A master of the written word, J.A. Baker, set out to chronicle the daily comings and goings of a pair of peregrine falcons in eastern England. He observed them obsessively, in pursuit of their prey, making a kill and eating at rest—resulting in what is widely considered one of the most acclaimed nature books ever written on both sides of the Atlantic.

In his most lyrical and arguably most influential book, J.A. Baker describes with minute detail the lives of peregrine falcons nesting on an abandoned church steeple in eastern England. He follows the birds obsessively, observing them in the air and on the ground, in pursuit of their prey, making a kill and eating, activities he describes with an extraordinary fusion of precision and poetry.

Fierce and fascinating, The Peregrine is a classic work of nature written by legendary author J.A. Baker. A housemaster at Rugby school, Baker spent much of his time exploring the flat fenlands of eastern England, searching for wildlife and observing their habits in the wild. In this book, he describes life with his beloved peregrine falcons, whose lives are fraught with peril and deliverance.

The Peregrine is the most famous nature study ever written, a timeless classic by the author of several highly acclaimed books on birds. From autumn to spring, J.A. Baker set out to track the daily comings and goings of a pair of peregrine falcons across the flat fenlands of eastern England. He followed the birds obsessively, observing them in the air and on the ground, in pursuit of their prey, making a kill, eating, and at rest, activities he describes with an extraordinary fusion of precision and poetry.

About The Peregrine Book

From autumn to spring, J.A. Baker set out to track the daily comings and goings of a pair of peregrine falcons across the flat fenlands of eastern England. He followed the birds obsessively, observing them in the air and on the ground, in pursuit of their prey, making a kill, eating, and at rest, activities he describes with an extraordinary fusion of precision and poetry. And as he continued his mysterious private quest, his sense of human self slowly dissolved, replaced with a hawk’s alien and implacable consciousness.

It is this extraordinary metamorphosis, magical and terrifying, that these beautifully written pages record.