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Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, March 14^th, 2023

The snow began falling Monday night and continued through most of today. It was heavy wet snow that really piled up. We had close to a foot in the hills to the south of the city. The temperature stayed around the freezing point all day. Our PTZ cameras were partially obscured by snow and ice; that meant we often couldn’t see what the falcons were up to, not that they were up much. Ares arrived at the nest box at 5:29 AM. He stayed there for two hours. At 7:33 he was back to the box with prey. Leave it to Ares to successfully hunt during snowstorm! Astrid did not come over to take it and so he flew off. He probably buzzed by her to show her what he had. He came back to the box a minute later and this time she followed him over and took the meal. We are not sure where they went after that. At 8:50 they were suddenly both in the box partaking of a ledge display. There was lots of beaking involved in that dance. Ares left after about 5 minutes. Astrid remained in the box until 11:15. We didn’t see a Falcon again until Ares returned to the box at 12:46 PM. He was in and out a few times in the next hour. Astrid arrived on the cross perch just before 2:00 o’clock. The pair then performed another dance albeit a short one this time. Ares was out after only a minute. Once again Astrid remained in the box for a while. At 4:10 she was gone. Ares was back to the box at 4:43. Just as before, he was in and out a few times for the next couple of hours. Both converged at the box at 6:15 for their third dance of the day. They both left within a minute of each other at 6 17 PM. After that, one of the Falcons, we suspect Ares, was on the north face of the State Building – no doubt keeping an eye on the nestbox. He was gone at 7:25 PM. Goodnight falcons.  

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, March 13^th, 2023

It was chilly overnight With temperatures down around the freezing point. Intermittent snow flurries and rain fell throughout the day – a little sample of what’s in store for us tonight through Wednesday. Today’s high temperature was close to 40°. Ares came to the box and Astrid to the east ledge at 6:38 AM. They had a very lively conversation. Five minutes later they were both up again. Astrid returned to an east ledge at 6: 51. At 7:38 Ares brought a partially processed Common Grackle to the nest area. After a half-minutes long tug-o-war, Ares let Astrid have it. She brought it over to the hotel. The snow flurries had gotten a little more intense as Astrid ate her breakfast. At 8:04 Ares was inside the box and Astrid was out on the crossperch. She had obviously eaten well and was showing a large crop. The pair mated two minutes later. After which, Ares went to his favorite pillar perch. At 8:37 Ares returned to the nest box. The couple then had another lively conversation. They mated once more on the east veranda at 8:55. At 9 o’clock Ares was back on his pillar. At 10:50 Ares was in the nest box and Astrid was on the east veranda. Five minutes later – you guessed it, another mating. At 12:15 PM Astrid was asking to mate again, but Ares was busy preening up on his pillar. At 12:18 both Falcons were up and out of view. Two minutes later he was back in the box calling and she was on the west veranda. We were starting to see a pattern here. At 12:27 they mated on the west veranda. Ares then bounced back to his pillar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQelvteHET4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZY29XR5ZMg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLIwr1SOduw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgqkS4w35WU

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-xUF6ISbc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM79nuvEYts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ipCuKv34mA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5xINKQwRq8

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

At 12:56 PM both Falcons were at the box, perhaps on the verge of having a dance, or mating, but then Astrid saw someone in a nearby office window and she flew off. Ares became very excited as he watched her fly and he started calling to her. Astrid returned to the crossperch at 1:13. At 1:47 Ares brought food to the east veranda. Astrid took it and flew over to the hotel. At 1:55 she had finished her meal and flew back through the canyon. That got Ares calling again. At 2:12 Astrid was on the west veranda. A few minutes later she was asking to mate. If they did mate again, we missed it. Following that, he was stationed on the east veranda, and she was on the west. They were guarding the box. At 3 o’clock he was inside the box and she was on the east veranda. The pair then mated on the east veranda. At 3:36 Ares was back on his pillar. At 4:33 the Falcons mated again. We thought Astrid had flown away after that but then we saw she was tucked in next to the window on the west veranda. Meanwhile Ares was back on his pillar perch. At 5:31 they mated on the west veranda. Ares came right back to the box afterwards and Astrid was immediately asking to mate again. He dove out like he was going to come back to her, but instead diverted and went back to his pillar. He left at 5:50 and she left five minutes later. We thought that would be it for the night, but then she returned to the west veranda at 6:00 and he came to the box at the same time. They mated on the west veranda at 6:09 PM. At 6:28 Astrid took off and we again thought she was retiring, but she retuned to the long perch at the box. Ares was on a west ledge plucking prey. He gave it to her on the east veranda at 6:36 PM. At 6:50 Astrid was back to the west veranda and Ares was in the box again asking for a dance. Maybe they are not going to bed tonight! They mated again (for the ninth time that we know of) at 6:57 PM. She flew at 7:16, but then was right back to an east ledge. She only stayed there for a few minutes and then she was up. Goodnight falcons?

