The overnight period was cool, but not too bad when compared to recent nights. The sun was out for most of the day and the temperature rose from the mid 20’s up into the low 50’s by afternoon. Our falcons retired by late afternoon on Sunday, so we thought they might have an early start on Monday. As it happened, they didn’t get an early start – at least, not by their standards. We thought we could make one out on a State Building ledge at 5:00 AM, but we couldn’t rule out that we were looking at stored prey. At 6:00 there was definitely a falcon on the north face of the building. It was Astrid. That was made clear when Ares then screeched to the box at 6:45. He must have been sleeping in! The pair mated on the State Building five minutes later. He was up on his lookout post after that, but soon he darted off into the canyon. He came to the box at 7:10 but then quickly departed. When he returned minutes later, he had prey in his talons. At 7:15 he took his gift and flew up a ledge next to Astrid’s on the State Building. We couldn’t tell if he was eating it or not, but there was no transfer. At 7:44 he was back to the box with what we assume was the same prey. This time she came over and accepted it inside the box. She flew off but did not take it to the hotel. Ares went over to perch on the State Building sometime before 8:00 AM. We finally picked out Astrid on a low windowsill on the State Building. Perhaps she had eaten her meal there.
By 8:20 AM Astrid had left her windowsill perch and was sitting on one of the high ledges on the same building. Twenty minutes later we heard Ares screeching through the canyon. He’s very dramatic this time of year. At 8:50 Astrid flew over to the crossperch after seeing some movement in an office adjacent to the nestbox. Obviously, she is becoming more sensitive about any activity around nest. This sensitivity only increases as egg-laying time gets nearer. Ares came over to try to mate, but she rejected him. She was busy monitoring the nest site for anthropomorphic disruptions. Soon Astrid hopped into the box, but she didn’t remain inside for long. At 8:57 she was out, and he was in the box giving excited squeak calls. By 9:12 both falcons were on the State Building monitoring the nest site from across the canyon. She zipped back to the box again at 10:41. She was not happy with what she was seeing in office windows near the box. By contrast, Ares wasn’t so bothered and remained on his perch on the State Building. At 11:05 the pair mated on the crossperch. He went to the steeple afterwards. At 11:15 they had an aborted mating attempt, that time on the east veranda. By 11:30 AM Astrid was on the State Building and Ares was back on the steeple.
At 12:28 PM both falcons were out of view. Seeing the local Pigeon flock in panic mode made us think that Astrid was actively hunting them. At 12:35 Ares came into the box with his usual exuberant vocalizing. Astrid landed on the crossperch but stayed for only a moment. She flew over to the steeple while he remained in the box and did housework. He also made a scrape in the gravel. At 12:47 both falcons were out of view once more, but they returned at 1:04. Ares came to the box and squeaked, and Astrid came in for a landing on the State Building. He was over there with her a few minutes later. By 1:20 he was up again. Ares came to the box again at 2:06. Twenty minutes later the pair shared a ledge display there. Once again, A&A did a lot of beaking during the dance but there was no side changing – they both kept their positions. He bailed after five minutes. She stayed to do a scrape in the stone and some digging in the corner. At 2:45 Ares brought prey and gave it to his mate on the east veranda. We couldn’t find where she took it. At 3:30 PM Ares was on the crossperch and calling. He was gone again about ten minutes later. Both were at the box at 4:25 – her on the crossperch and him inside. He wanted to dance, and she wanted to mate – the same old story with those two. It took her almost ten minutes to convince him, but it ultimately worked, and they mated on the crossperch. He went to his favorite pillar perch right afterwards.
At 5:14 PM she was asking for another mating. He was inside the box, again asking for a dance. He dove out, flew back and aborted the mating attempt at the last second. Next, he was on the back steeple perch. Both falcons were up and out of view at 5:48. He then returned to the box and started calling to Astrid. She arrived less than a minute later, and she talked to him from the crossperch. This time his idea won out and the pair danced. The display contained lot of beaking, and one position change and it lasted about three minutes. Once he was out Astrid did some house chores. She left the nest at 6:19 and he left his perch on the State Building right after. At 6:30 she was perched on the back ledge of the Grace Church steeple. There was a failed mating attempt there at around 6:35. At 6:57 we heard him screeching as he flew through the canyon. He landed on the crossperch and wiped his bill down on the wood. This probably means he had caught prey and stored it someplace. He left the box by 7:00 PM and Astrid dove from her perch fifteen minutes later. He then came back to the box, gave long calls for a little while and then, presumably, went to his night perch at 7:24. Goodnight Falcons.