It is impossible to plan to see a raptor, except, of course, the Bald Eagles that tend to return to familiar feeding grounds. So it was quite a surprise when I watched this Northern Goshawk appear out of nowhere last week to grab a European Startling. There were at least 100 starlings resting on a power line when all of a sudden they flushed. I watched to try to see why they moved so quickly. There among them was this Northern Goshawk who successfully secured its lunch.
It all happened so quickly and so unexpectedly that I couldn't get a shot of the actual grab, but I did follow the Northern Goshawk until it landed in a nearby yard. The starling appeared to still be alive when the Goshawk went in for a landing.
The European Starling was not going to give up without a fight and it was quite a distraction for the Goshawk.
The Northern Goshawk seemed to be getting everything under control, even with me as an onlooker, not far away. Then to complicate matters this large Crow showed up to aggravate the Goshawk. There was quite a stand off with both birds shouting at each other and having a stare-down. 
This confrontation lasted for about two to three minutes before the Northern Goshawk got rid of the Crow and shifted its catch carefully beneath its wing skirt and took off once again. It was very interesting to watch how the hawk protected its prey. There was no chance that anyone or any other bird was going to take that European Starling away from this aggressive raptor.