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The overnight period was chilly with temperatures staying in the low thirties. Skies were partly cloudy in the morning and the temperature made its way into the low forties by noon. Astrid was in the box all night. We predicted that she would lay her third egg by midnight, but she went well north of that line. Her contractions started at 1:52 AM and she ultimately laid the egg at 1:56. Of course, it was dark inside the nest at that time, and we didn’t get to actually see the egg until the falcons switched at 6:44 AM. As for the interval between the last two eggs, certainly 64 hours is a long gap even for Astrid. Ares had been on the State Building very early on but he didn’t come to the nest until the switch. He had only been on the eggs for a few minutes when he got up and stood on the lip of the box and started calling. Astrid was on the State Building, which meant she was in view, and it was OK for him to go back to incubating. At 7:10 Astrid came to the crossperch and was giving her pterodactyl-like begging calls. She then hopped over to the west veranda. Was she telling him she was hungry?  She was telling him that it was time to mate and that’s what they did a few minutes later. At 7:14 Astrid was getting on the eggs. There was food transfer at just before 8:00 AM. Ares took over on the eggs just as Astrid flew over to the hotel with her meal. While she was feeding two Pigeons hazed her – likely they were nesting beneath the broken part of the ledge.

At 9:34 AM Astrid was giving loud high-pitched warning chirps and chur-ups which usually indicate a falcon intruder. However, we didn’t see anything. She moved over to the west veranda and then we heard Ares’ distant screeching calls. She darted into the canyon just as he came into the box and got onto the eggs. At 9:42 Astrid stopped at the crossperch and issued some very emphatic vocalizations. She dashed off after that. We think she was trying to convey to him that she was hungry. He was up and out after five minutes, and she was back to the eggs just before 10:00 AM. At 10:10 we heard a gull calling in the canyon, but the falcons were not bothered by it and there was no police action required. At 10:41 Ares was up on the roof of the State Building on the northeast lookout. Most probably he was hunting. Astrid moved to the lip of the box and then flew. He took off as well. She went to the steeple perch, and him to the nest. At 11:00 Ares was on the eggs and incubating and Astrid moved to the State Building. At 11:34 Ares started giving a cackle alarm call, but he soon calmed down. Probably, he was reacting to another Turkey Vulture flying through. At 12:42 PM Astrid took over on the eggs. They switched again at 1:20. Astrid went to the steeple and Ares resumed incubating. At 2:53 Astrid came to the crossperch. She was ready to take over on the eggs, but Ares complained and didn’t want to leave. She flew off instead. She came to the east veranda a minute later and was asking to mate. He left the nest but didn’t boomerang back to mate. She flew again and the eggs were left alone for about ten minutes. Ares then came in and got back on the nest. She was on the State Building. Ares left the nest at 3:56 but then was back only moments later. Perhaps there was a mating attempt.

At 4:33 the falcons did a quick switch at the nest and Astrid took over incubating. Fifteen minutes later, Ares screeched to the box with prey. She accepted it on the crossperch and then took it over to the hotel. The eggs were then left alone for about fourteen minutes before Ares came back in and resumed incubation. Astrid was done with her meal by that time and had flown to the steeple. At 5:09 Ares was giving warning “chur-up” calls and he left the nest. It was likely he was dealing with an intruder. At 5:15 Astrid came to the nest and got onto the eggs. By this point she seemed to be in for the night and Ares was perhaps off to his night perch. The fourth and probably the last egg of the season should be laid around late afternoon on Wednesday.  Goodnight all.

