Not every day a threatened raptor lands on your front lawn — with prey in tow, no less.

But that’s exactly what happened the other day at my place near Maple Bay when a juvenile northern goshawk caught an eastern cottontail.

I live next to a wooded ravine and rabbits frequently come out of hiding to eat the grass. This particular one paid the ultimate price.

I spotted the goshawk shortly after 7 am on a Sunday. It tried a few times to fly away with its catch, but the adult rabbit was just too heavy.

The goshawk started around the neck area and continue into the body cavity where it disemboweled the rabbit and continued on to the fresh meat.

At one point, a cat arrived and chased the goshawk away. But I put the run on the cat, and the raptor returned to feed.

The bird wasn’t fazed by a few passing vehicles, but flew away for good after about an hour when a couple of neighbours walked down the sidewalk.

Subsequent research shows it is rare to see a goshawk — a forest dweller — much less close-up feeding on prey.

“Very nice sighting and photo,” said Rob Butler, a bird biologist retired from the federal Canadian Wildlife Service. “Goshawks are seen infrequently and especially so with a kill.”

The coastal subspecies is red-listed in BC, meaning its status is “endangered/threatened.”

The BC government states that “one of the most significant factors” threatening northern goshawks on the BC coast “is the loss and fragmentation of structurally old and mature forests they use for breeding, foraging, and roosting.”

According to a 2024 study on the BC south coast published in BioOne, goshawks consumed 32 identified prey species, but squirrels dominated.

The eastern cottontail is common here and a favourite prey of raptors, including the great horned owl. It was introduced to Sooke on southern Vancouver Island in 1964, according to the Stewardship Centre for BC.

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— Larry Pynn, April 10, 2025