Submitted by Utica Peregrine Falcon Committee
(Utica, NY – April 10, 2014) As of early morning, April 10 it was determined that a single egg was laid in the Peregrine Falcon nest box on the Adirondack Bank in Downtown Utica. Incubation will not begin until there is a full clutch of eggs, so currently the egg is sitting on the gravel floor of the box and is only occasionally getting attention from the parents.
Peregrine Falcons lay eggs in intervals of 48 to 72 hours, so attaining the typical clutch of 3 to 5 eggs will take up to two weeks. Incubation of the entire clutch will then take about 33 days. Male and female falcons will take turns incubating the eggs.
A Peregrine Falcon’s egg is slightly smaller than a chicken’s egg. It is reddish-brown and speckled with dark spots. Peregrines lay their eggs directly onto gravel or other rough textured debris. This material serves to holds the egg in place and lessens the chance of it rolling away and breaking.
This is the first Peregrine Falcon egg to be laid in this city in five years and experts believe this new nest represents our best chance yet of breeding success for this New York State Endangered Species. The pair, which recently were named Astrid and Ares, have considered Downtown Utica as their territory since the summer of 2012, but this is their first nesting attempt. The nest box on the Adirondack Bank building was installed just over one year ago with the hope of attracting this pair to a safe breeding site.
A network camera was installed inside the box so that nesting behavior can be monitored remotely and without disturbing the birds. It is expected that soon the video feed from this camera will be made available on a dedicated website so that the general public can see what happens inside the box in real time. Employees inside the bank building have set up a Facebook page for people to view pictures and videos from the nest camera. That Facebook page is called “Falcon Watch Utica”.
Peregrine Falcons have had a presence in the downtown Utica area since the 1990’s but they have never successfully bred there or anywhere in Oneida County. Utica’s original pair of falcons nested on M&T Bank’s Gold Dome building in 2008 & 2009, but failed to produce young either time.