Peregrine Breeding Log for March 29 – 30, 2019:
Friday, March 29th, began cool and wet, but temperatures rose to about 50 degrees, and the sun was out by midday. Astrid came into the nestbox sometime before 1:30 AM. Ares brought her an entire Woodcock at 4:38. She took it over to the hotel and had some of it. At 5:20, he was at the box and she was on the east veranda. There was quite a lively bit of dialog between them. They mated about ten minutes later and then again at 6:30. At 7:10, he tried to lure her over to the nest with more food, but she wasn’t interested, so he started eating it himself. She went over to the steeple. They mated there at 7:30. A few minutes later Ares was back to the box with food again. It was different food this time, namely a bat. He tried to give it to her on the steeple, but she wouldn’t accept it so he brought it back to the box and ate it himself. After the meal he did some chores around the box. At 8:10, Ares came to the box with an undifferentiated hunk of food. Obviously wasn’t a bat. He was very much into variety today. We heard lots of vocalizations, but neither one of us were monitoring visually so we weren’t sure what was happening. It sounded like Ares was trying to get Astrid to take the food from him on the steeple and she wasn’t cooperating. At 8:40, they mated on the steeple.
Ares spent some time in the box doing chores. As usual, he was anxious and producing lots of chirping calls. At 9:50, the pair again mated on the steeple. Both were at the box sharing a ledge display at 10:10. Afterwards, Astrid did some work around the nest including noisily biting the lip of the box. Peregrine Falcons are by no means quiet birds! The pair danced again at 11:25. This time Astrid vacated the box first. She returned to the steeple and they mated there at 11:30, and again at 12:12. Ares was bouncing back and forth between the State Building and the box. At 1 PM, he was giving long calls from the nest. They mated on the steeple ten minutes after and then he returned to the nest. At 1:30, Ares brought food to the box. Astrid met him there, accepted the gift and took it to the hotel. He stood guard on the hotel ledge for part of her meal. As far a we know, he didn’t offer her any wine with the food. At 1:50, when Astrid returned to the steeple, her crop was quite large. She obviously had eaten well. A mating attempt on the steeple was unsuccessful. We weren’t sure why. Perhaps Ares came down at a bad angle. Regardless, she threw him off and made an unusual screech call. Ares went directly back to the box. A half hour later, they mated successfully. At 3:30, Astrid signaled that she wanted to mate again. Ares flew over towards her but veered away from the steeple and flew up to the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. At 4 PM, both falcons were in the air. She put down on the State Building and he came back to the nest. We didn’t see or hear it, but ten minutes later they had switched out at the nest and it was Astrid on duty. She puttered around the nest; made a couple of scrapes and then bit the lip of the box for a while.
Ares arrived at the nest at 4:30 and the pair performed a ledge display. It was a short one, after which, Ares darted up to the lookout. For the next half-hour, Astrid went around the box making more scrapes and acting like she was trying to decide where to lay her eggs. And then, at 5:20 PM, very unceremoniously, she laid her first egg of the season and she did right in Ares’ super-scrape! We don’t know how surprised Astrid was by this, but it certainly took us by surprise. To be fair, she had been looking particularly bottom-heavy today. At 6:05, Ares came to the nest with prey. He stood on the cross perch with the food dangling. Astrid gave a volley of calls which compelled him to take it away. He showed no sign of having seen the egg. As Ares flew out, he gave a cackle call and Astrid began making extremely excited calls in the box. There was an intruder circling high over the canyon. It was an adult Peregrine. Ares went up to the lookout post while Astrid hopped out onto the west veranda. Both were calling nonstop and trying to warn the stranger away. It wasn’t having the desired effect, so Ares scrambled and chased the intruder north. Astrid flew out from the veranda but wasn’t gone long. She put down on the steeple. Ares returned to the lookout and started chirping again. The unknown falcon came back, circling high overhead. A&A were in pursuit again – heading northwest. It’s an amazing thing that Astrid can do this kind of thing less that an hour after laying an egg! By 6:20, Astrid was on the lookout post and Ares had come to the nest, but only for a few seconds. Astrid dove to the box and Ares went to raid his pantry on the State Building. He came back with food, but Astrid didn’t want it. He put it back in the fridge and returned to the lookout.
