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Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, February 28^th, 2023

The winter storm which began Monday evening packed snow and wind and continued intermittently through the day. The temperature hovered around the freezing mark for most of the day. Ares came to the nest box at 4:04 AM. At 4:22 he started calling, which made us think that he had Astrid in view. We didn’t see her anywhere. At 7:34 Astrid joined her mate at the box for a ledge display. There was lots of vocalizing and some beaking, but not much dancing. Lately Astrid has been acting a little distracted by a new camera that we placed in the box. She never likes anything different. After 10 minutes Ares left the box and flew up to his pillar perch. Astrid left the box in favor of the east veranda. Ares returned to the nest at 8:22 and by that time Astrid had tucked in on the veranda. There was snow on the roof of the box and on the verandas and we could clearly see Astrid’s footprints in the snow. Seeing Peregrine footprints is a rare sight in nature. The Falcons held their positions for most of the morning as the snow continued to fall. At 11:34 Ares left the box but then he came right back. At 11:54 Astrid was calling from the veranda. Ares had taken off only a minute before and we thought perhaps he was aiming to catch something for her lunch. He came back empty handed 2 minutes later and joined her briefly on the east veranda.

At 12:34 PM Ares brought food into the nest box. Astrid came in to take it and then dashed off into the canyon. We could not find where she dined. At 12:56 Ares started calling. He was announcing Astrid’s return to an east window ledge. At 1:02 there was an aborted mating attempt on the ledge. At 2:58 PM Astrid was at the crossperch at the box. Snow was coming down heavily. She soon moved over to the West veranda for a little while and then was out of view. At 4:36 Ares came to the box with a small hunk of food. Astrid appeared out of nowhere, hopped inside the box, grabbed the gift, and flew off with it. Ares hung around for a little while after that but then he departed. Most likely both went to their night perches. Goodnight Falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, February 27^th, 2023

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

The day began on the chilly side with temperatures close to 20°. By midafternoon the temperature reached 37°, but a stiff wind made it seem colder. The skies were partly clear for the first half of the day, and mostly cloudy in the second half. A winter storm threatened to hit the region in the evening. Ares arrived at the box at 5:38 AM. At 6:10 he excitedly called out and announced that Astrid had landed on the State Building. Twenty minutes later there was a mating attempt on the State Building. We don’t know if it was successful or not. At 7:54 Astrid was on the hotel, possibly with food, but we couldn’t confirm that. Both Falcons were on the State Building only five minutes later. Ares returned to the nest box at 9:30. At 10:20 he was giving long calls and trying to encourage Astrid to come over for a ledge display.  At 10:56 Astrid finally came to the box, but by that time Ares had gone. They just weren’t getting their timing tight today. Regardless, Ares came back only five minutes later, and the pair shared a long conversation. She was on the crossperch asking to mate and he was standing on his over-sized scrape requesting a dance. And then, just as Ares was obliging his mate and leaping out of the box, Astrid changed her mind about mating and jumped into the box instead. While inside the box, Astrid made her own scrape on top of Ares’ scrape-tastic creation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMP6JzGt2rU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc2uAvXjhYA

At 11:30 AM Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid took it and flew off with it somewhere. We checked around with the PTZ cams but couldn’t locate her. At 12:49 PM Astrid returned to her east ledge perch. Ten minutes later Astrid had flown again and was out of view. At 1:14 Ares was back in the box and calling very excitedly. Astrid had returned to her east ledge but then was up again after only a minute. At 1:28 Ares arrived at the box, followed closely by Astrid to the crossperch. There was an aborted mating attempt at 1:36. He went to his pillar perch right afterwards. At 2:30 Astrid was back on the crossperch and Ares was back in the box. Once more she was asking to mate. They tried five minutes later but it was yet another failed attempt. Perhaps the failures could be blamed on the relentless wind throwing off Ares’ trajectory. At 4:06 PM Astrid was on the crossperch once again and Ares was on his favorite pillar perch. At 4:33 Ares brought a small hunk of prey to the nest. Astrid took it right away and flew off into the canyon with it. At 4:48 Astrid was back and on the west veranda perch. When he moved to the east veranda, she took off again. He was then back to the box at 5:44. Astrid had gong to her night perch well before this and Ares followed suit 15 minutes later. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, February 26^th, 2023

The morning started out cold with temperatures in the high teens. It became more windy as the day went on and the temperature rose to 30° by noon. Ares arrived at the nest box at 6 o’clock sharp. Astrid showed up on an east ledge 45 minutes later, and her arrival was announced by her mate. She did not stay for more than a minute, and we didn’t see her again until she returned to the same ledge at 8 o’clock. Upon her return, Ares excitedly moved from the veranda to the box. He was hoping for a dance, but it didn’t happen. We noticed he had a large crop, so he must have eaten recently. Astrid abruptly flew from her ledge and was out of view until she returned to the very same place at 10 o’clock. Forty minutes later, she was up once again. For this entire time, Ares remained in the box, sometime snoozing, sometimes contemplating his huge scrape, and sometimes just guarding. He left the nest at 11:23. At 11:40 Ares came back and resumed his guard duty. Astrid arrived at the east veranda five minutes later.

