Tough Day to be a Red-tailed Hawk - 17 Jul 2023

This afternoon I heard quite a racket down the block. A number of American Crows were squawking like crazy, and when I saw the Red-tailed Hawk atop the power pole I knew why. They were not happy that a predatory raptor was invading their roosting territory. 

I grabbed the camera and stepped onto the deck just as the Red-tailed Hawk took off. It had 2 American Crows in pursuit. They attacked the hawk several times as it flew past, and I was able to get photos of the interaction.

Side note: If you look at the Red-tailed Hawk you can see that it is a juvenile molting into an adult. The central retrix (tail feather) is red while the remaining "striped" tail feathers are those of a juvenile. The crow appears to be molting the same central feather on its tail. Also, the P6 and P1 feathers of the crow are growing in as is the similar feathers on the Red-tailed Hawk. 

The front crow dropped back and attacked, and the Red-tailed Hawk had to pull up and bear teeth (beak) to get it to back off. Then, the trailing crow flew in for a close pass before they "hawked" the hawk away from the area.