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Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Thursday, March 9^th, 2023

Last night was another chilly one. The low temperature was in the mid 20s. The high for the day was only 34 °. It was mostly sunny and not quite as windy as it has been lately. Don’t get me wrong, it was still windy. Both Falcons came to the box at 3:15 AM. We might just call that an early start! Astrid didn’t stay but Ares did. She immediately flew over to the State Office Building. Both Falcons were on the State Building at 6:10. Ares was up on the roof on his lookout post. Most likely he was hunting from that high vantage point. Sure enough, at 6:38 he was seen plucking prey on the hotel. At 6:48 Ares brought his leftovers to the State Building and to the ledge next to where Astrid was perched. After a little while she flew over and took it from him. We think she ate it right there on the ledge. Ares came to the box at 7:20. He stayed there and had a nap. At 8:43 he was back to the box again and calling out like he saw Astrid in flight. A few minutes later she was on the steeple perch.

At 10:19 AM Ares came to the box with food. He then brought it to the State Building and to the ledge right next to Astrid’s ledge, just as he did earlier. However, this time she wasn’t interested enough to come over and get it. Perhaps she was full. Both Falcons stayed on the State Building for a while after that. At 11:44 Astrid finally decided she was hungry and took her gift. Ares went to the box and Astrid flew over to the hotel to eat her meal. Inside the box Ares did some work on his super scrape. He’ll soon be ready to pour the concrete for his pool. At 12:31 PM Astrid came to the crossperch. The pair then conducted a ledge display. It was more of a standoff than a dance, with lots of vocalizing and not much fancy footwork. Ares left at 12:40. Astrid stayed in the box for a while and did some housework. She made her own scrape on top of Ares super scrape. At 1:25 it was her turn to have a nap inside the box. At 2:52 Ares came back to the box while Astrid was still there and they had yet another dance. This one lasted for about 3 minutes. At 5:38 Ares may have given Astrid some another gift. She flew off the State Building heading towards the bank. At the same time, Ares came to the nest box and began wiping off his bill on the crossperch. That usually means that they did a food transfer. Astrid headed towards the northwest but she did not end up on the hotel. Only a few minutes later she came to the box and the pair partook of another quick dance. Ares was out after only a couple of minutes. She was out a few minutes after that. One of them was on the State Building briefly and then we assume they went to their night perches. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update:

Anna and Erie are being seen everyday at their nest area on the Adirondack Bank in Little Falls. They have been seen mating, feeding, and visiting their nest ledge.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Wednesday, March 8^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGRjA91NbNU

It was cold last night with temperatures bottoming out in the low 20s. During the day the temperature rose to the freezing mark although the persistent wind made it feel colder. The sun was out off and on during the course of the day. Ares arrived at the nest at 4:40 AM. At 5:55 Astrid showed up at the box for a ledge display. It was active and featured some beaking but it was also very brief. Ares left first which is typical. At 7:07 Ares brought prey to the box and Astrid accepted it on the east veranda. She took it over to the hotel. At 7:23 she was done with her meal and glided over to the State Building. Ares excitedly called when she landed on her ledge. At 8:05 Astrid came to the crossperch and from there moved over to the east veranda. At 9:43 Ares was at the box and Astrid was on the steeple.

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

At around 10:25 PM we heard some cackle calls and there was some dramatic flying around. This was an indication that a non-Falcon intruder was in the Canyon. However, we never saw it. By 10:30 Astrid was back on the State Building and Ares was in the box. At 11 o’clock both Falcons were up again. Ares came to the box and was calling like he saw Astrid, but we couldn’t find her with the cams. He was gone a few minutes later. We didn’t see either Falcon again until 12:14 PM when one showed up on the State Building. One of the Falcons was briefly on the hotel at 1:11. We think it was Ares. At 2:43 Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was at the box. The pair shared another very brief dance at the box at 2:53. Astrid lingered in the box until 3:35 or so. After that, one of the Falcons was on the State Building but we are not sure which one. At 5:05 Ares buzzed by Astrid on her steeple perch. He retrieved some stored food and brought it to the box. Astrid flew right over to collect it and then brought it to the hotel. He went over to the State Building while she fed. By 5:20 both falcons had flown out of view and likely to their night perches. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Tuesday, March 7^th, 2023

The overnight was chilly but calm. The average temperature was in the high 20s. The morning was bright and sunny, but clouds rolled in by midafternoon. The wind picked up in the afternoon and there were some periods of light snowfall. Ares arrived at the nestbox at 6:04 AM. He was calling like he saw Astrid but we could not find her with our cameras. He flew out a couple of times, perhaps in order to mate, but we did not confirm that either. At 6:32 it was clear that Astrid was on the State Building. Ares pulled some food out of storage and brought it directly up to her ledge. She accepted it and flew over to the hotel to have breakfast. At 6:56 Ares was back at the nestbox. He started calling when Astrid returned to the State Building. At 7:26 both were on the State Building. At 8:02 Ares screeched to the box but did not stay for more than a moment. For the next several hours he was in and out-of-the-box frequently, and Astrid was up and down from the State Building several times. Just before noon it was Astrid that came to the box for a change. She was gone fifteen minutes later. Directly after, there may have been a mating but we could not confirm it. At 12:32 PM Ares came to the box and was squeaking. He didn’t vocalize for very long and soon flew over to the State Building. At 12:41 he came back to the box. Again, he didn’t linger, but floated away on the strong wind. Indeed, it had gotten remarkably windy. Astrid was already on the State Building and Ares landed on a ledge close to her. At 2:05 both Falcons converged at the nest box for a ledge display. As it happened it was a fast one and Ares dove out after only a minute or two. Astrid then spent quite a long time in the box. It almost seemed as if she was preparing to lay an egg, but it’s way too early for that kind of thing! The Falcons were quite low profile for the balance of the afternoon. One or the other briefly perched on the State Building or on other downtown perches. Ares showed up at the nestbox at 454. He stayed for five minutes and then darted off – possibly to go to his night perch.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Monday, March 6^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNkbfw4J4tA

