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Rain and chilly temperatures marked the overnight period. After a few rain-free hours in the morning, the precipitation rebooted, making for a pretty miserable morning. The temperature barely made it into the forties by midday. The afternoon was a little warmer and the sun came out occasionally. However, the wind did pick up. Ares brought prey to the nest box at 4:18 AM. We weren’t sure what it was, but it wasn’t a Woodcock. She accepted it and flew off into the darkness. As best we could determine she didn’t fly to the hotel, but it was very dark, and we couldn’t see the ledges very well. Before Ares got onto the eggs, we could tell that there were still four, which meant that Astrid didn’t lay a fifth egg during the night. There was only a remote possibility that she would have. Astrid returned to the crossperch at 4:59. They did a rapid changing of the guard and Astrid settled onto the eggs. All the morning switches were fast ones today, and neither Astrid or Ares protested leaving the nest. They switched again at 6:14 and then Ares was incubating. Astrid was on the State Building within a few minutes of leaving. We noticed late last night that the video feeds on our website were not working. Our direct feed to the cameras were up, so Deb and I were able to monitor. However, I was hampered by not having the streaming audio which I typically get from the website. That’s the way we keep track of happenings in real time. As it happened our streaming provider managed to correct the problem by late afternoon, so that was good news.   

At 6:27 AM Ares got up and left the nest. He was then back only a minutes later. It may have been a mating attempt, but we couldn’t confirm that. The falcons switched again at around 7:43 and then again at 8:03. During the latter switch Ares brought a small prey item. She accepted it on the crossperch and flew over to the hotel. Twenty minutes later she was on the steeple. The falcons next changing of the guard took place at around 8:38 and then Astrid was on the eggs. They switched almost an hour later and then again at 10:35. Indeed, they were switching roughly once an hour. At noon Astrid started calling out like she wanted Ares to relieve her. He showed up a few minutes later and they quickly switched. Ares got onto the eggs and Astrid took a relatively low perch on the State Building. At 12:40 she had moved to a perch on the south side of the steeple. At 2:12 she switched steeple perches. There was another changing of the guard at around 2:30 and then Astrid was on the nest. At 3:18 Ares was back at the box and trying to pry Astrid off the eggs. She refused to go, and he gave up after a few minutes. At 4:12 PM he was back and trying once again to shift her. Once more she wouldn’t go and he gave up and flew off. At 5:09 he was back and this time she was ready to go. She flew over to the State Building and perched there until 7:00 PM. Ares squeaked when she left. It turned out she had taken something from Ares’ pantry and brought it over to the hotel. After finishing her dinner, she went to the crossperch. This time it was Ares that didn’t want to go. She didn’t press him and flew over to the steeple. At 7:37 PM she was back to the box. Ares was ready to go, and she was ready to take over for the night shift. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNQYjKOSaM8

It was rainy and cool overnight. The temperature stayed in the low forties. The rain stopped before daybreak, but the sky remained overcast through the morning. The temperature made it into the mid-50’s by midafternoon and there were some breaks of sun. There was no overnight activity with Astrid and Ares. Astrid stayed tight on the eggs all night long. By morning she watched for Ares to appear but she wasn’t impatient enough to call out for him. She did vocalize a little bit when he flew in and landed on the State Building at 6:16 AM. He flew over to the box a couple of minutes later and the pair did a quick switch. As she quickly flew out of sight, Ares settled onto the eggs. At 7:50 Astrid was seen on the east side of the State Building. She then came to the crossperch at 8:13. They mated there less than a minute later and then Astrid got onto the eggs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCDu2fTxqIk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVAHpz8Vx1M

Ares showed up in the State Building at 9:04 AM. He came to the nestbox at 10:35 and the pair switched places. Ares climbed onto the eggs just as Astrid flew over to the State Building. She made at least one foray out while were watching her. At 12:03 PM Ares quietly left the box. Astrid came over within a minute to take over on the eggs. At 1:12 Astrid was calling in the box. There must have been an intruder in the canyon and one she had to deal with. She got off the egg and darted into the canyon. Ares was on the State Building at the time and without missing a beat, he came over and took over incubating the eggs. She returned to the State Building at 2:13. Fifteen minutes later Ares began giving alarm calls from the box. It was his turn to abandon the nest and chase after something. Once again, we didn’t see anything with our cams, but Astrid was also out of view. Ares finally returned to the eggs at 2:44. They had been left uncovered for fifteen minutes. It was probably not enough to harm them given the mild temperature at the time. At 3:52 we spotted Astrid on the hotel feeding on something. It didn’t appear to be a Pigeon so she must have gotten it from Ares’ pantry. We think it may have been a Woodcock, which explains why she didn’t finish it. She was on the steeple at 4:04.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xng98s76g6A

