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The overnight brought a cool down from the unseasonable warmth of Sunday. Temperatures were in the mid-30’s by sunrise. Rain arrived by mid-morning and fell intermittently throughout the day. Ares came to the box at 3:42 AM. He had a freshly caught Woodcock in his talons. It was the first one of the season. It dangled from his talons as perched on the crossperch calling for his mate to come and get it. Of course, she wasn’t coming. Somehow he forgets every year that his mate has no interest in Woodcocks – even those that are so thoughtfully procured in the pre-dawn hours. At 3:55 he flew off with it – maybe to bring it to her or, more likely, to store it on one of his pantry ledges. Two minutes later he screeched back to the box without the Woodcock. He called out into the dark canyon trying to engage with Astrid who was probably still on her night perch and maybe sleeping. Ares left only to come back at 4:20 with the Woodcock again. He flew off with it briefly, perhaps to do a flyby of Astrid’s perch to tempt her with the prospect of an awesome feast. He was back to the box at 5:00 and, at the same time, she showed up on the north face of the State Building. She still showed no inclination to come over to the box, despite his desperate calls, and the flaunting of her gift. He half-heartily plucked the Woodcock, but that made no difference. She still didn’t want it plucked or un-plucked. He finally gave up and flew off to store it.  

Ares was bouncing in and out of the box so much, it was hard for us to keep track. At 6:30 he switched from squeak calls to long calls and his angst was tangible. She was on the County Building by this time, and he was directing his calls towards her. At 6:36 the pair had an aborted mating attempt on the County Building. Ares was back in the box at 6:50 and doing chores – biting at stones, moving stones around, important stuff like that. At one point he made a nice scrape in the gravel. At 7:20 there was another aborted mating attempt on the County Building. At 8:21 AM Astrid arrived on a west ledge near the box. Ares became highly excited and began calling to her. The pair mated five minutes later. It was raining by this point but that didn’t seem to affect the falcons’ spirit or mood. At 8:36 he brought a gift to her. It wasn’t the Woodcock, but something smaller. She took it over to the hotel and made it her breakfast. Ten minutes later she had finished her meal and was on the east veranda. They mated at 8:51 – and then again at 9:57. Following that Ares flew up to perch on top of his favorite pillar. They mated at 10:38 and then he again flew directly back to the pillar. The same thing happened at 11:13. He had become a yoyo between the pillar and his mate on the east veranda. At 11:28 Ares was on the corner of the west veranda and Astrid was on the east veranda’s opposite corner. They were Peregrine bookends guarding the box. He left at 11:38 and came back with a small meal which he handed to Astrid inside the nestbox. She took it over to a west ledge to eat. It didn’t take her long and then she was back to the crossperch. At 11:54 he brought her another tidbit. She took it to the same west ledge and quickly devoured it. She returned to the long perch this time and he dashed up to his pillar perch. At 12:16 PM the pair mated on the west veranda and then Ares yoyoed back to the pillar. After that he was on the east veranda and her on the west. They were in guard positions again. At 1:06 he hopped back into the box and made a scrape in the stone. By then she had tucked in on the west veranda – probably due to the rain.

At 1:40 PM both falcons were again perched on opposite sides the verandas. They looked like a pair of gargoyles. At 2:05 Astrid hopped onto the crossperch and asked to mate. Ares dove from his perch as if he was going to comply but then failed to come back. At 2:18 Ares was back in the box and Astrid was on the crossperch. She moved to the east veranda and a couple of minutes later the pair successfully mated. At 3:00 Ares flew from the pillar to the box. Twenty minutes later they mated again on the east veranda, after which he yoyoed back to his pillar perch. He was back and forth between the pillar and the box twice more in short order, and then at 4:35 he went out of view for a while. At 5:33 Astrid was also away from the box area, but not for long. She returned to an east ledge at 5:44 and they mated there only moments later. He was back at the box at 5:56 and she left at about the same time. He gave a few angst-filled long calls and then held vigil until well after dark. He finally flew off at 6:30 PM. A strong storm passed through the downtown area not long after he retired. Wind and rain battered the box and the cameras. Goodnight all.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5rc8klLVBk

