Falcons Are People, Too

Big Sister Falcon is no longer larger than Little Brother Falcon. But she's still bossy.

Big Sister is mostly put-together. Nearly every feather is in place. Little Brother is rumpled. He doesn't primp or preen.

The falcons stand as close to the edge as they possibly can, looking over. They think nothing bad could ever happen to them.

While Big Sister is standing at the edge, Little Brother bumps against her as he goes running by.

The falcon kids think that if they run really fast from one end of the box to the other, they will fly. (They are not wearing capes.)

Mom brings dinner. She drops it off on her way to work (more hunting). The kids look at the food. They look at each other. They walk away from the food. They start whining. Mom shows up and feeds them. (It actually gives me hope to think that this happens in nature, and not just at our house!)

DAD brings dinner. He drops it off in his way to work. The kids look at the food. They look at each other. They walk away from the food. They start whining. MOM shows up and feeds them.

There are two baby falcons, standing at the very edge of the nest, 10 stories above the ground. You can see them from the ground. They have it programmed in their DNA to start wondering what is happening in that big, wide world. They stretch their wings. They run fast. They eat. They whine a little. They flap their wings. And Mom is sitting just above them (on the corner of the building), keeping watch.

Pretty soon our kids are going to leave the nest. We will be a little sad. We will also be really excited.

And Mom and Dad will do it all over again.

See? Falcons are people, too!