Along the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts. Three of us made our way into a meadow completely walled in by trees. Instantly a shape flashed over us. My first peregrine! It was rocketing around the clearing very close to the trees trying to flush prey. I was mesmerized. What a magnificent aerial display. The bird was single-minded in its mission and didn't care in the least that we were there. My two very experienced birding companions were as thrilled as I was. After all, peregrines had been eradicated east of the Mississippi due to the widespread use of DDT. Right then, the fastest bird in the air became and remains my favorite.
At that time, the peregrine was being brought back from the brink of extinction, thanks to the dedicated ornithologists at Cornell University. In fact, our peregrine was almost certainly a product of their captive breeding program. Many years later, while digging my way out of a mid-life crisis, I had a peregrine tattooed on my left arm. To me, it represents a modern Phoenix rising from the ashes -- a symbol of second chances.
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