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The overnight was very cool with some showers in the area. Temperatures were in the mid-40’s. Rain and cool temps continued through the day and showered were intermittent. Astrid was with the nestlings all night long. Ares brought a small food item to the box at 12:46 which could be considered early for even the earliest of early birds. Astrid took it and fed it out to the chicks. He didn’t come back to the nest until 4:50. As it happened, he didn’t have food that time but was asking for a turn on the nest. Astrid showed no sign of wanting to leave so the two parents spent about five minutes in the nest together with the chicks. Ares then flew out and went to his pillar perch. A few minutes later he was snoozing. At 5:50 he was wide awake and on the lookout post on the roof of the State Building. These days that means that he was probably hunting. We hadn’t heard any alarm calls, so it was unlikely he was watching for intruders. At 6:50 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it and started a feeding session as Ares hopped over to the west veranda. At 7:07 when mealtime was over Astrid went back to brooding. At 7:51 she left the nest and Ares came in to take over. She was back a minute later only to depart again in short order. It was raining again by this point – not Astrid’s favorite weather condition. At 9:23 Astrid left the box once more. She wasn’t back and brooding until close to 10:00. Five minutes later we heard Ares’ distinctive screech call from somewhere nearby. He probably flew in with prey. Astrid left the nest and, sure enough. she was back less than a minute later with a starling. She then proceeded to do a feeding. One of the chicks got a few bites from Astrid while the other tried to take its own portion from the prey itself (not successfully). At 10:11 Astrid abruptly stopped the session and left with most of the meal. She probably thought the chicks weren’t hungry enough and she turned it into her own breakfast. Ares came into the box at 10:12. He looked to be very soggy.

At 10:42 AM Astrid returned to the nest and to brooding the chicks. Ten minutes later we noticed that Ares was again back on his pillar perch.  At 11:33 he suddenly darted off towards the west. At 11:46 he screeched back to the nest with prey. Astrid grabbed it and conducted a feeding while Ares hopped over to the west veranda. When the meal was over Astrid resumed brooding. At 1:12 PM Astrid was on the roof of the nestbox, most likely someone had come into the adjacent office, and she wanted to keep an eye on them just in case they were enemies of falcons. Without missing a beat Ares was back in the nest with the chicks. He was there until 2:00 when Astrid left the roof and came into the box. Ares ceded the nest and nestlings to her before sailing off. Astrid only remained with the chicks for less than two minutes. Ares happily came back quickly and resumed his chick sitting. At 2:16 we heard a loud thud sound. Astrid had just plunked down on the roof of the nestbox. Five minutes later she was on high ledge on the State Building. Ares went out onto the long perch at 2:38. The nestlings were alone in the box and squealing for a while after that. Astrid came back to the box and was brooding again at 3:24.

At 5:19 PM Ares came to the west veranda with substantial prey. Astrid scrambled over to get it. She grabbed it and flew off into the canyon, boomeranged back to the nest and began a feeding. At 5:21 Ares came into the box and watched the ensuing mealtime for about five minutes. He may have been taking notes again. At 5:34 Astrid was back to brooding. At 6:05 Ares arrived with more food. He hopped into the box this time to give it to Astrid. She took it and tried to rally the already full chicks to feed. Initially, one of them took some bites while the other flapped their rudimentary wings a few times. We think both managed to have a little since Astrid was insisting. At 6:14 Astrid resumed brooding the pair. They were pushed up in front of her, nestled in her breast feathers. It was the ideal image of the falcon family at home. At 7:35 Ares came into the box and asked for a turn with the chicks. Astrid left the nest two minutes later.  At 7:43 he went to the east veranda but was back in to brood the chicks after a few moments. He sort of brooded them and even beaked with them. At about 8:00 PM Astrid came back and ousted Ares. She immediately started brooding. Likely she was set for the night. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfl5iFauj-I

