Red-shouldered Hawk and Starling

Back on February 13th Joan spotted a red-shouldered hawk with something in its talons. Followed by a second hawk, it flew to a tree in front of our neighbors house. The trailing hawk perched above it, hoping for a morsel, but received none, even though we are certain they are a mating pair.

At first the hawk was on a tree branch.

It began working on the starling up there, plucking feathers. It takes a while to get to the meat.

The desperate starling suddenly began thrashing, or perhaps it was just its death throes. In any case, the hawk lost its grip on the carcass and had to land on the ground to retain possession of the prize.

Here's a video clip of the hawk working on its lunch. Note the regularity with which its looks up and scans its surroundings, checking for any threats.


Life and death in the woods!