The overnight was chilly with rain threatening. Snow showers began after daybreak and continued through the morning, The temperature hovered around the freezing mark for most of the day. More rain and snow came in the afternoon and into the evening and the wind picked up. Astrid spent the night on the nest, but it was anything but a placid time. At 12:80 AM, Ares left a perch on the west face of the State Building. By 12:44 he was apparently hazing something perched near the northwest corner of the west face – in a place we couldn’t see with our cameras. He began giving cackle alarm calls and continued issuing them for several hours. Meanwhile, Astrid stayed guarding the nest and eggs. She was highly alert but didn’t make any sounds. Ares came to his pillar perch above the box and continued cackling from there. He cackled and cackled. At 1:17 he was up again and dove at the mysterious intruder a few more times before returning to his pillar. Astrid was still in the box but sitting more upright and she had ceased incubating her eggs. Ares left the pillar at 4:08 AM and we heard him give a few more volleys of cackle calls at 5:00. But then, suddenly, the red alert seemed to be over. We can only speculate as to what he was reacting to. We’ve rarely seen such a dramatic reaction from him and almost never at night. Perhaps a Great Horned Owl was the culprit – one that may have landed on a window ledge of the State Building; perhaps one of the pantry ledges where Ares stores his prey. Of course, Great Horned Owls are active at night, and they are known to attack raptor nest (including falcon nests) at night. Still, it’s only a guess. Only Ares (and possibly Astrid) know what precisely occurred. At 6:30 Astrid moved to the crossperch. Ares arrived and they did a lightning-fast switch. As she darted off, he came onto the eggs, but he wasn’t incubating either, only perching over them. At 6:36 he moved to the lip of the box and gave some long calls. He was likely anxious because she was out of his sight. He screeched off into the canyon, screeched while flying, and then screeched back to the box. To paraphrase Jerry Lee Lewis, “There was a whole lotta screechin’ going on!”

At 6:47 AM Astrid came to the west veranda. They mated there a few minutes later. She then moved into the box and got onto the eggs. Evidently, she was hungry and was issuing some pterodactyl-type begging calls. Ares responded quickly by bringing a Woodcock to the east veranda. This was not what she had ordered, and she made no move to take it. He brought it to a west ledge, but that was also ignored. He stored the meal and came back to the box at 7:08 and the pair switched. Ares got onto the eggs for a few seconds and then moved onto the crossperch. They mated at 7:38 but we are not sure where it took place. She came to the crossperch afterwards and from there climbed onto the eggs. At 7:50 she called out a few times as if she was placing another food order with Ares. She flew a couple minutes later and then both converged at the box. He brought her a bat – probably the only thing in the world she likes less than Woodcocks. She got a look at what he had in his talons and immediately flew out. He then flew off to store it. He boomeranged back and stood on the crossperch for a little while. At 8:27 he got onto the eggs, but only briefly. It was around this time that we heard the call of a Ring-billed Gull as it traversed the canyon. The falcons didn’t bother with it and let it pass. At 8:32 the falcons mated on the west veranda. We then noticed that Astrid had a crop. Seems like she found something other than the Woodcock and the Bat on one of Ares’ pantry ledges. Although its also possible that she caught something herself. A few minutes later she came to the nest. At 9:04 Ares was back to take another turn on the eggs – incubating or guarding. They mated at 9:24 and then Astrid then relieved him two minutes later. He flew up to his pillar perch above the nest. The next mating took place at 9:27 after which Ares returned to his pillar. It was snowing and hazy in the canyon and Ares did some light snoozing on his perch. I guess he was up most of the night, so his fatigue is understandable. At 11:35 Ares barreled back into the nest and the pair executed a very quick and smooth changeover. He settled ono the eggs initially but then did some perching over them. At 12:25 Astrid was located on top of a west pillar.

