The overnight was rainy and seasonally cool with temperatures in the high forties. Rain continued for about an hour after dawn. Later we saw breaks of sun and the temperature reached into the mid-fifties by noon. More sun in the afternoon brought the temperature up to 60 degrees. Astrid was tight on the eggs all night. Ares arrived on the State Building at 5:37 AM. Astrid called out when she saw him land. He flew to the box at about 6:05 and the pair did a quick switch on the eggs. At 6:27 it was his turn to vocalize when she landed on the east face of the State Building. At 8:49 Astrid came to the nest and the pair negotiated about doing a switch. They also did some beaking, and soon after, Ares left the nest to her. At a few minutes after 9:00 AM Astrid vocalized when Ares came through the canyon and landed on a steeple perch. At 9:30 she called out again when he then flew to the State Building. Perhaps she wanted him to bring her brunch. At 10:41 Ares went back to the steeple but was up again only ten minutes later. Meanwhile, some men were working on the roof of the Adirondack Bank. Sometimes this sort of activity gets Astrid upset, but not so much this time. We didn’t confirm any hazing runs, nor did either falcon give alarm calls. At 11:41 we located Ares on the hotel. He had caught a flicker and was plucking it. Five minutes later he brought it to the long perch. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to get it from him and then flew over to the hotel. At a few minutes before noon Ares was suddenly out of the nest and Astrid was also out of view. Only a minute later he had returned and was getting back on the eggs. At about the same time, she had landed on the State Building. From her high perch she kept an eye on the workmen on the roof and was minding the distance between them and her nest. She was still keeping her cool. If she had hatchlings in the nest, she most likely would’ve been going ballistic.
At 1:40 PM Ares was narrating Astrid moves around the canyon. She was up and then back to the State Building, and he made squeaking calls both times. At around 3:52 Astrid relieved him on the nest. He had gotten a long turn on the eggs. At 4:47 we heard Ares giving chirp-type alarm calls from somewhere in the canyon. Most likely there was an intruder. Astrid then began giving alarm calls. She got off the eggs and blasted off into the canyon. Less than a minute later Ares was back in the nest and settling on the eggs. Astrid was out of our view until 5:35 when she was seen flying around the State Building and apparently checking out Ares’ pantry ledges on the west face of the building. As usual, Ares gave squeaking calls with each move she made. At 6:26 PM Astrid came to the box and the pair switched for probably the last time this day. Most probably Astrid was on the eggs for the long shift. Ares was on the lookout perch but left before night fell. Goodnight all.