The overnight was quite cool with temperatures down in the mid 40’s. During the course of the morning, temps rose, and by noon it was close to 60 degrees. Skies were generally clear, and conditions were windy – which translates into good, free flying weather for falcons. Astrid was on the chicks all night. she left the box at 2:00 AM only to come back a minute later and resume brooding. At 2:25 Ares arrived at the nest with prey in his talons. He hopped right in and gave it to Astrid inside the box. She then conducted a feeding. At 3:23 he was back with more food. That time Astrid took it but flew out of the nest and into the canyon with it – probably to store it. She then returned moments later and went back to brooding. At 5:23 Ares brought in more prey. Once again, Astrid accepted it but then flew off into the canyon with it. perhaps that time she had it for her own breakfast. Ares came in to sit with the chicks while she was gone. Brooding the nestlings properly is getting increasingly difficult for Ares to manage. He tries to cover them but doesn’t come close to fitting their whole bodies beneath them. Astrid was back minutes later and quickly took over brooding and, as usual, she did a much better job covering the chicks. She is larger than him after all. At 8:27 Astrid left the box and Ares hopped in from the east veranda. We hadn’t even noticed he was there. By 8:46 Astrid was back and brooding again. It was still quite cool and windy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=780PipZCr7E

At 8:43 AM Astrid was out of the box. She came back to resume brooding two minutes later. At 10:55 Ares brought prey to the nestbox. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and conducted a feeding. She left when it was over. Ares gave a few long calls and then came into the box via the west veranda. At 11:16 Astrid brought a partially processed cuckoo to the nest and fed it to the chicks. It was the first cuckoo we have confirmed coming in this season. It was interesting that Astrid brought it in given her well known attitude towards cuckoos. Of course, she wasn’t eating it. After the meal she resumed brooding. At 11:21 Ares was on the south facing steeple perch. He launched after something at 11:40 AM. Five minutes later Astrid moved out onto the crossperch. She was up in a moment and Ares seamlessly came in to watch the chicks. At 12:27 PM when Astrid landed on the State Building Ares made some squeaking calls and let us know about it. At 12:42 Astrid came into the nest and took over brooding the nestlings. Ares remained in the nest for a while with Astrid there. It was almost like he was studying her brooding technique. The two adults were face to face with the chicks between them – both nestlings squirming and squealing. At 12:44 he was out. Hopefully he had taken some notes to study. His next stop was the south side steeple perch.  Ares visited the box at 1:09 and asked to have a turn with the nestlings. Once again, he observed Astrid and she tried to keep the chicks huddled beneath her. He seemed fascinated. He was out several minutes later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVOpp2IlAOY

At about 1:50 PM Astrid was feeding the chicks again. We weren’t sure how the food came, or which parent brought it. At 2:51 Ares was having an extended visit with the nestlings. Astrid was on the steeple at that time. At 3:43 Ares had fetched a small chuck of prey and brought it into the nest. Astrid came in right away, grabbed it, and began serving it out. After the meal Astrid flew out and Ares came to the crossperch. Fifteen minutes later he had taken off and she was on the steeple. The chicks then had some alone time inside the nest. They seemed to make the most of it. One of them wandered around the west side of the box. That one did some minor wing flapping exercise (first we’ve seen) while the other one bit at some feathers and other material that was stuck to one of the unhatched eggs. They did some grooming – mostly of themselves but also some mutual grooming and some beaking. At 4:48 Ares came to the box with a mostly processed Mourning Dove. Astrid blew in seconds later, grabbed the food and began giving it out to the chicks. We noticed that Astrid was once again tearing off awfully small sized pieces of meat to feed the nestlings. She must realize how big these guys are right now – right? Regardless, both chicks were vying and feeding especially well. At two minutes before 5:00 PM Astrid flew out with the leftovers and presumably stored them. After she left, Ares was in and trying to brood. As expected, the chicks still didn’t fit beneath him. The falcons switched at 6:00 and Astrid took over most likely for the night. By 7:00 she was out on the crossperch – guarding the nest but also doing some preening. By 8:30 she had come back to brood, but she would be going onto the crossperch a few more times during the night. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d66_Gq5vnbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8_m2ujnPG4

