LATEST NEWS

The overnight period was warmer than it has been lately with temps in the low fifties. By midmorning temps climbed into the sixties and even the high seventies by midafternoon. Astrid got to bed fairly late Saturday night. She didn’t start brooding until 9:00 PM. We don’t know if there were any overnight feedings before 3:45 AM since our box recordings shut down sometime after midnight. Ares brought prey to the nest at 5:10 and Astrid fed the chicks. She left the box after the meal was finished at 5:22, but then she came right back. It was obvious that both parents see little point in continuous brooding when it’s so warm. A&A were moving around quite a bit through the first half of the morning. They certainly weren’t spending much time at the nest – only occasionally checking in. At around 9:49 Ares came to the nest area with food. Astrid took it and started a feeding. The smaller chick and one of the larger siblings vied for food while the other large sibling sat out the first part of the feeding. Astrid was done feeding them at 10:02. Ares screeched to the long perch at 10:05. Fifteen minutes later he hopped into the box, grabbed a scrap of food from the floor and dashed out with it.

At 10:21 AM Astrid was on her steeple perch. Ares flew to the box with food and Astrid met him there. She took the prey and fed it out to the nestlings. We noticed how the nestlings’ begging squeals have grown louder as they vocalized through the feeding. Astrid left when the meal was finished at 10:36. She was back to the crossperch at 10:56. She then spent some time on the east veranda. She really seems to be reveling in her freedom – no longer having to incubate or constantly brood. She flew off at 11:42. Two minutes later we heard Ares giving a cackle-type alarm call. He landed on a pillar above the nestbox. Astrid was on the steeple at that point and didn’t seem too upset. Ares flew off cackling and then she was up as well. They were likely reacting to a non-falcon raptor flying over the canyon. Ares brought prey to the nest at 12:45 PM. She handled the feeding. Six minutes later she was out with the leftovers. At 1:05 Ares came to the box with another meal. Astrid came to take it – both were cackling again. He cackled while he was flying out after something and she cackled while she was serving out food to the chicks. She left the nest when the meal was finished. At 1:19 Ares did a quick chick check at the nest. Increasingly, the parents are just doing brief check-ins at the nestbox. After the parents had both been out of view for a while, Ares screeched to the crossperch. It was another in and out visit. At 2:22 Astrid was doing a feeding. We weren’t sure when the meal was started or if Ares initially brought it. After the meal Astrid shading the nestlings from the strong afternoon sun. By 3:00 she was out. Ares came in to do a chick-check and then he was out of view. Astrid was in the nest trying to shade them at 3:40, but she was having a hard time rounding them up. She was still shading when Ares came to the box with food at 4:34. The parents had a tug-o-war with it on the east veranda before Ares relented. She then fed the chicks.

At 5:21 PM we noticed that Astrid was shading the egg. She was out of the box ten minutes later. Ares took a turn in the box at 5:36. He was giving long calls fifteen minutes later. At 6:00 PM Astrid was on the steeple. Meanwhile, in the nest, the chicks were sprawled out on the floor. The different leg color seemed obvious between the two older chicks – one with more yellow legs and the other with tan. At 6:28 Ares came to the nest, He was giving chirping-type alarm calls and seemed anxious. Astrid was on the State Building at that time. At 7:10 Astrid was in the box brooding. It was lightly raining in the canyon, but the rain soon stopped. Ares brought food to the box at 7:48. Astrid took it and did a feeding. After the meal both parents were on the State Building. She came to the long perch at close to 8:30. She was still there over an hour later. Will she come in to brood them later? Goodnight all.

