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The Overnight period was wet and cool – a nice early May kind-of day. Oh, that’s right, it’s early June! Astrid was in the nest vicinity for part of the night. Ares came to the box with prey at 2:18 AM but Astrid did not come to meet him. He thought about doing the feeding but then one of the big chicks swiped the food from him and took it to the back of the box. The era of food swiping has begun. At 5:12 Astrid came to the east veranda. Astrid then came to the crossperch at 5:33. She seemed to know there was uneaten food inside the box but every time she went inside to get it one of the chicks would chase her out. She made about fur failed attempts. Finally, she came in and got it and began trying to serve it out. While Astrid fed one of the chicks, the biggest chick was biting at her tail and grabbing it with her big foot. She was grabbing at the food as well, but each time Astrid would pull it back and feed her a piece. At 6:05 the second biggest nestling gave an extend cackle call. It was surprisingly long. Astrid had been on the steeple but took flight possibly in reaction to the nestling’s calls. At 6:21 both adults were on pillar perches to the west of the nest. At 6:47 Astrid came to the box for a chick-check. She was trying to come inside, but once again the babies kept chasing her out. She then began dancing back and forth between the crossperch and the two verandas. We think she may have been showing the nestlings that the veranda platforms are something they need to be using. Seems too early on for that kind of thing, Astrid. At 6:56 Astrid was on the roof of the nestbox.

At 9:37 AM Astrid was feeding out something that Ares had brought – possibly a goldfinch. At 10:58 Ares brought more food – probably a cuckoo that time. Astrid took it and served it to the nestlings. At one point the oldest chick stole the food, but Astrid took it back and resumed the feeding session. At 11:30, Astrid was back to the box roof and Ares was on his east pillar perch. At 12:13 PM Astrid flew over Deb’s head in the parking lot. Was she hunting Pigeons or giving Deb a warning not to go into her office? Ares did some flying around the canyon; he sailed by the hotel and then towards the State Building. At 12:38 Astrid was on her steeple perch. Ares was on the State Building but then went on a hunting trip shortly afterwards. At 1:00 Ares brought a swallow to the box. As Astrid tried to serve it out one of the chicks made off with a hunk. She continued to give out what was left. Ares brought more prey at 1:41. Astrid attempted to feed the chicks only to lose the whole thing to one of them. That chick took it to the corner. Astrid tried to recover it but the nestling held it fast with her talons. Astrid ultimately gave up and left. The nestling then jumped around with her prize, footing it and biting it, but not really eating it. At this point the winds were stronger in the canyon and they were occasionally making feathers swirl around in the box. The nesting watched the feathers fly around their heads. At 2:16 there was a food transfer outside of the box somewhere. Astrid had the prey and fed it out to the chicks who were relatively well behaved. Astrid did chick-checks at 3:45 and 4:00. At 5:44 she came into the box with a large prey item. It looked to be a Pigeon. She was able to feed the nestlings for a while but then the last third of the meal was absconded with by a chick. Ares brought food at 6:39. Astrid did the feeding and the nestlings were again fairly well behaved – at least by recent standards. For some reason, more than halfway through the feeding, two of the chicks gave cackle-type calls. Astrid kept feeding them right through. Astrid called it a night at 8:45 and came to her guard position on the long perch. Goodnight all

The overnight was relatively mild. Temps came up after daybreak and it even got a little hot in the midafternoon. Light rain showers helped to cool things off. Astrid again spent the night in the vicinity of the nest. There were no overnight feedings. At 4:55 Astrid was out on the long perch waiting for Ares to bring something when she noticed there was prey already on the floor. Most likely Ares brought something earlier and a chick stole it from him. Astrid picked it up and did a feeding. Ares screeched over to do a chick-check at 5:57. He was on the long perch for a while after that. At 6:30 AM Astrid was on her steeple perch. She had a large crop and had obviously just eaten. She was on the west veranda ten minutes later. At 6:47 both parents were assuming their guard positions – her on the box roof and him on the east veranda. They were still there at 8:30. At 9:21 Astrid came to the box and got the nestlings squealing. She was back on the box roof giving cackle calls at 11:10.

At 12:54 PM both parents were at the nestbox and the nestlings were very animated – calling and writhing. They hadn’t been fed since early morning and they were famished. At 1:30 Astrid came to the box with a Pigeon. A long feeding session followed. At 2:12 Ares brought more prey to the nest. He hopped in, fed one chick for a little while and then was out again. It had been lightly raining for while by this point. Astrid was on the box roof again at 3:25. Even though there was no one in the office where the box is located, she kept a super vigilant watch in case someone showed up. At 6:00 what appeared to be a Pigeon fluttered up towards the box. Both parents were there at the time. Astrid chased after it, but we don’t think she caught it. She was on a steeple perch a few minutes later. At 7:09 the parents came to the box at the same time for a chick-check. The babies when bonkers. She moved to the box roof, and he went to his pillar perch. At 7:42 Astrid came to the box with a large hunk of prey – probably a Pigeon. Ares hadn’t left his pillar, so we know he hadn’t brought it. She proceeded to feed it out to the nestlings. At 8:14 Astrid was to her night position on the east veranda. Goodnight falcons.

