Sparrowhawk behaviour - Unusual?

[BugBear99]

Ironically, just looked up from reading the 'Redbridge birdwatching updates', to see what I think is a sparrowhawk just catching the male blackbird who has finally started visiting my garden (he used to prefer next door's garden!). It was only 2m away from my window (I've a tiny urban garden), and had surely seen me with my camera (sorry for awful pics, didn't have proper camera to hand!), but was unperturbed. Poor blackbird squawking away, pretty distressing to watch but I figured you have to let Nature take its course, and the sparrowhawk has to survive too, plus I thought at least it was a decent-sized meal made out of one life...

The interesting thing (I think?!) was that the hawk dragged the blackbird over to my (new) pond, and appeared to try to drown it, sitting on it for some time under the water. By this time I had opened my back door sneakily, and although it had presumably seen me, must have been so hungry that it didn't move away for some time, then eventually took its distressed catch to the end of the garden, barely able to life the load.

I've just been out to look now though, and it doesn't seem to have eaten much. I left it well alone after that, and this is 1.5hrs later. Seems a bit of a waste of a blackbird?! I thought there would be hardly anything left of the carcass?

Any comments on this behaviour? here are some terrible pics...

[Dogghound]

Interesting, there was once a similar story on here (last year I think) of the same behaviour.

[Acipiter]

This behaviour is not that unusual, I have seen it for my self in my own pond, on that occasion it was a starling. There is film of a s/ hawk drowning a magpie on utube.

[Acipiter]

I forgot to add ,it was probably because you disturb it that it left, it may well come back, so don't move the blackbird for now.

[BugBear99]

I did wonder about that, but I had left the house after taking these photos, with the sound of the poor blackbird's last squeeks still being heard I do have an annoying black cat that skulks around the end of the garden sometimes, so I think that may have disturbed it mid-meal, since I was out by then. I've left it in situ figuring the hawk'll probably not waste such valuable food. All my little birds have been unsurprisingly vacant from the garden this morning!

[Acipiter]

That is one drawback of having a bird feeder, it can invite predators, don't worry about the s/hawk nature has it all worked out, as for cats,