The overnight was quiet with no feedings. At 5:42 AM, Astrid made a quick visit to the box to check on the nestlings, but there was no sign of breakfast. At 7:43, Astrid was seen plucking prey on the hotel ledge. Ten minutes later she was at the box serving up what appeared to be a pigeon. The chicks were relatively raucous, but not too far out of line. Directly following this big meal, Ares came into the box with a hunk of some unrecognizable prey and conducted his own feeding right from the lip of the box. Somehow all of the nestlings managed to pack in even more food. At one point Max tried to steal the food away with a swift talon grab, but Ares tugged it back and continued feeding. Finally the chicks seemed to reach their limit. Ares took the leftovers and stored it in the corner of the box. This morning, both parents spent time on top of the pillars on the bank building’s façade. These are located above and relatively close to the nest box. We believe they were remaining on guard in case one of the young decided to fledge prematurely. Max in particular seems like he’s getting more and more interested in the outside world. Although he was not the first chick to hatch, he was the first male and his molt into juvenile plumage is more advanced than his siblings. He has been doing a considerable amount of wing exercising as well. We’re all keeping our eyes on that one. The parents spent much of the afternoon monitoring the nest from the State Building. A & A did a few nestling checks or “chick checks” in the afternoon. Each time they were greeting with screeching and rushing and general pandemonium. Indeed, the box seems to be getting smaller and smaller these days. At 4:08, Ares brought a small meal to the nest. Astrid came at basically the same time. She grabbed the food from her mate and then Luna snatched it from her and hauled it to a corner of the box , There she ate it all herself. Not bad for the youngest chick! At 6:30 PM, Astrid brought in a pigeon and conducted a long feeding session. Luna was right up front for this one – or she was until she swallowed an entire leg and foot. After that she retired to the corner for about ten minutes. Max and Spirit parked themselves in front of Astrid and took in quite a few servings. After Astrid left, Max and Zander partook of a real flapping fest. At one point, Max had one of his feet up on the lip of the box. That’s usually the first step before venturing out onto the perch and then the verandas. Hopefully, he’ll wait a little while before making those moves. At 7:21, Ares flew in with more prey. Astrid barged in to take it and another feeding ensued. Luna and Spirit were in line to intercept most of the food. It sure seems like Spirit is a bottomless pit! Finally, Max took his place in the lineup and got topped off. Toward the end of the meal, Luna grabbed the remainder and tried to finish it in the corner. After about a minute, Astrid took it back and fed everyone a few more bites. We end the day with Zander and Max gazing out into the canyon. Soon enough they will be out there. I guess we will be out there too when Fledge Watch officially begins this coming week. Hope to see some of you then!
