At approximately 7:18 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, the first Peregrine Falcon chick of the 2016 season hatched at the Downtown Utica nest site. There are three more eggs in the nest that are likely to hatch in the next few days.
The Utica Peregrine Falcon Project, which monitors the progress of the nest via web cameras, predicted Tuesday’s hatch based on when the parent birds began incubating the eggs April 1. A further indication that May 3 would be the hatch day came early Tuesday morning when a hole appeared in one of the eggs. By noon, begging calls began to be heard from the chick inside the egg.
This is the third consecutive year that Astrid and Ares, Utica’s resident pair of Peregrine Falcons have produced young. In 2014, this pair became the first of their species ever known to successfully raise young in Utica or Oneida County.
Peregrine Falcons remain listed as an endangered species in New York state. Back in 2013, in an effort to assist in the falcons’ recovery, a specially designed nest box was installed on the 15th floor of the Adirondack Bank Building in Downtown Utica. The Utica Peregrine Falcon Project was formed to safeguard and monitor the birds and their nest site.
There are just more than 70 pairs of Peregrines known to be nesting in New York state. About half of those nests are in cities. Streaming video from the Utica nest is available from YouTube and from the UPFP’s website at uticaperegrinefalcons.com and https://www.youtube.com/watch?