Squirrels as redtail prey

Central Park squirrel looking up at a red-tailed hawk
Photo by Cal Vornberger


Lika Levi of Scarsdale writes:

Marie,

Reading about squirrels being a tough prey reminded me of a scene I witnessed a while ago in our backyard.

There are quite a few oak trees around here and quite a family of squirrels running around. One day, I now think I saw a RTH with a squirrel in its talons. These squirrels around here are mighty feisty... A couple of minutes later the RTH had to release and let the squirrel go... I could not believe my eyes, but I now understand the squirrel must have bitten the RTH... I have not seen this episode repeat itself yet here... but I think I have seen a RTH go after smaller prey around here.

Thanks for your interesting post.