UTICA, N.Y. — A rare milestone has been reached for Utica’s peregrine falcons as an egg was laid earlier than ever before.
Members of the Utica Falcon Project shared that after Ares lost his longtime mate, Astrid, during the winter, there was uncertainty about whether he would find another mate.
Matthew Perry, president of the Utica Falcon Project, said, “Given that peregrine falcons have their own personalities and we didn’t know if Ares would take a new mate, but he seemed very keen.”
Ares eventually paired with Vera, who was too young last year to lay eggs. Perry said, “Peregrine falcons don’t normally reproduce until they’re two years old, at least the females, so we had to wait a full year.”
The egg appeared in the early morning hours of March 22, breaking a record for the earliest egg laid in Utica or Oneida County.
Perry said, “This is the earliest we’ve ever had an egg laid in Utica or Oneida County, March 22. She beat Astrid by one day. Astrid laid her first egg on March 23 twice, once in 2020 and again in 2024.”
The incubation period is expected to last about 32 to 35 days.
Perry said, “They don’t start full incubation until they have at least two eggs in the clutch, so we don’t expect them to do continuous incubation until the third egg.”
You can watch a live camera feed from the nest box at https://www.big-green.net/falcon/