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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.

The overnight was seasonably cool and rainy. Things changed little during the course of the day. Rain was intermittent and the temperature never got out of the low fifties. Astrid was on the eggs all night. Ares came to the box at 4:19 AM and they did a switch. At 6:14 we saw that Astrid was on a window ledge to the east of the nestbox. She came to the box, and they switched five minutes later. Given that Pip-watch has begun, we try to examine the eggs closely at every changeover. So far, we’ve seen no   sign of a pip or hatch. At about 8:05 Ares came to the nest and tried to get Astrid to let him have a turn, but she declined his appeal. It wasn’t until about 10:25 that she consented to switch.  As it was, his turn was a short one. She was back at 11:01 and she quickly took over from him. He went up to his pillar perch as she settled on the eggs. At 12:37 PM Ares was back to the box and asking for a turn on the eggs. He went behind her, and then alongside her, but she wasn’t moving. He went and bit at some stones in the corner and then moved in behind her again. This time she did shift and allowed him to take over. We saw no pips on any of the eggs during the changeover.

At 1:51 PM we noticed that Astrid was on the west office perch. It was raining; she was very wet and did some preening. At 2:20 she darted after something – probably a Pigeon. At 2:54 the falcons did another changeover. Once again, no pipped eggs were confirmed during the switch. At a few minutes before 5:00, Ares was up on his lookout perch on the top of the State Building. Probably a real pleasant place to be in the rain. The falcons switched again at 5:42 and Ares took over on the eggs. Astrid initially went to the State Building but then she flew to the steeple. At 6:30 she saw someone close to an office window (near the box) and started seriously hazing the fifteenth floor. Ares called out as she repeatedly flew by, but he kept his place on the eggs. At 6:36 she laned on the long perch but was still staring at the office windows ready for someone to make a false move. She did a few more passes, even hovering at one point to really drive home her displeasure. As hatching time approaches, she gets increasingly sensitive to any movement around the nest area. At 7:07 PM she had calmed down and took a perch on a ledge over on the State Building for a little while. She was back to the box for the last switchover at 7:27. We expect no more excitement tonight. We will continue to check the eggs for pips in the coming days. We should have our first hatch by Friday. Goodnight all.

The overnight was cool with temperatures in the high forties. Some rain fell overnight but the skies became partly cloudy before dawn and the rain stopped. The temperature was up to 60 degrees by noon and to near seventy later in the afternoon. Astrid was on the nest all night long. Ares screeched to the box at 4:33 AM but he didn’t come inside. Astrid didn’t seem like she wanted to switch anyhow. He left and perched on the State Building after that. At 5:27 he was back to the box and the pair did switch. At 5:51 we saw Astrid flying around the west side of the State Building. Ares called as he watched her. Perhaps she was checking his pantry ledges for prey. At 7:34 they switched again, and Astrid took over incubation. At 11:00 she called from the box. He was on the lookout a couple of minutes later. There may have been raptors and vultures migrating through. At 11:54 he was on his pillar perch over the box, but then he was up again at noon. Soon after we heard him giving long calls from somewhere. He moved back up to the lookout perch and then he was out of view. At 12:16 PM Astrid came off the eggs and hopped onto the long perch. A minutes later she flew over to the State Building. The eggs were alone, and the temperature was 59 degrees. She came back to the nest and was back on the eggs two minutes later. At 1:12 we heard Ares cackle calling from somewhere. With our PTZ two cam we could just make out the form of two raptors circling and possibly sparring to the southeast of the State Building. One of the birds continued flying east the other went back towards the State Building. The latter bird was Ares, and he was soon back on his lookout perch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2sJaKrr8ow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmABmtltbwc

At 1:30 PM he was up again. He circled the State Building and then zoomed off to the northwest. Astrid called out as he flew by. Is he ever going to come and incubate? Apparently guarding the nest and territory takes precedence. At 1:33 Ares came to the east veranda. From there he hopped into the box and lobbied for a turn on the eggs. When Astrid wouldn’t get up, he stepped on her tail and wing tips. When that didn’t work, he moved alongside her and beaked with her. When that didn’t work, he hopped in front of her and ate a stone. From there he went onto the long perch and from there, out into the canyon again. A few minutes later he was back on his pillar. At 2:35 we heard him calling and she responded. At 3:50 Astrid was off the eggs and digging around in the box. The temperature was near 70 degrees. Four minutes later she was back to incubating. Ares came into the box at 3:54 and they did a relatively quick switch. By that point she had been incubating for well over eight hours (with one two-minute interruption). She went over to the State Building. She was there until around 6:10 PM. If she went to the hotel with food, we wouldn’t know it since our PTZ one camera is down. She was back on the State Building at 6:36. Astrid returned to the nest at 7:06. She stood on the crossperch and appeared to be asking to mate! She then moved to the east veranda perch. Ares was talking to her, but she just stayed out and preened. And then at 8:02 she flew off into the canyon. It was getting dark by this point and Ares seemed surprised that he was still with the eggs. At 8:24 she finally came into the box and the pair did their last quick switch of the day. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83Wt9bkhRx4

