While standing in the Lord Hill Park parking lot waiting for rides for my
students I noticed a lot of aerial swooping about overhead. I stepped back
to get a better view and watch for a bit and noticed that there were 4 Vg
swallows and 2 starlings, all swooping around the same air space together.
Then, and I might just be making more of this than was actually happening, I
noticed that the swallows were swooping AT the starlings. There seemed to be
a distinct pattern where a swallow coming from above and swooping down on
one of the starlings, which would swerve away as if evading. I saw this
pattern three times, then the aerial predator alarm call of a robin went off
down the hill and cleared the sky. All the birds dissapeared into the trees
and about 5 seconds later a coopers hawk came over the rise and was in the
airspace, just recently vacated. The hawk did a loop around then headed off
and then I got distracted by parents and cars and rides. Just as I drove off
a pair of swallows had reclaimed the sky. This is second time this spring
that a robin has alerted me to a hawk.

Rob Sandelin
South Snohomish County at the headwaters of Ricci Creek
Sky Valley Environments <http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm>
Field skills training for student naturalists
Floriferous at msn.com