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Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, May 22^nd, 2023

The temperature was in the mid 40s overnight which was cool. It warmed up quickly after daybreak and by midday it was 70 degrees. The high for the day was in the mid 70’s. Astrid was on the nest brooding all night long. Ares brought a small prey item to the nest at 2:25 AM. He hopped into the box with it and handed it off to Astrid. She handled the feeding. At 3:51 Ares was back to the nest with something much larger, although we couldn’t see it clearly enough to identify it. Astrid took it on the crossperch and then brought it into the box for processing. After the plucking was over, she began a feeding. At 5:00 she moved onto the crossperch. Five minutes later she was back inside and brooding. Astrid left the box at 5:31 but then came directly back. We noticed that Ares was up on his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Most probably he was using it to spot prey. At 7:46 Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid took it on the crossperch and commenced a feeding. At 8:56 Astrid and Ares came to the nest at the same time as if they both had had the same idea. As it happened, Ares did not stay long. Astrid was out by 9:10. At 9:50 she was on the east veranda, and she was vocalizing. Ares was perched on the State Building at that time. A few minutes later the nestlings were getting restless and doing a lot of begging. Astrid came in and resumed brooding. At 10:12 it looked like she was doing a feeding, but we think she was just picking at scraps in the box. She was out to the crossperch at 10:23. Ten minutes later she was on the east veranda. By 10:30 Astrid was becoming irritated by activity inside offices adjacent to the nest. She hopped up onto the roof of the nestbox and gave a major mother falcon evil look at the windows. At 10:39 Astrid left the box area and then returned with food. She proceeded to do a feeding. We noticed how polite the two nestlings were at mealtimes. For the most part they wait their turns and seem to be on their best behavior. That probably won’t last! At 10:51 feeding time was over and Astrid flew out. At 11:02 Ares screeched to a landing on the long perch. A few minutes later his long calls transformed into manic cackling. He abruptly dove after something. Most likely he was chasing after a non-falcon raptor or Turkey Vulture that had the audacity to fly too close to the nest area. Five minutes later Astrid was on the east veranda and doing some vocalizations of her own, but she didn’t appear to be overly upset. Ares screeched back to the long perch at 11:15. He gave a few long calls while he perched. Both were guarding the nest box – Ares from the long perch and Astrid from the east veranda. At 11:55 Astrid went back up on the nest box roof and Ares left the long perch. It was clear that Astrid was peering at the office windows again. What is also clear is that she knew it was Monday and that there were liable to be people working in adjacent offices. She was primed to be irritated. At 11:56 Ares was on a steeple perch but was only there for a minute.

At 12:42 PM Ares was back on the steeple but on a different perch this time. Ten minutes later he visited the nestbox for a chick check. The larger nestling stretched her wing at one point, and very nearly flapped her wings, which would have constituted a first for these nestlings. At 1:44 both adults converged at the nest box. The chicks looked squarely at Ares, expecting him to produce something fabulous. He couldn’t manage it and left. Five minutes later he brought an oriole to the east veranda (a reasonably fabulous gift). Astrid took it and handled the feeding. During the feeding, once again, the nestlings show the great sense of decorum. It was almost as if they knew they were being filmed! Astrid left the box at 1:57. She went to the State Building and Ares was on the steeple. They were both up and out of view a few minutes later. At 2:27 Astrid was on the roof of the nest box, monitoring the activity in the office behind the window. After 3:00 PM the nestlings were getting restless again and doing a lot of vocalizing – mostly high-pitched, quavering whines. Astrid came back in to brood at 3:11. Thirty minutes later she was out on the crossperch. At 3:49 Ares screeched to the nest area with prey. Astrid took it from him and did a feeding. The prey appeared to be a goldfinch. At 4:13 Ares was on the crossperch and looking out into the canyon. It looked like he was calling but our sound wasn’t working at the time so we couldn’t be sure of that. He hopped into the nest but only stayed for a second and then was gone. For a short time, the female nestling was standing in the back corner of the box as if she had done something wrong and was being punished. Astrid came to the crossperch at 4:42. At 6:00 the nestlings were begging quite loudly. Astrid came in to brood brood them and they quieted down. A minute later Ares showed up on the east veranda with prey. Astrid came out to take it. She flew off with it, boomeranged back, hopped into the box, and started a feeding. Twelve minutes later the meal was over and she flew over to the steeple. At 6:37 Ares came to the box and sat on the box lip for a while. The nestlings were sacked out and still in the back corner. Ares came to the east veranda at 7:15 and Astrid came to the crossperch at the same time. We think she thought he had prey. He left and then she flew. Both were on the north face of the State Building for quite a while. Astrid came to the crossperch at 8:13 PM. She will probably some inside to brood sometime after dusk. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, May 21^th, 2023

