Coopers hawk drama

[Haninah Levine]

This morning, while biking down 20th Street NW, I heard a squawk and looked up in time to see two Coopers hawks appear over the edge of a building, with one bird apparently chasing the other. They went into a steep dive, and the rear bird pulled up sharply, veering off to land on a light post. I didn’t see the lead bird pull up. A moment later, I passed the spot, and saw the other bird lying dead on the sidewalk. It must have miscalculated its flight and flown headfirst into the pavement, dying on contact.