At 1:47 PM Astrid came to the east veranda perch. Despite the snow, she seemed keen to mate and they did just that a few minutes later. Astrid then hopped into the box and got onto the eggs. Ares came to the box at 3:02 and Astrid went out onto the east veranda. They mated at around 3:10. She was on the eggs and back to incubating ten minutes later. At 4:15 we heard Ares giving long calls from somewhere in the canyon. He was at the box moments later and the pair did a quick switch. At 4:37 Astrid was on the steeple giving chirping calls like there was a falcon intruder in the canyon. Ares got off the eggs and started chirping in response. As it happened there was no intruder – she was only calling him over to mate. They mated and then a few minutes later she came over to resume incubation. The next changing of the guard took place at 5:31. Ares took over on the eggs and Astrid went over to the State Building. He gave light squeak calls for a while as he perceived her on her perch across the canyon. At 6:03 she landed on the west veranda perch. Twenty minutes later she moved to the lip of the box pointing in. She was ready to come back onto the nest. However, Ares wasn’t ready to leave. She gave him several minutes and then she came up behind him and stepped lightly on his tail and wing tips. He left with light protest, and she took over incubating. Apparently continuous incubation did begin this afternoon and will likely be the rule from now on. We expect Astrid to lay her third egg tonight sometime after ten but perhaps as late as midnight. We shall see. Goodnight falcons.

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

The overnight was chilly and windy with temperature staying close to the freezing point. Mostly sunny skies in the morning aided a very modest warmup. The temperature stayed under forty until noon. Astrid was on the eggs until Ares relieved her at 3:20 AM. He left abruptly at 3:44 and Astrid returned two minutes later. At 5:17 Ares was back to the nest and the pair did another quick switch. He is not diligent about incubation yet and was off the eggs only moments after getting on. He stood on the lip of the box until 5:24, when he settled back onto the eggs. At 5:31 they did another changing of the guard – this time Astrid came onto the nest. At 6:28 he was up on his lookout post – probably hunting. Astrid was getting hungry and was giving her trademark pterodactyl screech call to let Ares know. She left the box a couple of minutes later and flew to a windowsill on the State Building. Perhaps there was food there at some point. Ares then took flight and went over by the hotel, landing high up on the radio tower on the hotel roof. She returned to the box and got onto the eggs but was still calling to her partner. Only a minute later Ares landed on a light pole on the bank roof. He had a freshly caught starling in his talons. He landed on a west ledge and Astrid screeched over to meet him. She took the food over to the hotel and made breakfast out of it.

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

At 6:40 AM Ares had taken over on the eggs, but like before, he wasn’t serious about incubating. He was soon sitting over the eggs and not on them. He just can’t be comfortable when Astrid is out of view at least during this part of the breeding cycle. At 6:47 both falcons were flying again. Ares again returned to the nest but wasn’t settling on the eggs. He was gone again a few minutes later. Astrid came to the box at 7:02 and she was mostly on the eggs for the next hour. She left at 8:02 and he came in a minute later, but he didn’t incubate. Astrid took another turn at 8:28 and remained there for nearly ninety minutes. Ares took over at a few minutes before 10:00 but was mostly standing over the eggs. Of course, this inconsistent incubation is not a problem at this juncture. We expect continuous incubation to be the rule in a day or two since it typically begins between the laying of the second and third eggs. The falcons mated on the State Building at 10:31 and after that both falcons were out of view. He returned to the box at 10:48 and he did some vocalizing. His calls were in reaction to seeing her land back on the State Building. He got onto the eggs, but stayed on them for only about 12 minutes. She was out of view and so he had to go and find where she went. At 11:15 Astrid returned to the nest and after a few minutes she climbed back onto the eggs. She called out when she saw him land on the State Building at 11:34, but she did not leave her clutch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QidKPc6Lvv4