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

Once again, it was cold overnight with the temperature staying just below the freezing point. Monday’s skies were mostly clear and we all got to be reacquainted with sunshine. Temperature got up to about 45° in the afternoon. However, it was windy. We first noticed a falcon on the State building at 4 AM. Two hours later we noticed that there was a falcon also on the lookout post on the roof of the State Office Building. It turned out it was Ares on the high perch. He came to the nest box at 6:22 but did not stay long. One of the falcons did a dramatic dive in front of the box, and we are not quite sure why. Perhaps, in pursuit of a crow that got too close to the nest. Ares came to the box directly following that incident. Astrid was on the steeple at 6:38. A local crow flew towards her, probably unaware that there was a falcon sitting there. Astrid darted after it and chased it away from the building. Interestingly, the falcons don’t tend to bother with crows much. They don’t take them as prey, and they only rarely deal with them harshly when they come near the nest area. Following the non-incident Astrid flew to the box. At 6:54, Ares brought food over and Astrid accepted it on the east veranda. She brought it over to the hotel. At 7:14 Ares was calling inside the box. He was letting the world know that Astrid had just flown through the canyon and landed on the Steeple – a very excited fact indeed. At 7:29 the pair mated on the steeple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyD9lgzF1S4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENm0A_RgFtA

At 8:08 PM Astrid flew over and hazed the 15th floor. It was prompted by the view of someone moving in an office near the box. She landed on the crossperch and did some vocalizing. Moments later, the pair mated once again. At 9:28 Ares was on the hotel. There were a few pigeons on the same ledge. Astrid got there a few minutes later and the pigeons vacated. I guess sharing a ledge with one Peregrine is OK but not with two. After Ares departed, five pigeons flew in and landed on the opposite corner of the ledge from Astrid. At 11:40 the Astrid & Ares were in the box, engaged and ledge display. At 12:39 PM Astrid flew from her perch on the State Building and buzzed by PTZ 2 at incredible speed. She was obviously in pursuit of something. At 12:53 Ares was back to the nestbox and squeaking. Astrid was back on the State Building and he was inviting her over. As always happens at this time of year, he was keeping very close track of his mate. At 1:43 both Peregrines were on the hotel sitting in the sun on the building’s upper ledge. At 2:39 Ares made a brief stop at the box. At 4:15 one of the Falcons was on the State Building and then was gone 30 minutes later. At 5:00 Ares returned to the nestbox. He called out but there was no response. He went to his night perch just before 6:00. By that time Astrid was likely already tucked in for the night. Goodnight all.

Utica Peregrine Falcons Update for Sunday, March 5^th, 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk19oB-j6ZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd8gzY5KH_0

It was cool overnight. The temperature stayed just below the freezing mark and a light snow/rain mix fell off and on throughout the day. The day’s high temperature was in the low 40s. Ares came to the box at 4:37 AM. Astrid arrived on the west veranda a couple of minutes later. Ares spent some time making squeaking calls inside the box and trying to convince Astrid to come inside for a dance. At 5:02 she hopped into the box and the pair performed a very static ledge display around Ares’ super scrape. At 6:39 Ares brought a food gift to Astrid. She took it on the east veranda and flew over to the hotel, which is something we haven’t seen her do in a while. Indeed, it seemed like she had been avoiding the hotel for a while. As it happened her gift from Ares was a small one and it didn’t take very long for her to finish it. Ares screeched back to the box at 7:39. At 9:33 we finally saw Astrid again. She was on the south facing steeple perch. Five minutes later, we heard Ares screeching. Perhaps there was a mating attempt, but we did not see it. At 10:14 he came back to the box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Imboe–bb8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meLdmr6tcMM

At 11:16 AM the Falcons had their second dance for the day. After it was over, and Ares left, Astrid spent some time digging in the stones behind Ares’ scrape. At noon she was out on the long perch, and he was on the State Building. It had started to half rain/half snow at that point. At 12:05 both Falcons were up. Ares returned to the box and seemed very excited. Astrid landed on the steeple again but was only there briefly. At 1:56 Ares screeched to the box with prey. However, he took off again right before Astrid arrived to collect it. She called out a few times, but he didn’t return with her gift. He had flown over to the hotel, but he didn’t have the prey any longer. We think he probably stored it. At 2 o’clock he went over and perched on the north face of the State Building. Astrid flew over and buzzed by him. She then circled the building a couple of times. Ares returned to the nest box and was clearly excited. Astrid then proceeded to buzz by him at the nest box. Perhaps it was a flight display. At 2:25 she was on the State Building, and he was at the box. At 4:05 Astrid came to the next once more. At 4:55 Both falcons were on the upper ledge at the hotel. They were up five minutes later and then Ares stopped at the box. By 5:10 he was gone and probably off to his night perch. Goodnight falcons.