The pre-dawn hours were mild and dry. Astrid came into camera view on the State Building just before 5 AM. Ares appeared on the roof of the same building at 6:15. An hour later he arrived at the nest box gripping a dead starling. Obviously this was meant as a food tribute for his mate, but Astrid wasn’t inclined to come over right away. Ares tried to peak her interest in the gift by buzzing by her high perch, but it still wasn’t working. He may have tried to entice her other ways as well, but not on camera. At 7:22, he was back at the box with the same prey. This time Astrid came and accepted the gift right there on the cross perch. She then brought it over to the steeple where it became her breakfast.
Just before eight o’clock, Ares gave a chirpy-type alarm call. The reason for the vocalization was to alert Astrid to the presence of an intruder in the canyon. Astrid was up in a flash and she and the interloper flew back and forth in front of the State Office Building several times. About ten minutes later, she landed on a ledge just west of the nest box. It’s not clear where the stranger was, but Ares was at the box proper. From her office, Deb was able to hear Astrid and Ares engage in an animated conversation. Following their discussion, both took to the air and presumably escorted the intruder out of the territory. The pair was gone for several minutes, after which Ares landed on the hotel ledge with prey (probably a Starling). Before leaving the hotel he let out a screech and then proceeded to bring his prize to the nest box. Deb heard Astrid calling, but wasn’t sure where she was perched. At about 9:15, she came to the box, but her visit was fleeting. A few minutes later, Ares was back at the box with the same prey he had before. Evidently it had been stowed somewhere. By then she was back at the State Building and didn’t seem interested in coming over to accept his tribute. That is, not until he left with it and returned again. For some reason that always makes a meal more interesting to falcons! This time she flew over to the box and unceremoniously yanked the food right out of his bill. From there she took it over to the State Building and deemed it brunch.
Surprisingly, we still had no confirmed mating at this point in the day. The pair spent the next hour and more perched on the State Building. The day had become sunny and by late morning a persistent wind had developed. These are conditions that falcons relish because it means free, effortless flying. Despite that our birds seemed content to remain on their perches. At around 11 AM, they finally decided to do some soaring. Ares was the first to go. Deb saw him launch off the nest box perch and then just allow the wind to do all the work. Soon they were both tearing through the sky.
Ares made a few stops at the box in the early afternoon, while Astrid got some quality perching time in on the State Building. Finally, at 3 PM, the pair shared a ledge display at the nest box. The beginning of their dance involved plenty of beaking and the entire display lasted about 10 minutes. A little less than an hour later, Astird accepted another gift of food from her mate. At 5:10, the first mating attempt of the day (that we know of) happened. As it turned out it was a failed attempt, but a half hour later Ares gave a few long screeches, flew up to Astrid’s perch on the State Building, and tried again. This time it was a success and it also stood as the only confirmed mating of the day. The pair was out of camera view after that presumably they went off to their night perches.