At 12:51 PM Ares came to the box for the changing of the guard. They are doing fast changes now and not the quasi ledge displays they had been doing almost every time. She left and Ares took over – kind of. He didn’t settle on the eggs but opted to stand on the lip of the box. He was out again five minutes later. He returned to the nest at 1:07. He was giving squeaking calls and, once again, not getting onto the eggs. A few minutes later he landed on the State Building where he could see her, and that made him happy. However, at 1:20 PM he became highly agitated and started giving chirping-type alarm calls, which means a falcon intruder was in the canyon. He darted over to the State Building and perched near Astrid for a moment before flying off and presumably chasing after the interloper. The eggs were left alone in the box. Astrid flew off at 1:35 and didn’t return for fifteen minutes. She then flew to the nest and got right on the eggs. At 2:06 she was looking very alert on the nest. Something was going on. She went to the crossperch and started calling. Ares made a dramatic fly through and landed on the State Building. He had returned from his encounter with the intruder. Astrid started giving her hungry pterodactyl calls. Then again, maybe she wasn’t so hungry. She stood on the crossperch and preened for a few minutes land then went back onto the eggs. At 2:46 Ares came to the box and the pair switched. He stood on the lip of the box for a while and then was off, leaving the eggs alone. Astrid was on the steeple at this point. It’s possible they mated, but we didn’t hear Ares’ chatter call. At 3:02 PM Ares was back at the nest and giving chirp-type alarm calls. Suddenly both falcons were out of view. Were they chasing an intruder? Fifteen minutes later he was back to the box and this time he was giving squeaking calls – most likely for Astrid’s benefit. The pair was heard mating at 3:23. At 3:46 he was up on the lip of the box casting shade on the eggs. We weren’t sure if this was intentional or inadvertent shading. It was sunny out but pretty cold (45 degrees). At 4:26 he was giving long calls. He may have been responding to some loud emergency sirens blaring in the canyon. He flew ten minutes later, again, leaving the eggs alone. He was back to the box at 4:44 and back on the eggs ten minutes later. At that point he became serious about incubation and remained tight on the eggs until Astrid came to the nest at 5:45. The pair had a conversation over the eggs which was almost like a ledge display, but not quite. Ares left two minutes later, and Astrid got onto the eggs. He returned to the box with prey at 6:01 PM. Astrid took it from him on the crossperch and then she flew over to the hotel. Ares left to check and see where she went. When he was satisfied that she run off to Cancun, he flew back to the nest and resumed incubation. She finished her meal at 6:11 and flew to the State Building. At 6:30 he was off of the eggs and onto the crossperch. He got back on the eggs, chewed on something in the stone, made two scrapes, pivoted around the eggs in a circle – he was being very hyperactive. At 6:42 he flew out. Moments later we heard his mating chatter. At 6:45 Astrid was back in the nest and on the eggs. She was probably there for the night. Goodnight all

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

Astrid with her two eggs

The overnight was chilly with intermittent rain showers and wind. The temperatures hovered around the high thirties and low forties. Not much changed after daybreak, but conditions deteriorated later in the day as it became colder, windier, and wetter. Ares came to the nest at 3:02 AM to relieve Astrid. She seemed disappointed as if she was expecting a food delivery. However, it is possible that he gave her something small. It was too dark in the box for us to tell for sure. She flew to the hotel, but once again, it was too dark to discern what she was doing over there. At one point it looked like she was picking at something. She was gone a few minutes later and Ares was gone from the nest as well. One of them was perched on the State Building at 3:18, but the egg was alone in the box. At one point we saw a something whitish fly across the State Building – it looked like a meteor minus a fiery tail. It was the second falcon, its white front feathers had caught some ambient light. Astrid returned to the box quietly at 4:52 and got back on the egg. Fifteen minutes later Ares brought a Woodcock to the box. He then hopped over to the east veranda with it. She followed him onto the platform but showed no interest in taking the gift. A minute later she flew and headed to the hotel. She landed on a ledge and perhaps wanted to get a sip of water from one of the puddles, but it was still to dark for us to see what she was up to. She flew right back and landed on the long perch and from there she got back onto the nest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxVf1v75K3U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACtHM7EiJcc