The overnight period was cold and dry with temps in the low forties. After sunrise, temps rose quickly, reaching the mid-sixties before noon and 70 degrees in the afternoon. Astrid brooded the nestlings all through the night (Friday night). Ares brought prey to the box at 2:53, 3:40, 4:30, & 5:31 AM. Each time Astrid accepted the food and fed the chicks. That was a lot of feeding in just a few hours. After the last meal, Astrid left the nest. Ares came over to fill in at the nest. He was barely settled in when she came back and took over again. Ares went to the steeple for a short time, but then was out of view for quite a while. The chicks were alone in the nest when Astrid left at 9:26. Ares screeched over to the box ten minutes later. The chicks squealed in his face and pecked at him as if he had food – he didn’t. At 9:38 Ares brought a meal; she took it and started doling it out to the chicks. At 11:06 Astrid took the leftovers out of the nest and then came right back. At 11:41 she stopped brooding and was digging in the corner of the box. She left the nest at noon and was out of view for a while. Meanwhile, Ares was on the steeple watching the nest. At 12:15, both parents were on the State Building on adjacent ledges. They were both up at 12:30. He went to the box to sit with the nestlings, and she was out of view. At around 12:50 Astrid was back with her clutch and Ares was out.

At 1:08 PM Astrid left the nest – leaving the chicks on their own again. Her and Ares spent some time on the State Building. At 1:48 She was feeding the clutch. Ares had dropped off food for her a few minutes earlier. Following the meal, the nestlings spent some time alone in the nest again. Astrid was back with the chicks at 3:00. She began shading them shortly after that. At 3:26 the kids were alone in the box. Astrid checked on them at around 3:50 and then they were on their own again. For the first time one wondered away from its sibling huddle. It appeared to be the first hatch. It managed to amble over to the far side of the box about a foot away from the other two. The smallest chick then staggered over to where the first chick had gone. At 4:04 Astrid came into the box with food. She seemed a little at a loss for how to deal with the spacing of the clutch. How does she feed them like this? She chose to feed the two that were together and not the outlier. Soon the lone chick realized what it was missing and waddled over to be noticed by its mother. After the meal Astrid flew out and left the chicks, once again on their own. At 4:50 PM Ares stopped in for a chick check. He lingered on the lip of the box momentarily. At 5:00 Astrid was back with them. Ares was next spotted at 6:19. He was on the hotel plucking prey. He brought the meal to the nest at 6:24. Astrid took it from him and started feeding out dinner. The meal appeared to be done by 6:47. After nibbling on the leftover scraps from the meal she started brooding. Ten minutes later she was looking around the canyon from the crossperch. Maybe she was looking for Ares. At 6:51 she was back to brooding and that was likely where she would remain for the night. Goodnight falcons and falcon folks. We thought she would be there for the night, but instead, she went over to the State building and perched on a windowsill. She came back to the box at 8:30. Was she there for the night?

The overnight period was chilly again with temps dropping into the low forties. After sunrise fortunes changed and temps surged into the 60’s. Astrid was with the nestlings all night long. Ares brought prey at 3:53 AM. Astrid took the food and did the feeding. He was back again with another meal at 4:23. Astrid accepted the food and doled it out to the chicks. At 7:36 we could hear Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid left the box and he came in. He checked out the chicks but then hopped back onto the crossperch. Astrid took over at the nest at 7:45. At 9:11 she moved onto the crossperch. A few minutes later, Ares brought a Blue Jay to the west veranda. Astrid flew over to the veranda to get it. She then dashed back to the box. She then proceeded to pluck the jay for ten minutes. The feathers swirled around the box each time a gust of wind came through. Once she finished plucking, she began to feed it out to the nestlings. We noticed that all three youngsters were well fed during this feeding. After the meal Astrid took the leftovers out but then came right back. Ares brought more prey at 10:15 AM. Astrid handled the feeding. It was amazing that the chicks were able to pack more food in given their recent large meal. Astrid left at its conclusion but then returned right away.

