The overnight was cooler with some rain showers. Fog came in very early. Temperatures were in the low 60’s. Conditions remained mostly the same through morning with intermittent showers and cool winds. The afternoon was warmer, the rain stopped and the wind persisted. Astrid was on the west veranda for part of the night and then on the long perch for quite a while. Ares brought prey to the nest at 2:37 AM. Astrid took it and did a feeding. By 5:00 both parents assumed guard positions on the verandas. At 6:17 Astrid came to the long perch and got the chicks excited. At 8:06 Ares brought food. Astrid took it and started a feeding. Ten minutes later the meal was done. At 8:23 the chicks were doing some wing exercising. Their flight feathers continue to grow even as the white down still covers their entire bodies. At 8:25 Ares was on the long perch giving long calls and the nestlings squealed in response. At 9:11 Astrid brought prey to the nest. She hopped in and conducted the feeding. At 10:51 she was up on the roof of the nestbox. Probably no one would be in the offices today, but she wasn’t taking any chances. At 12:09 PM Astrid was on the upper steeple perch. By then it was raining a little harder and it had become much windier. At 12:12 Ares came to the box and once again he got the kids squealing. At 12:55 cackling calls from one of the chicks brought both parents to the box in a double hurry. Astrid left after a moment, but Ares stayed in the box to get screamed at by one of the chicks at point blank range. At 1:12 Ares brought what appeared to be a Virginia Rail to the box. Astrid took it and doled it out evenly between the two chicks. At 1:20 one of the nestlings bit at Astrid’s tail as she was leaving.
At 1:34 PM Ares came into the box to do a chick-check. Astrid did one at 4:00. Once again one of the feisty chicks bit her tail as she was leaving. At 5:23 Ares brought prey. Astrid took it and started a feeding. One of the chicks – we think the female, grabbed a chunk of food and took it to the side of the box, but wasn’t able to feed on it proficiently. She opted to be fed alongside her brother. When the main part of the food was done, Astrid recovered the stolen chunk and fed it out to both chicks. During the entire meal the nestlings were raucous and loud. After Astrid was gone, one of the nestlings backed up onto the lip of the box to eliminate. It seems a little early for that kind of behavior! At 6:00 PM Astrid went up onto the roof of the box again. But she didn’t stay there for long. She was on the steeple after that. At 6:47 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid handled the feeding. Ares went to the same steeple perch Astrid had been on earlier. In the nest, one chick was getting fed while the other watched Astrid’s tail bob up and down. And yes, there was some tail biting – it’s just too irresistible. That chick soon joined the queue and got fed. After the meal Astrid went to the State Building. The chicks settled down at that point – more or less. There was some more wing flapping and strutting around, but they ended up relaxing – one with its bill resting on the lip of the box, both looking out into the canyon. Will there be any more action in the evening? The answer to that is YES! Ares brought more food at 7:31 PM. Astrid appeared right away and soon got another feeding going. The chicks seemed more than willing to pack some more in. Goodnight all.
Little Falls Falcon Video: