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The overnight was balmy with temps in the 70’s. After daybreak the air warmed quickly, attaining near 80 degrees by noon and the high eighties by mid-afternoon. Fortunately, there was more of a breeze today that helped give some relief. Astrid switched between being on the crossperch and bring inside the box for much of last evening. However, by 12:22 Ares was on the long perch and Astrid was on the State Building. He doesn’t often get tasked with late night chick-sitting, so this was unusual. Ares brought prey to the box at 2:20 AM. Astrid took it and conducted the first morning feeding. At 5:34 Ares screeched to the nestbox. She was on the State Building at the time. Five minutes later he was gone, and she was on the crossperch. At 5:46 Ares brought food to the long perch, but then took off with it before Astrid could accept it. Astrid was in the box at that time. She left the nest and fetched Ares back. This time she took the prey and proceeded to feed the nestlings. When the meal was finished, she went back to brooding. At 6:17 we noticed that Ares was up on the roof of the Adirondack bank Building. Perhaps he was using the lamp post he was on as a hunting perch. At 6:43 both falcons were up – perhaps coordinating a chase. A few minutes later he screeched to the box. He left when she came inside to brood ten minutes later. She then went back and forth between brooding and perching on the crossperch. At 8:22 she went up onto the roof of the nestbox. That could only mean that she was concerned about activity in the offices around the nest site. At 8:56 she was back to the crossperch. Two minutes later Ares arrived with food. Astrid accepted it and commenced a feeding. At 9:06, after the meal was over, Astrid flew into the canyon and Ares gave a long call. This time it was him switching between brooding and perching on the crossperch.

At 9:22 AM Astrid was back at the nest and Ares was out of view. At 9:35 she hopped up onto the box roof again. Twenty minutes later she was back to switching between the crossperch and brooding inside the nest. At 11:41 Ares brought a goldfinch to the nest. Astrid accepted it and carried out a feeding. During the meal we noticed how the chicks now have obvious crops and they were looking quite full. At 11:50 the feeding was done, and Astrid flew out into the canyon. At a few minutes before noon, she was back and on the roof of the nestbox. While up there she gave dirty looks to the office windows. At 12:42 PM she was back to watching the nest area from across the canyon on the State Office Building. Ares came to the box a few minutes later and shifted back and forth between brooding the chicks and being on the crossperch.  At 1:46 it was Astrid’s turn in the box. The afternoon was heating up and the sun was increasingly invading the box. Still, it wasn’t too bad yet. She switched between shading and standing out on the crossperch. At around 2:48 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it and handled the feeding. At 3:06 Ares was taking a turn shading. The sun was now flooding most of the box. Ares worked hard to shade the two chicks and he occasionally let the eggs go uncovered. This is the first time this season that they have showed signs of halting their care of the eggs. At 4:18 Ares gave a cackle-type alarm call from the nest. Probably some passing raptor or vulture was the cause.

Just before 5:00 PM Astrid came to the nest and unceremoniously displaced Ares by pulling the chicks over to her. He stayed for a few minutes, casting shade on nothing, and then he left. The contrast between the shading techniques of the two adults is interesting. Ares passively shades the whole time he is on duty, while Astrid shades for a certain amount of time and then actively shuffles the chicks and makes them move. Sometimes her shuffling seems rather rough but keeping the chicks moving is obviously an important part of keeping them from overheating. At one point Astrid was only shading one of the chicks. The other was against the wall. She then adeptly grabbed it and moved it underneath her with the shoulder of her wing. It was a kind of scooping action. Sometimes she uses her bill to pick them up, but we didn’t see her do that today. One of the eggs was left uncovered for a little while and then, at one point Astrid noticed it and started shading it with her fanned tail. At 6:34 Ares came to the nest with a Blue Jay. Astrid took it and immediately began plucking it. She then started serving it to the chicks, but they weren’t really interested. After only giving one chick a couple of bites she flew out of the nest the rest. Ares came into shade after she left. At 7:03 Astrid was back with the jay. Ares left when she came in to start the feeding. When the feeding was over, she left, and Ares came back. She took over from him for the last time at 8:32. Initially she was brooding but then moved out onto the crossperch. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update:

