The overnight was cool and windy. Some showers were around in the morning and temperatures remained on the low fifties until afternoon when they got close to 60 degrees. The wind was persistent and strong, and it made it seem colder. Astrid brooded the chicks all night long. Ares brought prey at 3:28 AM and Astrid took a while plucking it. For some reason she fed out only a few bites and then took the food out to store it. Ares brought more prey at 4:48. Again, Astrid spent some time processing it and then only fed one of the chicks. The other nestling wasn’t vying for some reason, and we became concerned. At 5:24 the one we were worried about brought up a good-sized pellet. We believe that was the reason for its lack of appetite. At 5:33 Astrid took some leftovers out of the box. Ares arrived to take over when she left. He was just in the process of trying to brood them when she burst into the nest and ousted him. Astrid is very intense this time of year. At 8:16 the falcons switched, and Ares came back to chick-sit. Both nestlings were looking up at him and begging with high-pitched squeals. Two minutes later Astrid was back, and Ares was sent out. She quickly resumed brooding as he flew over to perch on the State Building. At 9:12 Astrid left once again and once again Ares came in to watch the chicks. Astrid returned two minutes later with what appeared to be most of a plucked dove. What followed was a fairly long feeding session in which both chicks vied and fed normally. Towards the end of the session, at 9:28 the nestlings were full and didn’t want to take any more. She reluctantly stopped feeding them and went back to brooding. At 10:10 Astrid picked up the leftovers of the last meal and seemed to have a moment of indecision; she didn’t know whether to remove the food and store it or, to feed the rest of it out right then and there. She opted for the latter course. A few minutes into the feeding it was clear that the chicks were full and didn’t want any more, but Astrid kept tying. She would try from one side, and then walk around to the other side and try again. The chicks would occasionally open their bills and accept some, but it was obvious their hearts weren’t in it. Why was Astrid so intent and feeding them so much? At 10:23 she gave up and went back to brooding. There was barely anything left of the meal anyhow.
At 11:18 AM Astrid was feeding out some food scraps. Twenty minutes later she gave a cackle-type alarm call while brooding the chicks. She didn’t leave the nest. At 11:57 Ares came into the box and tried to take over brooding. Astrid declined his offer and stayed in place. He gave up quickly and floated away on the wind. At 12:52 we noticed that she was shuffling the chicks fairly often. Days ago, we were blaming the heat for this behavior. Was she now doing it because it was chilly? The falcons switched at around 1:40. Astrid was out, and Ares was brooding. She came back to the box at 1:53, but Ares wanted to stay so she allowed him to, and she left. At around 2:20 Astrid came back to the nest with food and then proceeded to serve it to the chicks. Ares left the box. At 3:11 PM it had warmed up sufficiently (around 60 degrees) so that Astrid was half-brooding/half-shading the nestlings. At 3:32 Astrid was out, and Ares was in. She came back a few minutes before 4:00 and Ares was out. Ten minutes later she was trying to bring up a pellet while brooding. Ares brought a pre-processed Morning Dove to the nest at 5:00. Astrid lunged out in fast motion to take it from him on the crossperch and then she conducted a feeding. Both chicks seemed to eat well. Although one of them did some wandering around in the box mid-way through the meal. After the meal Astrid left the box and Ares came in to mind the chicks. He watched them as they explored the nestbox, but seemed at a loss about how to get them corralled. Astrid then came in and took over. She went to the corner, cupped the wayward chick with the shoulder of her wing and shuffled it back to the middle of the box. She is a no-nonsense falcon mother! At 7:17 Ares brought something small to the box. Astrid took it and started another feeding. It lasted less than five minutes and then she was brooding again. At 7:24 Ares was on the State Building again, probably in hunting mode. Twenty minutes later he was out of view. Everyone seemed set for the night by that point. Goodnight all.
Little Falls Falcon Video: