more hawks inside the Beltway

Rob Hilton (robert@csa.com)
Mon, 21 Dec 1998 12:51:51 -0500 

Hi, 

When I left work on Friday afternoon (Dec. 18) and approached my car in the
parking lot on the edge of the Bethesda business district, I saw a bird
sitting on top of a delivery truck about 50 feet from my car, in another
row of the parking lot (near the edge of said lot).  I quickly realized
that it was a big accipiter.  Approaching closely and carefully, I strained
to see colors on the back and belly.  I finally convinced myself that the
underparts had some, red, barring.  I came closer, but did not want to
scare the bird.  Then I realized I had to put money in the meter, as I had
an errand yet to run before I went home.  

After I dealt with the meter matter, I approached the truck from a
different angle, and then stopped about 30-35 feet from the bird.  I could
now clearly see red barring as well as a cap darker than the nape.  Someone
coming to her car asked if I always stopped while walking around in parking
lots.  I showed her the bird and told her that I never expected to see an
adult (presumed female) Cooper's Hawk perched on top of a delivery truck in
a fairly built up area with little tree cover nearby, eating its prey.  At
some point a person walked up the sidewalk toward the bird, got in his car,
and drove off.  The bird barely paused from plucking feathers.  I was not
able to tell what species of bird had been caught.  

I went to a nearby coffee shop where I had recently seen a coworker, but
when I returned, he was not there.  I walked back, quickly, to the parking
lot, and noted a House Sparrow wing on the sidewalk (not necessarily from
the Cooper's Hawk, but who knows?).  As I crossed the street I saw the hawk
on a light fixture, and watched as it took off, seemingly with its meal in
its clutches, and fly in to the residential area.  

This morning as I got out of my car in the same parking lot, a fairly hefty
sized Accipter flew 20 or 25 feet past my car, about 20 feet above the
ground, and toward the Bethesda Bagels and Giant supermarket, and out of
sight.  Seconds later two knots of starlings boiled up from that area and
flew in my direction.  I assume that this is the same bird.  Between my
surprise and the overcast conditions, all I saw of it was its outline.  

Rob