It was a warm day in the canyon today, but not sunny so there was little discomfort for our falcons as they tended their eggs in the afternoon. The first changing of the guard took place at 5:30 AM. As usual, Ares screeched just before flying up to the box. We believe he does this to announce himself to to his mate, lest she take him for a stranger. We first thought he had a food tribute with him, but it was just a tuft of feathers presumably from his own recent meal. At 6:30, Astrid flew over from her perch on the State Building to check on the nest after she saw some movement in an adjacent office. She went back across the canyon after she satisfied herself that all was well with her nest and eggs. About 10 minutes later she took over incubation from Ares. At 10:35, both falcons were giving major alarm calls. Astrid remained on the eggs while Ares flew into action. Although the intruder was never seen, based on how fast Ares returned to his perch on the State Building and how little perturbed Astrid was, we don’t think the intruder was another Peregrine Falcon. It’s possible that another raptor came through at noon. Ares did a fair amount of screeching and then assumed his ultimate lookout perch on the roof of the State Building. Soon after that he had taken over incubation and Astrid took over as sentry. The final switch-out happened at around 4:45 PM. Astrid was in the box as a large storm appeared to be on its way into the region. Astrid is no fan of thunderstorms. Fortunately this one was packed mostly with rain and little lightning. We don’t know where Ares was during the storm or for a few hours before it, but hopefully he found himself a nice dry perch.
