4 I Was Out Hunting

I was out hunting and spotted a pigeon down below. Stooping at a speed of 320 km/h, I almost had him until he made a quick turn to his left. This pigeon was hard to catch even though I am the fastest moving animal on earth. Eventually I succeeded in the hunt. I returned to the nest and the boys stopped their activities. They eagerly took the piece of food from my beak and filled their hungry tummies. Feeling content, the boys fell asleep in the midday sun. Sweet dreams of adventurous flights to come.

Ainslie decided today was the day. He was feeling ready. He started to flap his wings with much force, rising from the ledge like a helicopter. Flying up and up, he took off with the wind helping him to soar. Lisgar watched. Feeling inspired by his older brother’s bravery, he took off and followed Ainslie. Both of them landed on a ledge of a building beside the hotel. I felt so proud.

Ainslie thought he’d like to explore another building so he left the ledge and flew away. But it seemed like Lisgar wasn’t feeling as brave. Lisgar cried out, “Wail!” He felt scared and wanted to be back in the nest. Lisgar had been on that ledge for two whole days and I wasn’t able to feed him. I felt immensely worried and the humans of Hamilton Falconwatch felt worried too. I flew past Lisgar with a snack in my talons. I hoped that would motivate him to fly, but my idea didn’t work. He just wouldn’t budge from the ledge. I perched nearby and called to him, letting him know I was here and he wasn’t alone. I looked down and saw a woman in a yellow vest also keeping watch over my boy.

I felt huge relief when he finally took to the air again. And he flew so well. Since then, he was often seen perched on ledges looking into office windows. I’m sure it was a great day at work for the people in the offices. It must have been quite a sight for Lisgar as well. Perhaps he thought their suits to be strange and their lack of feathers peculiar.