As the plane taxied slowly toward the runway, my attention was drawn to the location and holding position signs we were passing. Perched atop one was a small falcon.

I wasn’t sure which small bird of prey I was seeing at first, but as we rounded the corner and the angle of the light improved, I saw a flash of chestnut and blue and realized it was a male kestrel.

This kestrel was completely unfazed by the continuous line of gigantic machines slowly lumbering past it. I watched as it occasionally pounced into the short dead grass at the base of the signs, and I wondered what it could possibly be finding to eat out here in the middle of an airport runway maze. Perhaps the grassy midways were capable of supporting a population of voles and other small rodents. Insects, such as grasshoppers and beetles, are also on the bird’s menu, but I doubted there were any of these around, considering it was December. Temperatures are milder in New Jersey but not that mild.

Just before our plane turned onto the runway, I saw the kestrel whirl up from its perch, and, with ridiculous ease, hover in place as it scanned the grasses below. After a few seconds of this aerial balancing act, it plummeted several feet to the ground, perhaps catching its prey.

Birds of prey are my favorite and I never tire of watching them. Aside from this, I was struck by the scene I had witnessed. Here was one of nature’s most perfect creations – a miracle of graceful, effortless flight, a winged jewel, a living, breathing testament to the defiance of gravity – alongside grotesque imitations of its form, heavy, noisome, lifeless hunks of metal that may get us airborne but will never give us the grace and beauty – nor the freedom – of the real thing.

Actually, I was not that surprised to see the kestrel in the middle of an airport; the grassy medians between runways at airports across the country are host to many birds that utilize such a habitat for hunting, especially during migration or over the winter. Snowy owls have been spotted in such locations. And in August 2004, a red-footed falcon made national news when it was spotted at an airstrip on Martha’s Vineyard. This particular falcon had never before been documented in the Western Hemisphere.

Humans are not the only international travelers to be found at airports.

The kestrel I had the privilege to enjoy from the plane’s small window may have come down from Maine or Canada, or it may have summered right there in New Jersey. More northerly populations of these small raptors will migrate, while those farther south are less likely to, provided that weather and climate are favorable and food is available.

As I watched the line of planes slowly rumbling past the kestrel, I wondered if any of the planes’ pilots or passengers noticed the bird. I was also struck by a much more profound thought: I wondered if we would ever have tried had birds never existed to inspire us with the power of flight.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net