Once again the late evening and early morning hours were very active in the falcon’s urban canyon. Temperatures were on the chilly side – only in the 50’s and rain was threatening. Even so, A&A don’t really need to brood the nestlings anymore. The chicks have enough body mass and downy feather coverage to stay warm on their own; and with four of them together in a heap, I would think they keep especially warm. The chicks are tending to remain against the west wall of the nest box, but they occasionally break away and walk (or more like lumber) around. They are still very awkward at this stage, but we are seeing them flap their wings once in a while. When they spread their wings, the sheaths of their developing flight feathers can be seen. The parents still keep a guard on them overnight. It’s not likely a raccoon or a Great Horned Owl would be able to make their way to pillaging the nest (as they sometimes do to wild nests), but the falcons don’t take any chances. The first meal of the night came at 11:40 PM. Ares brought it in. He waited a little while for Astrid to show up and when she didn’t, he began doing the feeding himself. At 12:15, Ares brought in something small and pre-plucked. This time Astrid was there to take it and she conducted the feeding. At 12:50 AM, Ares brought in another snack and this time he fed the chicks. Normally when Ares feeds the youngsters he does the same thing that Astrid does. He goes into the box and feeds the chicks from roughly the center of the floor. Apparently this is not an ironclad rule. At 2 o’clock, he came in with food and proceeded to tear off pieces and feed the chicks right from the lip of the box. That was different! Five minutes later Astrid showed up with a larger meal. She zipped past Ares and began feeding the proper way – from the center of the box. At 3:35, they were back to the traditional way of doing things: Ares brought in the food and Astrid did the feeding. The 5:30 AM feeding followed the same pattern. Astrid continues to spend more time on the verandas, which are located on either side of the nest box. We thought she was doing this to keep an eye on the suspicious activity that takes place in adjacent offices, but she’s also doing it at times when no one is in the offices and even well after everyone in the building has left. We think that she just likes the verandas now. Ares brought food again at 5:30 AM, and Astrid handled the feeding. At 7:45, Ares was seen taking food that had been stored on the west face of the State Building and then dropping it off to Astrid at the nest box. The next feeding took place a little before noon and that would be the last one until after 4:30. Rain fell through much of the day was heavier in the afternoon and the winds remained strong and brisk. The parent falcons stayed in view for the most part, and both were seen periodically checking on the nestlings. At 4:10, the parents began conversing – Ares was giving long screech calls and Astrid issued her trademark “donkey calls”. This seemed to be an indication that it was time to feed. A few minutes later, Astrid was plucking prey on a pillar just west of the west veranda. Feathers began drifting by Deb’s office window. At 4:38, Astrid brought the meal to the box. It appeared to be a flicker. The feeding went on for some time, and until there was nothing left. It looked like all four chicks got a decent share. As I finish this update, the nestlings are again huddling together against the west wall of the nest box and Astrid is on the west veranda. The last meal for the day (I think) came in at just before 8:00 PM. Ares screeched as he brought it up to the box and Astrid lunged over from the veranda to intercept it. As I’m writing this, a very raucous feeding is underway. Those nestlings are getting louder ever day!