The Little Falls chicks are now ambulatory on their nest ledge!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXIZkHO0-wo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2BIw6Ee2qM

The overnight period was relatively warm with temperatures in the low seventies. They dipped down into the fifties after midnight and then significantly rebounding during the day. In the mid-afternoon the temperature reached into the mid-80’s. Astrid spent the night brooding and/or standing guard over the nestlings. Ares brought prey to the nest at 1:34 AM and Astrid accepted it. She spent some time plucking it and had a share for herself. It was 1:41 before she began to dole out the rest to the chicks. He brought another meal at 3:00. Astrid took it and started feeding that one out right away. Ares went over onto the west veranda and was there until just after 5:00. At 5:34 Ares returned to the box with more food. He brought the prey inside the box, making it much easier for Astrid to take it from him. She immediately started a feeding and it lasted for ten minutes. At 5:56 she went back to brooding while Ares hung out on the west veranda perch. At 7:22 Ares was up again. At 7:53 Astrid went out onto the crossperch, but was soon back inside and brooding her clutch. At 8:05 and at 8:27 Ares was at the nest with more food. Both times, she took the food and did the feeding. At 10:15 Astrid came off the clutch and went out onto the crossperch. An hour later she was back to brooding. It was the longest period since the chicks hatched that they were left alone in the nestbox.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPFC9rE_leI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_x8qhYcULc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNU64Od2A_s

At 12:04 PM Ares was on the east veranda, but then both adult Peregrines were up at 12:15. We didn’t know what took them away from the nest area. We didn’t hear any alarm calls. Once again, the chicks were alone, but the temperature was already past 70 degrees and the box wasn’t being flooded by the sun yet, so all was well. At 12:36 Astrid was back with the chicks in the nest – more standing guard than brooding. At 1:10 PM she went over to the west veranda for a little while. She was back on sentry duty in the box at 1:21. At 1:27 she gave a cackle-type alarm call from the nest but didn’t leave her station. At 2:00 Ares was in the box shading alongside Astrid. If he had brought food, it was fed out very quickly. She left after only a couple of minutes. She then came right back with food from one of Ares’ pantry ledges. Ares didn’t stay for the feeding but flew over to the State Building. She left at 2:22 when the feeding was finished. Ares then came in to babysit. At 2:48 we saw that Astrid was on the State Building. A few minutes later Ares was giving a cackle-type warning call from the box. Probably, another migrant raptor or Turkey Vulture was flying over the canyon. At 3:18 the pair switched again, and Astrid came in to shade. The temperature by this point was in the mid 80’s.

At 4:26 PM we heard Ares screech from somewhere in the canyon. At 4:56 Astrid was calling in the box and she moved away from the chicks. She was likely reacting to Ares landing on the State Building. At 5:27 Ares screeched to the nestbox. He hopped inside and asked to have a turn shading the chicks. Astrid left without any fanfare, and he went about brooding/shading. At 6:28 Astrid flew from the State Building back to the box and the pair switched. Thirty minutes later he had prey on the State Building. He brought it to the nest, and she conducted a feeding. When she was done, she sat out on the crossperch for a while. At 7:47 Astrid became slightly upset after seeing people in an office adjacent to the nest box. She did a little bit of hazing of the 15^th floor of the bank building. Ares then came over to the box and squeaked while she got it out of her system. At 8:15 she was on the crossperch and he was on the State Building. They were both still in place at 9:00 PM. It was 75 degrees, and it wasn’t necessary to brood the chicks. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol0mWRBJNkk&t=13s

