Rain during the night gave way to more rain in the morning and then bonus rain in the afternoon. Temperatures stayed marooned in the low 40’s throughout much of the day. Astrid was on the nest all night. She did dive out of the box at 1:02 AM but came back five minutes later. At 5:09 a large piece of eggshell popped out from underneath her. That could only mean one thing – there had been a hatch!
About ten minutes later it was light enough to see some detail on the new chick. It was still wet and slightly pink. It dried off quickly and soon became as cottony white as its two siblings. At 5:40 Ares came to the box with prey. It was a Common Grackle. Astrid took it from him and began plucking it. Soon she stopped and carried it over to the clutch. She put it underneath her just behind the chicks and the remaining egg. That’s right, she was brooding the breakfast along with the babies. Part of the prey was poking out from underneath her (that part she occasionally picked at). We’ve seen this behavior a couple of times in previous years. When Astrid broods her prey we think that is her way of keeping it warm and close for when she needs it. Astrid was occasionally jostling the brood. Did the remaining egg still have a chance of hatching? At 6:13 she was still brooding young and prey. At that point the grackle’s entire head was poking out from beneath her and she was tugging at it sporadically. It was a fairly bizarre scene.
A few minutes later she was up and starting a feeding. The new hatching wasn’t trying to vie for food yet; it was dry and pure white and looked like a miniature version of the other two. At 6:23 Astrid took away the leftovers. She was back on her clutch less than a minute later. At 7:57 AM Ares came to the box with more food. Astrid took it and began a feeding session. A few minutes in, the newest hatching lifted its head and attempted vying for food. It wasn’t getting any at first but then Astrid deposited a few small pieces into its bill. When the chicks were satiated, Astrid walked around the box seemingly looking for a place to stow the leftovers. Ultimately, she flew out with it. Ares came in to take over on the nest, but before he got completely settled, she came back and took over the show.
At 10:04 Ares returned with more food. Astrid took it and did another feeding. The new chick was trying to compete but toppled over. At noon, Ares was seen flying sorties out from the State Building. It was still raining and certainly was not optimal hunting conditions, but he was trying. At 1:03 PM he came to the box and asked for a turn on the chicks and egg, but Astrid didn’t want to leave. He was beaking with her this time which was a new tactic for him – one that borrowed from her. And then, fascinatingly, he gave the “tu-tu-tu-tu” call which Astrid employs when she’s impatient to get him off the nest. That worked! She ceded the nest to him. Once she was gone, he took his time approaching the heap of babies. He came up to them, looked at the eggshell, looked at all of them, and just stood in front of them, not brooding. Of course, they were begging to him and he didn’t have anything to feed them. Four minutes after Astrid left she hopped back into the box. She had food in her talons. It was a large hunk of leftovers. Ares flew out as she started a feeding. After the two larger chicks were nearly satiated, the youngest one put its head up and got a few pieces. Astrid was back to brooding after that.
At 2:50 PM we heard Ares screech through the canyon. She called out to him as he landed on the State Building. At 3:37 he brought prey to the nest. She took it and began a feeding. For a little while all three chicks had their gapping beaks pointing up. At one point the little one toppled over onto its back. It just stayed like that for a little while with its beak still agape. At 3:44 Astrid flew out with the leftovers. Ares came into the box and had just started settling down to brood them when Astrid barreled in and displaced him. At 5:21 Ares came into the box and asked to relieve her on the clutch. Astrid declined his request. He stood on the crossperch for a few minutes before going to the State Building. At 6:28 Ares was back with more prey. Astrid took it but this time she flew off with it. He came into the nest to brood the chicks while she went to the hotel to have dinner. It took him a few minutes, but he did get the chicks and the egg all tucked beneath him this time. Astrid was back to the box two minutes later. She had food in her talons, and she started a feeding. Six minutes later, the meal was over, and she was back to brooding.
Ares was up and down from the State Building a couple of times. At 7:22 PM we spotted him on his lookout perch. Perhaps he was hunting from that spot. He was gone from there before 8:00. Astrid was probably in place for the night. The rain had stopped but it was still pretty chilly. Goodnight all.
