The overnight was chilly with rain threatening. Snow showers began after daybreak and continued through the morning, The temperature hovered around the freezing mark for most of the day. More rain and snow came in the afternoon and into the evening and the wind picked up. Astrid spent the night on the nest, but it was anything but a placid time. At 12:80 AM, Ares left a perch on the west face of the State Building. By 12:44 he was apparently hazing something perched near the northwest corner of the west face – in a place we couldn’t see with our cameras. He began giving cackle alarm calls and continued issuing them for several hours. Meanwhile, Astrid stayed guarding the nest and eggs. She was highly alert but didn’t make any sounds. Ares came to his pillar perch above the box and continued cackling from there. He cackled and cackled. At 1:17 he was up again and dove at the mysterious intruder a few more times before returning to his pillar. Astrid was still in the box but sitting more upright and she had ceased incubating her eggs. Ares left the pillar at 4:08 AM and we heard him give a few more volleys of cackle calls at 5:00. But then, suddenly, the red alert seemed to be over. We can only speculate as to what he was reacting to. We’ve rarely seen such a dramatic reaction from him and almost never at night. Perhaps a Great Horned Owl was the culprit – one that may have landed on a window ledge of the State Building; perhaps one of the pantry ledges where Ares stores his prey. Of course, Great Horned Owls are active at night, and they are known to attack raptor nest (including falcon nests) at night. Still, it’s only a guess. Only Ares (and possibly Astrid) know what precisely occurred. At 6:30 Astrid moved to the crossperch. Ares arrived and they did a lightning-fast switch. As she darted off, he came onto the eggs, but he wasn’t incubating either, only perching over them. At 6:36 he moved to the lip of the box and gave some long calls. He was likely anxious because she was out of his sight. He screeched off into the canyon, screeched while flying, and then screeched back to the box. To paraphrase Jerry Lee Lewis, “There was a whole lotta screechin’ going on!”
At 6:47 AM Astrid came to the west veranda. They mated there a few minutes later. She then moved into the box and got onto the eggs. Evidently, she was hungry and was issuing some pterodactyl-type begging calls. Ares responded quickly by bringing a Woodcock to the east veranda. This was not what she had ordered, and she made no move to take it. He brought it to a west ledge, but that was also ignored. He stored the meal and came back to the box at 7:08 and the pair switched. Ares got onto the eggs for a few seconds and then moved onto the crossperch. They mated at 7:38 but we are not sure where it took place. She came to the crossperch afterwards and from there climbed onto the eggs. At 7:50 she called out a few times as if she was placing another food order with Ares. She flew a couple minutes later and then both converged at the box. He brought her a bat – probably the only thing in the world she likes less than Woodcocks. She got a look at what he had in his talons and immediately flew out. He then flew off to store it. He boomeranged back and stood on the crossperch for a little while. At 8:27 he got onto the eggs, but only briefly. It was around this time that we heard the call of a Ring-billed Gull as it traversed the canyon. The falcons didn’t bother with it and let it pass. At 8:32 the falcons mated on the west veranda. We then noticed that Astrid had a crop. Seems like she found something other than the Woodcock and the Bat on one of Ares’ pantry ledges. Although its also possible that she caught something herself. A few minutes later she came to the nest. At 9:04 Ares was back to take another turn on the eggs – incubating or guarding. They mated at 9:24 and then Astrid then relieved him two minutes later. He flew up to his pillar perch above the nest. The next mating took place at 9:27 after which Ares returned to his pillar. It was snowing and hazy in the canyon and Ares did some light snoozing on his perch. I guess he was up most of the night, so his fatigue is understandable. At 11:35 Ares barreled back into the nest and the pair executed a very quick and smooth changeover. He settled ono the eggs initially but then did some perching over them. At 12:25 Astrid was located on top of a west pillar.
At 1:47 PM Astrid came to the east veranda perch. Despite the snow, she seemed keen to mate and they did just that a few minutes later. Astrid then hopped into the box and got onto the eggs. Ares came to the box at 3:02 and Astrid went out onto the east veranda. They mated at around 3:10. She was on the eggs and back to incubating ten minutes later. At 4:15 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. He was at the box moments later and the pair did a quick switch. At 4:37 Astrid was on the steeple giving chirping calls like there was a falcon intruder in the canyon. Ares got off the eggs and started chirping in response. As it happened there was no intruder – she was only calling him over to mate. They mated and then a few minutes later she came over to resume incubation. The next changing of the guard took place at 5:31. Ares took over on the eggs and Astrid went over to the State Building. He gave light squeak calls for a while as he perceived her on her perch across the canyon. At 6:03 she landed on the west veranda perch. Twenty minutes later she moved to the lip of the box pointing in. She was ready to come back onto the nest. However, Ares wasn’t ready to leave. She gave him several minutes and then she came up behind him and stepped lightly on his tail and wing tips. He left with light protest, and she took over incubating. Apparently continuous incubation did begin this afternoon and will likely be the rule from now on. We expect Astrid to lay her third egg tonight sometime after ten but perhaps as late as midnight. We shall see. Goodnight falcons.