There was a lot of hawk action on January 18. Part 6 of Hawky New Year! shows a first-year red-tailed hawk at Bethesda Fountain, then another young hawk hunting a squirrel near the rustic shelter in the Ramble. The hawk was flying around us as we fed the birds, and eventually swooped down right by me as it grabbed the squirrel. It ate half on the ground, then flew to a tree near the Oven and finished off the rest. There was also a Cooper's hawk in a tree over the Oven.
Young red-tailed hawk in the Ramble, Jan. 18, 2017
The alertness of the red-tailed hawk as he ate has been noticed with all the young first-year hawks we've been seeing with their prey. It's one thing to catch the dinner, another thing to eat it without having it stolen by another hawk.
There is some graphic hawk dining in this video.
The first two photographs are of the young hawk at Bethesda Fountain. The next photos are of the young red-tailed hawk who caught the squirrel. The last photo is of the Cooper's hawk above the Oven.
