Grendel

Nestling Peregrine Falcon, colored pencil

I spent a fair amount of time last Spring watching a pair of nesting Peregrines. I was on the canyon floor, a long distance away, but could clearly hear the baby screaming for food! food! FOOD!

“peregrines”) Peregrine nestling screaming for food

The parents would come in every half hour or so, bringing whatever prey they had been able to catch.

“peregrines”) Pdult Peregrine(left) dives away from the nest ledge and the nestling (upper right) after delivering prey.

I was fascinated by how different the nestling seemed from the adult birds. Yes, I know that baby birds are always look different than their parents…but the contrast between this seemingly enormous, pajama-clad tyrant and the adult Peregrines seemed especially striking.

The nestling made me think of a young Grendel sitting in his mountain lair, impatiently waiting for feathers, when he, too, could come slashing down from his cliff ledges and down into the world.