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It was relatively mild overnight with temperatures in the 50’s. It was moderately windy and partly cloudy during the day with high temps in the high 70’s. Astrid spent part of the night on the west veranda. My streaming video went out during the night so I am not sure what time she left. There were no overnight feedings. Ares came to the box with breakfast at 5:07. Astrid took the food and did the feeding. At 5:30 he brought more. He landed on the east veranda, she tried to take it, she flew, he flew, it was all very confusing. Ultimately, she got the food and served it out to the chicks. After the meal she went to her steeple perch and it was his turn to be on the east veranda. At 7:04 she was back on the east veranda and he had moved to the long perch. Just before 8:00 AM Astrid got upset with the office again. She flew up to the roof of the box and glared at the window. At 9:56 Deb pulled down the shades in the office, but it didn’t seem to have the desired effect. She was still glaring at the glass and tying to see underneath the shade. At 9:57 Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid flew out upon his arrival, but then boomeranged back and grabbed the food. She then did a feeding. At 10:31 Ares brought prey to the box. Astrid took it, flew off with it and then came back. She then proceeded to feed the chicks. When she was done, she went to the east veranda and glared at the window some more. The blinds had all been drawn in Deb’s office, but Astrid still wasn’t happy. She just knew that something was going on in there and her job was to guard against it.

At 12:05 PM the nestlings were practicing their cackle calls. A half hour later Astrid hazed the office windows a couple of times. Something she heard or saw set her off. At 1:00 Astrid was irritated again. She gave her own cackle call, flew off and came right back. The chicks squealed when she arrived. She was on the roof when Ares came to the box with food ten minutes later. She first flew into the canyon with it before returning and serving it to the nestlings. At 2:00 A&A were on both verandas. She dramatically darted off after something at one point but then returned just as fast. Ares brought prey at 3:00. Astrid served it to the nestlings. She went to the steeple after that. By this point in the afternoon she seemed to have calmed down about people in offices, at least for the time being. At 3:26 Ares screeched over to the nestbox. He peeked in the office windows but stayed calm which is typical of him. At 4:00 he came into the nest to shade the chicks for a little while. The sun was hitting the box and it was getting hot in there. Astrid gave an alarm cackle right then. It was a reaction to some blinds being shut. She was on the roof of the box after that. She couldn’t see into the windows any longer and that seemed to make her even more upset. At 4:30 she attacked one of her nemesis windows. She went to the steeple to calm down afterwards. At 5:30 PM Ares stopped at the crossperch to do a chick-check. He brought food at 5:51. Astrid took it and did the feeding. The next meal was brought by Ares at 6:38. Once again Astrid handled it. At 7:00 Ares was giving long calls from the crossperch. One of the large chicks walked close to the lip of the box and bobbed her head as she peered into the canyon. Astrid was on the crossperch later on and Ares was on the steeple. At 7:30 PM one of the chicks was resting with its bill on the lip of the box with eyes looking out. At 8:10 Astrid had moved to the east veranda. Will she spend the night there? Goodnight falcons.

Temperatures got down into the 40’s overnight but then a quick warm up occurred after daybreak. Temps were in the 70’s by midday. Astrid spent most of the night on guard on the long perch. She left for a brief period done time (4:30 ish) in the early morning. There were no overnight feedings. Ares brought food at 5:06 AM and Astrid did the feeding. At 5:20 Ares gave some long calls from a steeple perch. He then did a chick-check at the box. At 7:30 Ares brought more prey. Astrid took it and handled the feeding. The meal lasted only 5 minutes. At 7:48 he brought another course. Again, Astrid served it to the nestlings. By the end of that meal Astrid had become obsessed with the goings on inside the bank building. After the meal Astrid went to the east veranda. From there she went jumped onto the roof of the box. By 10:51 Astrid was still on the box roof and Ares was on the State Building. At 10:53 Ares screeched up to the long perch. Astrid started giving donkey calls and then hopped onto the west veranda. A moment later she came down on the east veranda. From there, where else? – to the roof of the box.