Little Falls Falcon Update: The Little Falls nestlings were fed at least four times on Tuesday. Interestingly, when the male (Erie) brings food, he makes the female (Anna) fly off the ledge to get it. We shall see if this Accipiter-like method of transferring prey continues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnArp5ij3xA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2mI1oNtDN0

The overnight was chilly with some rain showers. The rain stopped and the temperature rose through the morning and peaked in the mid-fifties. Rain returned in the afternoon and continued into the evening. Astrid was on her eggs all night. Ares came to the box earlier than usual – at 4:09 AM, and the pair did a quick switch. At 5:43 we noticed that Astrid was on the west face of the State Building. She was up again ten minutes later, and Ares’ squeak calls let us know that she had flown. At 6:41 Astrid came back to the nest, and they switched. At 7:38 Ares was on his favorite pillar perch and he and Astrid were calling to each other. At 8:56 Ares came by the box just to check on Astrid and the eggs. He didn’t ask to take over incubation; he was just was in and out. At just before 9:00 we noticed that our PTZ 1 camera had stopped working and we were unable to bring it back online. It may need to be replaced which we hope to do before fledging time when we need it most. At 9:40 Ares was back to the nest and this time he did ask to have a turn on the eggs. She declined his request, and he dove out without complaint. At 10:09 we noticed that he was on the east veranda, and he was trying to bring up a pellet. At 10:57 he gave a few long calls and she answered him from the nest. He hopped back into the box a few minutes later and this time he didn’t ask to take over, he went behind Astrid and stepped on her tail, but she didn’t budge. He soon gave up and went to the west veranda. At 11:55 he was back to his pillar perch. He returned to the box at 12:21 PM and this time when he stomped on her tail she got up and left. She flew over to the State Building. Astrid was up again at 1:39 and Ares reacted to her flight with squeaking calls. Rain began falling in the mid afternoon and it cooled things down. The Peregrines certainly became less active. Astrid came to the box at 3:00 to relieve Ares. It was a fast changeover. At 4:30 we noticed that Ares was up on his pillar perch. At 5:52 he flew to the box and the pair did another quick switch on the eggs. Astrid flew through the rain and took a relatively low perch on the State Building. The final switch of the day took place at around 7:45. Astrid took over on the eggs and seemed to be settling down for the night. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMZwGvc3f90

Little Falls Falcon Update: At 7:30 AM we noticed that the third egg had not gotten any closer to hatching. Something was obviously wrong. By late morning the pipped egg was gone from the nest. It had either been tucked into a corner where we couldn’t see it, or it had been removed from the ledge. Regardless, there will be no third hatch in the Little Falls nest. The two nestlings appear to be doing well. Although one of the pair is showing some feather loss which is something we are mildly concerned about. We will be monitoring.

The overnight was chilly but during the day the temperature surged into the mid-70’s. Astrid remained on the nest through the night. Ares arrived to relive her sometimes between 5:00 AM and 5:15. Forty minutes later Astrid landed on the steeple and Ares gave some squeaking calls to acknowledge her move. The next switch happed at around 6:50 and this time Astrid was taking over incubation. At 8:37 Astrid called out, inadvertently drawing our attention to the fact that her mate had taken a perch on the State Building. At 9:51 Ares brought prey to the long perch. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to get and then flew off into the canyon. We thought she would go to the hotel right away, but she didn’t show up there until two minutes later. I guess she took the scenic route. At 10:02 she was finished with her meal, and she flew to the steeple. At 11:14 Astrid came to the box and asked to take over incubation, but Ares didn’t want to leave. She let him have some more time. At 11:44 Astrid returned and this time they did switch. At 12:55 PM, Ares was giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid called back from the nest. As the temperature came up into the mid-seventies during the afternoon, Astrid began panting, but she continued incubating; we didn’t see her switch to shading the eggs. At 3:32 she did some vocalizing. We thought maybe she was calling Ares over to switch, but when he showed up at 3:51 she showed no inclination to give up incubating. Ares stood inside the box with her for about eight minutes. He wasn’t being pushy about taking over, he was just standing next to her. He probably expected that since it was getting increasingly warm in the box that Astrid would want to leave, but she didn’t. Finally, he took his exit. He was back at 4:42 and this time Astrid had no problem ceded the nest to him. While in the box he mostly incubated but he also did some shading. Like Astrid had done before him, he was panting a bit. At 4:51 he started calling out excitedly from the nest. Apparently, there was an intruder active in the canyon. Astrid was probably dealing with it, although we had no visual to confirm what was occurring. He calmed down after a while, having never left the eggs. Astrid was back on the State Building at 5:16. She was up and down at least once in the subsequent hour. The last switch of the day occurred at 8:15 PM. Astrid climbed onto the eggs and looked to be in place for the night. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update – As of early Sunday morning the pipped egg in the Little Falls nest still hadn’t opened completely. We still have hope that all is OK with it, and we will put out another update tomorrow.