It was cool overnight but the temperature came up fast after daybreak. The sun had also come out by mid-morning and temperatures soon reached 70 degrees. Astrid spent most of the night in the vicinity of the nest. There were no overnight feedings. Ares came to the box with a small prey item at 4:55 AM. Astrid handled the feeding. The meal went by very quickly. In the next half hour both parents came by the nest to do quick chick-checks. Each time the nestlings squealed wildly. At 5:22 Astrid came to the nest with a Black-billed Cuckoo. Obviously, it came from storage or from Ares directly. Astrid’s traditional aversion to cuckoos has yet to manifest itself this season. The largest chick stole the cuckoo from Astrid and took it to the back corner. Astrid yanked it back, plucked it, and began the feeding. The second largest chick tried to steal the food as well but couldn’t manage it. The meal was over by 5:33. Astrid was on the steeple after that, and Ares was on the State Building. At 7:58 Astrid had become irritated by people in their offices near the nest. The Memorial Day holiday was over and now Astrid had to put up with office monkeys near her nest again. She gave some cackle calls and began obsessively watching the office windows. At 8:07 Ares brought food to the west veranda. Astrid scrambled over to him to get it. She flew into the canyon and then back to the nest. The prey appeared to be a small sandpiper, possibly a Least Sandpiper. Astrid fed it out to the chicks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6W3EuRzCSY

At 9:55 AM Astrid went onto the roof of the nestbox. She was on guard duty again. Ares made a food delivery at 10:06. Astrid took it and did the feeding. At 11:04 Ares was on the hotel ledge. He was plucking and eating part of an unusual Pigeon, It was smaller than the average size for its species and it had odd black and white plumage. We struggled to identify its headless body, but then we saw its pink legs and we knew it had to be a Pigeon – odd plumage pattern notwithstanding. At 11:09 Ares flew in with the prey. Astrid came off the steeple to meet him at the box. Screeching, she grabbed the prey from him, hopped into the box, and fed the chicks. At 11:54 Astrid was annoyed at the offices again and did some hazing of the 15th floor. At 12:05 Ares brought over a Blue Jay. Astrid accepted it and fed the chicks. Nesting number 2 had a short tug-o-war with Astrid but mamma prevailed as she always does at this stage. Soon a time will come when she won’t be able to get the food back. At 1:35 another meal was underway. Astrid was conducting it. The prey she brought in was another Blue Jay. Were they on sale today? Apparently Ares gave it to her on a west ledge. Astrid did a few more chick checks but we only confirmed one more feeding for that day and that was at 8:38 PM. Ares brought prey to the west veranda at 4:30, but for some reason no feeding took place. It was very warm in the box in the second half of the afternoon. Sometimes the parents withhold food in such conditions. Astrid spent the night in the vicinity of the nest as expected. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCHDmLB-0es

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CekF483i28c

The overnight period was cool and wet. Intermittent rain continued for the first half of the morning. The sun was out by midday and temps breeched the 60’s for the first time in a while. Astrid was at or near the box for much of the night. There were not any overnight or early morning feedings. Of course, hunting is difficult in this kind of weather. Astrid was at the box until about 5:20 AM and then she moved to the State Building. After that she was seen lunging after something from the steeple. She came to the long perch at 5:41 but without any food. The nestlings were screeching and flapping their wings. At 5:44 Ares came to the nest with prey. Astrid quickly grabbed it and started a feeding. The eldest chick began a tug-o-war with her mother – employing her big foot as well as her bill. Astrid managed to pull it away and then fed one of the less rambunctious nestlings on the other side of the box. The feeding went until about 5:55. At 6:14 Ares landed on the crossperch with more prey. This time Astrid was nowhere to be seen. Ares hopped into the box and started to feed one of the chicks. It was chick number 2. It was working but it seemed to us like Ares was a little on the paranoid side – like he was expecting Astrid to burst in at any second and grab away the food and food and do the feeding. At one point Ares stopped the feedings and went out onto the crossperch with the food. That lasted only a couple of minutes. He hopped right back in and finished feeding out the meal. Through part of the meal. he gave light sharp calls in order to compel the youngsters to feed, not that they need all that much coaxing. When he came back in he was mostly feeding chick number 3. At the time we still didn’t know where Astrid was. At 7:30 we located her on the hotel ledge taking in some sun. Twenty minutes later she was done with the spa and went to the steeple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H7UOVfc3hs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh2MFsxgp70

