Sparrowhawk

Lincs Yellowbelly · #1 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 05:35 PM

Hi all,

Firstly, sorry i've not been about much lately. Recently started "another" new job and have obviously been a bit pre-occupied with that

Just wanted to share an encounter with you. Came down this morning and noticed a female Sparrowhawk eating a meal in our garden, from the lack of feathers i'd say that it had killed elsewhere but brought it here to eat. The amazing thing was, the bird was in the garden for well over half an hour and only left when I had to go to work, taking the meal with it. It's certainly an experience eating breakfast watching a Sparrowhawk eat hers

A quick pic taken from upstairs through the window so quality aint great.

Hedge Witch · #2 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 05:40 PM

Great shot, great experience!

What is that structure she's sitting on?

Lincs Yellowbelly · #3 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 06:00 PM

Its a archway structure you walk under

Kev-B · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 06:47 PM

Nice one ..

My regular "Birding" pal, who lives in Cleethorpes & has a large, mature garden often gets them ..

I've had just one .. last year .. it was sitting on the back lawn eating something (which proved to be a Blue Tit) .. and then it hopped onto one of my solar-powered lights and used the edge to wipe its beak on ..

By the time I'd got the camera .. it had gone ..

Bye for now ..

Kev ..

JeffH · #5 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 06:49 PM

Nice one Lincs.

Jeff

sleipnerofasgard · #6 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 07:03 PM

Nice pic,rather than start another Sparrowhawk thread, just thought id tack my pic this evening onto this one. I don't know if it is the same bird but this is the fifth in the garden in a year and the second in a week but is it male or female? I'm no expert but it looked small so i'll guess male

demicav · #7 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleipnerofasgard

Nice pic,rather than start another Sparrowhawk thread, just thought id tack my pic this evening onto this one. I don't know if it is the same bird but this is the fifth in the garden in a year and the second in a week but is it male or female? I'm no expert but it looked small so i'll guess male

Looks female to me. Great pics and stories. They're fantastic Birds.

big bill · #8 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 08:29 PM

great pics guys well done

sleipnerofasgard · #9 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 11:39 PM

Ok, just checked the RSPB birds by name website and my picture is obviously female so my apologies for not checking there first, guess i'm just too damn lazy

Lincs Yellowbelly · #10 (**permalink**) 03-09-2008, 05:00 PM

Thanks for the comments, also took a picture of the Male earlier in the year(may) and have seen him a number of times land on the fence

They must nest nearby as they are quite regular.

The Male from May

P.S the arch the female is on is slightly to the left of the paving slabs

deer boy · #11 (**permalink**) 03-09-2008, 07:11 PM

Great pics, we have a male visit now & again lovely birds

Kayleigh · #12 (**permalink**) 03-09-2008, 07:49 PM

Lovely pics,
I found feathers and part of a beak in my birdbath but I didn't see the spawk. Can't wait to get a pic with my fuji, we got pics with the Olympus camedia of a lovely female eating a starling on the lawn. but they were all blurred.

Pete Collins · #13 (**permalink**) 03-09-2008, 08:13 PM

I'm so jealous - there suddenly seems to be an abundance of Sparrowhawk photos on WAB! I'd love to get a photo of one in the garden here - I've seen one several times but have yet to get a photo.

sleipnerofasgard · #14 (**permalink**) 06-09-2008, 10:42 PM

Another visit yesterday, looked like a male this time although i was not at home a picture was taken but i have not had a proper look yet

Lincs Yellowbelly · #15 (**permalink**) 10-09-2008, 05:50 PM

Had another Sparrowhawk in the garden this morning, this time it was a Juvenile Male and it took a Sparrow from a pyracantha. Saw me pretty quickly and flew off with the unlucky sparrow.

So this year we've had 3 different hawks, the Male, Female and now a Juvenile, must be a heathly population of birds around here.

Kev-B · #16 (**permalink**) 10-09-2008, 06:48 PM

Hi "YB" ..

Remember the one which "had" the American Robin .. down on West Marsh in early 2004 ??

Bye for now ..

Kev ..

britishwildlife · #17 (**permalink**) 10-09-2008, 09:18 PM

Hi All,

Great to see these birds in such abundance, as they are more or less top of the food chain it's a great indicator of the small bird population. If the small bird population were low in numbers this many Sparrowhawks wouldn't be around. So good all round really.

I was privileged to film a Sparrowhawk's nest earlier this year and managed to get some great close-ups of the female and her young - here's a link to the video sequence:

Nesting Sparrowhawks

All 5 chicks fledged successfully.

Cheers
Pete

Kev-B · #18 (**permalink**) 10-09-2008, 09:41 PM

Hi Pete ..

Many thanks for sharing those stunning images ...

Love the way the chicks having been fed all then "crash-out" .. bar one ... there's always one ..

Slightly off topic (but not by much ..

) .. I also enjoyed the "Seals at Donna Nook" .. I live about 20-25 mins away & try to get to see them at least once each winter ...

Bye for now ..

Kev ..

RENITA · #19 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 08:21 AM

This bird is a small raptor with short broad wings and a long tail, both adaptations to manoeuvring through trees. The male is 29-34 cm long with a 59-64 cm wingspan, and is slate-grey above and barred reddish below. The male was formerly called a musket, and the gun called a musket was named after the bird.The Sparrowhawk has pale barred underparts, like the Goshawk, but is less heavily built.

The wings are short, broad and blunt and the tail is quite long and has dark barring across it. Their yellow legs are surprisingly spindly. The eye and cere are also both yellow, but they can become orange-yellow or even orange-red in older birds. The hooked bill is grey.

I hope you had a great time with the bird for a short while.
---------------------
RENITA

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britishwildlife · #20 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 09:32 AM

Hi All,

Thanks Bob - glad you liked it

- a very small insight into these illusive birds lives, and thanks for watching the Grey Seals of Donna Nook, it's a great place to see them close up. We get quite a few here in Cornwall, but they are very difficult to get near as they tend to reside in deep sided coves which are inaccessible.

Cheers
Pete

Kev-B · #21 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 10:52 AM

Hi Pete ..

Last time I checked .. I was KEV .....

But no matter .. I knew what you meant ...

Thanks again ..

Kev (aka "Bob") ....

britishwildlife · #22 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 11:12 AM

Sorry about that Kev - the B bit must have stuck in my mind as I was typing

soz

Cheers - Pete

Kev-B · #23 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 11:34 AM

No worries ...

Kev ..

Lincs Yellowbelly · #24 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by britishwildlife

Hi All,

Great to see these birds in such abundance, as they are more or less top of the food chain it's a great indicator of the small bird population. If the small bird population were low in numbers this many Sparrowhawks wouldn't be around. So good all round really.

I was privileged to film a Sparrowhawk's nest earlier this year and managed to get some great close-ups of the female and her young - here's a link to the video sequence:

Nesting Sparrowhawks

All 5 chicks fledged successfully.

Cheers
Pete

Thanks for posting some stunning video footage, it's great to see such a predator being so tender with it's young.

deer boy · #25 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 05:35 PM

Hi Pete i missed this video, stunning footage & brilliantly put together thanks for sharing