Ares was on the steeple perch off and on. At 12:16 PM Astrid was gone from the box and Ares was inside with the chicks. He soon went out onto the crossperch. At 12:41 Astrid left the steeple to swoop by the box. Apparently, someone on the 15th floor got too close to their window. A couple of minutes later she was in the box with her nestlings again and Ares was up. He showed up again on the steeple by 1:12 PM. An hour later she was on the lip of the nestbox. At 4:30 Ares brought prey to the nest. It looked like a Virginia Rail – this would not be the first rail he has gotten. At 2:54 she was done with the feeding and flew from the box. At 3:00 Ares was heard giving loud calls from somewhere in the canyon. Four minutes later Astrid came to the crossperch and she was extremely agitated. At 3:15 she went over to the steeple. A few minutes later she was up on the roof of the nestbox – something she only does when she’s irritated. It typically means the people in offices adjacent to the nest box were going near their windows. At 3:48 Ares brought prey to the box. She took it and fed the chicks. By 4:10 she was shading them in the box. At 4:23 she was up on the box roof again – why? Ares was back in the box after that and he did some shading. By 5:09 He was out, and she was doing the shading. He brought prey to the nest at 6:00 PM. She took it from him and flew to the hotel. There she plucked it for a while. Five minutes later she was in the box and feeding the chicks. She left at 6:21 and Ares took over. At 6:55 both parents were on the State Building. As it happened, they were both in and out so many times we had a difficult time keeping up with them. Suffice it to say, the chicks spend a lot of time alone in the box this PM. At 8:06 Astrid was back in the box. It looked like she would be in there for the night. Goodnight falcons.

The overnight period was chilly with temps getting as low as the mid-30’s. The rebound was quick as the morning sun gained height. The afternoon was seasonably warm and the wind increased as it wore on. Astrid was with the nestlings all night. Ares brought prey to the long perch at 2:35 AM. Astrid stretched out, grabbed it, and flew away with it into the canyon. Ares followed her. She came right back and landed in the middle of the nest floor. The prey looked large, but it was too dark outside to identify it with certainty. It was probably a Common Grackle. Astrid spent some time plucking it before she started the feeding. At 2:55 Ares was back with more prey. She was still busy feeding out the previous meal and sent him away. He came back at 4:04 with still more food (perhaps the same prey he brought earlier). She took it this time and conducted a feeding. She left the nest at 6:11 but then came right back and resumed brooding. Ares came to the nest with prey at 7:40. As usual, Astrid handled the feeding. At 9:43 Ares was back again with food. Astrid took if and flew over to the Hotel. Ares guarded the nest as she plucked the meal. Nine minutes later she was in the box and feeding the nestlings.

At 11:56 AM we heard Ares screech from somewhere in the canyon. As it turned out he had just landed on a steeple perch. Ares left the nest at 12:14 PM and the chicks were alone for a few moments. Ares came back into the box at 12:19 and guarded the nestlings for a while. Astrid came to relieve him at 12:22. Ares brought lunch fifteen minutes later and Astrid doled it out. When it was finished, she got up, stretched her wings, and took a brief tour around the canyon before returning to the nest. Ares was on the State Building at that time. At 2:04 Astrid flew over to the State Building and Ares screeched to the box. Five minutes later Astrid took over again. He brought food at 2:13 and she did the feeding. At 3:26 she was out on the crossperch. Obviously, the chicks don’t need constant attention anymore, especially when the temperature is above 60 degrees. By 3:45 the sun was flooding into the box and Astrid hopped in to do some shading. Ten minutes later, Ares had taken over and he was sort-of shading the chicks. A minute later she was on the crossperch and he was out again. It was her turn to do some shading of the chicks.

At 4:33 PM Astrid took a break. She hopped out of the nest and went to her steeple perch. Ares came in less than a minute later and stood guard in the nest. He rolled the egg over and then stood back a little and just looked at the nestlings. That lasted only a moment and then Astrid was back. He moved out onto the crossperch and then flew into the canyon. At 4:53 Astrid left the nest again but was back two minutes later. At 5:19 Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid took it and started plucking it. After sufficient processing she fed it out to the chicks. Astrid left after the feeding was done and Ares came in to take over. At 5:52 she was on the steeple and he was on the State Building. The nestlings were sprawled out in the box. She checked in on them at 6:00 and then flew out and sailed around on the wind for a while. Both spent time on adjacent perches on the State Building. At 6:14 she came to the nest with what looked to be a hunk of a Blue Jay. She served it to the nestlings. She was back out when the meal was finished. Ares was in the box at 6:48 trying to feed the kids the leg of a songbird. The nestlings weren’t interested, and he left. At 7:08 she was on the crossperch, but only to do a quick check. She soon sailed back over to her perch on the State Building. Ares came to the crossperch at 7:23. He gave a big screech and then went into the box and perched next to the baby pile. He left at 7:52 when Astrid left the State Building. She was back in the nest at 7:53 and then she was out again. It seemed she was making the most of her newfound freedom. At 8:03 PM she was back with part of a carcass. That would be the chick’s supper. She appeared to be in for the night at that point. Goodnight all.

