Both parents feeding the nestlings
Peregrine Breeding Log for May 30 – 31, 2019:
Thursday, May 30th began overcast and a little cool. Temps rose and skies partially cleared by late morning. Astrid was around the nest area for just about the whole night. Ares remained perched on the State Building until around 2:30 AM. The nestlings woke up in the box at around 5:15. Astrid went back and forth between the steeple and the hotel several times. Obviously, she was hunting. At 6:07 she was plucking a Pigeon on the hotel ledge. At 6:14 she brought the food to the box and started feeding. Chick # 1 was first in line to be fed while chick # 3 was flapping and stomping around in the behind everyone. Chicks # 2 & 4 soon joined in. Surely, there was enough food for all. At 6:31 Ares stopped by at the box and poked his head in while the feeding was in progress. It looked for a minute like he was going to join the grub line, but he left and flew to the steeple. At 6:42 she was done with the feeding. She took a minute scrap of leftovers and left the box. She then displaced Ares on the steeple. We took that as a not-so-subtle rebuke for being so late on the scene and showing up without prey.
At 6:58 Ares came to the long perch and began giving long screech calls. That got the chicks all stirred up. He hopped in and made his inspection of the young before going back out onto the crossperch. At 7:49 Ares was back at the box. He found a scrap of something on the floor and tried feeding it to one of the nestlings. Astrid then flew over, hopped in and took it from him. I expect she thought it was something more substantial before she got it. A little while later she was on the steeple. That’s where she was when Maintenance workers began preparing to start cleaning the north face of the State Building. When they began descending the side of the building on their suspended scaffolding and using their power hoses, Astrid was on the long perch. She was paying close attention to what was happening but wasn’t giving alarm calls. At 8:38 she was calling for Ares to bring food – at least was our interpretation. At 8:48 we located Ares on a pillar to the west of the nest. A half-hour later he was on the hotel ledge. At 9:56 he came to the box with prey. Astrid met him there, took the prey and started to feed the chicks. One of the nestlings grabbed the food away from her early on, but she got it back and resumed feeding. By 10:20 Astrid was on a pillar above the nest box. The cleaning of the exterior of the State Building was continuing. Right then Ares brought what appeared to be most of a woodcock to the nest. Astrid took it and began a feeding but quickly changed her mind. She dropped the food on the floor and left the box. Two chicks picked at it for a few minutes before giving up on it. Perhaps it was too old? The nestlings’ tail and wing feathers continue to push, but most noticeable are the tan patches that have developed below their black face masks.
At 10:27 Ares came to the box with a small prey item. Two of the chicks grabbed it away from him and he didn’t try to get it back nor did he attempt to feed out the woodcock. Astrid was back on the long perch at 11:07. Ten minutes later she was on the steeple, but right after that, both falcons were in the air. Someone was on the roof of the Adirondack Bank building. Astrid passed over the roof about six times. Obviously she wasn’t pleasd, but she wasn’t giving alarm calls yet. That was, until the guy game to the edge of the roof. After that she gave cackle calls and flew back and forth a few times. For the most part, Ares remained calm and didn’t participate in the scolding. At 11:33 she was back on her pillar perch above the box. At 11:42 Ares brought food to the box. Astrid charged over to take it and she began a conventional feeding. Ten minutes later the meal was finished, and she flew over to perch on the State Building. Apparently, the guy on the roof of the bank was gone and the State Building workers were also done for the time being. Soon she joined Ares on the steeple. At 12:13 she was up and we weren’t sure where she ended up. Forty-five minutes later she was relocated on one of the lower steeple perches. Soon after that she joined Ares again on the upper steeple.
