Fierce hawk scans the nearby ground for tasty Ground Squirrels. Deer Path Trail, PVR, 12/20/2025, 9:54 am. "Red-shouldered Hawks eat mostly small mammals, lizards, snakes, and amphibians. They hunt from perches below the forest canopy or at the edge of a pond, sitting silently until they sight their prey below. Then they descend swiftly, gliding and snatching a vole or chipmunk [or ground squirrel] off the forest floor." Cornell Lab, All About Birds online, 1/2026.