It is time to name the two nestlings! Please send your name suggestions (one male and one female) to our website or Facebook Page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm2zpCOXTmU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPwwaCh0sns

It was warm overnight with some light rain. The temperature was in the high 50s. The morning was mostly overcast with some lingering misty rain. That ended by mid-morning and skies became partially clear. The high temperature was 70 degrees. The day was quite breezy. Astrid was on the nest all night long. Ares brought a large prey item to the nest at 2:59 AM. Astrid took it on the crossperch and did a feeding. She only fed for 6 minutes before taking the leftovers out of the nest and presumably storing them. She came right back to the nest and continued brooding. At that time Ares was on the west face of the State Building. At 5:32 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the distance. Fifteen minutes later he screeched to a landing on the State Building. At 5:49 Astrid left the box and flew over to the State Building. Ares came over to babysit. He tried to brood the nestlings but had difficulty due to their size – they had gotten too big! He ended up just pushing them towards the east wall of the box. It looked pretty hilarious on our whitewash camera. At 5:58 Astrid came back to the nest and Ares took his leave. At 6:31 Astrid left the box and then both adults were out of view for a short time. Only five minutes later Astrid was back at the nest and brooding. At 8:00 she left the nest but came right back with food. During the feeding she doled out the food evenly. At one point she started to leave the box but then turned around and came back in. Ten minutes into the feeding she was still trying to give them more even though they had ceased begging and appeared full. She finally flew out with the leftovers. Ares came in and tried to brood but Astrid was back immediately so he didn’t get a chance. At 10:53 Ares screeched to the nest and asked for a turn with the nestlings. Astrid ceded the nest to him only to come back moments later with food. Ares departed as she started a feeding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPwwaCh0sns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx2mVuBHNcE

At 12:03 PM Astrid left the nest and flew over to the State Building. She was back in the nest and brooding at 12:16. Fifteen minutes later she was cackling from the nest. She was reacting to a non-falcon raptor or Turkey Vulture in the canyon. At 1:43 Astrid went over to the east veranda and the chicks were left alone. It was 63 degrees by that point and not a problem. She was back and brooding at 1:46. Ten minutes later Ares was up on his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. At 2:00 Astrid left the box to do a food pickup. She was right back to do a feeding. At 2:09 the meal was over. She left and the nestlings were left alone. Astrid returned to the east veranda at 2:20. The nestlings were getting restless at this point and doing a lot of squealing. At 2:47 we heard Ares screech through the canyon. Astrid flew out to meet him, she took food from him, brought it back to the nest, and did a feeding. At 3:15 Astrid was gone and Ares was babysitting. At around 3:35 Ares was giving chirping-type alarm calls, which could be an indication there was a falcon intruder in the canyon, but we couldn’t confirm that. Regardless, he left the nest in pursuit of some raptor. At 3:45 Astrid was back on the east veranda and Ares had returned to the State Building. At 4:26 the larger nestling was walking around in the nest. They had been becoming more ambulatory in recent days. At 4:32 Astrid was in the nest brooding the youngsters. She started by brooding the smaller chick and then switching to the larger one. At 5:11 Ares brought a Blue Jay to the east veranda. Astrid took it and flew over to the hotel with it. There she spent some time plucking it and eating some off the top. She brought it to the nest five minutes later. The nestlings were about a foot apart inside the box and so she positioned herself between them and fed them alternately. At 5:27 the meal was over, and Astrid was out. She stopped back briefly a few minutes later and then flew off out of view. At 5:49 both adult falcons were on the State Building. Ares came over to the nest at 6:00 PM and spent a short time with the nestlings. At 6:29 Astrid was on the north face of the State Building and Ares was back on his lookout post on the roof. Perhaps he was watching for intruders or maybe he was hunting. At 7:23 Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid came out of the box, took it, flew off, boomeranged back, and then did a feeding. It was the last meal for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, May 20^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn5VekmS-uo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yi83a7fXiE

