Peregrine Breeding Log for April 26 – April 27, 2019:
Friday, April 26th was chilly and damp from the onset and it got worse as the morning went on. Rainfall was intermittent and the chill became a bit more biting. Astrid was tight on the eggs for the whole night. Ares showed up at the box at 5:55 AM and the pair switched. Astrid had been donkey calling for him for about ten minutes before he showed up. We await the morning when he shows up wearing a donkey mask, but that’s probably not going to happen. Ares gave light chirping calls as Astrid went around the State building and checked a few ledges for stored food. At 7 AM, Deb confirmed that Astrid was on the south face of the State Building. Astrid came to relieve Ares at the box at 7:36. For the next hour or so Astrid called periodically from the nest. We weren’t sure if her calling was in response to seeing him in flight or was it that she wanted him to bring her some breakfast. There’s no way to know for sure – that is until we get our Peregrine to English dictionaries in. They’ve been on order for five years now!
At 8:40, Ares seemed to be putting a show of in front of the box. He kited and hovered while Astrid called out with delight or with disapproval (it’s hard to tell which until we get that dictionary.) Starting at 9:18 AM Ares made the first of several quick visits to the box. When he came at 9:38, Astrid refused to leave the eggs and sent him out. He tried again at 10:46 but she still wouldn’t budge. At 11:22, he was back and this time when Astrid sent him away, he walked out onto the east veranda perch and got in a preening session. Sometime around noon, Astrid decided it was time for a break. We didn’t see the switch since our streaming video froze, but when the feed came back up, Ares was comfortably incubating. Astrid again went over to the south face of the State Building. There was no one working on the exterior of the State Building so the falcons weren’t getting irritated by their activities. However, at about 2:05 Ares abruptly vacated the nest. He was vocalizing in manner that suggested the presence of an intruder. We saw nothing. Six minutes later Astrid came to the nest and resumed incubating. Ares returned to the State Building at 2:26, but then was up again twenty minutes later.
Ares was next heard screeching through the canyon at 4:20. That’s often an indication that he has prey. Astrid became very excited. She began calling and she came off the eggs. We hadn’t seen her eat in at least a day and she was one hungry bird. She flew out to meet Ares and presumably the pair did a food exchange. Ares then came to the box and Astrid went to the south face of the State Building to feed. From the perspective of the Whitewash Camera (inside the box) we could see some blood in the middle of Ares’ chest. Most probably the blood was from the prey he just gave to Astrid. The red blood on his white chest made him look a little like a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Perhaps the Peregrines are attending a costume party tonight. At 5:11, Astrid came back to the box to take over incubation. Ares vacated and flew around the State Building a few times. That was the last we saw of Ares for the day. Rain and wind became steadier and Astrid settled down for a long night. Good night falcons.
Saturday, April 27th arrived with cold temperatures (mid to high 30’s all day) and plenty of rain. The rain turned to snow after dawn and the wind became steady and fierce. Snow squalls were intermittent through early evening. Astrid was on the eggs all night. Ares showed up on the State Building sometime around 5:30 AM. He relieved Astrid at the nest at 5:47. Cold conditions meant they would be doing fast changeovers. Incidentally, today marks the 28th full day of incubation, which means we are likely only five days out from our first hatch of the season. The next switch took place at 8:13. Astrid arrived on the crossperch, shared some vocalizations with Ares and then immediately stood facing out. She bowed as if she were asking to mate. Ares vacated the nest pretty quickly and then Astrid came onto the eggs. Does she mimic the mating stance in order to get him to leave faster?
After the switch, Ares was on the north face of the State Building. He changed perches a couple of times and each time Astrid reacted with some animated vocalizations. At 10:16, Ares was gone from his perch. He had prey and brought it to a hotel ledge. It wasn’t very big, and he finished it off himself. Afterwards he flew back to perch on the State Building and Astrid marked his return with chirps. The next changing of the guard took place at 11:46. Astrid flew to a ledge on the north face of the State Building as Ares settled down on the eggs. They both remained in place until sometime after 2 PM when the next changeover took place. Astrid was then on the eggs for a marathon afternoon session.
Ares was seen leaving the hotel at 2:25, but then not seen for a while after that. At close to 4:00, she announced his arrival on the north face of the State Building. At 5:50, she was vocalizing again. It seemed she wanted to be relieved once more before she began her long night shift on the eggs. Ares was on the State Building at that point but didn’t come over. He left presumably to go to a night perch at 6:35. Twenty minutes later, Astrid abruptly got off the eggs and left the box. Ares flew in to take over incubation. The eggs were uncovered for only two minutes. Evidently, she roused him and made him come back for a late shift on the eggs. She then proceeded to fly around the State Building several times. The wind hadn’t let up and so she was doing some very fast swooping as well as some hovering and kiting. It was most impressive, and Ares certainly thought so as he chirped to her every maneuver. As I’m writing this at 8 PM, she is still perched on the State Building and he remains on the nest. I expect a switch at any minute. Update: They finally switched for the last time at 8:04 PM.