Great view of Femal SparrowHawk

wildherbalian85 · #1 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 03:43 PM

I got to witness the true beauty of a large female Sparrowhawk today from a great view point.

Basically i was in a 6 storey building which is a "T" shape.. i was on the 4th floor looking out of the window when she flew up from the houses down below. She flew along parallel to the windows on the 3rd floor looking for somewhere to perch she then turned 90 degrees and flew looking into the windows on my section the floor below...
.... Assuming you where on 3rd floor she would have been around head hight but i was just above on 4th. When She passed me she was less the 4 meters away and i could see her in such great detail.... a truly beautiful bird.

cabbage · #2 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 08:00 PM

I love sparrowhawks and that sounds like a great view it would be great to see one flying like that, I've never seen one from that angle - a birds-eye view really!

I have a female visits my birdfeeders regularly and I've been privileged to have great views of it hunting the little birds in amongst the bushes.
Its amazing to watch her hunting strategy - from her perch on the fence, she takes off and flies round the back off the bush and then makes a feint into the bush as if she's going to go crashing in.

When she does this the little birds all quckly move away from her round to the other side - without missing a wingbeat she then pulls off an incredibly tight high speed turn to come back around the front of the bush hoping that a bird will have been spooked enough to actually break cover and come flying out after her feint.

Usually the birds are bright enough not to, but once or twice this has worked. If it doesn't work after two or three passes then plan B is to actually go crashing into the bush herself sending sparrows, tits and finches flying in every direction like a feathery explosion!

My parents get them too and my mother hates them for killing 'her' wee birds but to me its just nature. The sparrowhawk has to eat too.

On another occasion whilst walking round a local industrial estate with a friend and a dog we actually saw - and heard! - a male sparrowhawk take a starling from out of a flock in midflight only a couple of feet off the ground on the other side of the road from us!
The speed and power of the attack was incredible, truly awesome birds.

wildherbalian85 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 09:23 PM

Unfortunatly for me i do not get to see these beautiful birds very often and when i do they are normally in flight.... i think the one i saw today had just been feeding... her chest looked rather puffed up and she had come from ground level up.

I have only ever seen a sparrowhawk hunt twice... (what appeared to be) a Male hawk chasing a flock of racing pigeons... and the other time was more recent and this was female chasing a group of pigeons and corvids over a local park.

I have though witnessed S.Hawks fighting with each other... this was in a local cemetery.. i counted 2 females and 1 male at the time... after that day i never saw 2 females there again only ever the one. I guess as this was in May that they may have been nesting or something.

davecatt · #4 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 11:31 PM

My closest and most memorable encounter with a sparrow hawk was at the entrance to a local nature reserve.

I had just stopped to assemble camera,telephoto lens and tripod before entering, when the alarm call of a blackbird caused me to look up, just in time to see a male blacky dissapear around the end of the hedge 2 or 3 feet from were I was standing closely followed by a female sparrow hawk.

When she saw me she desperately put the breaks on and managed to change direction only a few feet away. For just a second or so I had a view of her, tallons extended and wings outstretched at face level whilst I stood there, camera in one hand lens in the other totally frozen to the spot.

If i'd been a blacky I'd've been a gonner for sure.

Dave

wildherbalian85 · #5 (**permalink**) 10-10-2009, 09:30 PM

The female i saw yesterday is not the only Sparrowhawk in that vicinity - there is a small male who i have seen a few times flying around and terrorizing the birds.

Today i saw him again, hovering in circles with a Magpie for company

It was all happening approx 120 - 150 meters away and i was situated on the 6th floor of this building. As i watched the Hawk caught onto a thermal and sored high up... with the magpie still keeping him company. Unfortunatly i lost site of them due to the hazy sky and low (Blindind) sun

This i think might have been the first time i have seen a Magpie doing this.. its normally the crows that mob BoP's.

davecatt · #6 (**permalink**) 10-10-2009, 09:50 PM

Any chance of getting some photos? Could be chance of some spectacular shots.
dave

daffy66 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-10-2009, 10:17 PM

lucky you.a beautiful bird.my closest view was a male drop out of a bush and use my car as cover to fly to an oak tree a bit further down the lane as i was going to work. i nearly caused a pile up as i didnt realise there was a few cars behind me and i stood on the brakes. the next closest was this year when i saw a female chasing a young starling across works yard.poor xexexexexexe dived straight into the firms van with a right clunk and was killed. the sprawk just flew off and left it. must have been 10m or so away.
had a good view of a buzzard through roadworks on m1 near nottingham.flew just in front of car and the early morning sun lit up all its markings. you always get your best views of things when A.you havent got your camera or B.when youve no chance of taking a pic dont you???