At 4:21 PM the falcons did a quick switch and Astrid took over on the eggs. She left again very quietly at 4:57. We don’t know what that was about. Ares came right over and got onto the eggs before a minute was up. At 5:37 Astrid came to the crossperch. She was asking to mate. Ares complied and then she resumed incubating. At that point she was probably set for the night. If Astrid is to lay an unprecedented 5^th egg it would most likely happen this evening – sometime between 10:00 PM and midnight. Obviously, this is unlikely, giving that in the past eight years Astrid has only ever laid four eggs in any one clutch. However, since they are continuing to mate, there is a remote possibility of a fertile fifth egg showing up on the scrape. Obviously, the odds are well stacked against this happening, but with nature, you never really know, and you never say never. Goodnight all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrY_AQiG6F8

The overnight was chilly with rain showers. The temperature was in the low forties and rose to only 47 degrees by midday. Rain was intermittent in the early morning but became more frequent by late morning. Rain was near constant in the afternoon and into the evening. Astrid spent the night on the eggs and there was no overnight action or drama. Ares screeched to his pillar perch at 5:20 AM. Fifteen minutes later he came to the box. Astrid got off the eggs, stretched her wings and flew into the canyon. It was a smooth switch and he quickly settled on the eggs. At 6:45 Astrid was on a pillar perch to the west of the nestbox. She moved to the crossperch a couple of minutes later and from there to the east veranda. At 7:20 she entered the box and negotiated with Ares to take over incubation. They did some beaking and he ceded the nest to her. He was back on his pillar a few minutes later. At 8:25 Ares was back to the box and he wanted to sit on the eggs again. When she didn’t get up right away, he walked around behind her and stepped on her tail feathers. That got her to leave pretty quickly and he got onto the eggs. After a few minutes we realized that he wasn’t covering all the eggs – and one was more against him than under him. At around 9:00 he shifted and started covering all four. There was probably no harm done. At 9:20 Astrid landed on the west veranda. The pair conversed but it seemed clear that Ares didn’t wasn’t to leave the box yet. She resisted the urge to oust him and hopped over to the east veranda instead. By 9:50 they amicably switched, and Astrid was back incubating the eggs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQp8-dwW-Zs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHShhLNST7s

At 10:45 AM Ares was on his pillar perch and Astrid was on the eggs. Both were taking naps. The next changing of the guard occurred at 11:30. It was a quick switch – Astrid got off and Ares got on. We weren’t sure where she flew to initially, but Ares was squeaking a lot like he was watching her fly. Perhaps he was perusing Ares’ food pantry on the west face of the State Building. By 12:04 PM She was on top of a pillar to the west of the nestbox.  At 12:16 she flew to the nest. Ares was ready to switch this time and he gave her no argument. At 1:32 Ares was back to the nest. Astrid signaled that she didn’t want to leave, and he didn’t press her on it. He came back thirty minutes later, and this time he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He walked behind her, stepped on her tail, and wingtips, and pushed her until she got off the eggs. He made “tut tut tut’ calls – the very type of call that she used to use when pushing him off the nest. It seems like he learned that technique from the best! At 3:03 Astrid came to the east veranda. Five minutes later she was in the box negotiating a changeover with Ares. He didn’t want to leave the eggs. They did some beaking and she seemed to be full of patients. However, at one point – several minutes into the standoff, she got serious and began stepping on his tail. It took eight minutes, but she finally got him to leave. She climbed onto the eggs, and he went to his pillar perch. At 5:56 PM Ares came to the crossperch. Once again, when she didn’t leave right away, he walked around behind her and stepped on her tail to get her up. It worked and she surrendered the nest to him. Astrid was out of view until just before 7:00 when she appeared on the west veranda. Fifteen minutes later they surprised us by mating on the crossperch. It was their first mating of the day, and now that they likely have their complete clutch of eggs, mating will soon cease. At 7:14 Astrid got onto the eggs and was likely in place for the night. It had been a rainy day with very little action – no food exchanges, no intruder alerts, only one mating, and lots and lots of incubating. Goodnight falcons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksBJJbYgKg4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Q-1tBH88k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaO1FvDof6w

