HUGE DAY !! Two chicks hatch – Probable Intruder – Possible Pip!

It was a very cold night with temperatures hovering around the freezing point. Snow was falling in some areas. At approximately 1:30 AM the first chick of the 2017 season hatched. It was the first egg laid back on April Fools Day. At 5:54 The parents switched at the nest and Ares got to see the new chick for the first time. Astrid was back to the box in a few minutes with the remains of a pigeon. There was no feeding at this time, but for some reason Astrid brooded the chicks, the three eggs and the pigeon remains. This was some behavior we hadn’t seen before! Why was she sitting on the food? Regardless, she stayed brooding like this (adjusting things several times) for about two hours. At 10:00, Ares got a few minutes brooding in (he excluded the pigeon remains) before Astrid rushed in to take over. At 10:58 she gave an alarm call, but only a few Turkey Vultures seemed to be in the area. In other words, there seemed to be no real threat and Ares didn’t scramble after them. At approximately 11:25, egg # 2 hatched. Astrid continued brooding both chicks and ate most of the egg shell. At 12:10, she started feeding the first chick some of the pigeon that was still in the box. This was the first and only feeding of the day. At 2:00 PM both parents were out of the box and apparently dealing with an intruder. In just under ten minutes Astrid was back brooding again. At 3:27 Ares got another few minutes in the box and he got to see chick # 2 for the first time. In short order Astrid was back on duty. At 5:44 she was calling a lot and adjusting the clutch frequently. An hour later she flew out of the box, but Ares came dashing back a minute later. He began to tear into the meat of the pigeon wing (which was still in the box). He acted like he was going to do a feeding but he didn’t. Instead he flew out with the meal and held a conference with Astrid on a window ledge on the State Building. He soon came back to the box and took another shift brooding. Meanwhile she spent a few minutes preening on the hotel ledge. At 7:05 PM she returned to the nest box and took over – probably for the night. Will there be a nighttime feeding? It’s hard to say. We’re pretty sure egg # 3 is pipped, so there may be another hatch in store for us tomorrow. Stay tuned