The overnight was chilly with temperatures in the high thirties. After daybreak sunny skies prevailed and the temperature reached the high fifties by the end of the morning. It was well into the sixties by the end of the afternoon. Astrid was on the nest all night. Ares brought food to the box at 4:43 AM. Astrid took it on the crossperch and flew off into the dark canyon while Ares took over on the eggs. At 5:12 we noticed that Astrid was on the State Building. At 6:34 Ares was calling from the box. She was still in place on her high ledge; did he want to be relieved? They did a quick switch five minutes later and then Astrid was back on the nest. Before she climbed onto the eggs, we tried to inspect them for pips. Although one of the four had some obvious white spots on it, we didn’t believe them to be pips – more likely just stains or a lack of pigment on part of the eggshell. At 6:47 Ares was on the State Building. Astrid started calling shortly after that. Perhaps she was reacting to Ares chasing after something. At 9:40 Astrid was jostling the eggs. This is something she does at this point during incubation to induce hatching. At 11:12 Ares was calling from somewhere in the canyon.. He gave long calls and a brief chirping type alarm call. Astrid reacted by getting off the nest and darting into the canyon. Was she pursuing something? Another falcon? That was highly likely. Ares was to the nest and back on the eggs in just a few seconds. A look at the eggs before he settled on them was inconclusive. Nothing stood out but we thought we heard the call of a chick inside and egg. Unfortunately, that couldn’t be confirmed. At 11:43 some squeaking calls from Ares alerted us to the fact that Astrid had returned and was on the State Building. She left about an hour later, but then was back again just before 1:00 PM. Ares gave his squeaking calls with each move she made.
At 1:17 PM the falcons did a quick switch and Astrid was back on the nest. No pips were visible, and no chick calling was audible. At 1:36 Astrid started calling and abruptly vacated the nest. Apparently, there was an intruder in the canyon. Ares had been on the lookout post but dove down immediately to take over on the eggs. At 1:50 she came barreling back into the box, but then left again just as dramatically. She must’ve still been dealing with the intruder but wanted to check that the nest was being covered. After she left Ares started giving alarm calls and then he was out. It was his turn to defend the realm. She was to the nest and back on the eggs in less than two minutes. Once again, the eggs showed no obvious pips. At 3:20 we noticed that Astrid was jostling the eggs – trying to induce hatching. Perhaps she could hear a chick inside an egg or maybe she felt movement. Ares was back a couple minutes later and asking to take over. She refused and he didn’t challenge her. At a few minutes before 4:00 she was again jostling the eggs and was vocalizing – we think she was talking to the chick(s). At 4:21 she was calling out again. Hopefully, not because of an intruder. Ares returned to the box at 5:06 PM and Astrid sent him out once more. He did his famous cowabunga dive when he left, and she went back to jostling the eggs. At 5:30 we noticed that Ares was on a window ledge to the east of the box. A few minutes later, he hopped over to the nest and tried to get her to come off the eggs. She didn’t and he was shown the door once again. At 5:47 he went to the State Building, and she punctuated his landing with a call note. At a few minutes before 6:00 and at 6:30 she jostled the eggs and did some vocalizing. A half hour later, the falcons switched, and Ares got a late turn on the nest. Ares called out when he saw his mate land on the State Building and he called again when she took off. At 8:18 she landed on the crossperch, vocalized, and then quickly dove back into the canyon. Finally, at 8:30 PM, the falcons did their last changeover for the day. Will we have a pipped egg or a full hatch on Friday? Perhaps. Certainly the chances are better with each passing day. Goodnight falcons.
Little Falls Falcon Update: There were at least five feedings carried out by the Little Falls Falcons today. Other than that, all seems to be well with that Peregrine family.