The overnight was cool and windy. Some showers were around in the morning and temperatures remained on the low fifties until afternoon when they got close to 60 degrees. The wind was persistent and strong, and it made it seem colder. Astrid brooded the chicks all night long. Ares brought prey at 3:28 AM and Astrid took a while plucking it. For some reason she fed out only a few bites and then took the food out to store it. Ares brought more prey at 4:48. Again, Astrid spent some time processing it and then only fed one of the chicks. The other nestling wasn’t vying for some reason, and we became concerned. At 5:24 the one we were worried about brought up a good-sized pellet. We believe that was the reason for its lack of appetite. At 5:33 Astrid took some leftovers out of the box. Ares arrived to take over when she left. He was just in the process of trying to brood them when she burst into the nest and ousted him. Astrid is very intense this time of year. At 8:16 the falcons switched, and Ares came back to chick-sit. Both nestlings were looking up at him and begging with high-pitched squeals. Two minutes later Astrid was back, and Ares was sent out. She quickly resumed brooding as he flew over to perch on the State Building. At 9:12 Astrid left once again and once again Ares came in to watch the chicks. Astrid returned two minutes later with what appeared to be most of a plucked dove. What followed was a fairly long feeding session in which both chicks vied and fed normally. Towards the end of the session, at 9:28 the nestlings were full and didn’t want to take any more. She reluctantly stopped feeding them and went back to brooding. At 10:10 Astrid picked up the leftovers of the last meal and seemed to have a moment of indecision; she didn’t know whether to remove the food and store it or, to feed the rest of it out right then and there. She opted for the latter course. A few minutes into the feeding it was clear that the chicks were full and didn’t want any more, but Astrid kept tying. She would try from one side, and then walk around to the other side and try again. The chicks would occasionally open their bills and accept some, but it was obvious their hearts weren’t in it. Why was Astrid so intent and feeding them so much? At 10:23 she gave up and went back to brooding. There was barely anything left of the meal anyhow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh4aChH_-_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCFD7xySXXA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skE9x6XXNxI

At 11:18 AM Astrid was feeding out some food scraps. Twenty minutes later she gave a cackle-type alarm call while brooding the chicks. She didn’t leave the nest. At 11:57 Ares came into the box and tried to take over brooding. Astrid declined his offer and stayed in place. He gave up quickly and floated away on the wind. At 12:52 we noticed that she was shuffling the chicks fairly often. Days ago, we were blaming the heat for this behavior. Was she now doing it because it was chilly? The falcons switched at around 1:40. Astrid was out, and Ares was brooding. She came back to the box at 1:53, but Ares wanted to stay so she allowed him to, and she left. At around 2:20 Astrid came back to the nest with food and then proceeded to serve it to the chicks. Ares left the box. At 3:11 PM it had warmed up sufficiently (around 60 degrees) so that Astrid was half-brooding/half-shading the nestlings. At 3:32 Astrid was out, and Ares was in. She came back a few minutes before 4:00 and Ares was out. Ten minutes later she was trying to bring up a pellet while brooding. Ares brought a pre-processed Morning Dove to the nest at 5:00. Astrid lunged out in fast motion to take it from him on the crossperch and then she conducted a feeding. Both chicks seemed to eat well. Although one of them did some wandering around in the box mid-way through the meal. After the meal Astrid left the box and Ares came in to mind the chicks. He watched them as they explored the nestbox, but seemed at a loss about how to get them corralled. Astrid then came in and took over. She went to the corner, cupped the wayward chick with the shoulder of her wing and shuffled it back to the middle of the box. She is a no-nonsense falcon mother! At 7:17 Ares brought something small to the box. Astrid took it and started another feeding. It lasted less than five minutes and then she was brooding again. At 7:24 Ares was on the State Building again, probably in hunting mode. Twenty minutes later he was out of view. Everyone seemed set for the night by that point. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZJgBRmXSk8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jTEqUjSpFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kQ1VkzzHbI

The overnight was warm with temperatures in the 60’s. After dawn it quickly warmed up into the 70’s and was breezy. Strong Storms arrived in the midafternoon. Astrid was in and around the nestbox all night. Ares was later than usual with his first food delivery – coming to the box at 3:46 AM. It was something fairly large. Astrid took it, plucked it, and then fed it out to the nestlings. Less than an hour later, at 4:43 Ares was back with the second meal of the morning. Astrid took it and tried to interest the chicks in eating so soon after their last meal. They rallied. At 5:37 there was a changing of the guard and Ares was on duty in the box. Astrid had gone to the State Building. At 6:12 the parents were in nest guarding positions on either side of the nestbox. Since it’s Monday and people were soon to be back in their offices, Astrid will have lots to be mad about. As the young continue to grow, she gets increasingly sensitive about people in windows near the nest. At 6:18 she did a quick flyby of the 15^th floor office windows and then hopped into the box to brood the chicks. By 6:45 she went up to the roof of the box to stare at that office window. At 7:09 Ares was in the box with the nestlings. Both parents were in and out of the box quite a bit over the next couple of hours. At 8:20 Astrid was back on the roof of the box, glaring into the window and through the blinds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWt8nDO-NoM