At 6:21 AM in looked like Astrid was ready to lay her second egg. She seemed to be in the right position, and it looked like she had a contraction, but no egg was forthcoming, and she settled back down on egg number one. Five minutes later Ares arrived, and they did a quick switch. After she left, he flew too, but then came right back. He got onto the egg but moments later he moved out onto the crossperch. Ten minutes after that both falcons were up again, but then he returned to the nest. She landed on the steeple at 6:54. They mated there a few minutes later. At 7:27 they were doing a ledge display at the box. He soon left and she got onto the egg. At 8:00 she became very agitated and started calling loudly. She moved out onto the west veranda and was peering at something in the canyon. Obviously, there was an intruder and perhaps Ares was already engaging it. A few minutes later both falcons were out of view. Ares returned at 8:21 and Astrid blasted into the box right after him. They performed a rapid ledge display and then she was out again. Both were then out of view for a few minutes. At 8:37 they were dancing in the box again. At this point it had been 61 hours since Astrid had laid the first egg, egg number two had to be imminent. At 9:50 she finally seemed to be getting down to business. Three minutes later at 9:53 AM she had laid egg number two! Ares was in her face while she was laying it. He beaked with her and squeaked at her the whole time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Ou2RAXnEs

At 10:17 AM Ares seemed to be dealing with an intruder. A few minutes later the eggs were left alone. Ares was back at 10:41. At 10:56 he was giving cackle-type alarm calls which meant that a non-falcon raptor was passing through the canyon. They didn’t give chase, so it wasn’t a big deal. The pair converged at the box for a ledge display at just before 11:00 AM. Following that she was on the eggs, and he was on the State Building. It was raining by then and the wind was picking up. They switched at 12:20 PM And then Ares took a turn on the eggs. He seemed conscientious about staying on the eggs now and not getting up every few minutes to check on Astrid’s location. As it happened, she was close by – on a relatively low perch on the north face of the State Building. An hour later Ares came off the eggs and was calling across the canyon to his mate. They mated on the State Building and then he boomeranged back to the nest. At 1:39 The pair was performing a ledge display. A minute later, he left, and she got onto the eggs. At 2:04 Ares brought a Woodcock to the long perch. It was probably the same one he brought earlier and had stored. Astrid scrambled over the crossperch and took it from him. It was an awkward transfer, but successful. She took it over to the hotel and actually ate some of it. Meanwhile, Ares was incubating in the nest. By 2:32 Astrid was on the State Building and she would remain there into the early evening. Wind, rain, and snow continued off and on, and the temperature dipped into the mid-thirties. At 3:28 Ares came off the eggs and started giving long calls. The pair mated on the State Building only moments later. He was then back and forth to the nest a couple of times and didn’t resume incubating until 4:10 PM. There was another interruption at 4:40 when he came off the eggs again, but then he was back on them five minutes later. At 6:20 he left the box, did some fancy flying through the canyon and around the steeple and then mated with Astrid on the State Building. Two minutes later Astrid returned to the nest and got right onto the eggs. Likely she was in for the night, but we never know for sure. The next egg should come sometimes late Sunday night.  Goodnight falcons and congratulations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thQRjw_N4zI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdw6eBKOfFA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDmm2MGlBr4

The overnight period was relatively mild with temperatures in the high 30’s. By morning the wind kicked up and rain was threatening. Temperatures continued to rise and hit 46 degrees by noon and 63 degrees by mid-afternoon. Astrid was on the nest until 1:13 AM when she moved to the crossperch. A few minutes later she flew into the darkness. Ares arrived moments later and was highly excited. He checked on the egg before stationing himself on the crossperch. He flew off at 1:35. Astrid came back a little after 3:30 AM. He flew up to the west veranda or a west ledge. He may have had prey in his talons, but we couldn’t confirm that. He didn’t seem to have anything when he hopped into the box moments later. She flew out as he came in. Again, he didn’t stay on the egg for long and left the box at 3:50. Astrid came back to the nest three minutes later and just in time for Ares to arrive with a small prey item. She accepted it on the crossperch and flew off. After she left, he remained on the crossperch calling for a while. Astrid was back to the box at 4:05 and she got right onto the egg. Ares came back to the nest a little after 5:00 AM. He held a woodpecker (probably a sapsucker) in his talons. He sat out on the long perch for quite a while waiting for Astrid to take an interest in his gift, but it wasn’t happening. She flew out of the box at 5:17 and he spent some time plucking. He flew away with it five minutes later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgjxpX1LWMQ