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, March 12^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjkqOHqx0Jk

It was cold overnight with a low temperature in the low teens. It remained chilly through the morning but the afternoon brought some warmer temperatures. The high for the day was in the evening when we reached 40 degrees. Ares screeched to the nest box at 6:30 AM. With then time change, it was still pre-dawn. Astrid landed on the State Building 5 minutes later and Ares became very excited about it. He went inside the box and started chirping. Once again, the crows were very noisy in the pre-dawn hours. We saw a few of them flying by the bank building. The Falcons paid no attention to them nor did the crows seem overly concerned about being in the Falcons realm. At 6:51 the falcons mated on the State Building. A few minutes later Ares was on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. It seemed like he was in hunting mode. At 7:55 there was a food exchange at the nestbox. Astrid brought her gift over to the hotel. At 8:19 Astrid came to the east veranda and the pair had a conversation. They mated again on the east veranda at 8:24. Five minutes later Ares was on the steeple. He left just before 9:00 o’clock. At 10:38 Astrid was still on the east veranda. She was tucked in close to the window. At 10:46 she came to the crossperch. Ares came over and hopped right into the nestbox, hoping for a ledge display. Astrid declined his invitation and went back to the east veranda. At 10:56 Astrid was on the steeple.

Just before noon Ares came to the nestbox and did some work on his mega scrape. Indeed, it’s coming along very well. At 12:12 PM the falcons finally had their ledge display. Ares was out after 5 minutes and Astrid remained to do some housework. She did some digging behind Ares’ scrape. At 12:36 Ares brought some food to the east veranda. Astrid flew over but then decided not to take it and flew away without it. Ares left to store the food and then he came back to the box. At 1:52 Astrid was on the crossperch and Ares was out of view. At 2:08 Ares arrived at the box, hopped inside, and asked his mate to come in for another dance. She didn’t want to, and after a few minutes she left. At 3:46 Astrid was back on the crossperch and Ares was nowhere to be seen. Ten minutes later he was up on the lookout post. At 4:40 Ares was at the nestbox and Astrid was up. It was possible that he gave her something. A few minutes later she was on the steeple. She stayed there for about 15 minutes. The 5:20 Ares was at the box. He was giving squeaking calls in reaction to Astrid landing on the State Building. At 6:22 one of the Falcons, we think Ares, was back up on the lookout. He was there until about 6:25. Astrid showed up on the west veranda at 6:31. At 6:44 PM Ares brought food to the box. It appeared to be the wing of a Blackbird. Astrid took it on the west veranda. By 6:55 both falcons were out of view and presumably off to their night perches. Goodnight to all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Saturday, March 11^th, 2023

Thank you to all that came out and represented the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project in today’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. It was the first time our falcon project took part in this event and it was a great experience. Thank you to all for braving the snow and cold temperatures to carry our banners and hand out fliers. We appreciate it!

