I originally thought that a raptor?I?photographed?flying over Scriber Lake in
Lynnwood, WA. with? prey in its talons while being chased by a pack of crows was
a hawk, possibly a Cooper's hawk.??After reviewing my rather poor grab shots, a
friend?thought that it?was a northern harrier based on the white spot on its
rump.?


?Reviewing my copy of "Hawks from Every Angle" (Liguori, Princeton Paperbacks),?
I believe my friend is?correct.?? Northern harriers?like wide open spaces, so I
don't think of them urban raptors.??I have twice photographed?one patroling the
Edmonds marsh, which one might call a?medium?open space on the western edge of
Edmonds near Puget Sound.??Now I photographed?one flying?around Scriber Lake,
which is a wooded area in the middle of urban Lynnwood.??

I have photographed?hawks, eagles, and?a short-eared owl being chased by crows.?
I have observed that eagles and red-tailed hawks will fly about their business,
blissfully ignoring the crows.?? The short-eared owl and smaller hawks
like?Cooper's and sharp-shinned will try to escape and hide from the crows.? The
northern harrier I saw over Scriber Lake turned and attacked?its pursuers. It
may even have taken one as prey in mid air, but my photos are too poor to say
for certain.

Bill Anderson; Edmonds, WA.