Utica Peregrine falcon lays first egg of the season
Saturday evening at approximately 6:50 p.m., the Utica Peregrine Falcons (named Astrid and Ares) produced their first egg for the 2017 breeding season. The egg laying took place in the nest box on a 15th-floor ledge on the Adirondack Bank Building in Downtown Utica. This is the same location where the pair successfully raised young for the last three years in a row.
An internet camera placed inside the box has provided video and still pictures of the falcons and the egg. We can expect at least three more eggs to be laid in the box over the next 10 days. Members of the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project predicted that an egg was going to be laid this week based on the behavior of the female falcon. The incubation period for Peregrine Falcons is at least 33 days and so we expect hatching of the eggs to begin in early May.
Peregrine Falcons, which are famous for being the fasted birds in the world, remain on the Endangered Species List in New York State. There are only about 75 pairs known to nest in the State. Around half of those nest sites are in the Adirondacks and half are in cities or on bridges. In urban areas falcons feed mostly on non-native Rock Pigeons and European Starlings. Monitoring of falcon nests is done for both conservation and educational purposes. Live streaming video from the Utica nest is available at the UPFP’s website: UticaPeregrineFalcons.com
Regular updates and videos can also be found on the Utica Falcon Watch Facebook page.
In 2014 Astrid and Ares became the first pair of Peregrine Falcons known to successfully breed in Utica and in Oneida County history.