The Diving Falcon

Polly thought about the peregrine for two days. She wanted to feel the shape of its dive.

Polly tænkte på vandrefalken i to dage. Hun ønskede at mærke formen af dens dyk.

On the third morning, before the visitor lots filled, she went to El Capitan. She found a peregrine on a high ledge. It was a male, smaller than the female she had seen with Tomas. Slate-grey back, white barred chest. It was eating something.

På den tredje morgen, før besøgspladserne blev fyldt, tog hun til El Capitan. Hun fandt en vandrefalk på en høj afsats. Det var en han, mindre end hunnen hun havde set med Tomas. Skifergrå ryg, hvidstribet bryst. Den spiste noget.

She perched on a manzanita branch fifty metres away and waited.

Hun satte sig på en manzanita-gren femti meter væk og ventede.

The peregrine finished its meal. It wiped its beak on the rock and looked at her. Then it stepped off the ledge.

Vandrefalken blev færdig med sit måltid. Den tørrede sit næb på klippen og kiggede på hende. Så trådte den ud fra afsatsen.

It did not flap. It folded its wings against its body, like a leaf pulled into a stem, and dropped. It accelerated. It went past the middle of the cliff face in two seconds. Then it pulled its wings out, banked, and was gone behind a buttress.

Den baskede ikke. Den foldede sine vinger mod kroppen, som et blad trukket ind i en stilk, og faldt. Den accelererede. Den passerede midten af klippevæggen på to sekunder. Så foldede den vingerne ud, drejede og forsvandt bag en klippefremspring.

A peregrine falcon in a dive can reach 380 kilometres an hour. That is the fastest movement of any animal on Earth. To dive that fast without injury, peregrines have a third eyelid that closes over the eye to keep the wind out. They have small cones in their nostrils that slow the air entering their lungs.

En vandrefalk i dyk kan nå 380 kilometer i timen. Det er den hurtigste bevægelse af noget dyr på Jorden. For at dykke så hurtigt uden skade, har vandrefalke et tredje øjenlåg, der lukker over øjet for at holde vinden ude. De har små kegler i næseborene, der bremser luften, der kommer ind i lungerne.

Polly was not built for that dive. She knew this. But the curiosity was bigger than the knowing.

Polly var ikke bygget til det dyk. Det vidste hun. Men nysgerrigheden var større end viden.

She flew up to the ledge and looked down. The drop was nearly vertical. She folded her wings against her green body. She tilted forward. She fell.

Hun fløj op til afsatsen og kiggede ned. Faldet var næsten lodret. Hun foldede sine vinger mod sin grønne krop. Hun lænede sig fremad. Hun faldt.

It was not a peregrine dive. It was a parrot in too much hurry. She wobbled. The wind got under one wing. She corrected, lost the line, corrected again. Twenty metres in, she opened her wings and pulled out in a loose, embarrassed arc.

Det var ikke et vandrefalkedyk. Det var en papegøje i alt for meget hast. Hun vaklede. Vinden kom under den ene vinge. Hun rettede op, mistede linjen, rettede igen. Tyve meter inde, åbnede hun sine vinger og trak ud i en løs, flov bue.

She tried again, smaller, from a lower perch. Then again, lower still. By noon, she had made eight short dives. None were peregrine dives. All were a little better than the last.

Hun prøvede igen, mindre, fra en lavere afsats. Så igen, endnu lavere. Ved middagstid havde hun lavet otte korte dyk. Ingen var vandrefalkedyk. Alle var lidt bedre end det sidste.