Could It Have Been a Sparrowhawk ?

[SuzieandFlo]

This evening , a little before 6pm , I opened the door to head off to the chip shop. I caught a glimpse of a bird flying past over my garden shed which is just a few feet from the door. There's a cherry laurel growing against the shed , which the House Sparrows gather in while feeding on the shed roof.
The bird I caught a glimpse of had flown between the house and the cherry laurel , and skirted closely around the laurel passing about a foot above the shed roof.
It was so quick that as I opened the door and said "Eh ?" , it had disappeared from view. It appeared to be heading between the gardens and was flying low.
My first thought was " It's a bit late for a Collared Dove to be flying around " , but then as I was walking up the road , I started to wonder if a Sparrowhawk would be hunting at dusk.
I've not seen the Sparrowhawk here for a while , but then I've only recently started puting food on the shed roof as the House Sparrows seem to prefer feeding there. They gather in the cherry laurel , often pressing themselves flat against the big leaves. They hop around "inside" the cover of the leaves before hopping out onto the roof to eat. There can be up to 20 - 30 at a time , along with a few Dunnocks. I've also seen Blackbirds and a Wren on the shed roof , using the cover of the cherry laurel leaves to hide in before deciding whether it is safe to feed or not.
Could the Sparrowhawk be checking out the approach to a new , easy food supply ? Would a Sparrowhawk be out hunting when it is almost dark ?

[fairplay]

I saw a Sprawk hunting in the dark just a few days ago, so I would say you probably saw the same.

Neil.

[k4t3]

Can honestly say I have never seen my Sprawk hunting at dusk, but once you have seen them, you don't forget it! They are so fast, accurate and mind-numbingly controlled in their flight- blink and you'll miss it! No dove can fly with the sheer control and accuracy of a Sprawk...it's like they have radar! My garden is fairly enclosed but a Sprawk can weave in and out of the building and trees like a Beemer on Satnav!

[SuzieandFlo]

Thanks Neil .
All I saw was a lightish coloured bird (underside of a Sparrowhawk ?) skirting round the cherry laurel and over the shed. The gap between the house and the cherry laurel is 7'6". The shed roof is 7' high closest to the house with a gentle slope of about a foot , running away from the house.
This picture was taken today from inside the house. It's an upstairs flat in a block of 4 , and the picture was taken from the window at the top of the stairs.
The bird I glimpsed tonight flew between the house and the laurel , over the shed roof skirting very close to the laurel , about a foot above where the House Sparrows in the picture are.

[SuzieandFlo]

k4t3
I know what you mean about the speed and accuracy. I was totally amazed the first time I saw the Sparrowhawk hunting here. It sat on a clothes pole in a neighbours garden for a while. When it took off it was so fast it was almost unbelieveable ! It flew so fast between houses , fences and trees. Skirting so closely over hedges it was almost IN them. The bird it was hunting flew into a hedge to try to escape but the Sparrowhawk went in right after it and came out after a few minutes with "dinner" .
My first thought tonight was collared dove only because of the size and colour in semi darkness. Thinking about it , it wasn't flying like a dove at all and that made me think Sparrowhawk. I haven't seen ours for a while though and don't know if they hunt at dusk .

[fairplay]

I think the easiest way to tell whether you saw a Sprawk or Dove is by the commotion caused - if there was a lot of panicky twittering in the bushes, that's usually a sign of a bird of prey about.

Neil.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by SuzieandFlo

Would a Sparrowhawk be out hunting when it is almost dark ?

I've often seen Sparrowhawk hunting at dusk. It's logical when you think about especially in the winter when their target birds tend to roost closer together for warmth, such as Starlings/pigeons/Sparrows. I've seen a Sparrowhawk dive into a bush where House Sparrows had just bedded down for the night sending them out in all directions. They'll do the same at dawn too!

Neil, Starlings and Sparrows especially, will be extremely vocal and 'twitter' almost constantly when gathered together in bush, regardless of whether there's a BOP around!

[SuzieandFlo]

The sparrows don't roost in the cherry laurel , they use it for cover during the day while feeding .
Some may roost in a neighbour's hedge although I've seen them fly off before dusk to the nearby woods.
The gardens are very busy with birds during the day but all goes quiet from about 5pm. There are so many shrubs and trees in the gardens that it's hard to tell where the birds all go at night. I've heard some singing in the early hours before but again , have they come over from the woods or are they hiding in the gardens. The closest woods are 2 minutes from my house and I often hear owls at night.
I'll keep an eye open for the Sparrowhawk though .

[fairplay]

Originally Posted by Picidae

I've often seen Sparrowhawk hunting at dusk. It's logical when you think about especially in the winter when their target birds tend to roost closer together for warmth, such as Starlings/pigeons/Sparrows. I've seen a Sparrowhawk dive into a bush where House Sparrows had just bedded down for the night sending them out in all directions. They'll do the same at dawn too!

Neil, Starlings and Sparrows especially, will be extremely vocal and 'twitter' almost constantly when gathered together in bush, regardless of whether there's a BOP around!

The commotion caused when a BoP is about is completely different to starlings and sparrows normal banter.

Neil.

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by fairplay

The commotion caused when a BoP is about is completely different to starlings and sparrows normal banter.

Neil.

Cheers Neil. Perhaps you could describe for us the alarm call of a House Sparrow as distinct from it's normal contact call when in a roosting group. Likewise the difference between a noisy squabbling flock of Starling and the alarm calls of a flock of Starling in a bush just so we can be clear on the difference.