The overnight was cool and dry with Temperatures dropping into the low forties. As has been the case lately, weather fortunes turn around after daybreak and the mercury rebounded into the 70’s by noon, surpassing 80 degrees by midafternoon. Astrid was on the nest all night long – mostly brooding. Ares brought prey at 1:53 AM, but she refused to take it. He was back an hour later, but she refused again. However, third time was the charm, and at 4:08 when he was back, she accepted his contribution and went on to feed the nestlings. It looked like it was only a small item when Ares brought it, but she fed it out for about ten minutes. At 4:28 we noticed that Ares was on the west veranda as he had been for part of the night before. He was gone an hour later. At 5:40 Ares brought more food, this time bringing it right into the nestbox. Astrid took it and tried to conduct a second feeding, the problem being the chicks were not interested in feeding. It was quite soon after their last meal. Astrid then took the food out and stored it on the State Building. Ares came into the nest to babysit, and Astrid took a high perch on the State Building. Only a couple of minutes later she flew to the box and took over brooding from Ares.

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

At 4:00 PM Ares came to the box with a small prey item. He then came into the nest to shade while Astrid fed it out. Of course, the chicks begged to Ares, while Astrid tried to get their attention. The feeding was over after only three minutes and then Astrid went into shading mode right alongside Ares. At 4:20 we noticed that they had split the clutch. Ares was shading the eggs, and Astrid, the chicks. That may have been unprecedented behavior. At 4:22 Astrid left the whole clutch to Ares and flew out into the canyon. At 4:46 She returned and tried to take over shading the two chicks and the two eggs, but Ares was an immovable object. She gave tututututu calls and other impatient scolding-type vocalizations, but Ares held firm. Finally, at 4:50 she went beneath her mate and scooped the clutch up with her wing and moved them beneath her. That was crafty! Ares didn’t stay long after that. After Ares left Astrid spent the next couple of hours looking very stressed and frequently jostling and shuffling the nestlings. The temperature was in the mid-80’s and the sun flooded the box. At 6:00 PM we saw that Ares was on the east lookout post on the roof of the State Building. Most likely he was in hunting mode. Ten minutes later he was gone.  At 6:45 Ares screeched to the box. From the crossperch he negotiated with Astrid to let him take over. After a couple of minutes, she agreed and left the box. Ares then took over shading, but the chicks didn’t make it easy. Initially, they were about 5 inches apart and Ares had a hard time hitting both the chicks and the eggs with his shadow. Astrid was back to the box at 7:04 PM and she immediately tried to take over. Ares resisted for a minute and then he left. Later, he was on the State Building. Astrid seemed to be in the nest for the night. Goodnight all.

Astrid left the box at around 8:33 AM and Ares came in to watch over the clutch. About ten minutes later Astrid arrived with food and she stated a feeding. Ares flew out into the canyon. At just before 9:00 AM the feeding was over, and Astrid went back to brooding. At 11:45 Ares brought some scraps of food to the box. Astrid took it and fed it out. At 11:55 Astrid left the box. Ares flew over from the steeple and took over chick-sitting for a while. They switched at 12:18 PM and then Astrid was back in the chick- saddle. At 1:06 Astrid suddenly got off her clutch and left the nest. Ares came in to take over only a minute later. At 1:45 PM he was giving squeaking calls which meant he must have seen Astrid in the canyon somewhere. Seven minutes later she came in and landed on the State Building. The pair switched again at 2:00 PM. We noticed that he was on the steeple 45 minutes later. At 3:20 he was up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cOF5wniWYk

Little Falls Falcons Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyDY0x3Qyz4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGM-bJOCcNQ&t=4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nClyyr2t9fg