Some rain fell overnight, and the temperature stayed in the low forties. After daybreak there were a few intense rain squalls and the wind became strong and steady. By mid-morning the rain had cleared, the sun had come out, and the temperature surged into the 50’s. It would ultimately hit 70 degrees by mid-afternoon! The falcons were eager to get the day underway. Ares came to the box at 5:00 AM on the dot. Astrid came to a west ledge at the same time. Almost immediately she was asking to mate. He dove into the canyon like he was game but didn’t double back. In fact, he didn’t come back for another 15 minutes. I reckon he took the scenic route. At 5:30 she was on the State Building, and he was giving long calls at the nestbox. Ten minutes later he was up. We heard some distant calling, but we don’t think there was a mating attempt. At 6:20 both falcons converged on the nestbox. She then immediately flew out again. Some crows were calling in the canyon and the falcons weren’t pleased about it. The seem OK with the crows coming through outside of breeding season, but now things are different. He came in and out of the box a couple times in rapid succession. Was he chasing off crows between visits? Astrid then returned to her west ledge perch. He was in the box again and vocalizing. He started doing some housework; he made a big scrape in the gravel. At 6:25 Astrid was up again and flew over to the hotel. She wasn’t there for very long. Meanwhile Ares had gone to his lookout post on the roof of the State Building. At 6:43 he came back to the box calling. Ten minutes later she was on the west veranda asking to mate. He tried to comply, but his flight approach was off and the attempt was aborted.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWrJ2lDCuHA

At 7:20 AM Astrid was napping on the west veranda perch when Ares flew through the canyon screeching. He landed on a west ledge with prey, and she eagerly scrambled over to take it from him. She got it in her talons and started feeding on it right there on the ledge. At 7:30 Ares was back to the box and the pair was having a conversation. She moved to an east ledge and they mated there. It was their first successful mating of the day. After being at the box for a little while Ares moved to the west ledge to finish the leftovers from Astrid’s meal. He brought a scrap back to the box to finish. Following that, both falcons were guarding the box on either veranda – him on the west and her on the east. By 8:20 the wind had increased although the falcons didn’t seem to notice, and they certainly weren’t put out by it. High wind is never a problem for them; to the contrary, it represents limitless free rides. He was back in the box at 8:37 and then was up ten minutes later. She was on the east veranda until close to 8:30 and then she went over to perch on the Grace Church steeple. The pair had an aborted mating attempt there at 9:40. Twenty minutes later he was back to the box. At 8:30 he got up, stretched, fanned out his tail feathers, and hopped out onto the crossperch. He then gave a long call into the canyon. Ten minutes later he was giving chirp-type alarm calls. There was a flacon intruder in the canyon. Astrid didn’t seem very upset about it which was a pretty good indication that it was a male. Ares launched from the box, came right back, and then launched again. he was giving piercing alarm chirps the whole time. Astrid came to the nest at 11:12 AM. She kept looking up so perhaps Ares was sparring with another falcon in the airspace above the canyon. She flew only a minute later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAA7Mhh-26A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6706YPjfn0

Ares returned to the nest box at 11:28 AM. Astrid was on the State Building at the time. They were both gone two minutes later. At 11:38 one of them was soaring in a circle high above the State Building – perhaps guarding the airspace. Ares came to the box calling at 12:05 PM. He acted like he saw his mate, but we couldn’t find her with our cameras. Almost a half hour later we picked her out on one of the lower steeple perches. How long had she been there? She was doing a lot of preening as if she had recently bathed. At 1:00 were heard Ares’ characteristic screech call from a long way off. A minute later he was back to the box and giving squeaking calls. Ares gets extremely vocal during the breeding season. Minutes later he moved from the box to the State Building. At 1:20 he was to the box again and then up. She left the State Building at 1:21 and then Ares arrived at the box once more. He called to her after she landed on the State Building. At around 2:20 PM the pair came together at the nest for a ledge display. Following his departure, Astrid puttered around in the box for a while. She made a scrape at one point. At 2:36 Ares became very excited and was giving loud chirping-type alarm calls. Astrid was still in the box at the time and didn’t seem too worried about anything. He was on the State Building and wasn’t involved in chasing after anyone, so the intruder probably wasn’t a Peregrine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHxn4T8YaME

At 3:20 PM Ares brought prey to the nest and tried to call Astrid over to get it. She didn’t want to leave her ledge on the State Building and so he brought the food to her. She accepted it and ate it right there on the ledge. Ares then flew back to the box and she joined him there at 3:28. The pair then partook of their second ledge display of the afternoon. At the end of the dance, he flew out into an increasingly windy canyon and she stayed inside doing housekeeping chores – mostly digging in the corner and biting at stones. For the next two hours Ares was in and out of the box a half-dozen times. She was mostly on the State Building on a few different perches. At 5:08 she was on a windowsill. It is conceivable that we missed a mating or two during this period. It was very windy and difficult to hear their vocalizations over our live stream. We last saw Astrid at 5:35 and Ares at 5:55. Most probably, they were off to their night perches. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U8-ACpmI8g

