Wingover Wendover

By Eric Stephen Bocks and Wendy Louie

In the small town of Le Grand, California, lives a sixteen-year-old boy named Timmy and his peregrine falcon, whose name is Wingover Wendover. Now that Timmy is finally able to drive, he takes Wendover out hunting and flying as often as he can, along with Roxy the Labrador retriever.

Although Wendovers life is good, it isnt without danger. A golden eagle wants to make a meal of the falcon and will not give up the chase. In the course of Wendover trying to catch a Duck, The eagle tries to catch Wendover and he finds himself separated from Timmy and lost! Samson, a small burrowing owl saves Wendovers lifeand a pack rat named Diego Maximilian Jones , Wendovers best friend and; Ria, a red-tailed hawk who Timmy saved from the same hungry eagle work to help save the day, keep Wendover safe, and get him home to Timmy.

This story for readers of all ages introduces the art and language of falconry and shares the feeling of being part of a hunting team and enjoying the outdoors together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468561777

Eric Stephen Bocks

Eric Stephen Bocks spends his time farming almonds, composing music, and raising his children. He is a master falconer who has been flying falcons for over twenty years—one of them being Wendover, a real bird who is enjoying his second season of flying. Eric lives with his family in Le Grand California. This is the third book in his Wendover adventure series.

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© 2012 Eric Stephen Bocks. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse

ISBN: 978-1-4685-6179-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-6177-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012904855

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Intro

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

*Glossary Of Terms

About The Author

About The Illustrator

Coming Soon

For Daniel and Elizabeth

INTRO

In the small town of Le Grand, California lived a boy and his falcon. Timmy was just 16 years old and could finally drive on his own and drive he did… all those old country roads he loved so much, hunting and flying his Falcon. Being in the countryside, air as clean as the fresh wet grass and teeming with wild things that lived in ever square inch of it, all he had to do was look.

wendover.jpg

CHAPTER 1

Because I am a noble bird, the quarry that I desire to catch must be fast on the wing…like me!

"I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING SO rude, let me introduce myself. My name is Wing over Wendover and I am a Peregrine falcon. My story starts here in sunny California where I was hatched and lived with my parents, that is until I met my master Timmy." Wendover was indeed a Peregrine falcon and peered out from a window of his little ten-by-ten room made of slats and stain. This room was called a mews*. Wendover was talking to a little Pack rat who had not moved a muscle. In fact the little rat was paralyzed with fear to have found himself in the company of the strangest bird of prey he had ever met.

Wendover continued, Timmy is a master falconer. He feeds me and lets me fly as high as I want and we hunt and… . It was then Wendover noticed something strange about the poor little Pack rat; the furry little creature was holding what looked to be a small shiny object, he was shivering and shaking, and his eyes were fixed on Wendover and bulged unnaturally out of his small rectangular head.

Hey little feller, are you okay? said Wendover.

The poor little rat cocked his head to one side and then the other and spoke slowly with more stutter and less squeak. Say l-l- listen here. Are… you going to eat me?

Wendover started to laugh and flapped his wings very hard and with a jump and a glide flew from his perch down within inches of the fearful rat’s tiny face. Say, silly, said Wendover, I thought I told you, I’m a Peregrine falcon and Peregrine falcons don’t eat rats.

For a moment the little rat thought that this might be a cruel game and at any moment he would be lunch. He tried again to muster the courage to talk to the falcon. He closed his eyes, concentrated very hard, then with a burst of energy blurted out, Why not?

Because I am a noble bird, said the Falcon. The quarry I desire to catch must be fast on the wing like me. With that, Wendover put a primary wing feather over his heart and recited, My code of conduct is to only fly at those birds whom I can catch in a fair ariel contest. He added, There have been a lot books written about me too, the speed of the chase, and all the excitement. It’s all very fun being me.

Wow! said the rat, fidgeting with his silver prize. So let me get this straight…you…are…NOT going to eat me?

Wendover locked his wings as if at attention and said, No! Seeing that this was his chance at an escape, the rat quickly scurried along the wall of the mews