The overnight was chilly with temperatures in the low forties. After daybreak temperatures rose fairly quickly and it was in the mid-sixties by early afternoon. Astrid off and on her clutch last evening until around 9:00 PM when she finally settled. It was warm enough to be off of them a while. Ares came to the box with food at a few minutes before 2:00 AM. Astrid took the food and did a feeding. He was back with more at 3:10 and Astrid fed out that meal as well. We noticed that Ares was on the west veranda at 3:23. He was wide awake and preening. By 5:00 he seemed to be snoozing, but then an hour later he was gone. The next feeding took place at 7:38. Ares brought food to the nest, actually bringing inside. Astrid scrambled to take it and then started doing a feeding. He bought another small food item at 8:07 – this one he also delivered inside the box. Astrid took it and fed it out to the chicks. Ares was on the steeple perch at 8:15. At 9:39 Ares delivered yet another meal inside the nestbox – making it easy and less hazardous for Astrid to take it, instead of scrambling over the tightrope crossperch. At 10:00 Ares screeched to the box with more prey. She declined it and he flew off to store it. At 10:25 he landed on the steeple. Astrid called out when he landed. He started giving some long calls and then flew to his favorite pillar top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjJevA-RkV0

At 11:05 AM both adults were giving cackle-type alarm calls but neither left their places. She remained at the nest, and he stayed on his pillar. Evidently, they were only warning some migrant raptor off. At 11:29 Ares brought prey to the box and, just like the previous three times, he hopped inside the box to present it to his mate. She grabbed it and commenced feeding the chicks. At 11:37 she was done with the feeding and left the box. Ares came right in without missing a beat. He brooded the clutch for a couple of minutes and then Astrid was back in, and he was out. At 12:10 PM Astrid was trying to bring up a pellet while brooding the clutch. Ten minutes later we heard Ares giving alarm chirping calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid hopped off the nest and scrambled into flight. She flew in a circle around the State Building, gaining height, and then dove off towards the west shooting like an arrow. Ares then came to the nest box to be with the chicks. He made some squeaking calls when Astrid landed on a high ledge on the State Building moments later. At 12:37 she came back to the box and took over brooding from him. He went to the steeple. At 1:00 he started giving long calls and then he flew. At 1:39 Astrid got up from brooding, left the nest, and left the chicks alone. It was nearly 70 degrees by that point. She went to the State Building but then was back to the box and brooding only five minutes later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQb-NpCkzp8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rty8QJCjCcM

At 2:30 PM Ares was back on the steeple and giving some long calls. They switched at sometime before 2:44 and Ares was in the box. She came in and took over at 3:08. At 4:06 we heard cackle-type alarm calls from Ares. We don’t know what triggered him. At 4:19 Ares came into the box. Astrid was shading at the time and seemed to have no intention of leaving the nest. They did some talking and then Astrid agreed to leave. She was then back about a minute later with food – undoubtable something from one of Ares’ pantry ledges. She then proceeded to feed the chicks with Ares remaining inside to provide the shade. This new behavior they developed only this week is something they are really taken with. At 4:35 after the meal was over Astrid began shading too – so the pair were both being Peregrine parasols. At 5:10 he had left the box. At a minute before 6:00 Ares brought a small prey item to the nest. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and then began doling out the food. He came inside the box for a minute, but it was awkward this time and so he left. At 6:47 PM Ares came to the box and requested a turn shading the chicks. After about a minute of refusing to leave, she unceremoniously got up and flew out. By this point the chicks had gotten separated from each other – by about eight inches. Ares didn’t seem sure of what to do. He partially opened his wings and shaded an area just short of where the chicks were. At 7:06 Astrid flew back to the nest and took over shading duties. Ares went over to the State Building. At 7:40 Ares flew to the box with a small hunk or food. Astrid accepted it on the crossperch and then fed the chicks their supper. After the meal was done, she spent a little time out on the crossperch and then she flew out into the canyon. After a couple of minutes Ares screeched over to the nest to babysit. Astrid returned to take over at 8:30 PM. Goodnight all.

