Subject: [Tweeters] N. Goshawk close encounter
Date: Mar 7 22:14:58 2009
From: Levine, Barron S - LevineB at bsd405.org


Tweeters,
Kendrick Wong and I traveled north across the border to do some birding in British Columbia today. The highlight was observing the 2 Northern Goshawks (one adult and one juvenile) that have been seen for a few months in Jericho Park, Vancouver. The park is located about a mile west of where Oak St intersects with 4th West.
After locating the juvenile Goshawk in a tree, we watched the bird swoop closely past a few people and directly hit an American Wigeon sitting on a pond. The Goshawk proceeded to drown the duck and swim with it to the shore. It then flew with the duck in it's talons a short distance to a spot a few feet from one of the main pathways in the park. For the next 20 minutes the Goshawk had lunch while many people were able to get close looks and photographs of the spectacle. If you have never seen a Goshawk, it might be well worth taking a trip to the park. This bird seemed to be at least somewhat habituated to people, providing some of the best looks you will probably ever get of this species. The adult bird was also easily observed in tree in the northwest part of the park.

Barry Levine
Seattle
levineb at bsd405.org