The overnight was chilly with temperatures in the low forties. After daybreak temperatures rose fairly quickly and it was in the mid-sixties by early afternoon. Astrid off and on her clutch last evening until around 9:00 PM when she finally settled. It was warm enough to be off of them a while. Ares came to the box with food at a few minutes before 2:00 AM. Astrid took the food and did a feeding. He was back with more at 3:10 and Astrid fed out that meal as well. We noticed that Ares was on the west veranda at 3:23. He was wide awake and preening. By 5:00 he seemed to be snoozing, but then an hour later he was gone. The next feeding took place at 7:38. Ares brought food to the nest, actually bringing inside. Astrid scrambled to take it and then started doing a feeding. He bought another small food item at 8:07 – this one he also delivered inside the box. Astrid took it and fed it out to the chicks. Ares was on the steeple perch at 8:15. At 9:39 Ares delivered yet another meal inside the nestbox – making it easy and less hazardous for Astrid to take it, instead of scrambling over the tightrope crossperch. At 10:00 Ares screeched to the box with more prey. She declined it and he flew off to store it. At 10:25 he landed on the steeple. Astrid called out when he landed. He started giving some long calls and then flew to his favorite pillar top.
At 11:05 AM both adults were giving cackle-type alarm calls but neither left their places. She remained at the nest, and he stayed on his pillar. Evidently, they were only warning some migrant raptor off. At 11:29 Ares brought prey to the box and, just like the previous three times, he hopped inside the box to present it to his mate. She grabbed it and commenced feeding the chicks. At 11:37 she was done with the feeding and left the box. Ares came right in without missing a beat. He brooded the clutch for a couple of minutes and then Astrid was back in, and he was out. At 12:10 PM Astrid was trying to bring up a pellet while brooding the clutch. Ten minutes later we heard Ares giving alarm chirping calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid hopped off the nest and scrambled into flight. She flew in a circle around the State Building, gaining height, and then dove off towards the west shooting like an arrow. Ares then came to the nest box to be with the chicks. He made some squeaking calls when Astrid landed on a high ledge on the State Building moments later. At 12:37 she came back to the box and took over brooding from him. He went to the steeple. At 1:00 he started giving long calls and then he flew. At 1:39 Astrid got up from brooding, left the nest, and left the chicks alone. It was nearly 70 degrees by that point. She went to the State Building but then was back to the box and brooding only five minutes later.
At 2:30 PM Ares was back on the steeple and giving some long calls. They switched at sometime before 2:44 and Ares was in the box. She came in and took over at 3:08. At 4:06 we heard cackle-type alarm calls from Ares. We don’t know what triggered him. At 4:19 Ares came into the box. Astrid was shading at the time and seemed to have no intention of leaving the nest. They did some talking and then Astrid agreed to leave. She was then back about a minute later with food – undoubtable something from one of Ares’ pantry ledges. She then proceeded to feed the chicks with Ares remaining inside to provide the shade. This new behavior they developed only this week is something they are really taken with. At 4:35 after the meal was over Astrid began shading too – so the pair were both being Peregrine parasols. At 5:10 he had left the box. At a minute before 6:00 Ares brought a small prey item to the nest. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and then began doling out the food. He came inside the box for a minute, but it was awkward this time and so he left. At 6:47 PM Ares came to the box and requested a turn shading the chicks. After about a minute of refusing to leave, she unceremoniously got up and flew out. By this point the chicks had gotten separated from each other – by about eight inches. Ares didn’t seem sure of what to do. He partially opened his wings and shaded an area just short of where the chicks were. At 7:06 Astrid flew back to the nest and took over shading duties. Ares went over to the State Building. At 7:40 Ares flew to the box with a small hunk or food. Astrid accepted it on the crossperch and then fed the chicks their supper. After the meal was done, she spent a little time out on the crossperch and then she flew out into the canyon. After a couple of minutes Ares screeched over to the nest to babysit. Astrid returned to take over at 8:30 PM. Goodnight all.
Little Falls Falcon Update: