I?was originally going to title this "Stalk the Hawk", but?I am not sure that the raptor I have been stalking the past two days is a hawk.?? Yesterday my son and I walked to the west end of the boardwalk located on the north side of the Edmonds marsh. Looking south, something stood out in a treetop about 600 yards away, near the off leash dog beach.? After looking through my 400mm zoom lens, I could see that?it was perched too vertically to be one of the crows visible in the foreground.

If it were the resident Red Tailed Hawk I have been stalking for the past half year, he?might remain perched in the tree for a while. We packed up our gear and drove over to the off leash dog park.??The bird?was still there when we arrived, perched in a tree on the other side of the railroad tracks just south of the?Mile Post 17 marker.

We walked to the off leash dog beach and positioned ourselves opposite the tree for some photographs.? I thought it was the juvenile red tailed hawk which hangs out in the trees in the fish hatchery grounds and in the trees and telephone poles around the marsh.?? It flew off just as I put down the camera to review my shots and headed east toward the fish hatchery. My son and I drove over there and checked the tall fir trees on the hatchery grounds, but did not see it. It was getting pretty dark by then, so we called it a day and headed home.

The crows were raising this afternoon when?my son and?I?arrived at the fish hatchery grounds. A look up Pine Street revealed the cause: a large raptor was perched in a tree half way up the hill?right beside the street.???We walked up the hill and saw what appeared to be the same bird from yesterday near the dog park, only this time it was dining on a small bird. Some of the crows sat on nearby branches to observe the feast. I approached to less than ten yards from the tree and took photos, which?did not phase the bird as it continued to eat.

As I stated earlier, I initially thought this bird was a juvenile red-tailed hawk.??After closer examination of the photos, I wonder if it is a?juvenlie bald eagle due to the size and shape of its beak.?? After finishing dinner, it flew down?Pine Street to the tallest tree on the hatchery grounds and perched on a branch, accompanied by a retinue of crows.??? It flew off while I was playing with my camera, but judging by the sounds of the crows, it did not go far.???
Bill Anderson; Edmonds, WA. ?