At 9:23 AM Ares brought prey to the east veranda. Astrid hopped down from the box roof to take it and then she proceeded to conduct a feeding. At five minutes before 10:00 the parents were in their nest guarding positions once again – on the verandas. At 10:14 Ares brought in another meal. Astrid took it and got into another feeding session. Again, both parents were in and out of the box periodically, doing “chick checks” but not much brooding. At 11:57 she got back up on the box roof. Ares screeched to the box at noon to do a chick check. At 12:58 PM Ares brought another meal to the nest. Astrid took it and conducted a long feeding. Towards the end of it, Ares came onto the crossperch and gave some long calls including a couple of warbly long calls, the meaning of which is unknown to us. At 1:15 the meal was over. Astrid blasted out of the box, swooped by the 15^th floor once and then went over towards the State Building. Ares then came into the box, picked up a bird leg that was lying on the floor and started trying to feed it to the chicks. It was his first feeding session with them this season and, even though the chicks were already stuffed, they did accept some pieces from him. He did a great job of tearing small pieces off the upper leg and gently putting them into the nestlings’ gaping bills. He also made some squeaking calls while he fed which was interesting since he’s been most often mute during the feedings he’s conducted. Contrast that with Astrid who also gives loud motivational chirps during feedings. Feathers from recently plucked birds were swirling around in the box during Ares’ brief feeding time. By 1:18 he was back out to the crossperch and soon after Astrid arrived in the box to brood. At 1:22 Ares came to the box with a bat. To our surprise Astrid took it and successfully fed it out to the nestlings. How they were still able to eat more was a great mystery. There may only be two chicks this year, but the eat enough for four or five.

At 1:57 PM Ares was on duty brooding the chicks in the nestbox and Astrid was on the box roof. The storm was approaching, and we wondered if Ares would be staying with them through the storm. At 2:55 just as the rain and lightning began Astrid flew into the box and impatiently ousted Ares. He left and she got on top of the chicks (and the eggs as well). The rain was very heavy and the wind relatively intense for several minutes. By 3:20 the storm had mostly passed although some lightning/thunder was still close by. She left the nest at 4:10 when the storm was well passed. At 4:45 she came back to the box with food – probably from Ares’ pantry. She fed the chicks for about ten minutes and then brooded them. After the storm came through the temperature dropped about ten degrees and it was actually cool for the first time in nearly a week (down to 60 degrees). At 5:18 Ares came to the box and asked for a turn with the chicks. Astrid declined the switch request, and he went to the west veranda. By 6:00 PM the rain and wind kicked up again. Rain fell heavily for a while but there was no lightning this time. Astrid remained in the box brooding the chicks. Ares had been on the State Building but left at some point before 6:15. Astrid called out from the box at around 6:18 – perhaps she saw Ares going after something. By that point the rain had diminished to a drizzle. At 6:28 Ares came to the long perch with prey (already processed). Astrid came out to take it from him on the crossperch. As Ares floated off on the wind, she started feeding the eager nestlings, their crops already ridiculously full. Ten minutes into the meal she kept encouraging them to take more and the chicks were complying (that is when they weren’t falling over in a food stupor). The chicks upright or not kept up with continuous begging calls. Between Astrid’s insistent chirps and the chicks’ begging, it was a more raucous sounding feeding than usual. The feeding ended at about five minutes before 7:00 PM. Astrid started brooding them directly after the meal. It was chilly and the wind made it colder. Likely she will stay on them all night long. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Falcon Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emAuNxfYMdw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haQP5lX376o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IFSE5UaXb4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLSVKVRoOq4

