Red-tailed Hawk eating Coot

Warning: Graphic images; could be disturbing to some.

I had a special encounter of the RTH Sunday afternoon. I spent over an hour with bird, on and off, to see how the RTH tackled its prey. Initial sighting of the hawk was on the ground while the hawk was busy in pulling the feather off the coot.

By the time it took off to the first tree the coot was dead already. The hawk moved to another tree location before eating the coot. Initial feed was over 20 min, after a full stomach the hawk moved to another branch to take break in digesting. But the hawk was careful in watching the dead coot as a few crows nearby attempted to scavenge it once the RTH takes off.