The overnight was cold, but temperatures rose fairly quickly into the 20s during the morning. Our first sighting of a falcon took place at just after 6:00 AM. It was Ares and he was on a high ledge on the State Building. At 6:15 he was gone from his perch, and we heard a distant cackle alarm call from somewhere in the canyon. Right after that we found Astrid perched on the hotel. She appeared to be moving her bill and vocalizing, but we weren’t sure if it was her that had cackled earlier. She appeared to be in hunting mode – watching the Pigeons move about in the canyon. At 6:23 Ares buzzed directly over her and then flew to the box. Once there he began calling to her to come over. Ten minutes later she dashed after prey. She apparently missed her target and so she cruised through the canyon. She flew by Ares at the box and landed on a west ledge. Ares gave excited calls. He is always her best audience. Minutes later he gone, but at 6:52 he came back with prey. He landed on a ledge west of the box and began hastily plucking his quarry. Astrid was anticipating a gift meal and she became excited.  She called to him to bring it over, but he just kept working on it himself and seemed in no hurry to get it to her. Finally, at 7:08 he brought her what was left. She accepted it inside the box and took it to hotel. She proceeded to feed on it for about ten minutes so there must have been something there. At the box, Ares gave pterodactyl calls while she fed.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKZ8qiRFzdQ

At 7:21 AM Astrid flew back to a ledge east of the nestbox. He hopped into the box once she came into view. He seemed to be hoping for a ledge display (dance). By 7:55 he had left the nest and had flown up to his favorite pillar perch. From their perches they did some spirited chattering back and forth. The pair mated at 9:52 and Ares returned to the box directly afterwards. A moment later he was up, only to screech right back again. Did he not get his dramatic entrance right the first time? By 10:10 both falcons were out of view. Ares then showed up on the northwest lookout post. He flew back to the nest at 10:33 AM. She arrived on a west ledge a few minutes later and the pair shared a spritely conversation.  After their talk he did a few housekeeping chores inside the box. Another mating occurred on the east ledge at 11:32. At 11:50 he was giving squeaking calls inside the box again. Astrid had moved to the steeple. Both then flew and she came over to the crossperch. At 12:34 PM Ares flew over to the nest and hopped into the box. He called for her to join him in a ledge display. She moved to the east veranda and, for a moment, seemed to be asking to mate. She then changed her mind and realigned herself on her perch so mating wouldn’t be possible. At 12:43 she was on the steeple. Fifteen minutes later he began cackle calling at the box. Evidently some raptor or vulture was flying over. We couldn’t see anything with our cams. Astrid flew back to the east veranda at 1:27. Ares hopped back into the box and started excitedly calling again. A minute later she was asking to mate and he quickly obliged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5gE8dtbo18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4cIpZy6f6o

At 1:44 PM Astrid left her perch and flew around the west and south sides of the State Building. Perhaps she was checking Ares’ pantry ledges. She then followed him to the nest area. He went into the box and she landed on the west veranda. They were vocalizing to each other in a big way. At 2:12 he moved from the east veranda to his pillar perch. Interestingly, the falcons were dedicated to guarding the box today and, for the most part, either one or both of them were keeping close by. Ares was back in the box and calling at 2:25. They mated again ten minutes later. He went to his pillar at 3:40 and then came back to the box calling. He was out again after only a minute. As for Astrid, she remained on a west ledge. At 3:45 Ares was heard screeching through the canyon. We thought that maybe he had prey, but that wasn’t confirmed. She called back to him, but there was no food transfer. At 4:00 the pair shared a ledge display in the box. When it started Astrid was standing on the lip of the box which was unusual. She did eventually come inside. He left the dance after only three minutes and Astrid stayed on to do some work around the box. She did a half scrape in the stone using only one foot. She then did a proper whole scrape using the traditional two footed method. At 4:43 Astrid began calling like she saw Ares flying in. He soon landed on his pillar perch. A few minutes later the pair mated on the east ledge. At 5:41 she left her ledge perch and he arrived at the box at the same time. She then returned to the east ledge and called excitedly. Five minutes later, both were gone and out of our view. Presumably they were off to their night perches. Goodnight to all.

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

The overnight was very cold with temperatures down in the single digits. Fortunately, the winds did die down and there was no precipitation. Skies were partly cloudy through the day and temperatures rose steadily to just short of the freezing point. Not quite a summer day but we’ll take it. At 5:23 AM Ares screeched to the box. He hopped inside, facing out, and proceeded to be very quiet. At 6:32 he began producing light chirps. Sure enough, he saw Astrid in flight. He became highly animated when she landed on a ledge to the east of the nest and the pair shared some spritely conversation. At 6:41 Astrid invited him over to mate, but when he flew in close, she turned and tucked into the ledge. He aborted his approach and returned to the box. At 7:20 he gave a few long calls at the nest. She responded with loud “chirrup” calls. A few minutes later he took off and didn’t make another attempt at mating. She called a few times during the course of the next hour, but we couldn’t find him with our cameras. It was likely that he was out hunting. At 9:10 he arrived on the crossperch with prey. She came right over and accepted it inside the box. She took it over to the hotel and made it breakfast. He went over to perch on a high ledge on the State Building.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xzPb1p8aPc

