The overnight was cold again with temperatures staying just under freezing. During the day the temperature struggled to get into the low forties. Light rain fell in the afternoon. Astrid was on the long perch at 2:00 AM. My recordings had stopped during the evening, so we didn’t know how long she had been there. At 3:26 Ares was in the nest and Astrid had moved to the west veranda. They were conversing and then she flew into the dark canyon a minute later. At 3:55 Ares dove out of the box but then boomeranged back. Perhaps they mated but we didn’t hear the mating chatter, so it was unconfirmed. At 6:23 AM Ares was back to the nestbox and Astrid was on the office perch to the west of the box. When she abruptly darted off at 6:50 Ares almost instantaneously flew off with her. This time both boomeranged back – her to the west veranda and him to the box. Ares left again but came right back with a food offering to his mate. She didn’t hesitate to take it from him and then she darted off to the hotel. At 7:54, following Astrid’s meal, both falcons were at the nest sharing a ledge display. He bailed out five minutes later. At 8:45 Astrid was on the steeple, but soon after they were in the box performing another ledge display. This time she left after only a minute and flew back to the steeple. They mated there at 9:10 but it was short since Ares’ trajectory was off.
At 10:05 AM Astrid was on the west veranda. They mated there at 10:10 and then again at 10:29. Ares then brought her another food tribute. It was some old thing pulled from storage and she didn’t want it. Both were perched on the State Building after that. At 10:37 Ares arrived at the nest and Astrid to the east veranda at 11:00. They mated there five minutes later. At 11:37 Ares retrieved a Woodcock from his pantry and tried to give it to Astrid. No big surprise, that didn’t work. To his credit, this time he quickly realized his folly and took the meal away. There was an aborted mating attempt at 11:46 and he yoyoed back to the box right after. At 11:50 both were at the box for yet another ledge display. When it was done and he was out, Astrid did a scrape in the gravel and carried out a few other important household tasks. At 1:10 PM Astrid moved to a window ledge east of the nestbox and Ares was in the box. By 2:15 he had gone to his pillar perch. Thirty minutes later he was at the box and giving high pitched chirp-type warning calls which meant there was a falcon intruder in the canyon. Astrid was still on the east veranda and didn’t seem all that upset. Of course that suggests that the intruder was a male – and therefore Ares’ problem. He was looking to the west before he shot off in that direction.
At 3:09 PM Ares was back and the pair mated on the east veranda although Ares’ chatter sounded cut short like it was aborted. At a few minutes before 4:00 PM Ares was back in the box and Astrid was sailing around the State Building. They performed a ledge display in the box a few minutes later. He left after about three minutes, and she remained in the box to make a scrape and do other housework. She was back on the east veranda perch by 4:30. They mated on the veranda at 4:45 and at 5:00. Ten minutes later Ares tried to give her a Starling on the veranda, but she didn’t want it. However, she did signal her desire to mate. They mated again on the east veranda at 5:41. Fifteen minutes later both falcons were out of view. Just when we thought we had seen then last of them for the night, at 6:00 Ares piled into the box and Astrid took her position on the crossperch. They were very vocal, and mated five minutes later. At 7:00 PM they were still talking, and she was asking to mate again. As the daylight faded and the green lights along the bank roof began to glow, Ares remained in the box trying to encourage his mate to come in for one last dance. At 7:30 she flew instead. It was dark by then. Ares spent some time squeaking to himself in the box before he also called it a night. Goodnight all.