and she flew over to the State Building. Thirty minutes later she was feeding on something on the hotel. Chances are it was something she had taken out of Ares’ pantry. In fact, it may have been a Woodcock which explained why she didn’t eat very much of it. At 5:52 she had flown to the northeast corner of the upper ledge on the hotel. There she spent some time preening. The weather had cleared and after the front came through the temperature dropped over 25 degrees from the day’s high. At 7:07 PM Astrid came to the crossperch. She vocalized to Ares while bowing her head and almost seemed to be asking to mate. As it happened, she only wanted to take over incubation. He left and she hopped inside and got onto the eggs. Ares was later seen on a lamp post on the roof of the County Building. Goodnight Astrid and Ares.

Update on the Little Falls Peregrines: Anna and Erie continue to share incubation duties on their ledge on the Adirondack Bank in Little Falls. Recent pictures show us that there are three eggs on the scrape and not four. It is possible that the fourth egg had become damaged, and the pair disposed of it. We have every reason to believe that the remaining three eggs are viable. We will continue to provide updates on this pair. They are at least a week ahead of the Utica Falcons in incubation and we expect that they will have hatchlings that much earlier. We shall see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpNp2SY3IRg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypgEMr7qYKA

The overnight was cool with temperatures in the high 30’s. It warmed up quickly after dawn and temps reached into the mid-fifties by noon. There were a few rain showers around and then mostly sunny skies prevailed. In the afternoon the temperature hit 60 degrees. Astrid was on the nest incubating all night. Ares showed up on the State Building at around 5:20 AM. At 5:51 The pair did a quick switch and then Ares was on the eggs. She initially went to the State Building but then did some flying around. Whenever she moved Ares gave light vocalizations from the nest. Evidently, she pulled something out of Ares’ pantry. At 6:15 she was feeding on leftovers on the hotel ledge. It may have been Woodcock, but we couldn’t tell for sure. She didn’t eat much of it and was on the steeple ten minutes later. At just before 7:00 Astrid came to the box and the pair did a quick switch on the eggs. At 7:43 Astrid was heard calling from the box and shortly after, Ares was up on his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. He was probably hunting from there. We didn’t suspect an intruder at that time. At 8:43 Ares came to the nest to ask for a turn on the eggs. Astrid didn’t want to leave, and he wasn’t pushy about getting her to go. He left instead. At 9:04 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon and she responded with calls from the nest. It turned out that Ares was on his pillar perch to the east of the box. While there he spent some time preening. At 9:16 Ares returned to the box. He wanted his turn incubating and this time he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He went behind her and stepped on her tail and wing tips to shift her. It worked; she was out, and he got onto the eggs. The next changeover occurred at 10:44. It was quick and businesslike, with him going out and her coming in.

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

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

At 12:29 PM it was raining in the downtown canyon. Ares came to the nest at 12:37. He came into the box and tried his best to get Astrid to vacate. He tugged at her tail with one foot, but she didn’t react. He left instead and hopped over to the west veranda. At 1:34 he was giving long calls from the steeple. She called back a few times, but then adjusted herself on the eggs and continued incubating. Suddenly Ares darted out after something, and that made Astrid start vocalizing again. More long calls were heard from Ares, but we didn’t know where he was calling from. At 1:41 he was back on his pillar perch again. Ten minutes later he had returned to the nestbox and this time he got Astrid to let him take over. She then spent the next few hours on the State Building while he incubated the eggs. At 4:21 she came to the crossperch and, after a couple of minutes, Ares left and she took over on the nest. They switched again at 6:13 PM and then Ares had a late turn on the eggs. She was out of camera view until she finally came back to the nest at 8:00. Ares had a long late session and was ready to cede the eggs to Astrid. He flew out into the darkening canyon as Astrid settled on the eggs for the night. Goodnight falcons.