The overnight was warm with some light rain. The skies became overcast by late morning and more rain threatened and finally fell in late morning. Temperatures were in the mid-seventies until late afternoon when it reached into the high seventies. Astrid was in and around the box all last night – alternately guarding and brooding. Ares brought prey at 2:29 AM. Astrid accepted it and fed the chicks. At 3:40 she went out and fetched something else from Ares’ pantry and did a second feeding. At 4:18 Ares brought more prey. He hopped into the box to deliver it to Astrid. She grabbed it and conducted the 3^rd feeding of the morning. At 5:23 we noticed that Ares was on the State Building. Five minutes later he brought more food to the nest. After handing it off to Astrid he moved to the east veranda. Astrid began feeding one of the chicks. But then, noticing the nestling’s lack of interest, she picked up the meal and flew out of the box with it. We think she took it away and made it her own meal. Ares came into the box about ten minutes after Astrid had left. At 5:45 she was back and she relieved Ares. She went right to brooding the clutch while Ares moved to the west veranda. At 7:39 Ares flew from his perch on the steeple to the nestbox and had a turn guarding the chicks. By 8:03 Astrid was on duty – alternating between brooding the chicks and guarding them from the crossperch. She came back with a meal and was feeding the nestlings at 8:27. Once the meal was finished both falcon adults spent some time guarding the box – her on the crossperch and him on the east veranda perch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bBVHiKZXVA

At 9:50 AM both parents were up. Ares screeched back to the crossperch moments later. At 10:00 Astrid was back in the box with what appeared to be a Catbird. She was feeding the already full-looking chicks. Once again, their crops were bulging. Ten minutes later she was out, and Ares screeched back to the long perch. By 10:46 she was in the box brooding again. At 11:27 she had food and was engaged in yet another morning feeding. Ares was on the west veranda at the time so perhaps he had brought it. At 11:43 the meal had ended and Astrid was back to brooding the chicks. By this point it was raining in the downtown canyon. At 12:50 PM Ares moved to the long perch and was giving long calls. Astrid was brooding but she called back to him. While she called her posture was defensive as if she was guarding the chicks from Ares. Of course, then she abruptly decided to leave and let him have his turn. After contemplating the squealing chick pile for a few minutes, Ares decided to do some digging in the corner. At 12:56, only five minutes after leaving, Astrid came home and took over brooding. At 1:18 Ares had moved to the steeple. At 1:52 He came to the box to have another turn with the chicks. Astrid vacated the nest and flew to the State Building. Obviously, at one point he left because he screeched back to the nest at 2:35. His call made the chicks start squealing. Less than five minutes later Astrid returned and took over. He then relieved her ten minutes after that. It seemed like their shifts were getting incredibly short. The box was half shaded by that time, and the amount of sun reaching the interior was increasing. Still, it was a slightly cooler day with high temps in the high seventies and it stayed breezy so conditions were not so extreme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoEKGUIGUME

At 3:59 Astrid was shading the chicks. Ten minutes later they were squealing at her. At 4:15 she was feeding them. Most likely Ares brought the meal since he was on the crossperch at the start of the feeding. At 4:57 both parents were in the box. Ares was shading the chicks and it seemed like Astrid wanted to take over – that she did. By 5:18 the chicks were on opposite sides of the box, and they would stay that way for the subsequent few hours. Astrid was out on the crossperch, obviously confident the lower temperature and the wind were enough to keep the chicks cool today. At 6:29 Ares brought prey to the east veranda. Astrid took it and flew off towards the hotel – probably to take a share off the top, or maybe to process it some more. She was back in the box a couple of minutes later and starting a feeding. With the chicks so far separated in the box she had to feed them one at a time – switching sides in between. It took one chick some convincing to get it to eat. Astrid seemed to give up at one point but then persisted and had success. When the feeding was over at 6:39 Astrid took out the leftovers and presumably stored them.  For a while both parents were in guard positions – her on the long perch and him on the veranda. At 8:00 PM Ares was still guarding, and Astrid was on the State Building. Also, the chicks were still in their separate corners. Astrid came into the nest at 8:16 PM. She went for one chick and then the other trying to decide whether to move them together or not. She decided to leave them separated for the time being. At 8:27 she shuffled them back together, There was much squealing but they seemed happy to be reunited when it was over. Goodnight falcons.

Little Falls Falcon Update: The Little Falls falcon chicks have their eye masks already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IJBsUj7zVI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ8bsmrqovY