Peregrine log February 22, 2019
On Thursday morning (Feb 21) Ares caught what appeared to be a Starling, but we couldn’t tell for sure due to the relentless wind buffeting the PTZ camera. We thought he might gift the meal to Astrid but instead, just like he did a few days before, he ate it himself. He’s just not into the gifting ritual yet. Apparently, Astrid wasn’t holding it against him, since a little after the non-sharing incident, she was doing flight displays for him. He watched from the box as she zipped around the State Building and then back and forth in front of the nest. They were at the box together – both before and after her performance, but they never did dance. In late afternoon, Astrid had a Pigeon on the hotel ledge. Even though he had eaten earlier in the day, Ares kept trying to muscle in and get a piece of her meal. At one point she flew off with the whole thing and put down on another ledge. He simply followed her over. She reacted by mantling the food but ultimately, he was able to nab a few chunks. They both seemed satisfied in the end.
Friday was also windy and the falcon pair spent a fair bit of time sailing around the canyon. We never confirmed a mating and we’re pretty sure no nest display took place. The birds did some conversing with each other and there probably were a few flight displays done by Astrid.