Author: Matt Perry

Update for Thursday, March 7, 2024

Astrid & Ares had another eventful day in the canyon. There were two food giftings, two dances, and at least several matings. A falcon intruder caused excitement at midday. Ares seemed to be the one tasked with dealing with him – which was an indication that the intruder was male. Astrid may have gotten involved in the altercation at the end. She usually comes in when they need the big guns. The falcons appeared to go to night perches at the end of the day today, which would be the first time they haven’t guarded the nest around the clock in the last three days.

Update for Wednesday, March 6 2024

Ares spend the whole night on the crossperch at the nestbox – he was on guard duty. This year the falcons seem usually dedicated to guarding the box during the night. Are they doing it because of an intruder or is there some other reason? During the day there was at least one food exchange, several matings, and one dance.

Update for Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Ares caught two Woodcocks overnight, which is always a sure indication that the Woodcocks have begun returning from the south. Astrid took the first one from him at about 10:30 Monday evening. She didn’t want the second one that he tried to give her at about 3:30 AM. Once again, these guys are staying up all night long! Also, during the day they are almost constantly guarding the nestbox. There were no dances today, but lots of mating and at least three food giftings from Ares.

Update for Monday, March 4, 2024

Probably due to the presence of intruder(s) in the canyon, Astrid spent all of last evening and into the early morning hours guarding the nestbox. Ares showed up at about 5:00 AM. Otherwise it was another active day in the canyon, with lots of breeding behavior. Ares provided three food gifts to Astrid, they shared one ledge display at the box, and several matings were observed.

Astrid & Ares were once again very active in the canyon on Sunday. The temperature range was from 37 to 43 degrees. There was also a thick morning flog. There were several matings, one or probably two food giftings, and 1.5 dances. Most notably, there was a late day intruder. We noticed that something was going on when both falcons were distracted during their dance and ended up going onto the crossperch and looking up. We didn’t see what they were bothered by, but it was most likely another falcon.