It was chilly overnight with snow showers. The temperature stayed around the freezing point for much of the day. Snow flurries continued through most of the morning. Ares arrived at the nest box at 4:08 AM. He started vocalizing at 5:27 when Astrid landed on a west pillar. Once again there were a lot of crows calling and flying around in the downtown area before dawn. The falcons don’t pay much attention to them. Ares left the box at 6:24 but came back about 5 minutes later. At 6:37 the pair mated on a west pillar. Astrid came to the box at 7:22. Ares was in the box and she was on the cross perch at 7:45. They were having a spirited discussion. Much to Ares’ pleasure, that led to ledge display at 7:50. It lasted for about two minutes. Ares was back in the nest box at 9:16. His mate was on the State Building at that time. She left her perch at 9:25. At 10 o’clock Ares was snoozing inside the nestbox but he woke up when the Saint Patrick’s Day parade started to become lively on the main street below. At 10:09 Ares was calling inside the box. Astrid was back on the State Building at that time. At 10:32 Ares once again returned to the nest box and was calling. In the background we could hear the music of bagpipes coming from the parade.

At 10:36 AM both Peregrines were on the north face of the State Building. The parade was in high gear by that point. At 11:07 Astrid had moved to a perch on the steeple. She was on the east facing perch which looks away from the parade. She’s not a big fan of any kind of festivities. At least there weren’t any fireworks, Astrid!! At 11:26 Ares was back to the box. He stayed for about 10 minutes. At 1:19 PM Ares was on the steeple and we weren’t sure where Astrid was. At 3:40 Ares came to the box with a freshly caught Starling. He stayed for about a minute and then flew off into the Canyon. At 3:49 both Falcons were back on the State Building. A few minutes later Astrid came to the crossperch and Ares jumped into the box and stood in his mega scrape. At 4:54 Ares had a sizable prey item on the hotel and he was plucking it. At 5:09, after he had fed for a while, he brought it to the east veranda. He soon left with it again only to return to the crossperch a few minutes later. Astrid follow him over that time. She took it from him and flew over to the hotel. At 5:27 Ares was once again at the nest. Astrid had finished her meal on the hotel and flew off, perhaps to her night perch. Ares stayed at the box until 6:03 and then he retired for the night. Goodnight falcons.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Friday, March 10^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCGNYSWKOL0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ByIZfHKOog

It was cold overnight. The temperature got down to 20 degrees. There was a gradual warm up during the day. By midafternoon the temperature had reached the high 30s. Astrid arrived on the state office building at 5:08 AM. We noticed that the crows that roost in the area were particularly vocal and were heard the consistently for the better part of two hours. Astrid came to the nest box at 6:14. Shortly after that we saw Ares on a west ledge plucking and then feeding on prey. At 6:41 he brought Astrid what was left and she took it to the hotel. At 8:17 Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was on the hotel plucking a rather large prey item. At 9:27 Ares came to the box. It seemed he decided not to give Astrid his leftovers. He probably stored them. While in the box Ares worked on his mega scrape project. At 9:30 Astrid came to the crossperch. Soon after she was bowing asking to mate. They mated less than five minutes later. At 10:00 o’clock Ares was on the steeple. Minutes later he flew to the box and did some more work on his scrape. At 10:23 the falcons mated on the east veranda. At 11:00 o’clock Astrid was on the steeple and Ares was back in the nest. At 11:30 both falcons were in the box having a ledge display. Ares left about 10 minutes later. Astrid stayed in the box for a long time afterwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrdbHE2hTA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da_vno92n1Q

At 12:45 PM Ares was back to the box and Astrid was out. At 2:08 Astrid was on the crossperch and Ares was calling from inside the box. Moments later they mated. At 2:33 we thought there would be another mating. Although, that time, Ares flew out and didn’t come back. At 3:31 Ares came to the east veranda with some unrecognizable chunk of leftovers. It was the leftovers he had stored earlier. After a ludicrous tug-o-war that lasted for about a minute, he let her take it and off she flew. At 3:47 the pair mated on the east veranda again. At 4:55 Ares was back in the box and Astrid was on the east veranda once again. She was asking to mate. They mated at 4:59. By this time it had begun to snow. Despite the wind and driving snow the falcons seemed dedicated to stay out. At 5:32 Ares was on his pillar perch. Astrid was once again calling and signaling that she wanted to mate. At 5:54 Astrid left the veranda, but she wasn’t going to retire. She went to the west office perch (AKA Deb’s Perch). By this point it was snowing even heavier. It was also very windy. At 6:05 Astrid was up and probably off to her night perch. Ares retired at 6:15. Goodnight Falcons.