At 9:35 Astrid did a chick-check at the box. She was back at 10:02 and that time she had most of a Pigeon in her talons. She proceeded to feed the chicks until about 10:27 and then she was out of the box. At 11:22 she joined Ares over at the hotel ledge. She preened and let the sun warm her feathers. At one point Ares took a true sun bath – laying flat on the ledge and spreading out his wings. At 11:52 Astrid returned to the steeple. At one point she made a foray out after prey. She was still in hunting mode even after so recently feeding the chicks. At 12:28 Astrid landed on the roof of the nestbox. She hadn’t d been thinking about monkeys in offices much on this day, but now she was checking out their lair. Fifteen minutes later she was on the State Building with Ares. At 2:02 Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid did the feeding. At 3:55 Ares flew up the crossperch with a meal. He waited a minute for Astrid to show up. When she didn’t he hopped into the box and started a feeding. He pretty much fed them one by one but all three did ultimately partake. All in all, it was a successful feeding. Astrid’s location during Ares’ feeding session was unknown. She came to the nest to do a chick-check at 5:05. She hopped into the box and fed out some floor scraps. She was gone for a while after that. At 6:25 Ares was on the hotel plucking prey. After feeding on it for about six minutes he carried it off into the canyon and ultimately to the nest. Astrid met him there, took the food and did the feeding. After the ten-minute-long meal Astrid flew into the canyon, eventually settling on the steeple. She left for a while only to return to that perch at 7:45. By 9:45 she on the east veranda – probably for the night. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KuHcIqiz8U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6srZ-HxPhQ

Another wet chilly night was followed by a wet chilly day. It seems like May was inside out and backwards this year – cold at the start, hot and dry in the middle, and then wet and cold at the end. Astrid spent much of the night on the east veranda or otherwise near the nest. Ares came to the box with food at 4:13 AM. Astrid took it from him, began to feed the nestlings, but then abruptly bailed from the nest. The fire alarm was going off at the State Office Building and we think that upset her. She came back with the food at 4:21 and resumed the feeding. The alarm was shut down about five minutes later, only to go off again ten minutes after that. The nestlings were doing a lot of wing flapping both before and after the feeding. At 6:59 Ares brought more food. Astrid handled the feeding. The next food delivery was at 8:39. Ares brought it and she did the feeding. It was a small meal, and it went by quickly. At 9:37 Astrid took her perch on the steeple. Ares was on the west veranda. For a while he was snoozing. By 11:40 he was out of view and Astrid flew to the roof of the nestbox. At 12:44 PM one of the chicks did a very convincing rendition of the cackle-call. I thought it was produced by one of the parents for a few seconds.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQlrN8FmB1Y

At 12:48 PM Ares came to the nest with a hunk of a Pigeon or Mourning Dove. Astrid flew off the roof, made a tight circle in the canyon, and returned to the nest. She snatched Ares’ prey and hopped into the center of the box. During the feeding Astrid doled out rather large chunks of food to two of the chicks. They took it to their respective corners and attempted to self-feed. After leaving the box Ares went to the east veranda and Astrid to the State Building. Following the meal the chicks took turns flapping their wings. At 1:18 Astrid was on the east veranda near Ares. She was posturing to him – it looked a lot like the posture she adopts when requesting to mate. However, her vocalizations sounded more like she was encouraging him to go hunting. At 3:00 Ares stopped at the box to do a chick-check. He was out of view for a long while after that. Astrid did one ten minutes later and got squealed at profusely by the chicks who were by that time getting hungry. Astrid flew around the State Building checking Ares’ pantry ledges but came back with nothing in her talons. At 3:30 she was up on the roof of the nestbox – a reaction to people in the office. She was still there ninety minutes later, and Ares was still out of view. At 5:35 Astrid was on the hotel. She was in hunting mode. A couple of minutes later Ares flew to a ledge west of the nest. He had prey. Astrid first flew to the box and then flew to him. She took the food and dashed over to the nest. The chicks were roaring with hunger and could barely contain themselves while she plucked the meal. She fed it out in less than ten minutes. Following the meal both falcons were out of view again. At 6:25 Astrid showed up on the south facing steeple perch. She was still in hunting mode. At 6:41 she had secured prey and was plucking it on the hotel. After she fed herself, she brought the food to the nest and fed the chicks. She was on the east veranda for a little while following the meal. She was back on the roof of the box at 7:00 PM. We thought the show was over for the night, but then Ares brought prey to the box at 7:56. She took it from him and flew over to the hotel. She fed on it for five minutes before carrying it back to the box and giving the nestlings their supper. Goodnight falcons.