Sparrowhawk Kill

First casualty at my garden feeding station this lunchtime. One of the female Blackbirds was taken by a Sparrowhawk. I heard the distress cry of the Blackbird whilst I was working in my office and looking out the window spotted a Sparrowhawk had it pinned down. I was sorely tempted to intervene but left the birds alone to let nature take its course. The hawk took off within a few seconds with the by now dead Blackbird in its talons. It only took 5 minutes or so before the feeders were full of tits again !

Two questions:
The hawk appeared to be very brown across its back and wings, is this likely to be a bird still in juvenile plumage ? It was definitely a Sparrowhawk, but I have never seen one so strikingly brown.

Do all hawks always carry prey just on the one foot ? I have only seen a few Sparrowhawk Kills as they occured and they always carry the prey using only one foot and I just wondered if all hawks carry prey this way.