At 5:34 Ares screeched to the box with something quite small – not the woodpecker. At 5:44 she came to a west ledge, and he responded by hopping over to the west veranda. It was clear that she had a full crop and she didn’t want his latest gift. Finally, at 6:13 he went over to her west ledge and managed to give her his tribute. She took it and flew over to the hotel. She either ate it in one bite, stored it, or lost it, but she had nothing in her talons only a minute after she had taken it from him. She floated off on the high wind and we weren’t sure where he went. Meanwhile, he hopped into the nest and stood over the egg. At 6:24 she landed on an east ledge. He called to her, and then tucked the egg beneath himself, but soon he was out again. The falcons mated at 6:27 and afterwards she hopped to the east veranda. She then went into the box and got onto the egg. Only two minutes later Ares was back and the pair were doing a combination ledge display/changing of the guard. Despite having only been in the nest for a few minutes, Astrid decided to leave and flew over to the State Building. At 7:48 she flew over to the west veranda. They mated there at 7:52, 8:15, and 8:29. At 8:43 Ares was on his favorite pillar perch and Astrid was out of view. Although, Ares probably knew where she was, otherwise he would not have been acting so blasé.  At 8:50 Astrid and Ares were back at the nest. She then moved over to the west veranda. At 9:00 AM both falcons were giving harsh alarm cackles. Some non-falcon raptor or vulture must have been passing through. It wasn’t concerning them too much since only a minute late the pair mated at on the west veranda. At 9:32 Ares was on the east veranda and Astrid was in the nest. The did a ledge display/changeover at 10:00, after which she left. Five minutes later she was on the west veranda. They mated there at 10:12. At 10:40 the pair appeared like they were guarding the box – stationed on either side of it. They mated again at 10:56 AM, but only after he first went into the box to check on the egg. After mating he returned to the box and to the egg. The pair mated again at 11:17,

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

At 11:28 AM Ares brought prey to the nest. Astrid accepted it on a west ledge and then flew over to the hotel. She was done feeding at 11:41 and sailed to the State Building. There she remained until well into the early afternoon. At 2:06 Astrid arrived at the box. After staying out on the crossperch for a while she settled onto the egg. The pair did a quick switch thirty minutes later and then Ares was at the nest. By 3:00 PM it was raining. The pair had been on the State Building but then were out of view for a little while. At 3:57 Ares flew out of the box giving alarm chirps. He came right back with prey. It was a bat. At first, we thought he was going to try to feed the egg, but he was just holding it inside the box. Astrid came to the east veranda and was exceptionally vocal. She wanted to mate, but he wanted to give her the bat. Of course, at the top of Astrid’s least popular menu items are Woodcocks, Cuckoos, and Bats. He hopped over onto the east veranda and tried to give it to her, but she flew away when he brought it too close. Finally, he started eating it himself. Moments later she reappeared on the west veranda. She tucked in on the platform as if to hide from the guy with the bat. At 4:17 she had moved to the State Building and was vocalizing a lot. We don’t know why exactly, but she was calling off and on for over ten minutes.  By 4:45 she had returned to the west veranda. They mated there three times in the subsequent hour. At 5:56 he came to the box with prey (not the bat). We couldn’t see clearly what it was, but she didn’t want it. She flew off and he flew after her. She was on the hotel after that and obviously had no prey with her. Ares kited by her on the strong wind. Both came to the box area just after 6:00 PM. She was on the east veranda and the pair mated there five minutes later and again at 7:00. The rain picked up in the early evening. Astrid was still in the box – most likely for the night and Ares was on the State Building until at least 7:35. Astrid will most likely Lay her second egg after daybreak on Friday morning. Goodnight all.