It was warm overnight with a low temperature in the high 50s. There may have been a few drops of rain, a substance our area has seen little of in the past three weeks. Mostly overcast skies marked the morning although there were some substantial breaks of sun. The high temperature was in the low 70s. Astrid was on nest duty throughout the night. She left the box at 3:23 AM but came back 5 minutes later. In stark contrast to the night before, there were no overnight feedings. At 5:24 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. It looked like Astrid may have been watching him. Indeed, we saw him zip around the east face of the State Building at one point. At 5:27 he came to the nest with prey in his talons. He hopped into the box with it, and she accepted it. She then proceeded to conduct a feeding. The lesser nestling was in front and the greater was in the back row. The smaller one was able to get quite a few bites of food from his vaunted position, but the greater one still went over his head a few times (These chicks really need names). At 6:11 Astrid went out to the crossperch. We noticed that Ares was up on his favorite pillar perch having a nap. Ten minutes later Astrid was back inside the nest and brooding. She moved out onto the crossperch at 7:05, but was back in after a minute. At 7:14 Ares brought more food to the east veranda. Astrid took it, flew off with it, came back, and did a feeding. Ten minutes later she was back to brooding the nestlings. At 8:04 she was doling out another meal. We were not sure if Ares brought it or if she went out and retrieved it. At 8:24 she was brooding and we saw her jostle the young ones and the egg. Normally we associate jostling behavior with inducing eggs to hatch. In this case there are no more eggs that are going to hatch and the nestlings certainly aren’t going to hatch, so why is she doing it? Perhaps there is another reason. At 9:19 Ares was heard giving screech calls from somewhere downtown. He then screeched to the nest box with prey. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to take it and then proceeded to do a feeding. At 10:00  AM We heard more long calls from Ares. Twenty minutes later he came to the box and asked for a turn with the clutch. Astrid was quite vocal and, more or less, said no. He hopped over to the east veranda instead. At 11:08 Ares was inside the box talking to the nestlings. Astrid was on the crossperch at that time. At 11:16 Ares began giving chirp style alarm calls from inside the nest box This meant that there was a falcon intruder in the canyon – something they always take with great seriousness. We did not see this raptor, but Ares saw it and he let us know in no uncertain terms. He blasted out the box, presumably in pursuit and left the nestlings alone. Astrid was on the State Building at the time. She came to the cross perch about 8 minutes later. She came in to brood at 11:30. Ares screeched to the east veranda at about the same time.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n4-61OmV1k

At 12:13 PM Astrid left the nest. Ares came in a minute later. After that she was on the State Building. She relieved him at the nest at 12:18. She moved out onto the cross perch 1/2 hour later and then left the box ten minutes after that. At 1:30 we noticed that she was tucked in on the east veranda. She appeared to be looking in the office window, and probably waiting for someone in there to make a false move. As it happened there was no one in the offices today. At around 1:45 a flock of 15 to 20 Turkey Vultures flew through the Canyon. Both Astrid and Ares scrambled and promptly ushered them out. At 1:52 Astrid came into the box with a hunk of leftovers. She proceeded to do a feeding. She left with a small piece that remained at 2:01. She was back to the crossperch a minute later, but was not there for long. At 2:34 Ares came to the nest with a male goldfinch. Astrid barreled in behind him, took the prey, and did a feeding. At 2:49 the chicks were alone in the nest. At 3:10 Astrid was on the crossperch, and from there jumped up onto the roof of the nest box. Once again, she was peering into an adjacent office, watching for monkeys. At 3:26 she came back into the box to brood. About five minutes later Ares screeched to the long perch with prey. Astrid took it on the crossperch and did another feeding. At 3:56 we could hear Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon, probably from the State Building. A few minutes later he was in the nest babysitting. While there he did some housework including digging in the corner which is apparently a very vital task. Astrid came in and relieved him at 4:28. By then it had begun to rain lightly in the canyon. Astrid stayed brooding for the next three hours. Ares was on the State Building for a while but then we lost track of him in the rain. Astrid left the box at around 7:30 PM and returned moments later with some food. She then feed her chicks who were surprisingly well behaved considering how long they had gone without eating. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, May 19^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight but not as cold as the night before. Temperatures were in the mid 40s. It was also quite windy and it remained that way for much of the day. The daytime high in the afternoon was around 70 degrees. Astrid was on the nest through the night. At 11 54 PM Ares brought food to the nest. He thoughtfully hopped into the box with it. Astrid took it and did a feeding. At 1:45 AM Ares was back with more prey. This time Astrid had to take it on the crossperch (he was not so thoughtful that time!) She then did a feeding. Ares returned at 3:08 with what appeared to be a Gray Catbird. This time Astrid wasn’t interested in coming out for it, at least right away. Ares remained for a while on the long perch with the prey dangling. Astrid finally decided to come out and take it. As she got up the nestlings began squealing. She took the prey from Ares on the crossperch and then proceeded to do a feeding. At 5:17 another meal came in via Ares. He hopped into the box with it and handed it off to Astrid who then went on to dole it out to the chicks. At 5:30 we noticed that Ares had gone up to his old favorite pillar perch on the southeast part of the building. Astrid left the box at 6:20 but then was back before a minute was up. The wind was blowing up a storm of feathers inside the box. They were swirling inside and sometimes outside of the box. At 8:22 Ares brought prey to the long perch. Astrid scrambled across the crossperch to take it. She then did a feeding. Ten minutes later the feeding was over and she resumed brooding. At 9:16 Astrid hopped out onto the crossperch. She flew off a minute later. Ares then screeched to the long perch. At first, we thought he had food but he did not. After a couple of minutes, he hopped into the box and perched in front of the nestlings. At 9:20 Astrid returned to the box and Ares left. At 10:03 Astrid got up and went back to the crossperch. About 15 minutes later she was brooding again. At 11:00 Astrid was staring at the new camera. She seemed to be getting super sensitive about noises inside the adjacent offices – as well as the sight of people in office windows. Every year she gets this way, and we expect it.

