Hawk Dismantles Prey

Red-tailed Hawks are abundant during the winter in the Central Valley of California, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable to observe, especially when I see them enjoying a hard-earned meal.
In this video, made on 1 January 2024 at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Gridley, California, USA, this hawk appears to have captured a starling-sized bird. He takes a few bites, surveys his surroundings, fills himself a little more, lifts his tail to expel a previous meal, and then he flies away.
I put his flight in slow motion so that you could enjoy it and watch the details of how he does it: He hunkers down and spreads his wings simultaneously. He launches from the stump and lifts his weeks vertically. Then he uses powerful wing strokes while retracting his landing gear, making himself more aerodynamic.
What a sight.
Let me know what you think of this footage.
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