At 12:33 PM Ares launched from the box and zoomed off to the west. The wind had become strong and steady by that point and it made the Peregrines’ flights more dramatic than usual. At just before 1:00 both Falcons were on the State Building. At 1:43 they both came to the box. Ares came inside, and Astrid only partially entered; for some reason she stayed in the in the front part, and just beyond the box lip. She stood there frozen for a minute and then backed out and sailed off into the wind. It wasn’t a dance. I’m not sure how to classify it. Regardless, Ares looked disappointed, and he soon spread his wings and soared off into the canyon. At 2:10 Astrid was on a ledge on the hotel. We noticed there were some leftovers near her on the same ledge. After a few minutes, she walked closer to them and began feeding. By 3 o’clock both Falcons were on the State building. They were up and down from their perches on that building several times for the better part of two hours. At 4:48 when Astrid darted off to the northeast, Ares came to the box. He called a few times before flying off again. It seemed like they went to their night perches early tonight – before 5:00 PM. Perhaps there were some matings and food exchanges today, but if there were we missed them all. Mostly what the falcons were seen doing today was guarding the box. Obviously a necessary and important task. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, February 25^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0PTnOX3ogA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0EBmSdVfrk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnEePZhp50Q

It was very cold in the early morning hours, only in the single digits. Light snow started falling early and continued intermittently through the day. The temperature eventually reached 20° by early afternoon. Ares came to the nest box at 6:20 AM. Astrid arrived on an east ledge 15 minutes later, and that caused Ares to vocalize inside the box. At 7:00 we noticed that he was working on his super scrape – moving stones around. Moments later Ares darted out of the box only to come right back with food. He brought it to Astrid on her ledge. She fed on it for only a few minutes and then flew off with it, perhaps to store it. He launched as well, but then was back at the box a few minutes later. At 10:30 AM Ares was still at the box, it is possible that he had flown off on some forays, but if he did, they were short ones. Certainly every time we checked, he was in there. Astrid reappeared on an east ledge at 10:35.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMKireT-sR8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D_nTaEg5bs

At 11:25 AM there was an aborted mating attempt on the east ledge. Astrid had tucked in on the ledge just as Ares was making his approach, and he was forced to veer off. He boomeranged back to the box, only to leave when Astrid abruptly took off. At 11:35 Ares returned to the box, went inside, and ingested a few small stones. A few minutes later, he walked over to the West Veranda. At 12:30 PM Astrid was back to her east ledge and Ares had transferred to his pillar perch. It was still snowing in the downtown area and that would continue far into the night. Astrid came to the crossperch at 1:11 PM.  Five minutes later Ares brought food to the box. Astrid accepted it on the west veranda. She flew off with it and, once more, we couldn’t find where she flew off to. At 1:25 Ares was calling like he saw Astrid fly through, but we didn’t see her, and he didn’t leave the nest. At 2:39 Astrid came back to her east ledge, which appeared to be her guard position for the day. They remained in these positions until just after 5:00 Pm when Astrid joined Ares in the box for a ledge display. It was a lively affair with lots of beaking. He left after a few minutes. She stayed in the box until 5:15. At that time she nodded her head a few times and then flew over to the east face of the State Building where no doubt she tucked in on a ledge that was out of the wind and snow. We presumed that Ares did something similar, but then he showed up on his pillar perch at 5:28. He stayed for about a half hour and then he too went to his night perch. Goodnight to all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, February 24^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S96mareGylw

It was a true winter weather day today with relentless wind & intermittent snowfall. The temperature was in freefall during the early morning. Before dawn, the temperature was 30°. At noon it was only 20°. Astrid landed on a high ledge on the north face of the State Building at 4 AM. Ares showed up at the nest box at 6:12. At 6:30 the pair enjoyed a long and active ledge display inside the box. There was a lot of beaking, but only Astrid partook of fancy footwork. Ares stuck to the center of his mega scrape as if he was incubating something. He left at 6:37. Astrid then lingered in the box for quite some time. Ares returned at 8:14 and, much to our surprise, they had another dance. This one was short and Ares was out after only two minutes. He was back at 9:05 and they did a classic switch. It seemed to be a practice incubation switch; she was out and he was in. When she left her perch on the State Building at 9:22, Ares began chirping in the box. Ten minutes later, he screeched and flew out into the canyon. Possibly there was an intruder. At 9:45 he came back to the box and was chirping again. Likely he saw Astrid somewhere, but we couldn’t find her with the cameras. At 9:50 we noticed that she was on the ledge of the hotel with prey. It looked to be a Pigeon that she caught herself. Ares darted from the nest at 10:42. We weren’t sure where he was off to, but he was back only ten minutes later and working on his mega scrape project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVmj_qilBn4

At noon Ares once again screeched out of the box. We had no idea where he was going, but probably he was going to buzz by Astrid. She had long since finished her meal on the hotel and was likely sitting fat and happy on a perch out of the snow and wind. Sometime before 1:00, he snuck back into the box without us knowing. He had a large crop which meant he had recently eaten. At 1:46 he started calling like he saw her. Once again, we did not see her. He flew out into the wind and made a quick dash to the west. Astrid showed up a minute later at the box, but did not stay, and soon sailed off into the wind herself. At 1:49 Ares came back to the box. He stayed there on guard duty until about 3:45, and then he was out again. He returned at 4:30. He really seemed committed to watching the box today. However, it was safe to assume that Astrid had given up coming to the nest area for the day. She was content to leave the nest guarding to Ares. He stayed until 5:00 PM and then presumably when to his night perch. Goodnight Falcons.