The falcon outside my window

That title isn’t a metaphor. Here in Cincinnati, the city government started a breeding program for then-endangered peregrine falcons in 1990; they’re evolved to nest in cliff faces, and skyscrapers make a pretty good substitute, so breeding programs in various cities’ downtown areas have been quite effective. I live on one of the hills overlooking Downtown Cincinnati (actually the Ohio River Valley was carved out by a glacier and the surrounding “hills” are what used to be the level ground, so they’re all close to the same height), and I’ve often seen peregrine falcons flying above the overlook park near my apartment. I recently saw one perched on a utility pole on the street nearby. But this afternoon, I was surprised to see a falcon sitting on a bush directly outside my apartment! Here’s the Google Drive link to the low-quality phone video I managed to take:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b23_Je6MoEkKPLF8u4hoMesarUvZbPcO/view?usp=sharing

I wish I’d caught it later, because it came back while I was uploading the video, and I got to see it make a brief flight from the bushes to the branch of the pine tree in front of my building’s stairs. It’s remarkable to see a falcon so close to my everyday spaces, given that I still remember when they were considered rare and endangered.

What worries me a bit, though, is that an orange tabby cat from the neighborhood has been hanging around the building lately, and was on my balcony earlier today. I hope the cat and the falcon don’t cross paths; I’m not sure who’d come out ahead in that encounter, and I wouldn’t care for either answer. (Why are the deadliest animals so often the most beautiful?)