Though the clouds moved in this afternoon and the mercury steadily plummeted, we’ve had some amazing weather here in West Seattle the past few days. Plenty of action from the rooftop, and no shortage of interesting things going on. Last week, I spotted what I thought could be the fastest bird on planet Earth, a Peregrine Falcon, hunting the local gang flock of pigeons. Yesterday, my suspicions were confirmed and my poorly-contained excitement echoed off the walls of the neighboring buildings repeatedly. Yes, I’m a nerd, but I digress. This thing is beautiful, compact, and fast. I had two real opportunities yesterday at it (in the form of mach-6 fly-bys), and even then I had trouble framing and keeping focus. I haven’t gotten the shot, but I’m still bouncing around like a little schoolgirl after confirming that such a magnificent avian exists right here in my new ‘hood.

Beyond my newly found falcon obsession, I was reminded that you don’t have to fly around at 200+ mph to be a bad-ass bird of prey. A Cooper’s Hawk, probably in a territorial fit over the falcon, decided to see what kind of human has a huge, black clicking piece of glass for a face. Perched at ~16” and about 25′ away, it was almost too tight @ 850mm (500mm+1.7x full-frame for all my fellow photo dorks).

Anyway, some days you’re the Pigeon (Columbia Livia, I believe)…

…and some days you’re the Falcon (Falco Peregrinus)….

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii - 90% here, but will humbly be corrected if wrong)

Goes to show, for better or for worse, that you don’t always have to run to the fringes of the backcountry to find some pretty incredible moments in nature.

Aside from starting a full-fledged, bonafied photo buisness along side the one and only Richard Walker that is sure to take the Northwest by the horns, there was a Kinetic race in Port Townsend and the single-most amazing story I’ve personally encountered in the domesticity of pets. In other words, much more to follow.