| Re: Sparrowhawk
I'm with HanDiiMaNz on this. I have a female in my garden and worry about her if I haven't seen her in a while. A neighbour and I were talking about how we hadn't seen her for weeks when there was a commotion behind us and she emerged in pursuit of a pigeon. She has a feeding post in my garden where she often sits munching on a pigeon or collared dove and there was a year when she regularly picked off collared doves from a favourite roost of theirs. I took it as a good sign that she had a brood somewhere. Pigeons and doves breed prolifically around my garden and she has to live. I've never known her take a smaller bird and assume it's not worth her while.
Sparrowhawks are amazing hunters and don't always need a clear space (although having said they are amazing they do fail in most pursuits). I've seen footage of them running through undergrowth in pursuit of prey. The first I know of her presence is usually the aftermath because she is incredibly quick. I will be looking outside thinking how quiet the garden is and suddenly it erupts into a good impression of Piccadily Circus as all the birds flee the trees which heralds her presence.
My suggestion is to leave nature to take its course and learn to love and admire your sparrowhawk. They have enough to contend with in life.  |