Tuesday evening we lost track of Ares for a while. It’s possible that he had gone hunting in the late afternoon and got stranded somewhere during heavy rain fall. Astrid seemed to be calling for him in the evening, but he didn’t respond. By early morning (5:15 AM) he reappeared and took his turn guarding the eggs at 6:20. The pair has yet to begin full incubation, which is normal at this stage. The pair were more active in the late afternoon. Astrid was seen on several different perches around the downtown canyon. Ares brought back a Mourning Dove at 7:20 and Astrid ate it on the Hotel. There were a total of four matings today (that we know about) and at least two food exchanges. Astrid was also seen drinking water on the Hotel. We should see the 3rd egg laid sometime in the early evening on Thursday. Full incubation could begin at any time. In fact it may have already commenced, which would mean that the countdown to the first hatch would also begin!
We were very happy to see Ares after a semi-long absence from the canyonOne of four matings that took place today
Astrid on the State BuildingAstrid after having a drink at the HotelAres looking north at potential prey from the Hotel ledgeAstrid returns to the nest box for the night
Astrid spent the night in the nest box again last night and at 6:45 AM she produced her second egg of the season. What was different this time was that Ares was at the box when the egg was laid. In the course of four seasons, Astrid has laid a total of 14 eggs and this was the only one that Ares was present for. Astrid was a little more vocal when laying this egg and we think it may have been a more uncomfortable experience than usual for her. She did seem fine afterwards and for the rest of the day. Today there were a couple of food exchanges – the only recognizable prey item was a starling. Astrid was seen drinking water on the Hotel ledge once in the afternoon and she took a brief shower while standing on the box’s perch in the rain. The pair both took turns sitting at the box and sometimes sitting on the eggs, but full incubation has not yet begun. Rain fell off and on throughout the day today, but the heaviest rain was in the late afternoon. There were a total of five matings reported today. We expect the next egg to come sometime Thursday in the late afternoon or early evening.
Ares gets a look at the new egg right after it was laidAstrid now has two eggs to look afterAres brings Astrid a starling
Ares takes over guarding the eggs
Astrid spent last night at the nest box but left at 3:30 AM when Ares arrived with her breakfast. I don’t think that she took it though. It was very dark and I could barely make it out on our PTZ camera, but it looked like they tried to mate on the State Building before 5 AM, which may be a record early time for that kind of thing. He tried to give her another food offering at 6:00 upon her return to the box, but she still wouldn’t take it. Things seemed quiet in the canyon for the first half of the morning, but that tranquility was disrupted when an intruder came blasting through. There was pandemonium for a while. Astrid seemed particularly put out this time. Following some chasing Ares assumed his usual lookout position on the top corner of the State Building and surprisingly, there he received a hazing from the other bird. Following that, our pair again took the upper hand and the intruder wasn’t seen again for the rest of the day. In the late morning a long chatter alarm call given by Ares was probably in response to some other species of raptor (not a Peregrine) migrating over the Downtown area. Thankfully, the afteroon was much less contentious. Astrid was seen drinking water from puddles on the Hotel ledge no less than three times and there were as many as six mating seen and/or heard between afternoon and dusk. Ares brought some dinner (it was an unrecognizable hunk) to Astrid in the early evening. This she accepted; she flew over to Hotel ledge to devour it. We expect the second egg of the season to be laid sometime in the early tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!
The morning’s second attempt to give Astrid breakfastAres on the steeple with the morning sun hitting the windows behind himAstrid asking to mate on the steepleOne of many matings at the nest boxAstrid snoozing on the egg in the afternoonBoth Ares and Astrid together on the nest box perchAres having a siesta with the egg
For the first time in nearly a year, we began the day with an egg in the nest box. Astrid had remained in the box all night long. Just before 6 AM, Ares flew up to the box perch with his usual introductory screech. He had a Woodcock in his talons, but just as he was about to hand it off to his mate, something in the darkness caused him to issue an alarm call. He dashed out of the box taking the prey with him. He reappeared on the State Building a little while later and we still have no idea what spooked him. Was it an intruder? He returned to relieve Astrid about an hour later and we believe this was his first opportunity to see the new egg. He fussed over it for a short time and even settled down on it as if he was going to incubate. Of course, leaving the egg uncovered for extended periods is normal at this time. Full incubation doesn’t typically begin until half the clutch has been laid. This helps insure that the intervals between the hatches will be smaller than those between the egg layings. This means that the differences in size of the nestlings won’t be so great, and that serves to lessen competition for food in the nest and increases survival chances for the younger nestlings.
At around 10:45 Ares retrieved the same Woodcock from storage and brought it to Astrid. This time she was quick to accept it and flew over to the hotel to feed.
Generally falcons prefer windy, sunny days and this afternoon they were able to do some effortless sailing around the canyon, but only rarely were both out of view of the nest box. Our monitoring of the falcons was somewhat lacking during the latter part of the day, but as far as we know, at least one ledge display and three matings took place. Astrid was also seen making two trips to the hotel ledge in order to drink water from a puddle. At 3:45 Astrid was back at the box and seemed to be semi incubating and semi shading the egg. As evening came the pair converged at the hotel for more drinks from ledge puddles. Ares tried again to give Astrid a food tribute, but she wouldn’t accept it and he stored it instead. Astrid ended her day where it began – at the nest box. We expect a second egg to be laid sometime tomorrow night or Tuesday morning.
Ares brings an early breakfast for Astrid but then gives an alarm call and dashes off
A ledge display over the new egg
Mating at the box in the afternoon
Ares on duty at the box
Astrid half-incubating and half-shading the eggThe egg was left alone several times today. Full incubation won’t start until half the clutch has been laid
