Me and the Wildlife

Peregrine Falcons

The Peregrine falcon is the fastest bird in the world, and I think the birds know it. If any bird has an attitude of superiority, it is the falcon. Of course the attitude is merited, because they are superior. Being the fastest bird on earth, it is also the fastest living thing on earth, twice as fast as a cheetah.

While walking through my neighborhood yesterday I heard the familiar screech of a peregrine. It was particularly familiar because when I lived on my acreage a pair of peregrines began nesting in the spruce tree next to my yard. They were very protective of their territory, and it did not matter one bit that I owned the property.
If I walked anywhere near their nest they would begin scolding me. One day while mowing the lawn I noticed that two fledgling peregrines peering at me from the tall grass beneath the spruce tree. There had been very strong winds the night before, so it is possible they had been blown from the nest. I left them alone, and wished them my best, but I was sceptical about their chances for survival. After all, I had two dogs, and two cats. Perhaps it was the protective watch of the parent birds that enabled their survival, but in about a week I was happy to see that there were four peregrine falcons scolding me from the treetops. You cannot mistake that screech for anything else. I moved to the city shortly after that, and had not heard the screech since then.
I was about a mile from home, walking along a street that was bordered by a line of well grown spruce trees, when my attention was drawn by the screech of a peregrine. I saw three peregrines zooming in and then landing in a spruce. I had trudged along for several minutes after that and was almost home when a peregrine blazed over me, coasted about a half a mile past me, then made a sweeping turn and headed above my head back towards its nest, all in the space of a few seconds.
Why did it do that? It could have just wanted to take the wings out for a spin, but why did it go out and back above my head? It might have wanted to show off, and put me, an earth-bound human, in my place. Or, perhaps, it might have recognized me from its youth as a fledgling. Whatever the reason, it was a joy to see its majestic flight.