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.