The overnight period was somewhat warmer than usual with the temperature dipping down into the low forties and then climbing into the low fifties by noon. In the morning the skies were mostly cloudy with breaks of sun. It was sunnier in the afternoon and the temperature hit 60 degrees. Ares came to the west veranda with a Woodcock at 1:38 AM. Astrid made no move to come and take it. Instead, she flew into the canyon, and he followed her. She was back again and on the eggs five minutes later. Ares was back for a quick switch at 5:00. Astrid flew over to perch on the State Building. At 5:53 Ares came off the eggs and moved to the lip of the box thereby creating a gap in incubation. Considering it was only 43 degrees, long gaps can be problematic. He was doing some calling and we thought they would be mating soon. Sure enough, Astrid flew to the west veranda and the pair mated right after she arrived. Afterwards she got right onto the eggs. At 6:25 Ares came to a west ledge. He had prey in his talons. She called to him, and he flew off. He then landed on the east veranda platform. She called but made no move to come out for the food, so he took flight again. This time he came right to the box. She tried to take it from him but couldn’t get hold and she flew off without it. She boomeranged back and tried again. This time Ares didn’t let go when she did grab it and he came off the perch with it. They both dropped the prey and plunged down after it – both quickly moved off camera. We don’t know which one recovered the prey, but both Astrid and Ares were next seen on the hotel. She was feeding. Ares flew back to the nest and was incubating at 6:43.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U11wfSBvxdQ

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

At 6:55 AM Astrid was done with her meal and back on the State Building. At 7:03 she had moved to the west veranda. He left at some point, and she was climbing onto the eggs at 7:15. Perhaps we missed a mating. Ares was back to the nest at 7:22 and asking to have a turn on the eggs. When she didn’t get up, he moved around behind her and started trying to lever her off. Instead of leaving, she got up and turned around to face him. He knew she was serious, and he decided to leave instead. She then settled back onto the eggs. At 8:38 Ares was back and keen to incubate. This time he was successful prying Astrid off the nest and getting his turn on the eggs. One of them gave the “tut tut tut” call, which Peregrines give when they are impatient or irritated. We usually associate that call with Astrid. Regardless, she relented this time and ceded the nest to Ares. At 9:02 Ares left the box, and the pair mated a couple minutes later. Astrid got onto the eggs directly after mating. At 10:54 Ares was back again for another turn. She refused to leave, and he relented this time. He went to his pillar perch instead. At 11:58 AM it was clear that Astrid was having contractions. She was about to lay her fourth egg. We didn’t expect her to do this until at least 2:00 PM, but she had other plans. She laid her egg at 12:01 PM. It was 58 hours after she laid the third egg which is the smallest interval between two eggs so far this season. The interval between the 2^nd and 3^rd egg was 64 hours, which was easily the longest one. Obviously, she surprised us. Ares left his pillar perch and came into the nest only a minute after the fresh egg appeared. He spent a few minutes in the box conversing with his mate but not lobbying hard to take over incubation. He left and went back to his pillar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RrIhh-wkmA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp6dlR0tvQ0

At 12:47 PM Ares gave a cackle-type alarm call from his pillar perch, but he stayed in place. Raptor migration has been ramping up the last couple of days and no doubt some of these raptors and vultures are passing through the falcons’ territory. At 1:46 Ares came to the box and took over incubation of the four eggs. He had to almost pry her out of the nest, but he prevailed. It was his first time incubating the full clutch. Astrid went to a relatively low perch on the State Building. At just before 2:00 PM the pair mated on the west veranda. Unless she’s planning on laying an unprecedented fifth egg they no longer need to mate anymore – that is, not for the sake of producing fertile eggs. Astrid went to the box and got onto the eggs following the mating. At 2:43 we heard Ares screech as he landed on his pillar perch. At 3:10 he came to the box to relieve Astrid. She didn’t want to leave so he stepped on her wingtips to oust her. She left and he got onto the eggs. At 3:28 Ares was giving alarm chirp calls from the nest. He came off the eggs but didn’t leave the box. Was it a Peregrine intruder? Probably not based on his lack of action. He was back on the eggs ten minutes later and Astrid was on the State Building. At 4:22 PM Astrid came to the crossperch. He didn’t want to leave so she took off again only to come back a minute later. At 4:38 they mated on the crossperch. Astrid went into the box after that and resumed incubating. At 5:13 Ares screeched to the long perch. He asked for a turn on the eggs, but she sent him off again. He came back less than five minutes later and didn’t want to take no for an answer. They had quite the negotiation. He went around behind her and stomped her tail and wingtips; she turned around and beaked with him; they had an involved conversation and then he relented and left the box. At 5:45 he was on his pillar again. He flew off on a foray at one point only to screech back a little while later. At 6:30 Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch to take it and then darted off. She didn’t take it to the hotel or anywhere we could see with our cams. Ares took over incubation while she was gone. She showed up on the west veranda at 6:49 and then hopped over to the nest twenty minutes later. Ares didn’t want to leave. She vocalized to him for several minutes until he finally gave in and left the nest. Astrid then settled on her clutch just as Ares went off to his night perch. Goodnight falcons.  

