Heavy, wet snow fell all day long. Wind picked up later in the day and blizzard-like conditions prevailed. Snow obscured some of our cameras and so our ability to keep track of Astrid and Ares was limited. Temperatures were in the high 20’s for most of the day. Ares was heard screeching a few times before arriving at the nest box at just before 5 AM. He occasionally gave light squeaks as well as other interactive-type calls which led us to believe that Astrid was nearby. At 5:20, she flew by the nest box. It was a labored-looking or even fluttery-type flight which made her resemble a big moth. An hour later she was visible perched on the north face of the State Office Building.
He remained at the box until about 7:30, and then we weren’t sure where he went. At 8:30, he returned to the box, ate a few stones and then headed toward the State Building. At 12:30, he was heard screeching again and shortly thereafter he was seen perched on the State Building. He took a ledge that was just a few windows away from Astrid. They were both gone from those perches by 2:40. An hour later, Ares emerged from the blizzard with prey in his talons. It’s amazing he is able to catch something in this kind of weather. He brought it into the nest box and partially plucked it. Five minutes later he was gone again. Did he gift the meal to Astrid? We had no way of knowing, but at 4:10, he returned to the box with what looked like the same prey item. However, it looked to be whittled down some, like he had been eating it himself. Within a few minutes, Astrid joined him at the box, but there was no ledge display. At 5 PM Astrid came to the box one more time, but didn’t stay long. Ares visited shortly after, and that was the last time they were seen for the day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a much nicer day for the falcons and for everyone else too!
