As expected, Astrid remained on the nest through the night. Ares arrived at the box at 6 AM and the pair executed a quick switch. Astrid likely checked Ares’ pantry on the State Building after flying from the nest. We finally saw her perched on the same building at 7:00. She came to the crossperch at 7:34 and requested a switch. Ares quickly complied. She was calling from the box only 40 minutes later. Was there an intruder active in the canyon? We couldn’t confirm it. Ares brought her food sometime before 8:30 and relieved her on the nest. She was back at 9:18 and had somewhat of a crop. This time she had to push Ares off the eggs. Ares then went to his favorite perch on the pillar above the nestbox. He made a few hunting forays from there. We heard him screech back to the same perch at 9:30. He continued sailing out and returning to the perch for the next hour or so. After that he was on the State Building.
Ares checked in at the box at 12:38, but Astrid wanted to stay on the eggs, and he didn’t try to persuade her to leave. He did the same thing at 2 PM. By that time the wind had really picked up and the gusts were high. Ares spent some time tucked in on a narrow ledge above a window on the State Building. They did a quick switch at 2:30 and then Ares took a turn on the eggs. Astrid flew to a perch on the State Building. She made a foray from there but then returned only a minute later. She stayed there until 7:07 PM. She was next seen with prey on one of the hotel ledges. Very likely it was something taken out of Ares’ pantry. She was obviously staying out later than usual. The last switch of the day took place at 7:19. Ares stayed on the State Building’s north face for about fifteen minutes before heading to a night perch. Astrid was hunkered down on her eggs. It was going to be a chilly night. Goodnight all.
