Bird ID please.

[StRoRo]

You will be good if you can Id it from the panicked terrible photo graph which I am embarrassed about submitting however.



I saw this while spending a few mins watching a bird feeding station hanging from an exposed tree at at my local flash.
This bird came out of nowhere. When I noticed it, it had come from the opposite side of the tree straight towards me, it folded its wings in to fit throught gaps in the branches, tried to grab a great tit or something like that but failed.
It then opened up its wings and turned 180º on a sixpence about 8 foot infront of me and flew off.
The belly of the bird was very light brown with dark brown spots / lines / patches. and I noticed its wings where pointed, it reminded me of a swift / house martin wings.
I tried to get a better picture but most cameras will struggle to focus on a dark bird, in bad light against a grey sky.

I have my idea what I think it was, but what do you guys think?

[animartco]

Hi Stroro
You were lucky to get a picture of a flying bird! Obvious choice would be a sparrow hawk but the picture doesn't look like one. From shoulder to wrist is so much shorter than the length of the flight feathers. To me the picture looks more like a female night jar; which would jell with the type of flight you describe. It would also jell with the attempt at predation. Many insect eating birds have stopped migrating in recent years, and if it was a night jar it would be desperately hungry. Highly unlikely of course, but what a tick if it was!
I hope you get another look at it. The male if there are two has distinctive white corners on the tail. Try putting out meal worms on your table. That might attract it back. Good luck animartco.

[Pigeon feather]

I would say the bird you saw is a sparrowhawk, would a nightjar really attempt to predate small birds I 've never heard of that one the profile seems to fit the description of a hawk too.

[AshLee]

I'd say this is almost definitely a Sparrowhawk.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by animartco

Hi Stroro
You were lucky to get a picture of a flying bird! Obvious choice would be a sparrow hawk but the picture doesn't look like one. From shoulder to wrist is so much shorter than the length of the flight feathers. To me the picture looks more like a female night jar; which would jell with the type of flight you describe. It would also jell with the attempt at predation. Many insect eating birds have stopped migrating in recent years, and if it was a night jar it would be desperately hungry. Highly unlikely of course, but what a tick if it was!
I hope you get another look at it. The male if there are two has distinctive white corners on the tail. Try putting out meal worms on your table. That might attract it back. Good luck animartco.

Sorry animartco but I'm going to have to challenge a few of your assumptions here !

a) Whilst true some species of birds are now over-wintering, these are largely confined to passerine species eg. some species of warblers etc

b) Nightjars winter in Africa and don't arrive until April/May

c) They are strictly a Heathland bird and confined mostly to Southern counties.

d) They are nocturnal feeders

e) They have a strict diet of insects which they eat by hawking into them and using their whiskers as 'sweepers'/'protective eyelashes'

f)They don't have talons (how are they supposed to catch small birds with delicate feet?!) and have very short stubby beaks - they are not adapted for feeding on small birds or mammals (or indeed meal worms!).

All the above mean Nightjar (one word!) are a very specifically designed species adapted only for a specific habitat and diet hence their limited distribution and vulnerability.

The behaviour of the bird in photo says without much doubt, it was a Sparrowhawk. The photo more or less confirms it. The flared primaries is just a normal aspect of an accipiter changing flight direction/speed. The blue/brown tones are spot on.

[squishy]

I dont see anything to suggest it isn't a sparrowhawk, and nothing to suggest it is anything else.

[StRoRo]

Are Sparrowhawks known for flying through trees, ie, about 6 foot off the ground?
The most spectactular thing about this was how low it was and how it pulled in its wings for a second while so it would fit through a gap in the branches.

[Dogghound]

Sounds spot on this is how these birds hunt in dense woodland. They weave through trees at quite some speed and ambush their prey.

[StRoRo]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Sounds spot on this is how these birds hunt in dense woodland. They weave through trees at quite some speed and ambush their prey.

Do you reckon it would return to the same place?
A number of hanging bird feeders hanging from a solitary tree must be fairly easy pickings.

[Dogghound]

Yes it is likely to use this area as a regular hunting site aslong as food is available.