The overnight period was cool and rainy again with temperatures in the low forties. By morning the rain had mostly stopped but the sky remained overcast until mid-morning. Temps had risen into the 50’s by noon and into the 60’s by late afternoon. Astrid was on the nest all night as expected. Ares landed on the State Building at about 5:30 AM. Astrid gave an understated donkey call when she saw him land. A couple minutes later we heard Ares screech over to a ledge west of the nest. Astrid called when she saw him. He had a freshly caught grackle which he proceeded to pluck. At 5:43 Astrid went out onto the long perch anticipating his arrival at the box. He landed on the crossperch; she took the food and flew off with it. Ares then came into the nest to brood the chicks. She took the grackle to the hotel to have her share. At 5:52 she flew to the nest and began feeding the three chicks. Once again, the little chick waited until its larger siblings were full before lifting its head and vying. At 6:01 Astrid dove out of the box with the leftovers. Ares came in to tend the chicks while she was out, but that lasted only a minute. She was back and he was out.

At 8:06 AM Ares came to the nest with prey. Astrid grabbed it from him and flew into the canyon with it. She returned immediately and began another feeding. Ten minutes later the meal was finished, and Astrid was brooding again. At 11:53 Ares landed on a steeple perch. She gave quiet donkey calls when she saw him. Three minutes later Astrid was off the nest and flying into the canyon. She came right back with prey she drew from Ares’ pantry. From his perch on the steeple Ares watched her fly back and forth. She was doing his job! Astrid proceeded to feed the nestlings. At 12:50 Ares came to the nest to take over brooding duty. She didn’t go for it and sent him away. He came right back and stood on the long perch for a minute before sailing off into the canyon. At 1:00 PM Ares came to the long perch with prey. Astrid hopped to the crossperch to accept it. For some reason She stayed on the crossperch for a minute or more after she took the food. We thought they dropped the food during the transfer, but they didn’t. She flew off into the canyon with it, returned a minute later, and then conducted a feeding. At 1:04 Ares was heard giving an alarm cackle. We don’t know what he was sounding off about, but Astrid didn’t seem to be upset. At 1:10 Astrid left the nest with the leftovers. Ares came over to fill in at the nest while she was gone. She was back a moment later. She ousted Ares and resumed brooding. At 1:46 Astrid abruptly flew out of the box. Ares came to stand-in for her. She was back in five minutes and he was out.

At 3:08 PM Ares came into the box and requested a turn with the chicks. Astrid consented and flew out. Instead of going directly to the nestlings he watched what she was doing. She returned at 3:11 with a hunk of prey. Ares took a minute to leave while she began a feeding session. The sun was starting to flood into the box by 3:40. Astrid responded by shading the nestlings. She continued shading them for the next ninety minutes. At 5:12 Ares brought food to the nest. She fed the chicks for about ten minutes and then flew away to store the leftovers. Ares came to the nest but was only there for a minute before she was back and brooding. At 6:10 Ares came in to relieve Astrid at the nest. After a few minutes she took him up on the offer and flew off. He ended up standing on the crossperch preening for several minutes while the chicks huddled together around the egg. Astrid was watching over the box from a high perch on the State Building. At 6:20 Ares came over to the chick pile and stood in front of it. It was OK. By this point it was warm enough outside so the nestlings would be fine. As for the egg, it was now well beyond its hatch window and had no need of incubation anymore. Astrid relieved Ares at 7:08 PM. This time he went over to the State Building. He stayed there for a short time and then left for his night perch. Astrid seemed to be in place for the night. Goodnight falcons.