Change in Behavior Takes us Off Guard

Yesterday (5/20), Ares went missing for about 4 hours and we began to fear that he met with an accident. Astrid’s uncharacteristically anxious behavior seemed also to indicate that something wasn’t right. Last evening Deb Saltis and I went Downtown to see if we could make sense of the situation on the ground. Once we were there Astrid’s behavior did nothing to allay our concerns. She continued to be anxious and notably she seemed to be taking on all parental roles herself, including chasing off a Turkey Vulture and going out to retrieve prey.  To make a long story short, Ares finally returned looking fine and with prey in his talons. Taking long hunting trips are what we expect to start happening as the chicks get closer to fledging, but it seems that Ares may have shifted gears a bit prematurely. Brooding the 3 growing nestlings has been difficult for him to manage just lately and so perhaps making longer hunting trips is his response. One thing is for sure, Astrid doesn’t seem to happy about the new arrangement – if that’s what it is. She prefers Ares to be on hand to relieve her once in a while. Today Ares did spend over an hour in the box with the nestlings. Doing Penance?