Sparrowhawk

Hi, I had this chap in my garden the other day, not very good for my blue tits that was taking an interest in my boxes, but nice to see all the same,

He was present for a good half hour with a few unsuccessful hunts only to return back.

 

Great pic Martin. We have a sparrowhawk swoop on our garden too but he never stops long enough to get a photograph. Just know he's around as you see a 'whoosh' and all the little birds go scattering off

 

We have a few mice that feed under the bird table, he did swoop down on a few occasions, I think he kept returning due to the fact of the mice.

 

The day before. a pair of blue tits considering setting up home, the box is just below where the hawk is perched

 

That is what I call a photo brilliant. They are amazing predators nature is sometimes a bit cruel.

 

Many thanks, he/she is around very often, he must be used to hunting in and around gardens the other day he landed on the fence while I was in the green house, when he saw me he did not go far,

He must have taken a black bird out Thursday, I only saw a puff of feathers falling to the ground, having said that I keep hearing another bird of prey calling, I am unsure if its a kestrel or a peregrine, I keep trying to record its call but every time I get my phone out to record, it stops calling out.

 

I once had a neighbour who would get a fresh piece of bone or a pig's trotter from the butcher and put it on a tree in his garden to attract Sparrowhawks, Buzzards etc. It worked but I have to say fresh meat hanging around was a high price to pay for a photo as far as I was concerned. (He used to hang dead crows on his apple tree as a bird scarer too).

Luckily the trees were at the end of his garden furthest from mine.