The Return
July 15, 2009
The cry carries across the water. A cry reminiscent of a time when hickory-oak forests ran to the river’s edge and meandering streams mixed their sweet waters with the briny waters of the Hudson. The raptor springs from its perch on the side of the building, launching itself into the air. With spread wings and tail it powers itself above the pier, spiraling up over both land and water. To a contemporary human, the ascending bird of prey is an evocative sight, exemplifying a sense of the wild and the free. To a duck, or a pigeon, or any of the passerines, the rising peregrine falcon is an unwelcome sight, so as it climbs, barn swallows in twos and three harass the raptor, only to break off when the falcon achieves cruising altitude. Once there, the soaring peregrine displays its characteristic profile of sharply pointed wings and narrow tail. Then after making several wide circles, the falcon descends rapidly to return to its perch overlooking the river.
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