At 11:04 AM Astrid started cackling. We don’t know what brought that on, but it was probably a non-falcon raptor flying through the canyon. It was most likely close judging by the intensity of her vocalizations. When Ares brought food to the box a minute later Astrid gave very loud screeching calls. She scrambled out to take the food and then began a feeding. Both nestlings ate well during the meal. At one point the smaller one stole a bite from the larger one. At 11:08 Astrid gave some more cackle calls. Again, we are not sure why or what brought that on. At 11:27 she was brooding but then she was up again. She went over to a relatively low ledge on the State Building but then came back five minutes later. At around noon she had left the box once more. She was back less than a minute later. She immediately hopped on top of the roof of the nest box, something we have not seen her do in quite some time. That is usually brought on by office sounds and activities. She didn’t stay long but swooped by the 15th floor a couple of times in what could only be described as hazing runs. At 12:02 PM she was back to the crossperch but it was clear that she was highly distracted by things going on in the building. Several minutes later Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid barged over and took it. She first flew off into the canyon before boomeranging back and hopped into the box. She then proceeded to do a feeding. Before really getting into it, she abruptly halted the meal and flew out of the box with the food. This was another sign of her irritation. She came right back and gave it another try. At 12:12 we noticed that Ares was on the State Building – being quire calm, as usual. Astrid left the box at 12:13 taking the leftovers with her. She returned without them a couple of minutes later, at 12:16 Astrid was back at the nest. She stood on the crossperch for a while before hopping into the box and resuming brooding. At 1:02 PM Ares came to the nest with prey. Astrid accepted it and began a feeding but soon it was very clear that chicks weren’t hungry. She took the meal out and presumably put it in the pantry. Ares came over in the interim and babysat. Astrid returned at 1:12 and Ares was out. One was then and then the other was out – they were alternating so much it was getting confusing.

At 2:58 PM the nestlings were alone in the box and both were vocalizing. Ares came in a few minutes later and then he was vocalizing too. Not to be left out, Astrid came into the box and then everyone was talking. Ares stayed for about 5 minutes – the whole family together. At 3:18 Astrid went out onto the crossperch and both chicks began squealing. Ares screeched to the box with prey at 3:41. Astrid took it and started a feeding. It was over by 3:54 and Astrid was out. She was back on the cross perch at 4:23, and soon after came into the box. At 5:07 Ares brought a Blue Jay to the long perch. Astrid took it from the cross perch. She grabbed it with her bill and then transferred it to her foot. She then flew away into the Canyon with it. She had it on the hotel for a few minutes and then she came back to the box. It looked like she was going to start a feeding but then, perhaps because the chicks didn’t seem interested, she turned around and left. Ares was on the long perch that whole time just watching the scene. A minute later Astrid was on the steeple. She must have stored the food in Ares’ pantry. At 5:15 Ares was up and Astrid was at the box. A little later we noticed that Ares was on the State Building. The skies had clouded up, but the temperature was up to 75 degrees. At 6:48 PM Astrid returned to the box after being out for a while. She went right up to the box’s roof. That meant she was irritated by something going on in the nearby offices. It’s unlikely there was anything going on since it was past office closing time, but just try to tell Astrid that. A couple of minutes later she was over it and back to brooding. At around 8:00 PM Astrid came into the nest with food. She spent the next several minutes conducting a feeding. It appeared to be the last meal of the day. Ares was on the State Building and remained there quite late – as late as 9:50 as I’m writing this. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, May 18^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y45SPs5TyJU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnVhaw9aIVA

