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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.

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.

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.

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W-s-c__lQg

It was chilly overnight with temperatures dipping below the freezing mark. By late morning milder conditions prevailed and temperatures rose into the mid-forties. By late afternoon the mercury hit 50 degrees. Ares arrived at the nest at 5:00 AM. He was ardently calling and urging his unseen mate to come over to the box. At 5:47 he darted off into the canyon screeching. He was back in less than a minute. Most likely he had buzzed by his mate to get her to come to the box. At 6:10 he made another lap around the canyon and landed once more in the box. This time it worked, she flew in and landed on the long perch. She was up again less than two minutes later, and she landed on the steeple. The pair mated there a few minutes later but it was short. At 6:16 Ares brought prey to the box and tried to call Astrid over to take it. He squeaked while plucking at it, but she seemed uninterested in coming to take it. Meanwhile, he kept picking at it and calling. Finally, he dove out and buzzed by her on her perch. He came directly back to the box and then jumped onto the veranda. He gave some squeaking calls before buzzing by her again and then yoyoing back to the box. That time she relented; she flew to the box and took the gift. She brought it to the hotel, but she really didn’t seem interested in eating it. She just let it lie on the ledge next to her. At 6:34 she was back to the steeple, and he was vocalizing in the box.

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

At 6:45 AM the pair mated on the steeple. After which, both flew over to the nest – her to the west veranda and him to the box. As if often the case, he was asking to dance, and she was asking to mate. They mated on the west veranda at 6:50. At 7:00 we could hear a flock of Canada Geese flying over downtown. It was migration season, and we were started to hear them more frequently. Of course, the falcons were unconcerned with the geese. Ares came to the box at 7:15 and she greeted him a few abrupt, loud screeches that bent back his feathers. What was that all about!  They mated on the crossperch at 7:23 and then again at 7:38. By 7:56 he was over on the State Building, and she remained at the box. At 8:21 she moved to the west veranda, and he came to the nest. They mated on the crossperch at 8:26. Five minutes later there was a food exchange at the box. The prey was something small and she took it over to the hotel. She was back on the steeple at 8:50. At 10:00 AM Astrid was at the nest and was vocalizing. Based on her excited reactions, we think he was doing a flight display for her. At 10:08 both were in the box, engaged in a ledge display. It was short and Ares dove out after only two minutes of dancing. She stayed in and did some chores, including making a few scrapes. The last one she made was on the west side of the box. For the most part, A&A have been concentrating their scrape efforts in the center/east part of the floor. In past years they haven’t always been of one mind regarding where to make the scrape.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewanRrP97e4

At 11:00 AM Ares came into the box and the pair did some conversing. She flew out afterwards and did a few laps around the State Building. She then came back to the Adirondack Bank Building and perched on an east ledge. They mated there at 11:04. Ares then flew around the hotel and the State Building. It seemed to be the thing to do that day. At 11:19 Astrid was calling on the crossperch and he called back to her from the nestbox. At 11:27 the pair mated again, but it sounded short. He was on his pillar perch after that but returned to the box at 12:02 PM. Then it was her time to fly – but she didn’t go far, only to the west office perch. She was there until about 12:17 when she decided to buzz by the box. As it happened, someone got too close to an office window and that’s what made Astrid fly and briefly haze the 15^th floor windows. She flew to the steeple after that. He left at 12:53 and she left less than a minute later. They mated at 12:56. She then moved to the east veranda, and he moved to the west. At 1:13 she was asking to mate again. By that time, he was inside the box doing chores. He halted his work, dove out of the box, and they mated on the east veranda. At 1:21 Ares started giving chirp-type alarm calls – it was an intruder alert. She began calling like mad and then she hopped onto the crossperch. Ares flew up to the bank roof and onto the lamp post above the box,. He was looking up and was obviously very upset. He launched from the light pole with purpose and presumably in hot pursuit of a male Peregrine intruder. Astrid flew over to the hotel. By 1:26 she was back to the nest. He returned to the fold and to the box at 1:41 and pair mated several minutes later. He went to his pillar perch directly after that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZGht4mKBxM

At 2:23 PM A&A mated. They then had an aborted mating attempt at 2:47. A few minutes later, both falcons were on the hotel and Astrid was plucking a Woodcock! At 2:57 Ares was back at the box. She had slightly plucked the Woodcock, but she stayed true to form and didn’t eat any of it. Instead she left it on the ledge. By 3:06 the falcons were both out of view. Ares returned to the box at 3:10 and there was another aborted mating attempt at 4:10. Fifteen minutes later A&A shared a quick ledge display at the box. After he left Astrid did some housekeeping chores including biting the lip of the box and digging in the gravel. As for Ares, he spent some time on the steeple. At 4:45 Astrid left the box and was out of view for a while. He came to the box five minutes later and was calling like he saw her, but we couldn’t locate her with the cams. At just before 5:00 PM Ares was giving major warning calls. He left the box and was seen up on the lookout post a few minutes later. It’s likely that Astrid was dealing with a female Peregrine intruder. Ares came back to the box at 5:18 and was still highly agitated. He flew in and out of the box a few times in rapid succession. It was probably his reaction to Astrid’s ordeal with the interloper. A few minutes later he was back and acting normally. He started giving squeaking calls like he saw his mate. She then flew in and landed on the west veranda. They mated a few minutes later. At 5:45 Astrid flew to the west office perch. He flew off into the canyon at 5:48. She then hazed the fifteenth-floor windows and then landed on a far west ledge. There she tucked in and may have been feeding on something – something that was already on that ledge. He was back to the box by that point. He left the box for his night perch at around 6:05. We don’t know exactly when she left her ledge. We assume she did at some point before 6:00 PM. Goodnight falcons.

