raptor relay

[herenorthere]

I was walking along a road through a woody area this morning and saw a hawk flying high across the road ahead of me, followed by a smaller one flying lower, which was followed by another small one. The second one began to fly up towards the first and then the first dropped something, maybe mouse-sized, which the second caught midair and then I lost sight of them behind the trees. The catcher was a little behind and maybe 20 feet below the dropper. Were they practicing the baton transfer for the olympic relay or was that a parent teaching a kid to leave the nest for food? I've never seen anything like it. The sun was low and kind of behind them, so I couldn't make out what they were, but they were a large species that seemed less stout than the red tail hawks I usually see.