Little Falls Falcon Update:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KzYe0Mlp5w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnpGza7kz_A

The overnight was quite chilly with temps getting down close to the freezing point. After dawn things improved rapidly with the temp rising into the mid-sixties by late morning. By midafternoon it was in the mid-70’s. Once more it was windy, and the skies were mostly cloudless. Astrid was on the nest all night as expected. At 2:57 AM Ares came to the box with food. Astrid took it and conducted the first feeding of the day. The feeding went on for about ten minutes. At 5:00 Ares was back with a small prey item. He tightrope walked across the crossperch with it and then hopped into the box. Astrid didn’t have to scramble to get it this time which was nice. About eight minutes later she had finished the feeding. She left to store the leftovers and came right back to resume brooding. At 5:36 Ares flew over to his pillar perch. She called out during his transit. At 7:53 Ares came to the long perch but then was immediately up again. At 8:12 he was on the west veranda perch. Astrid got off the eggs and went to the lip of the box where she could see Ares. She squawked at him and then went back to her clutch. At 9:00 Ares brought food to the box. She took it and started a feeding. By 9:10 she was finished serving out the meal and went back to brooding. At 10:43 the falcons switched and then Ares had a turn with the chicks. At the start he just stood next to the clutch but, after a little while, he started kind-of brooding them. It was around 64 degrees and they didn’t really need to be brooded so much. At that point Astrid buzzed by the box and then flew to the State Building. We figured that she was checking on the box and seeing how her mate was managing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CN3oM8r22c

At 10:48 Astrid came to the nest and Ares was out. She didn’t have to tell him to leave; her intensity alone told him that he had best cede the nest and go while the getting was good. At 12:09 PM Astrid came off the nest and hopped onto the crossperch and from there, flew into the canyon.  Ares arrived seconds later, screeching into the box, and coming in close to brood. The chicks started begging to him, but he didn’t have anything for them. Three minutes later Astrid came into the box with food. Ares was out and she began a feeding. He spent time on the steeple for the next hour or so, making one foray out at one point. Astrid left the box at around 1:25. She went to the State Building, and he came in to babysit. At 1:33 he started giving chirping-type alarm calls. He dove out of the box and went after something. A couple of minutes later Astrid came in and resumed brooding. At 2:10 both adults were again out of the nest. We weren’t sure what was happening. If the intruder that Ares chased away earlier was back or if was something different. A minute later we noticed that Ares was on the steeple, so he wasn’t dealing with the problem. He then flew over to the box to babysit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWMD9sFobro

At 2:18 PM Astrid was back from her adventure and had taken a perch on the State Building. She took over from Ares at 2:30. At 3:16 we noticed that Astrid was shading the clutch. It had gotten quite warm by this point and the sun was flooding into the box. At 2:24 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid took it from him and started a feeding. Five minutes later we heard Ares giving cackle-type alarm calls from somewhere in the canyon. Astrid didn’t seem to get upset. At the time she was busy alternating between shading and brooding. At 4:40 Ares came to the box and asked to take over shading duties. A few minutes later she let him. At 5:10 she was back with food. And then, just like the previous day, Astrid proceeded with a feeding while Ares remained in the box casting shade on the chicks. He did it through the entire meal and continued even after Astrid had finished and left the nest. It was an amazing example of cooperation (yet another example) between these two birds. We need to verify this with our records, but we couldn’t recall them doing this in previous years. At 5:39 Astrid returned to the box and this time tried to take over on the clutch. Ares was still shading and seemed to want to continue. She started brooding and eventually he got the hint and left. After he was gone, she switched to shading and continued with that until after 7:00 PM. Ares was up and down from the State Building during that time and perhaps making hunting forays. He came to the crossperch at 6:54. She let him take over the clutch a few minutes later. He then stayed in the box shading until Astrid was back at 7:16 PM. The falcons appeared to be done for the night. Goodnight all.

Here are some videos from the Little Falls falcon nest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ6xSt-Tbw8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvqqAMQ7XIo