Urban Wildlife

This morning I had an unusual encounter with Spokane's urban wildlife.

I was waiting in the Albertson's parking lot at Wandermere when a robin-sized bird dashed over my windshield, followed by a hawk. The smaller bird took refuge under the covered walkway of an adjacent strip mall, but to no avail. The hawk seized its prey and held it to the ground long enough for me to capture this one fleeting image. A moment later, the hawk returned to the sky, while the little bird still struggled for life within the claws of its captor.

The whole scene happened too quickly for me to identify the smaller bird. And now as I review the photograph, I'm wondering exactly which species of hawk this is. I can't be sure, but it seemed much smaller than a red-tail hawk. Does anyone know?

Ducks

parade001, originally uploaded by sulustumoses.

Rhonda and the kids got this amazing photograph of a mama duck and her babies on the day of the Lilac Parade. The mother had made her nest on the roof overlooking the entrance to a downtown business. One by one, the ducks jumped to the ground and then made a heroic walk through the crowds and to the river.

The Spokesman-Review captured the same scene HERE.

Disclosure: I photoshopped the lower right hand corner of the picture to remove a camera strap that had fallen in front of the lens.