At 11:13 AM Ares came to the nest with prey. Astrid snatched it from him and started feeding the chicks. At first only two were interested, but after a few minutes the other one joined the chow line. Upon completion of the meal Astrid went to the east veranda and the to the box roof. At 12:36 she made a dramatic departure from the roof; it was fast and purposeful as if she were chasing prey. Ares screeched to the box at 12:41. He hopped into the nest and had a face to face meeting with the squealing nestlings. After a minute he had enough and went out onto the crossperch. At 1:01 both parents were on steeple perches. Fifteen minutes later Ares was in the nest having another face to face with the chicks. Astrid was calling to him from the veranda. He picked up some leftover tidbit from the floor and fed it out to two of the chicks. Astrid seemed none-too-pleased with her mate. Shouldn’t he be out hunting? She came into the box and told him to go. He complied. At 1:21 both falcons returned to the box in tandem – first him and then her. She was there for only a few seconds before launching after something, probably a Pigeon. Meanwhile in the nest, one of the large chicks flapped her wings. Their wing feathers and tail feathers are becoming more visible each day. Their masks are also becoming darker. Their walking skills are much better as is their sight – their eyes now follow their parents as they fly.

At 1:54 PM Ares was giving alarm chirps, which usually means a falcon intruder is in the canyon. He took off – briefly landed on the State Building and then flew out of view. Astrid wasn’t all that interested in the intruder but saved her ire for the office windows around the nest site. She was going from the crossperch to the box roof and then back again. There was a fire alarm going off in the downtown area and that seemed to add to her displeasure. The chicks seemed agitated by it as well, at least judging by their vocalizations. At 2:03 Astrid was on her steeple perch, but then flew to the box like a holy terror. Apparently, someone had made a move in an office. Meanwhile Ares returned from his adventure and took a perch on the State Building. At 2:50 Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid handled the feeding. After the meal she went to the east veranda to stare at the office window and Ares went to the steeple. Both did periodic chick-checks over the next two hours. The temperature in the afternoon was warm (mid-70’s), but not so hot that the parents needed to shade the nestlings. The next feeding took place at 4:47. The usual thing happened – he brought food, she served it out. Same again at 6:00 PM. The latter meal was short and Astrid was out of the box in only four minutes. At 6:30 Ares brought more prey to the nest. Astrid took the food and doled it out to the three chicks. Ares stayed on the long perch for a short while following the handoff. At one point he gave a call that was half long call and half cackle call. We weren’t sure what the significance was of that vocalization. At 7:30 Astrid landed on a hotel ledge with a hunk of food. She fed on it for a little while and then brought what was left to the nest. It was the last feeding for the night. Goodnight all

The overnight period was overcast, warm, and slightly rainy. The steady wind of the day before partially subsided. Temps in the 70’s was a welcome change from recent days. Rain resumed in the afternoon but it was light. Astrid didn’t spend the entire night at the box although she did spend some time there on guard duty. As far as we know there were no overnight feedings. Astrid started calling for Ares at around 5:00 AM. He arrived with prey shortly after that. Astrid took the food and served the chicks their breakfast. At 5:28 Astrid was on the southwest corner of the hotel’s upper ledge. Behind her was a view of the Utica Marsh. She appeared to be in hunting mode. Ares flew up to the lookout spot on the northwest corner of the State Building roof. He flew there using rapid wingbeats. The falcons often fly like that in reaction to an intruder, but we saw no evidence of one nor did we hear any alarm calls. At 6:18 we realized that the whitewash camera had been splattered with (what else?) whitewash. It happens each year when the chicks are about this old and when they are still spaying their stuff in all directions. Soon they will be directing most of their flow out the door. Luckily, we still have other cameras in the box.

At 6:20 AM we noticed that Astrid was plucking a Pigeon on the hotel. She has been upping the amount of time she spends hunting in recent days and is now beginning to get a Pigeon a day. At one point Ares landed next to her on the ledge. We wondered if he was going to try and steal some as he does during the winter months, but he didn’t. Instead, he flew over to the steeple and called a few times. Two minutes later Astrid came to the nest with her prey. She plunked it down onto the floor of the nest and began to feed the chicks. It was a long feeding session – almost a half-hour. By 7:00 both adult falcons were on the State Building. At 7:36 Ares came to the box with food. Astrid came in and took it from him. She began to feed but then abruptly stopped when she sensed a lack of interest. This was no surprise since the nestling just had a huge meal. She took out the prey and presumably stored it. At 8:08 the chicks were snoozing, and Astrid was on the steeple perch. At 10:08 Ares came to the box with more prey. This time Astrid took it and served it out to the chicks. At 11:17 Astrid landed on the long perch. The windspeed had picked up once again. Two minutes later she was with Ares on the State Building. At 11:27 Astrid was on the east veranda. She took off but then came back to the same place minutes later. Ares brought another meal at 12:20 and Astrid fed it to the nestlings. At 12:44 Ares was back with more prey. Astrid took it and attempted a feeding but the chicks weren’t interested and so she flew away with it.

