Dear All

I took my son for a pizza at 2 Amys on Wisconsin Ave NW DC for end of term lunch today and walking back to the car parked on the street one block away I was rather surprised to see a splendid Red-shouldered Hawk sitting at shoulder level on a fence by our car.  It was clearly very distracted and agitated, ignoring passers by and as I got close I saw, fleetingly, a Sharp-shinned Hawk emerge from a bush opposite and flit into the thick of a rhodedendron.  The Red-shouldered glided across and sat glaring into the rhody so I walked a bit closer and could see the Sharpie clutching a dead White-throated Sparrow, and as I did it flew out arced across the road, dropped the dead sparrow and headed off apace.  The Red-shouldered then flew up and swooped down between two pedestrians and neatly picked up the dead bird from off the roadway in front of an approaching car and made off with its prize.  The whole thing lasted no more than 45 seconds and was all very dramatic.  My son was most impressed by the whole thing and passers by were rather shocked by the antics of the hawks.

What fun

Gary Allport

gallport at audubon.org