The overnight was chilly with temperatures around the freezing mark. Clouds gave way to partly sunny skies in the morning and the temperature rose to 50 degrees by noon. Astrid spent most of the night on the eggs. However, at 1:46 AM she jumped up onto the crossperch and from there flew into the dark canyon. She was back on the eggs again six minutes later. At 2:25 AM Ares screeched to the crossperch with a Woodcock. Surprisingly, Astrid wanted it and scrambled over the crossperch to take it. She brought it over to the hotel. It was so dark that we could just barely see her on the ledge. It seemed like she was gone after a few minutes, but we couldn’t tell for sure. While she was gone Ares stayed on the long perch and never went in to sit on the eggs. He left but then returned at 2:40 and did get onto the eggs. At 3:48 he became very excited and screeched off into the canyon. She then came into the box and resumed incubating. At 5:32 Ares arrived at the nest with a small prey item. She took it from him on the crossperch and from there flew to the hotel. He then took a turn on the eggs. At 5:56 Astrid flew to the State Building. Twenty minutes later Ares came off the eggs and got on the lip of the box. He gave a few long calls to his mate on the other side of the canyon. Astrid flew over to the crossperch and then to the east veranda. She was asking to mate. Ares responded by hopping back into the box and getting onto the eggs. The pair mated at 6:19. Astrid then had a turn on the eggs. At 6:36 they switched, and Ares took over. At 6:42 Astrid went to the east veranda. They mated their a few minutes later. Afterwards Astrid hopped into the box and resumed incubation.

At 7:42 AM Ares screeched over to a west ledge with prey. He then proceeded to pluck it for the next twelve minutes. Meanwhile Astrid was waiting for him to bring it to her. At 7:56 he brought it to the long perch. She scrambled over the crossperch to take it and then flew to the hotel. He hopped into the nest and spent a few minutes trying to get all the eggs situated properly beneath him. On the hotel ledge she took a few bites of her meal and then presumably stored it. She flew to a steeple perch after that. She had a crop which meant she had eaten adequately that morning. At 8:07 Ares landed on the crossperch. He didn’t seem interested in going into the box and sitting on the eggs. She landed on the west veranda and the pair mated there. Following that Astrid got onto the eggs. At 9:18 the falcons switched and Ares took over incubating. Astrid came to the east veranda at 10:37. Ares got off the eggs and they mated five minutes later. She took a turn on the eggs after that. At around 11:00 one of them gave a cackle alarm call – likely in reaction to Turkey Vultures flying through the canyon. Astrid was still incubating at 11:15 and Ares went to his favorite pillar perch. Later on he was seen preening, stretching his wings, and also trying to bring up a pellet. He came to the nest a little before noon and he made her leave the eggs. She went to the steeple, and he stayed incubating for a little while. Both falcons were up at 12:36 – she then went back to the eggs, but at 12:45 PM she quietly got off the nest and was gone. Both falcons were out of view until Ares returned to the crossperch at 1:13. He was giving long calls. He knew where his mate was even though we couldn’t find her with our cams. At least not until 1:22 when she showed up on the State Building. Ares finally got onto the eggs at 1:44 PM. The eggs had been alone and uncovered for 60 minutes. The temperature was 53 degrees, and the sun was hitting the box. Were the eggs in trouble? Probably not this early on in their incubation.

At 2:04 PM Ares came off the eggs and Astrid landed on the crossperch. She was calling loudly. They mated a couple of minutes later, but it was a little short of the standard length. At 2:05 Astrid was up and out of view once more and the eggs were left uncovered again. Ares returned at 2:16 and this time he got right onto the eggs. At 2:36 Ares was up again, and Astrid was on the crossperch calling. She soon resumed incubation. At 3:40 Astrid was calling again – this time it was warning calls. She tore off into the canyon and was gone for about five minutes. When she returned she got on the eggs immediately. At 4:49 Ares came to the box and insisted on having another turn on the eggs. After a little convincing, she relented and flew over to the State Building. She came to the crossperch at 6:00 PM and from there moved onto the east veranda. Ten minutes later the pair mated. At 6:14 Astrid hopped back into the box and resumed incubating. We were reasonably sure that they were done for the night. Goodnight all.