The overnight period was cold with temperatures dipping to the freezing point, A thick fog enveloped the downtown canyon. It didn’t lift until mid-morning. Temperatures were in the 50’s by mid-morning and in the 70’s by mid-afternoon. Astrid was on her eggs the whole night as expected. Ares arrived at the box at 5:51 AM, and the falcons did a quick switch. He got onto the eggs as she disappeared into the fog. At 7:49, Ares announced his mate’s arrival on the steeple with lively chirps. At 8:04, she came to the crossperch. They switched five minutes later and then it was Ares’ turn to stop at the steeple. He was up shortly after landing. At around 8:35, Astrid called a few times at the nest. They switched again about an hour later. In late morning Astrid changed perches a few times on the State Building before. Ares made squeaking vocalizations just about every time she moved.
At 10:50 AM, Astrid was back to the nest and taking over from Ares. At 12:51, she started giving chirping alarm calls. She hopped off the eggs and bolted off into the canyon. First she flew east and then doubled back; she went behind the State Building and continued west until she went out of range of our PTZ cam. She was gone until 1:15. We knew she was back when we heard Ares squeaking in the nest. Sure enough, she had landed on the State Building. She then took off and flew to her steeple perch.
At 2:45 PM, the falcons switched places and Astrid was back on the eggs. The next changeover happened at 4:45. Like all the switches today, it was uncontested and quick. Astrid and Ares were very much in the incubation groove. During this shift, Ares needed to shade the eggs when the sun flooded into the box. Astrid was out of camera view for a while but reappeared on the State Building at 6:13. The final changeover for the day took place at 6:49. Astrid came in and Ares went out. It was all so fast and efficient. Goodnight falcons.
