A Rainy and Relatively Uneventful Day in the Canyon & Chick # 4 Solidifies its Reputation as a Food Grabber

Overnight was cool again (only in the high 40’s), with one raucous feeding at 3:42 AM. The next feeding took place at 5:13. During that, Chick # 4 ripped part of the meal away from Astrid. The two had a little tug-o-war over it, which (no surprise) Astrid won. After which she resumed feeding. At 7:06, Astrid brought over about half a pigeon and proceeded to feed the nestlings. Once the chicks had received a good portion, she began taking a share herself, and right there in the nest. Ares came to the box at 7:52 and he began feeding the nestlings some leftovers that were scattered around in the box. At 9:10, he came back to the box, but this time with a more substantial hunk of food. Astrid met him there, took the food and flew off. She brought most of it back twelve minutes later and fed the brood. Rain started falling before midday and continued as light showers. The nestlings alternated rest with exercise, which consisted of flapping their wings and walking around the box. One of the chicks (I think it’s # 3) likes to dig or at least poke around in the back corner of the nest box. We’re not sure why or what he hopes to accomplish with that behavior. Later as the first chick wildly flapped its wings, another watched it with its head cocked to the side. Ares came into the box at 2:03 PM with a small hunk of meat. One of the chicks immediately grabbed the food away from him. Now empty handed, he decided to cut and run. That was easy to understand considering the mob he was facing. He came back twelve minutes later and resumed feeding the nestlings scraps from the floor. At 4:15, there was what seemed like a repeat performance: Ares came to the nest with a very small scrap of food; chick # 4 grabbed it away from him; he left shortly after. Steady rain made for a quiet late afternoon and we saw little action from the parent falcons. At 5:30, finally there was a more substantial feeding. Ares brought it and Astrid did the feeding, which was surprisingly polite and orderly. At 6:27, Ares stopped at the box and tried to offer two of the chicks an old bone that had been lying on the floor of the box. Unsurprisingly, nobody was interested in it. Later in the evening, overcast skies and steady rain slowed everything down to a crawl. Ares was seen making a few hunting forays, but nothing else was brought to the nest. The chicks, for their part, did a lot of preening and sleeping. We shall see if there is any more action in the overnight hours.