The overnight was chilly with temperatures around the freezing mark. Clouds gave way to partly sunny skies in the morning and the temperature rose to 50 degrees by noon. Astrid spent most of the night on the eggs. However, at 1:46 AM she jumped up onto the crossperch and from there flew into the dark canyon. She was back on the eggs again six minutes later. At 2:25 AM Ares screeched to the crossperch with a Woodcock. Surprisingly, Astrid wanted it and scrambled over the crossperch to take it. She brought it over to the hotel. It was so dark that we could just barely see her on the ledge. It seemed like she was gone after a few minutes, but we couldn’t tell for sure. While she was gone Ares stayed on the long perch and never went in to sit on the eggs. He left but then returned at 2:40 and did get onto the eggs. At 3:48 he became very excited and screeched off into the canyon. She then came into the box and resumed incubating. At 5:32 Ares arrived at the nest with a small prey item. She took it from him on the crossperch and from there flew to the hotel. He then took a turn on the eggs. At 5:56 Astrid flew to the State Building. Twenty minutes later Ares came off the eggs and got on the lip of the box. He gave a few long calls to his mate on the other side of the canyon. Astrid flew over to the crossperch and then to the east veranda. She was asking to mate. Ares responded by hopping back into the box and getting onto the eggs. The pair mated at 6:19. Astrid then had a turn on the eggs. At 6:36 they switched, and Ares took over. At 6:42 Astrid went to the east veranda. They mated their a few minutes later. Afterwards Astrid hopped into the box and resumed incubation.
At 7:42 AM Ares screeched over to a west ledge with prey. He then proceeded to pluck it for the next twelve minutes. Meanwhile Astrid was waiting for him to bring it to her. At 7:56 he brought it to the long perch. She scrambled over the crossperch to take it and then flew to the hotel. He hopped into the nest and spent a few minutes trying to get all the eggs situated properly beneath him. On the hotel ledge she took a few bites of her meal and then presumably stored it. She flew to a steeple perch after that. She had a crop which meant she had eaten adequately that morning. At 8:07 Ares landed on the crossperch. He didn’t seem interested in going into the box and sitting on the eggs. She landed on the west veranda and the pair mated there. Following that Astrid got onto the eggs. At 9:18 the falcons switched and Ares took over incubating. Astrid came to the east veranda at 10:37. Ares got off the eggs and they mated five minutes later. She took a turn on the eggs after that. At around 11:00 one of them gave a cackle alarm call – likely in reaction to Turkey Vultures flying through the canyon. Astrid was still incubating at 11:15 and Ares went to his favorite pillar perch. Later on he was seen preening, stretching his wings, and also trying to bring up a pellet. He came to the nest a little before noon and he made her leave the eggs. She went to the steeple, and he stayed incubating for a little while. Both falcons were up at 12:36 – she then went back to the eggs, but at 12:45 PM she quietly got off the nest and was gone. Both falcons were out of view until Ares returned to the crossperch at 1:13. He was giving long calls. He knew where his mate was even though we couldn’t find her with our cams. At least not until 1:22 when she showed up on the State Building. Ares finally got onto the eggs at 1:44 PM. The eggs had been alone and uncovered for 60 minutes. The temperature was 53 degrees, and the sun was hitting the box. Were the eggs in trouble? Probably not this early on in their incubation.
At 2:04 PM Ares came off the eggs and Astrid landed on the crossperch. She was calling loudly. They mated a couple of minutes later, but it was a little short of the standard length. At 2:05 Astrid was up and out of view once more and the eggs were left uncovered again. Ares returned at 2:16 and this time he got right onto the eggs. At 2:36 Ares was up again, and Astrid was on the crossperch calling. She soon resumed incubation. At 3:40 Astrid was calling again – this time it was warning calls. She tore off into the canyon and was gone for about five minutes. When she returned she got on the eggs immediately. At 4:49 Ares came to the box and insisted on having another turn on the eggs. After a little convincing, she relented and flew over to the State Building. She came to the crossperch at 6:00 PM and from there moved onto the east veranda. Ten minutes later the pair mated. At 6:14 Astrid hopped back into the box and resumed incubating. We were reasonably sure that they were done for the night. Goodnight all.