It was cold last night with a low temperature of 28 degrees. It warmed up quick during the day and by noon the temperature was approaching 60 degrees. By late afternoon it was 65 degrees. Astrid spent the night brooding her chicks. Ares came to the nest with a small prey item at 1:50 AM. Astrid scrambled along the crossperch to get it from him and then proceeded to do a feeding. Ares brought more prey, another small item, at 3:48. Once again, Astrid took it from the crossperch and handled the feeding. At 5:29 Ares screeched to the box with more prey. This time he hopped inside the box and handed it to Astrid. While she settled in to do the feeding he hopped over to the West veranda. At around 7:15 Astrid left the nest but was back within a minute. At 8:14 Ares brought a Black-billed Cuckoo to the east veranda. Cuckoos had only just migrated back from the South and this was the first one we had seen. Astrid took the cuckoo from him and did a feeding. After 10 minutes she flew out with the leftovers. She came right back and resumed brooding. At 10:02 Ares again screeched to the box with prey. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and conducted a feeding. Ten minutes later she was out with the leftovers. She came right back after stowing it. At 10:34 Astrid began calling from the box. We think she was probably watching Ares chasing prey or doing something else of particular interest. At 11:46 Astrid left the box and flew over to perch on the State Building. A minute later Ares arrived to babysit. As it happened, she was only gone for a couple of minutes. She came back, Ares left, she resumed brooding. At 12:32 PM Astrid left the box once more. She flew over to the State Building and to a relatively low perch. It was 57 degrees in the canyon, so the nestlings were in no danger. At 12:41 Astrid returned to the crossperch and from there hopped into the box and started brooding again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9yomickns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMcuE2b1bZI

At 1:09 PM Astrid was out of the nest again. She took a perch on the State Building. About 15 minutes later Ares was in the nest babysitting. He was gone again at 1:39, only to be back with them five minutes later. The interaction between Ares and the chicks is always interesting to watch. He looks at them with a curious expression like he’s trying to figure out what exactly they are. At 1:46 Astrid came barreling into the box. She was in and he was out. At 2:55 we heard Ares give a screech from somewhere in the canyon. He landed on the long perch and had a male Scarlet Tanager in his talons. I was reasonably sure that I’ve never seen him with one of those before. He has caught at least one female tanager over the years, but this was the first male that we ever confirmed. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and did a feeding. Astrid left after the meal was over and Ares came back into the box. At 3:58 Ares was busy shading the egg while the two chicks sought shade in the back of the nestbox. Astrid then arrived with a plucked pigeon. Ares headed out and Astrid set about feeding the brood. Ten minutes later she left with the leftovers. At 4:58 the pair did a quick switch and then Ares was in the box with the nestlings. At 5:16 Astrid was preening on the lower steeple perch. She came to the box and relieved Ares at 5:37 PM. At 6:09 one of the chicks walked across the floor to the east side of the box. That was different. Up to date we haven’t seen the chicks doing any walking. Regardless, when Astrid arrived at the box 6:09 she wasted no time picking up the chick with her bill and putting it back with its sibling where she could shade them both with ease. At 6:24 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid danced across the crossperch to get it from him, took it inside and began a feeding. At 6:55 Astrid was on the State Building on a relatively low perch – the one she likes these days. Five minutes later she was back in with the chicks. At 7:42 she was digging and doing some housework chores inside the nest. She was back out on the crossperch afterwards. At 8:09 PM Astrid was back inside and brooding the chicks. Ares had been on the north face of the State Building but took off to go to his night perch. Goodnight all.