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 [MP1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97cbESO-k6o

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X3DKuGZ0S0

The overnight was cold and, in the predawn hours, a dense fog draped downtown. The temperature was in the high 20s. It was cloudy and slightly windy during the day, temperatures ultimately topped out in the mid-forties. Ares arrived at the nest at 3:03 AM. He then remained inside the box for several hours, During that time he was alert but quiet. The fog was too thick for us to tell if Astrid was on the State Building. We relied on his reactions to know when she came into view. At 6:15 Astrid came to the box and the pair partook of a ledge display. It was an especially long and lively dance and one that featured copious amounts of beaking and around five side changes by Astrid. After ten minutes, Ares made his dramatic cowabunga exit and Astrid stayed on to do housework. She made a scrape in the gravel and got some digging done in the corner. By 6:30 she had moved out onto the crossperch and was calling out. We thought she was probably asking Ares to bring her some breakfast. Ten minutes later Ares was back in the box, and he seemed keen to dance again. She flew at 6:39 but then came to an east ledge only five minutes later. The pair mated at just after 7:00 AM.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtUGFYT3pu8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtT_LFD0pY

At 7:44 AM Ares was back to the box and he and his mate were having a spirited conversation. They mated on the east veranda at 8:28. Five minutes later Ares screeched through the canyon. He landed on a west ledge with prey. After processing it Ares brought it to the nest box. She had to scramble over the east veranda perch to get her prize. She flew off with it, but we couldn’t find where she went. He ended up on the north face of the State Building. At 9:05 Astrid was on the south steeple ledge – a place we hadn’t seen her perch in a long while. There was an aborted mating attempt there fifteen minutes later. He came to the nest afterwards and did some housekeeping – squeaking almost the entire time. At 10:25 the falcons were still in the same places. At 11:00 Ares came to the box with prey. Astrid came over and accepted it. She took the meal to the hotel. While she fed Ares watched over her from a high perch on the State Building. At 11:12 Astrid was done with her meal and she flew to the north perch on the steeple. By 11:55 both falcons had been out of view for a little while. Suddenly Ares blasted into the box calling very excitedly. Once again, Astrid was on the south side of the steeple. At 12:05 PM she launched from her perch to chase an errant crow that had wandered into the canyon. Ares also joined in the police action. We heard the crow give a few harsh distress calls but otherwise we didn’t see the altercation. Before a minute had elapsed, Ares was back at the nest and Astrid was on the State Building.

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

For the next thirty minutes Ares was in and out of the box a few times. She came to the crossperch at 12:26 and then the pair shared a ledge display. He was out ten minutes later, and she did some chores in box like making a scrape and digging. At 1:00 both falcons were again out of view, but then Ares showed up on the hotel with prey. It looked large and chunky, and it may have been a Woodcock he had pulled out of storage.  Five minutes later he flew off with the prey and likely stored in his State Building pantry. Astrid was up from her steeple perch at that point, but we don’t think she received the prey. At 1:43 Ares went back to the nest again and he started calling immediately. Astrid soon showed up on the crossperch. At 1:48 she requested mating and moved over to the west veranda. A mating took place there six minutes later. Both falcons were out of camera view at 2:15. At 2:39 Ares was back to the box and calling. Astrid had landed on an east ledge. She soon made her way onto the east veranda and a mating took place there at 3:06. Fifteen minutes later he was at the nest and the two were conversing. They mated at 3:24 and then they mated four more times between 4:00 and 4:50! Ares brought a Starling to the box at 5:00. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch, although it took a while before he let go of it. She flew over to the hotel with it but didn’t eat it. Instead, she left it lying next to her on the ledge. Ares flew over and perched on the same ledge for a while. Both seemed to be enjoying the afternoon sun. It had warmed up into the mid forties by that point and much of the snow that had fallen on Wednesday had melted. At 5:07 Ares was back in the nestbox. Fifteen minutes later Astrid was on the steeple and Ares had gone to the hotel to eat some of his catch from earlier. As it happened, he didn’t eat much of it. Astrid was at the box and vocalizing at 5:30 PM. At 5:45 she dashed off and we assume she went to her night perch. Ares came to the box for a while and gave a few ling calls. At 5:54 he flew over to the County Building and stayed there for about a half hour. After that he was out of view.

The Little Falls Peregrine Falcon pair (named Anna and Erie) were seen today at their nest. Interestingly, they are nesting on the Adirondack Bank Building in Little Falls. This is the second year that they are using an unmodified ledge on that building for their nest. The prior two years the same pair nested on a covered ledge on a nearby cliff. Today Deb reported seeing a food exchange between the male and female. As with the Utica pair, courtship is well underway with the Lille Falls birds. Unfortunately, we have no cameras on that pair, and so we have no media to share. Goodnight all.