Both falcons were up at 2:05 PM, which was about the time the workers resumed cleaning the exterior of the State Building. Astrid came back into view shortly after, but Ares remained elusive for a few hours. At 3:18 Astrid too was out of view. At 4:15 Ares arrived at the box with a Blue Jay. This was only a few minutes after the window cleaners finished for the day. Ares arrival was foreshadowed by calls from one of the nestlings. The nestlings were going completely bonkers. He began feeding them from the lip of the box. Astrid arrived at the nest a minute later and started screeching at Ares. For a while everyone except Ares was screeching. It seemed like Astrid wanted him to leave and get more food. At 4:55 Astrid was feeding the nestlings again. We’re not sure if Ares provided the food or not. I think it was a Mourning Dove and it was lasting a while. Ares came into the box with more food at 5:07. From the lip of the box, he began feeding the one chick that wasn’t getting served by Astrid. She seemed OK with him helping. He left with his food after feeding the one chick for about four minutes. She departed with her ragged leftovers right after that. Both parents went to the steeple. Something irritated Astrid – we don’t know what. She began giving cackle alarm calls, but stayed on her perch.
At 6:25 Ares moved to the north face of the State Building. At 7:10 Astrid was back in the box feeding the brood. Ares was on the long perch. Perhaps he brought something small. Whatever it was, it was gone fast and she began scrounging around the floor for other things to feed out. She picked up the woodcock and made a half-hearted attempt to process it, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. While she was walking with it, she stepped on the jay, which was largely intact. She dropped the woodcock and began plucking the jay. She only fed it out for a few minutes and then she went onto the crossperch. She shrieked into the canyon a few times, which we took as a call for Ares to bring something. She was out after that. She came back to crossperch at 8:14 and seemed to be there for the night. We didn’t see when Ares left but it was sometime before 7 PM. Goodnight falcons and all.
Friday, May 31st had a cloudy start, but the skies mostly cleared by late morning. Temps topped out in the 70’s. Astrid began the night at the box, but she wasn’t in view in the early morning hours. Ares showed up on the State Building at around 4 AM. Astrid showed up on a perch near him at 5:18. At 5:36 Ares brought food to the box. Astrid took it and did a quick feeding. At 6:28 the falcon nestlings were screeching in the box. The parents were shifting around on some other the usual perches. Apparently, they were in hunting mode. Astrid did a quick check in at the box at 7:05. At 8:30 Ares came to the box with another small offering. Astrid fed it to the chicks in just a few minutes. At 9:00 we located her on the hotel ledge. She was plucking a Pigeon. Five minutes later she brought it to the nest and was feeding the chicks. It was a long raucous feeding. Astrid was out of the box again at 9:25. At 10:10 Ares brought another small prey item to the box. Astrid wasted no time in taking it and feeding it out. She flew out five minutes later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kb2zuJcMIc://
Ares brought more food to the box at 11:40 – or that’s what it sounded like. Astrid took the food but did not do a feeding. She took it to the hotel ledge, processed it a bit and then flew off with it. My guess is that she stored it, because she never brought it to the nest. She was on the State Building after that. Ares left his perch on the steeple at 11:43 and remained out of view for a while after that. Astrid checked on the chicks in the box at 1:25. She went to the steeple afterwards. For the next twenty minutes Astrid went between the steeple and the roof of the nest box several times. She wasn’t giving alarm calls but did seem stressed out. At 2:00 PM Ares came to the box and stirred up the chicks. At 2:30 Astrid was on the steeple and one nestling was giving plenty of shrill calls. The parents were on the State Building and the steeple until around 3 PM. She made a short visit to the nest at 3:53 and elicited great excitement from the hungry chicks. For the next couple of hours, the parents were out of view. Then nestlings had occasional bouts of screeching and begging, but their calls went unheeded. Their last feeding took place in mid-morning.
Finally, at 5:41 Astrid came out of nowhere and plunked down onto the floor of the box with a fresh pigeon. Chicks # 2 and # 3 were first in line to eat. Chick # 1 was late to the meal but did join in. Chick # 4 was against the wall near the whitewash camera for most of the feeding. He finally took part right at the end. Astrid finished the feeding and left the box at 6:21. She stayed on the steeple for a while after that. By this point, Ares hadn’t been seen in a few hours. That changed at 6:25 when we heard his distant screeching at 6:52. A few seconds later, he screeched up to the box with food. Astrid joined him there and snatched the food from his talons. Astrid did the feeding which was done at 7:07 PM. Forty minutes later Ares was back the long perch. He wasn’t there long. Astrid showed up on the long perch not long after that. And seemed to be there for the duration. Goodnight Falcons.