At 6:40, Ares joined Astrid at the box. They had a lively talking session, but it wasn’t a ledge display. There the new egg sat uncovered in Ares’ own mega-scrape. He checked it out, moved it around a little and then straddled between his legs for a while. Less than 5 minutes later, he was out of the box. He was on the State Building until about 7 PM, and then presumably, off to his night perch. Astrid remained in the box all night, although not incubating. That won’t likely occur until she has half the clutch. We should see egg number two arrive sometime early Monday morning.
Saturday, March 30th, had a wet start. It was also cool and windy. The rain stopped early and temperatures rose quickly during the morning. By midday the mercury hit 60 degrees, but more rain was coming in the afternoon. Astrid had been in the box all night, but left at 4:38. Ffiteen minutes later Astrid and Ares piled into the box and had a lightning fast dance (if you could call it that). He was out in 20 seconds. Astrid was either waiting for him to bring food or to relieve her at the box, we couldn’t tell – perhaps both services were desired. At 5:11, he landed briefly on the west veranda but then was immediately out again. A half-hour later he was heard screeching but not seen. At 6:24, they finally switched at the box, and Ares was on guard duty (they are not incubating yet). Astrid flew up and down in front of Ares’ pantry ledges on the west face of the State Building, but we don’t think she found anything. She landed on a ledge on the north face of the building. They mated there at 6:30; after which, he returned to the box. At 6:45, Ares brought food to the nest. Astrid met him there and took the meal over to the hotel. Interestingly, he obviously pulled the food from the pantry. Why couldn’t Astrid find it earlier? Does he have the only key or something?
While alone in the nest with the egg, Ares made a scrape in his already impressive divot. He then moved the egg into it. Job nicely done, sir! We noticed that the egg has a little white spot on it. That may provide a way of distinguishing it from other eggs in the clutch. However, when hatching time comes around, we may confuse it for a pip. At 7:40, the pair mated at the box perch. That surprised us since we didn’t even know that Astrid was there. They did a switch out at 8 AM. She made a couple of stops and ended up on top of a window pillar west of the nest. That’s where they mated a half-hour later. He returned to the box afterwards and continued with guard duty. They mated again at 9:00, but we didn’t know where they were at the time – we only heard their characteristic vocalizations. I guess the birds still get some privacy now and again. A few minutes later, both falcons were at the box again. She was on the cross perch, bowing and indicating her desire to mate and he was trying to enjoy quality time with the egg. At 9:15, they mated again. Fifteen minutes later he returned with prey. She took it, but we suspect she stored it somewhere.
Both were back at the nest at 10:30 – him at the box and her on the west veranda. They mated on the veranda twice in the subsequent half hour. At 11 AM, they mated there yet again. They remained in position on either side of the box for about an hour. And then came another mating of course. Astrid left the veranda at that point and spent a little time on the steeple. She was up a half-hour later. At 12:40, she was on a pillar west of the nest. The window pillars are always popular perching places during nesting time. He was at the box by 1:15 and the two seemed to be on guard duty again. The next mating happened at 2:18, after which, he returned to the nest. Ten minutes later he was up. We heard a rather lively conversation going on between Astrid and Ares, but we don’t know what it was about. After that he boomeranged back to the box. At 3 PM, they switched out and Astrid was on box duty. She spent some time on top of the egg, but at the same time she was reaching out with her beak to dig around in the stones at the border of the box. He came back to relieve her at 3:08. She stayed on the long perch for a few minutes before flying. As it happened, she had a very short shift.
At 3:30, she was on the State Building and Ares was up on the lookout post. About an hour later, she had left the State Building and was next located on the hotel. There she was feeding on a hunk of food. It’s unknown whether she got the food from Ares, his pantry, or did she catch something herself? While she fed, Ares went back and forth between the hotel and the box – screeching all the way. He was very excited. At 5:22, he stopped to check the egg but then was out again. Twenty minutes later the pair mated. Astrid had been on the steeple and that’s where they had their rendezvous. Following that he showed up at the next box with another hunk of food. He left and came back with it a few times before bringing it right to her on the steeple. She still didn’t want it. After trying once more to lure her back to the box with it, he took it to the pantry and stored it. We probably haven’t seen the last of that hunk. Next, he was at the box for a little while and was hyper focused on every move that Astrid made. He chirped like crazy when she went from the steeple over to the State Building. At 6:35, he left the box and seemed to be calling it a night. Astrid came to the nest about ten minutes later and appeared to be there for the night. Goodnight falcons and egg