The overnight was cold and blustery with some snow flurries. Snow continued to fall between dawn and 11:00 AM and there were some intense snow squalls during that period. Threat of more flurries and squalls continued into the afternoon but there were also breaks of sun. Afternoon temperatures never exceeded 42 degrees. Astrid was on the eggs through the night. Ares came to the box at 5:53 AM and the pair did a very quick switch. At 6:38 we located Astrid on the hotel. She appeared to be in hunting mode. At 7:05 she was plucking something on the hotel. It wasn’t a pigeon so its unlikely that she caught it. More likely it was something drawn from Ares’ pantry. By 7:28 she was on the State Building. The pair switched again at around 8:00 and then Astrid was back on the eggs. Ten minutes later Ares was heard giving loud chirping-type alarm calls. An intruder was in the canyon. At one point, the brazen falcon, which looked to be an immature, displaced Ares from his perch on the State Building. Astrid was not at all happy and started calling excitedly from the nest while Ares went up to his lookout post. Astrid then got off the eggs and darted out of the box in pursuit. It was 30 degrees and snowing heavily, but that didn’t seem to slow anyone down. As it happened, the eggs were left uncovered for less than a minute. Ares came in and took over incubating. Given the falcons’ reaction to the intruder, it must’ve been a female and therefore very much Astrid’s problem. At 8:22 Astrid was back to the nest and asking to take over on the eggs. Ares didn’t want to leave and so she let him stay. She was back at 8:50 and that time they did switch. Meanwhile our PTZ cameras were icing up and it was getting hard to see the falcons away from the box. At 11:13 Ares left a perch on the State Building and dashed off towards the west.
At 11:51 AM Astrid quietly got off the eggs and sailed off into the canyon. Ares dashed to the box and was on the eggs in less than a minute. At 12:19 PM Astrid landed on the State Building – she had returned from chasing off the intruder. Ares called out when she made her landing. The next changing of the guard was a fast one and took place at 1:27. A few stray rain/snow showers hit in the mid-afternoon frame, but there were also more breaks of sun. The wind continued unabated. At 4:15 Astrid left the box and Ares came in a couple minutes later – from where, we don’t know. He had been out of view for a few hours. Astrid was then out of camera view for a while. She was back to the State Building at 5:05. At 5:48 she flew over to the box and the pair executed a quick switch. It seemed like it was going to be their last changeover of the day, but then at 6:30 Astrid became alarmed and hopped off the eggs. She flew out into the canyon and quickly disappeared from view. It’s likely that the intruder was back. Ares was up on his lookout post again. When she flew out, he made a dramatic dive off the roof and then swooped up to the nest. The eggs had remained uncovered for only a minute. At 6:48 she returned to the nest. She came into the box and asked to take over on the eggs, but Ares didn’t want to leave. She consented to let him stay a little longer and went to a perch on the State Building. At 7:39 PM she was back, and this time Ares was ready to go. She took over on the eggs just as he was flying out. Goodnight all.
Little Falls Falcon Update: Incubation continues at the Little Falls nest. At 11:13 AM the male of the pair (Erie) was giving alarm calls. We believe it was due to a Turkey Vulture that flew too close to the nest building. Otherwise, the pair were sharing incubation duties as expected. We have a video of Anna coming onto the nest. Enjoy