Court St Raptor

Walking down Court St near Schermerhorn, I noticed a raptor flaring low. It was after a pigeon, which it missed. I thought red-tailed hawk, initially, judging from the size, but I now think that impression was because it was so low and in my face. It disappeared eastward down Schermerhorn, but then it zoomed back westward as some crows came loudly upon the scene. The bird’s tail looked much too long for a buteo, so I’m thinking it was a peregrine. The crows chased it down Schermerhorn, alighting on some still bare planetrees and setting up an agitated cacophony. Which reminds me, a week ago I saw 20 crows clamoring over the BQE down around Hicks and Degraw in Pokiesberg, as the Dutch used call my neighborhood, a pretty big murder for these parts. When I lived in Iowa City, IA, most winters would find great flocks of them settling in one or two neighboring trees at twilight, and giving their other group name a run for the money, a congress of crows.