[mou] Falcon family flight lessons

[James Ryan]

Nice one, Mark.  Bud was an instrumental figure in the return of a
magnificent species, saving it from the brink of oblivion...great story too.

-- 
Sincerely,

James Ryan
651-308-0234 business cell

--
Your life is what your thoughts make it. - Marcus Aurelius

As long as you live, keep learning how to live. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca
-- 

On Thu, Jul 24, 2008 at 4:04 PM, Alt, Mark <Mark.Alt at bestbuy.com> wrote:

> I work at Best Buy in Richfield and today I was treated to Peregrine
> Falcons holding flight school on our corporate campus. Four birds paired
> up, an adult with a juvenile, and flew over and between the four mesas
> Best Buy's headquarters provides.
> The juveniles worked hard to stay above and immediately behind the
> adults at all times, strangely like a blackbird after a Red-tail. The
> adults maintained a rhythm of flight - stooping past the ledge of our
> building's roof, veering right and swooping back up to soar 50-100 feet
> above the building. The falcon's kids tried to emulate the maneuver,
> never getting it quite right. Adults were elegant, swift and crisp with
> the stoop and swoop, no wasted energy or feathers out of place. The kids
> would swing their legs like rudders and fan their tails at odd moments,
> and never go down as quick or rise as high as the adults. They were
> being convicted by Newton's laws.
> The young birds appeared to be overall quite buffy from below as they
> flew, standing out clearly from their dark parents.  A pair stooped past
> my window, barely 40 feet away, I could see their eyes, the adults
> fierce and focused, and the kids reminding me a bit of my dog when she
> thinks she won't get to go for a ride. I watched the birds for over a
> half hour, they never let up in their flight patterns. This must be
> dangerous times for young falcons; they were clearly pushing the
> envelope of control.
> Sadly strange to see this and then to hear of the passing of Bud
> Tordoff. He would have loved to see this event, for he loved many all
> things Peregrine and many people loved him for it. I am sure he would
> have known the names and lineage of each bird, I sure wish I did.
> Thanks, Bud, these birds are spectacular, and we really will follow you
> every time we look at them in awe and inspiration. Good Birding.
>
> Mark Alt
> Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
> Project Resources Group
> Best Buy Co., Inc.
>
> P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
>
>
>
>
>
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