Squirrel v. Falcon: a non-drunk entry on a non-law school related topic

On Thursday (before the annoying negotiations seminar and the subsequent serious discussions followed by the serious drunkenness), I saw a group of people standing under a tree near a classroom building, looking up. Following the lines of their gazes, I saw a very large bird of prey chomping on something.

"What type of bird is it?" I asked.

"I think it's a peregrine falcon," the man next to me answered. That seemed like it could work, though he totally could have been lying.

The bird was really enormous -- the size of a small spaniel.

"What is it eating?" I asked.

"I don't know." "Maybe another bird?" "I saw a pigeon." "Or a squirrel?"

"Well, there are feathers lying on the ground, so I think it's another bird," someone said.

We watched for another few seconds quietly, until we saw a squirrel bounding up the tree, headed in the falcon's direction.

"Oh ho!" cried several people. "Watch out, squirrel!"

The falcon seemed perturbed, raising its wings halfway and resettling on the branch. A few more human comments pierced the air, calling for a rodent-fowl brawl. The squirrel crept closer to the bird and its prey. The falcon again half-raised its wings. And then -- it grabbed its meal and flew away.

A stunned silence fell over the group for a second, before a mix of jeers and surprised exclamations broke out. "Beaten by a squirrel!" "Hey, come back! Come back and fight!" "You can take him!" "Never thought I'd see that -- squirrel beats falcon!" "It left! I can't believe it!" "Yeah, maybe because we were all yelling at it?"

We hung around for a few moments more. The squirrel bounded along the branch to where the falcon had been perched. It sniffed the undoubtedly bloody patch with interest, and then scampered away. The humans slowly followed suit.