The overnight was rainy and seasonally cool with temperatures in the high forties. Rain continued for about an hour after dawn. Later we saw breaks of sun and the temperature reached into the mid-fifties by noon. More sun in the afternoon brought the temperature up to 60 degrees. Astrid was tight on the eggs all night. Ares arrived on the State Building at 5:37 AM. Astrid called out when she saw him land. He flew to the box at about 6:05 and the pair did a quick switch on the eggs. At 6:27 it was his turn to vocalize when she landed on the east face of the State Building. At 8:49 Astrid came to the nest and the pair negotiated about doing a switch. They also did some beaking, and soon after, Ares left the nest to her. At a few minutes after 9:00 AM Astrid vocalized when Ares came through the canyon and landed on a steeple perch. At 9:30 she called out again when he then flew to the State Building. Perhaps she wanted him to bring her brunch. At 10:41 Ares went back to the steeple but was up again only ten minutes later. Meanwhile, some men were working on the roof of the Adirondack Bank. Sometimes this sort of activity gets Astrid upset, but not so much this time. We didn’t confirm any hazing runs, nor did either falcon give alarm calls. At 11:41 we located Ares on the hotel. He had caught a flicker and was plucking it. Five minutes later he brought it to the long perch. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to get it from him and then flew over to the hotel. At a few minutes before noon Ares was suddenly out of the nest and Astrid was also out of view. Only a minute later he had returned and was getting back on the eggs. At about the same time, she had landed on the State Building. From her high perch she kept an eye on the workmen on the roof and was minding the distance between them and her nest. She was still keeping her cool. If she had hatchlings in the nest, she most likely would’ve been going ballistic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGgLAV00GrU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Dq9D9pRAO4

At 1:40 PM Ares was narrating Astrid moves around the canyon. She was up and then back to the State Building, and he made squeaking calls both times. At around 3:52 Astrid relieved him on the nest. He had gotten a long turn on the eggs. At 4:47 we heard Ares giving chirp-type alarm calls from somewhere in the canyon. Most likely there was an intruder. Astrid then began giving alarm calls. She got off the eggs and blasted off into the canyon. Less than a minute later Ares was back in the nest and settling on the eggs. Astrid was out of our view until 5:35 when she was seen flying around the State Building and apparently checking out Ares’ pantry ledges on the west face of the building. As usual, Ares gave squeaking calls with each move she made. At 6:26 PM Astrid came to the box and the pair switched for probably the last time this day. Most probably Astrid was on the eggs for the long shift. Ares was on the lookout perch but left before night fell. Goodnight all.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Zl5daXtPQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWMqgqb3tZs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY1tVKqkKTg

The overnight period was cold with temperatures dipping just below the freezing point. The sun was out for much of the day, and the temperature reached the high 40’s by noon and 60 degrees by midafternoon. Astrid spent the night on the eggs. Once again there was no falcon activity in the small hours which seems to be the new normal. Ares screeched to the box at 5:52 AM and the pair executed a quick switch. At 6:06 Astrid landed on the Sate Building and her move was announced by Ares. She was up and flying again at 7:10. At 8:25 she moved from the steeple to the nestbox. Another quick switch took place and then Astrid was back on the eggs. At 10:50 AM we heard Ares giving chirp-type warning calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid began giving alarm calls as well and then she got off the eggs. Both falcons quickly flew out of our view. We noticed that there were some people on the roof of the County Building and there were also two cranes operating to the west of the hotel – both are things that will upset Astrid during the breeding season, however, we think they were reacting to a falcon intruder in the downtown area – one we never saw. At 10:58 Astrid returned to the nest and got right back on the eggs. We didn’t see Ares again until a few minutes before noon when he screeched to the crossperch. Once again, the falcons performed a rapid changeover and Ares got his turn on the eggs. Meanwhile Astrid took a perch on the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQOwKH3TP-E

At 12:31 PM Astrid left the State Building and Ares reacted with squeaking calls from the nest. She next came to the crossperch and asked to mate. Ares responded pretty quickly. He got off the eggs and the pair mated. Obviously, we are well removed from egg-laying time now, so any mating we observe is for pair bonding purposes. At 2:06 Ares came back to the box with prey. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to take it and then she flew over to the hotel. It was a small meal, and she had finished with it and over to the steeple five minutes later. At 2:42 they did another quick changing of the guard and Astrid took over on the eggs. The next switch happened at 4:06. It was also a quick one, and Ares was back incubating. The temperature in the afternoon reached 60 degrees and the sun was flooding into the nestbox. Still, it wasn’t enough to warrant shading the eggs. And as it is have yet to see any shading yet this season. At 4:25 Ares was calling from the nest, but we didn’t know what his issue was. He didn’t leave the nest so whatever it was it was short of an emergency. At 5:13 Astrid came over to the box. She was asking to take over on the eggs, but Ares didn’t want to go. They had a long negotiation session, but Ares still didn’t budge. She stepped on his tail and that didn’t influence him either. Finally, she just stood next to him and looked at him. That did the trick. He was out and she climbed onto the eggs. It was 5:22 PM and she was probably in place for the night.