The day in the canyon started out slow and then got more interesting as it progressed. There were no pre-dawn visits to the nest box and there was little evidence of Astrid until mid-morning. At that time Ares had been giving frequent long calls to her from the box, but she didn’t seem in any hurry to respond or come hither. And then the action finally started with a very long ledge display that featured lots of beaking, but not much fancy footwork (typical behavior these days). There were at least three successful matings today – all at the State Building. Ares showed up with food tributes three times. Astrid accepted at least one of them. At one point Ares was on the steeple with a woodcock dangling from his talons, but no one was seen eating it later on. On the very snowy lower ledge of the Hotel, Astrid was seen eating what looked like a pigeon. A fantastic flight display was put on by Ares for his mate. Astrid was perched on the roof of the State Building and by all accounts was an appreciative audience.
