Sunday, May 8, 2022 – Warm Afternoon Leads to Lots of Shading & No Pips are Confirmed on the Remaining Eggs & Ares Shades While Astrid Feeds the Chicks – New Behavior?

Ares asks for a turn with the clutch

The overnight was cold with temperatures down to the freezing point. By daybreak it had become moderately windy. Mostly clear skies prevailed for much of the day and by early afternoon the temperature was 65 degrees. Astrid was on the clutch all night. Ares came to the nest with food at 3:26 AM. Astrid accepted it on the crossperch while doing her usual balancing act, and then she conducted a feeding. By 5:00 Ares was visible on the State Building. Astrid was doing a lot of clutch jostling which led us to think that perhaps we would have another hatch sometimes soon. At 5:22 Astrid got up off the nest, stretched and flew off into the canyon. She returned a minute later with a hunk of leftovers. She then began the second feeding of the day. At 5:34 she was out again with the leftovers. Once she was gone, we were able to view the eggs without obstruction and we could see no obvious pips. At 5:35 Ares screeched to the nest, but she came in seconds later and he was out again. While no parent was in the nest, we thought we were hearing the muffled call of a chick inside one of the remaining eggs. Still, we had no confirmed pip. The calls could have come from one of the nestlings. At five minutes before six PM, Ares was back on the State Building. At 7:02 he brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it and started a feeding. The feeding was over in ten minutes. During the meal we thought there may be a small pip on one egg, but we couldn’t be sure. At 7:49 Astrid was jostling her clutch again.

Astrid doing a feeding

Astrid and Ares beaking

At 9:08 AM Ares was on the steeple giving long calls. He was up at 9:34. A couple of minutes later Ares brought food to the crossperch. Astrid took it and did a feeding. Again, we thought we could hear the muffled call of a chick inside an egg, but it wasn’t a sure thing. At 9:43 the chicks were toppled over and satiated, and Astrid helped herself to the leftovers. When she was done, she went back to brooding. Ares was on the west veranda at that point. At 10:22 Astrid was doing more egg jostling. She was also vocalizing. Was she talking to the unhatched eggs? At 10:42 Ares came to the box and asked for a turn on the clutch. He was denied and he hopped over to the west veranda. At 11:01 he flew off giving a cackle alarm call. At 11:14 she started cackling. He was on an east ledge at the time and neither of them scrambled in pursuit. It was likely only a passing vulture or raptor and no threat to home or hearth. At 11:47 Ares came into the box and tried to get a turn with the clutch. He wasn’t very pushy, but he walked around behind her, encouraging her to leave but not stepping on her. When that didn’t work, he came around in front of her and had a face-to-face moment. She made it clear that she wasn’t going anywhere, and he vacated to the west veranda. At 11:55 both falcons were cackling, but again, did not launch after whatever stray migrant was passing through.

Astrid shading the clutch

Astrid feeds the chicks and maybe Ares too

At 12:27 Ares was giving long calls. He flew out, boomeranged back, and landed on the east veranda. Both were calling – we think in reaction to some very loud sirens from passing emergency vehicles. Five minutes later Ares screeched to his pillar perch. At 1:12 we heard him giving more long calls from somewhere. He screeched to the east veranda ten minutes later. At 1:29 he brought prey to the crossperch. Astrid took it and began a feeding session. At 1:35 the chicks had had enough, and Astrid had a portion. She then flew out with the leftovers – presumably to store them. Ares came in to babysit, but she was back only a minute later and took over on the nest. At 3:00 he was back to the box and asking for a turn. She had been shading the chicks from the increasingly intense sunshine flooding into the box. This time she seemed happy to cede the clutch to him. Once she was out, Ares just stood alongside the clutch. He may have thought he was throwing shade on them – he wasn’t. At 3:22 Astrid returned with a small hunk of leftovers – it looked to be a wing with something attached. Once she was done plucking it, she saw that there was nothing left to feed out. The chicks didn’t seem interested anyhow. Ares had left and she settled down to half shade and half brood. By 3:25 her job had become only shading.

Ares provides shade while Astrid conducts the feeding

Astrid shading

Astrid brooding

At around 4:40 PM the pair switched – Astrid left, and Ares came into the box. He started shading right away this time. Ten minutes later Astrid was back. When she saw that he wanted to stay, she left again but was back in less than a minute with food. We expected that Ares would leave once Astrid came in and started doing a feeding. That was not the case; he stayed where he was and continued shading. As it happened, he shaded during the entire meal. Interestingly, and oddly, at the start of the meal it looked like Astrid was trying to feed Ares too! Regardless, as far as we know, one falcon shading while the other fed the chicks was new behavior for our pair. When the meal was done at 5:00, She flew out with the leftovers, and he stayed on being a falcon parasol. Five minutes later, when he was just switching over from shading to brooding, Astrid came in and started brooding. This time Ares took the hint and left the nest. Astrid soon switched to shading. With her wings partly open, her bill agape, and panting, she was looking pretty stressed, buts that’s just how Peregrines deal with the heat. We’re sure it looks worse than it is. At 5:52 Ares moved from the State Building to the west veranda – screeching in for a landing. He hopped over to the long perch at 6:27, this time long-calling as he arrived. Two minutes later he came into the box and took over from Astrid. Moments after that he was shading. At 6:45 they did a quick switch and then it was her turn to brood the clutch. At 7:12 Ares screeched to the east veranda. The action for the day seemed to be over at this point, but there are never any certainties in falcontown. Speaking of which, will there be any more eggs hatching? We don’t know, but we decided that neither of the remaining eggs are pipped – only stained. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Falcon Update:

Feedings continue for the growing nestlings at the Little Falls nest.

2 thoughts on “Sunday, May 8, 2022 – Warm Afternoon Leads to Lots of Shading & No Pips are Confirmed on the Remaining Eggs & Ares Shades While Astrid Feeds the Chicks – New Behavior?”

  1. We used to have live watching if u signed up I did this a few years ago not sure how long ago it was though.

    1. Hi Gail,
      I think you are talking about fledge watch. That will happen around mid June. No need to sign up anymore. We just gather in the back parking lot behind Grace Church. Look for a tent type awning and people in lawn chairs. We would love to have you join us!!
      Deb & Matt

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