At 10:34 both falcons converged at the nest for a ledge display. Afterwards, she stayed on to do some housekeeping chores. She also made two scrapes in the gravel. At noon, she was out on the crossperch and he was out of view again. We thought that maybe he was out hunting for another gift for her. He came back to the box at 12:22 PM and she left simultaneously. He then began calling wildly as if he saw a falcon intruder in the canyon. We saw nothing on our cams. He launched from the box and quickly disappeared from view. Astrid was on the steeple at that time and didn’t seem the least bit anxious. At 12:54 Ares flew up to mate with her, but his approach angle was bad, and he had to veer off. At 1:24 Ares came to the box with prey. Astrid immediately arrived on the west veranda – accepting the gift on the veranda platform. As expected, she then brought it to the hotel. Ares stayed at the box for about five minutes and then flew off into the canyon. She finished her lunch before 1:30 and was up again. Ares was back at the nest and calling at 1:40 PM. He made a scrape in the gravel at one point. He did some communicating with Astrid who had taken a perch on the State Building. They remained in place until Ares left at 4:20.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxH4DX8w3KU

At 5:13 PM we heard Ares give a double screech call from somewhere in the canyon. As it happened, he was flying in with prey. Astrid darted over to the box, and he landed on a ledge to the west of the nest. While he plucked his quarry, she called and waited for him to bring it over to her. After several minutes went by, it became clear that Ares was doing more than plucking – he was eating it too. Astrid buzzed by him and then returned to the box as a reminder that the food was supposed to be a gift, but he went right on feeding. She then flew over to the hotel to wait in a different place. At 5:27 he took off and it wasn’t clear if he had leftovers in tow or not. Astrid got excited and flew over to the box. She was calling very eagerly, but nothing was brought to her. If there was anything left from the meal, he must have stored it. Her expectations dashed, she went over and perched on the roof of the County Building; he went there too, perching only a few feet away from her. Apparently, there was no lingering resentment over dinner.  The two stayed there until close to 5:00 PM, and then they went off to their night perches. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyvWlt-vI0A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irHuYEBK6YA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJcnfJg2p4Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkGG0yltkv0

Several inches of snow fell overnight, and the snow continued intermittently through the morning. It also became progressively windier as the day went on. Astrid arrived on the north face of the State Building at 4:45 AM. Ares screeched to the box fifteen minutes later. The snow was blowing sideways in the canyon when he arrived. By 6:00 he was giving long calls in the box. He then flew across the canyon and the pair mated on the State Building. He screeched back to the box at 6:28. He flew out again fifteen minutes later. We thought he was going to land on the lookout but instead he sailed above the roof of the State Building and then zoomed out of view. At 7:00 he was back to the box and calling again. By that time, snow and ice was covering one side of our PTZ camera and so we were blind to some of what was taking place around the nestbox. Astrid left the State Building at 7:41. At 8:30 he was vocalizing at the box as if he had her in view, but we couldn’t locate her with our cams. Ten minutes later he was calling again and becoming highly excited. It turned out that Astrid was buzzing by him – performing a flight display of sorts. It’s pretty incredible that he can still get so excited about the mate that he’s been with for a decade. At 9:08 Ares left the box screeching. Both falcons were out of sight for quite a while after that. Ares stopped by the box for a few minutes at 10:24. Once again, he behaved like he could see his mate, but we couldn’t locate her. He made another very brief visit at around `11:35.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej0XNZTovCY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAXKJrRHA-Y

The weather turned colder in the afternoon, dropping down to the mid 20’s. The wind was constant. We didn’t get another view of the falcons until 1:34 PM when both piled into the box near simultaneously. Ares had a gift for his mate, and she grabbed it from him at lightning speed. She took the meal over to the hotel to eat. She finished feeding at 1:41 and then went to the State Building. He came back to the nestbox and was calling at 2:26. By 3:00 he was gone again. At 3:22 it was her turn to come to the box and vocalize. He was back for his turn at 4:00. It almost seemed like they were guarding the box in shifts. They were finally at the box together at 4:13 and the pair conducted a ledge display. It lasted only a couple of minutes, but it was fairly intense. At 4:43 Ares came to the box with prey. Astrid came in and accepted it. As usual, she took it to the hotel. After a minute, Ares joined her over there – guarding her while she fed. At 4:52 she had finished her meal and she was gone. Ares stopped at the box 20 minutes later. He gave some excited calls, flew off, came back and did it again. We didn’t either of them again after that. It’s likely they were off to their night perches. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWw79mz8DgQ