The overnight was chilly with temperatures in the high 30’s. The sun prevailed in the morning and the temperature surged to near 60 degrees. The afternoon was overcast, and a persistent wind made it seem chilly. Astrid was on the eggs all night and we heard/saw no falcon activity. The moon was bright, so it’s possible that Ares did some hunting. At 5:41 Ares screeched to the nest box and the pair did a quick switch. He called out from the nest as she flew around the canyon and eventually settled on the west face of the State Building. By 6:14 she had moved to the north face where she could better watch the nestsite. At 7:45 she returned to the box. Ares wasn’t ready to switch, but she made him leave just the same. By 8:52 he was on the State Building. At 9:33 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to get it and then flew over to the hotel. As she started feeding, he got onto the eggs. At 9:44 Astrid returned to the State Building and Ares acknowledged her move with squeaking calls. At 10:00 Astrid was on a steeple perch and the local Pigeons were actively darting around the canyon. Perhaps she stirred them up before landing. At 11:31 there was another changing of the guard and it was her turn to incubate the eggs.
At 12:05 PM we heard Ares giving warning chirp calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid got up off the eggs and she began excitedly calling. She then jumped into flight and headed west, leaving the eggs alone. We didn’t see what was bothering her, but odds on it was another female Peregrine. At 12:08 Ares was back on the State Building and still giving chirping alarm calls. Moments after, Astrid returned to the box and resumed incubating the eggs. They had been alone for less than five minutes. Ares was up and back to the State Building a couple of times in the subsequent 90 minutes. It’s likely he was hunting. At 3:03 PM Ares flew to the box and asked for turn on the nest. She refused to go, and he didn’t press his case. He was back at 4:12 and this time Astrid was ready to leave. They did a rapid changeover, and she went over to the State Building. She stayed in place for the next few hours. At 7:22 PM when she went to the steeple, Ares announced her move. Five minutes later Ares decided it was time to leave the nest. He unceremoniously flew out and Astrid arrived a few seconds later. As he landed on the State Building, she took her place on the eggs – likely she was there for the night. Goodnight all.