Different hawks have different styles, but it's important not to stereotype
any one of them. I was sitting on the South Jetty of the Columbia River
one day watching a Red Phalarope. It was the only bird in the immediate
area. A Northern Harrier popped up over the rise. This startled the phalarope
up. The harrier made an effortless twist in the air and snatched it out
of the air. Up until then I though harriers were pouncers.

Then one day I was sitting on the jetty itself and spotted a Peregrine coming
south from Cape Disappointment. It didn't appear to be after anything in
particular... then it made a move not unlike that of the harrier in the
previous account and snatched a Barn Swallow.

On another occasion I encountered a Peregrine eating carrion on the beach.

I did a necropsy on a road-killed screech owl and found its crop filled
with helgrimites. These are aquatic insects that are found in gravelly
stream beds usually under rocks.

One of the wonders of the ecological caste system (and probably the chief
reason for its success) is the flexibility that it allows for taking
advantage of unexpected opportunities.

>
>
>We assume the hawk is opportunistic and would eat whatever it could
>catch. We are just not used to thinking that it could catch a shorebird.
>Any thoughts on how unusual this is?
>
>

--

Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR _Birds and other Wildlife of the
mpatters at orednet.org Columbia River Estuary_
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/book_ad.html