At 12:51 Ares came to the box with food. Astrid wasn’t forthcoming and so he hopped into the box and began trying to feed the babies himself. He did get the attention of one chick; he had only just started tearing bits off when Astrid jumped into the box, snatched the food away and conducted a feeding. At 1:32 Ares tried again. He brought a swallow to the nest, plucked it on the lip of the box and then hopped onto the nest floor and started trying to feed one of the chicks. It worked. The chick was interested, and Ares even gave some call notes while serving in order to prompt feeding (Astrid does this everytime). For every three bites of food he ripped off, one was given to a nestling, but a least he was feeding competently and Astrid wasn’t taking over. In fact, he finished doling out the meal without any interruptions from his mate. At 1:53 both parents were on the State Building. At 2:27 Astrid was on the east veranda. After a while she tucked in and we couldn’t see her with the PTZ cam. At 5:07 Ares brought dinner to the box. Astrid took it and started a feeding. When the meal was over, she went back to the east veranda.

At 6:39 PM Astrid gave a cackle alarm call but we don’t know what she was upset about. At 7:34 she came back to the long perch. Ten minutes later she was on the south facing ledge on the steeple. She was very alert and appeared to be in hunting mode. At 8:06 Ares was feeding on prey on the upper ledge at the hotel. Astrid flew over, landed near him, and then ran towards him. He took off with his dinner. He landed on a different ledge on the hotel to finish it. At 8:16 Astrid came to the nest with food. Did she get it from him? She proceeded to do a feeding. At 9:00 PM she arrived at her guard post on the long perch. She was probably there for the night. Goodnight falcons.

It was another hot day in the canyon although not as extreme as recent days. Afternoon highs were in the low eighties. Astrid stayed on guard on the long perch Friday night through Saturday morning. Ares came to the box with food at 3:00 AM, 3:44, 4:30, and 4:30. In each case Astrid took the food and handled the feedings. The two larger chicks, which we now believe are both females, are beginning to get their dark masks. Today one of them was also seen flapping its wings. Their sheathed flight feathers are becoming more noticeable every day. At 6:00 Astrid appeared to be in hunting mode She went to the hotel and to the steeple in quick succession. At 6:29 Astrid came to the box with a starling. She probably got it from Ares since he is the one usually in charge of procuring non-Pigeon prey. During the feeding, once again, one of the larger chicks showed that she could feed herself. At 6:47 Ares brought more prey to the box. Astrid took it and began a feeding. At 7:08 the chicks had full stomachs and crops and were quiet in the nest. Astrid was on the steeple and Ares on the State Building – guarding from afar. This being Saturday, there were few people in offices and Astrid didn’t need to constantly monitor the office windows around the nestbox.

At 7:28 AM Ares came to the east veranda with food. Astrid scrambled over to get it. She first flew off with it only to boomerang right back. She then came into the box and started a feeding. At 7:46 Ares was guarding the nest from the long perch. At one point he gave a few long calls. Astrid was on the east veranda at 10:25. She wasn’t staring at the window but was instead looking out into the canyon. At 11:17 she was back to her steeple perch. Both parents were up at 11:38 – one stopped by the box for a quick chick-check. Ten minutes later Astrid came to the west veranda. At 12:22 Ares brought lunch to the east veranda. Astrid flew over to take it, flew into the canyon with it, came back, and started a feeding. The nestlings were all spread out in the box, but soon coalesced as mealtime got underway. At 12:23 we saw one of the females flap her wings a couple of times. The feather shafts in its wings were small but visible. Astrid was on the steeple at 12:53 and Ares was on the State Building. He was off hunting by 1:00 PM. Ares came to the box to do chick-checks at 1:23 and 2:13. At 3:15 he stopped at the long perch and got them all squealing. At 3:24 Astrid was in the box and feeding them. We’re not sure of the origin of the meal. The parents were not keen on shading the nestlings today. Obviously, it wasn’t as hot as it had been and the sky was more overcast. The wind speed picked up as the afternoon wore on and was quite considerable by evening. The wind helped to keep the box cool. Both parents seemed to be OK with watching the box from various perches around the canyon.

