Potápačský sokol

Polly rozmýšľala o sokolovi sťahovavom dva dni. Chcela pocítiť tvar jeho ponoru.

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

Tretie ráno, skôr než sa naplnili parkoviská pre návštevníkov, išla k El Capitan. Našla sokola na vysokej rímske. Bol to samec, menší ako samica, ktorú videla s Tomasom. Bridlicovo-sivý chrbát, biela pruhovaná hruď. Niečo jedol.

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.

Usadila sa na vetve manzanity päťdesiat metrov ďalej a čakala.

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

Sokol dojedol. Utrel si zobák o skalu a pozrel na ňu. Potom odstúpil z rímsy.

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

Nezamával. Zložil krídla k telu, ako list vtiahnutý do stonky, a spadol. Zrýchlil. Preletel okolo stredu útesu za dve sekundy. Potom roztiahol krídla, naklonil sa a zmizol za výbežkom.

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.

Sokol sťahovavý v ponore môže dosiahnuť rýchlosť 380 kilometrov za hodinu. To je najrýchlejší pohyb akéhokoľvek zvieraťa na Zemi. Aby sa ponoril tak rýchlo bez zranenia, sokoly majú tretie viečko, ktoré sa zatvára cez oko, aby udržalo vietor vonku. Majú malé kužele v nozdrách, ktoré spomaľujú vzduch vstupujúci do pľúc.

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.

Polly nebola stavaná na taký ponor. Vedela to. Ale zvedavosť bola väčšia ako vedomosť.

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

Vystúpila na rímsu a pozrela dole. Pád bol takmer vertikálny. Zložila krídla k svojmu zelenému telu. Naklonila sa dopredu. Padla.

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.

Nebolo to ponorenie sokola. Bol to papagáj v príliš veľkom zhone. Zakolísala. Vietor sa dostal pod jedno krídlo. Opravila sa, stratila líniu, opäť sa opravila. Dvadsať metrov dolu, otvorila krídla a vytiahla sa v uvoľnenej, rozpačitej oblúku.

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.

Skúsila to znova, menšie, z nižšej rímsy. Potom znova, ešte nižšie. Do poludnia urobila osem krátkych ponorov. Žiadny nebol ako sokolí ponor. Všetky boli o niečo lepšie ako ten predchádzajúci.

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.