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.
