A hawk snatched my squirrel

[Mike_OH]

I sort of had the opposite happen. I shot a house sparrow once and after a little while a grey squirrel came out of the woods and ate the whole thing. Feathers and all. I’ve seen raptors spit out the beak after they eat a whole bird but I didn’t see that squirrel leave anything.

 

[QWC]

Wow thats pretty cool, Ive only arrowed one squirrel- but it took off after I shot it- I think it ran up and died in a tree, but I was kinda miffed because it took my arrow with it and I really wanted to try some squirell!!

 

[karl_h]

This morning I noticed a squirrel in the "zone of certain death" and took my shot. No sooner than I put the rifle back on the wall a hawk swooped in and got a free breakfast. Anyway I really dig these birds, unfortunately the only picture was what I could get from my phone of him flying off. Still a cool morning for me. Makes me want to look into scope cams
FX dreamline compact .22 w/ Element immersive 14x50 canoed the squirrel @28 yards, phone snapped the pic.
View attachment 440465

I always hoped to see that back when I had a pair of resident red tail hawks, their nest was about 60 yards from the back corner of my house, on my land, and they hunted my yard as a pair for years. Age must have finally done them in, it's been a couple years since I've seen either of them, and their nest is showing signs of falling apart. Last time I saw the male, he was clearly not as coordinated as usual, kind of had trouble landing on a perch he had been using for a decade, never saw him again and hadn't seen the female in at least 6 months before that. I had them for the first 10+ years I lived in my home and miss watching them hunt. Both of them saw hundreds of squirrels get shot, neither ever cared and never touched one if I left it out, scavengers would get them at night. I was surprised the first spring how fast they chase their young off after they can fly, two weeks at the most.

 

[karl_h]

I was archery hunting and about 25 feet up a tree in a climbing stand in full camo including a head net. It was overcast and pretty dim in the woods. A big redtail flew into a tree about 30 or 40 yards away facing me. I looked away from him looked back, he was coming at me like a missile I turned my face to the tree a put my arm up to my head. I felt it flare and turn, I could feel the air from his wings but I did not feel him touch me. It was pretty scary.

It probably was just going to perch on something near you, I had one land on my rifle barrel once, came from behind and scared the sh*( out of me. I didn't move and stayed frozen, it stayed perched on my rifle barrel for what seemed an eternity before deciding hunting wasn't any good there and flying off. It never even seemed to acknowledge I was sitting there.

 

[JEFFPPC]

It was perched. I think I was a snack, lol.