First Mating of the 2016 Breeding Season!!!

SPRING IS HERE!!!! Well at least Astrid and Ares think it has arrived. This is the first mating of the year that we have seen. Last year the first verified mating took place on March 13th. This seems quite early compared with the past two years. However, it’s possible that they did mate this early last year but jut not at the nest box. We will have to keep watching to see if this earlier mating leads to earlier egg laying or not…..

And then there was a second mating later in the afternoon!