At 4:02 PM Astrid did come to the box to do a little shading. Five minutes later Ares landed on the east veranda with prey. It appeared to be a swallow. She took it and fed it out to the nestlings. At 4:52 Ares came to the nest with food. After plucking it he gave the chicks a few bites and then flew away with it. Astrid came to the long perch at 7:33. She was being buffeted by the wind. After a moment she floated off and sailed into the canyon only to come right back. At 7:37 Ares brought food to the nest, Astrid took it and served it out to the nestlings. For a moment, the chicks had a three-way tug-o-war with a piece of food. At 7:52 Astrid did some masterful flying around the canyon. She floated, hovered, kited, and darted by without flapping her wings. Ares came to the long perch at one point, and she buzzed by him repeatedly. It was almost like she was doing a flight display, or hazing, or doing a demonstration flight for the chicks, but it was none of those things. A couple of times she kited right by the box and in line with the 15th floor of the building. She finally ended up on the Long perch. We thought she was there for the night, but at 8:50 she was up again. She returned at 9:30. Was she there for the night? Goodnight all.

It was another steaming hot day in the canyon with temperatures reaching 80 degrees by the end of the morning. In downtown it was better than 90 by midafternoon. As best we can tell, Astrid had spent the night close to the box. My recordings had turned off at some point, so I’m not sure what happened between midnight and 3:00 AM. However, at 3:00 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it and fed the chicks. At 4:06 Ares landed on the east veranda with more food. Astrid accepted it and served it to the nestlings. The same thing occurred at 4:15; he brought more prey and she doled it out. At 5:05 Ares screeched to the box. Astrid wasn’t there; we located her on the hotel feeding on a Pigeon. She brought the meal to the nest a minute later and started a feeding. One of the bigger chicks was helping itself to food while Astrid concentrated on feeding the other two. This is early to see self-feeding in nestlings. At 5:22 (the feeding was still going on), the smallest chick was trying to swallow some large gangly thing. After he tried for a minute, Astrid took it from him. She tried to break it up, but then decided it wasn’t worth the trouble and swallowed it herself.

At 6:26 AM Astrid was on the east veranda staring into an office window and waiting for someone inside to make a false move. At 7:48 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it and fed the nestlings. Obviously, guarding the nest area from people in offices still remains a top priority for her. At 10:15 Astrid came down from the roof of the nestbox to take the prey Ares just brought. She then proceeded to do a feeding. When it was done, she was back up to the roof of the box. At 11:43 she became upset about something and began cackling. Ten minutes later Ares brought what looked like a female American Redstart to the nest. Astrid took it and did a feeding. The meal disappeared quickly. At 11:54, he brought another small bird – this one looked like a swallow. Astrid took it and conducted another fast feeding. At noon Astrid went to an east ledge and from there to the east veranda where she monitored the office for movement again. At 12:40 Ares returned with another meal. Astrid flew off upon his arrival. He hopped into the box like he was going to do a feeding, but then Astrid returned, swiped the food from him and got the chick’s mealtime underway. At 12:45 we heard one of the chicks practice its cackle calling. It’s really coming along. Ares screeched over to the crossperch right afterwards – perhaps in reaction to the cackle. Afterwards he went over to the east veranda. Unlike his mate, Ares doesn’t seem to care about what people do in their offices. At 1:19 Ares screeched over to the nest again. After being out of view for a little while, Astrid went to her steeple perch.

At 1:30 PM Astrid was back on the roof of the nestbox, and from there to the west veranda, and back to staring at an office window. At 2:03 Ares was in the box and providing shade for the chicks. The sun was starting to come into the box and, with the temperature already ninety, it was getting very uncomfortable in the nest. Astrid took over for him shortly after. At 2:44 Ares brought a Blue Jay to the box. Astrid took it, flew off with it, and then came right back to the box. Before the feeding she did some furious feather plucking. It looked like she was doing it in fast motion. The chicks gazed around the box, distracted by the feathers floating around them. After the meal Astrid flew out with a hunk of leftovers. She was back in the box a few minutes later and trying to shade the chicks. They were being difficult – squabbling and complaining. She was having a hard time shading more than one of them at a time. At 3:15 Ares came to the nest with a freshly caught goldfinch. Astrid took it and fed it to the chicks. At 3:40 she was on the east veranda for a while – just staring at the window. At 4:00 she was back in the box and shading – or trying to shade. She did that for about ninety minutes; until the sun was not flooding directly into the box anymore. At 5:38 Ares took over shading for a little while. Astrid went to her steeple perch but kept her eye on the nest. Astrid came into the box with leftovers at 6:06. Ares left before she began doling out the meal. When the food was gone Astrid went to the steeple. At 7:40 Ares was guarding the box and Astrid had shifted to the south facing steeple perch. She was trying to bring up a pellet. At 8:38 she had come to the long perch and that’s likely where she would be spend the night. Ares was on the State Building and remained visible there until quite late. Goodnight Falcons