Garden empty after sparrowhawk attack

[~T~]

So yesterday I got a nice surprise of a sparrowhawk in my garden looking for it's Xmas dinner. Unfortunately it was just taking off after a passing woody as I grabbed my camera. Anyways I was expecting the birds not to return for the rest of the day but today the only bird that's come near has been a chaffinch that grabbed a few seeds in a hurry the scarpered. Does it just take time for things to return to normal or what? How do all the local birds know theres been a bird of prey in the area recently?

[scarymonster]

What kind of cover do you have in your garden? I have a sparrow hawk passing by semi regular and he does catch birds now and again here but I still have a garden full of birds. I have started to learn the signs and noises the birds make in the garden when there is danger and keep an eye out for him. He has not been back since about a week ago when I ran through the garden shouting and waving my arms at him lol. I don't expect it will keep him away though as they do appear to be quite fearless, sometimes diving into tree's when I am not that far away.

We have put some nut feeders up in a large fur type tree and all the blue tits are in there feeding. They have a maze of branches to flee into on any sign of danger. We have also attached some dead prickly follage below to slow any attempted attack from under the tree. However I do have 100's of birds in the garden so he is a little spoilt for choice. I wonder if he likes Starlings, I have a lot of those at the moment and they are very noisy and always squabbling.

[angelika611]

I feed gulls and crows thrown on a roof,i find if you feed these birds they are always about mine circling so the sparrow hawk wont hang about,crows and gulls really do keep sparrow hawks at bay,so if you put up with these birds they protect the smaller birds.

[scarymonster]

Ah, crows and sparrow hawks. We have some quite large birds of prey around here on the mid Wales border and I see the crows dive bombing them as they fly over. They don't get to close but harass the life out of the larger slower birds of prey (which I presume are buzzards or similar). Also, in the summer if the owl comes out too early and the blackbirds are still up they chase it and make an awful racket. It's quite a sight.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by scarymonster

Ah, crows and sparrow hawks. We have some quite large birds of prey around here on the mid Wales border and I see the crows dive bombing them as they fly over. They don't get to close but harass the life out of the larger slower birds of prey (which I presume are buzzards or similar). Also, in the summer if the owl comes out too early and the blackbirds are still up they chase it and make an awful racket. It's quite a sight.

There will be Buzzards, but possibly other species in addition.

[faz]

your garden birds will come back its all part of nature

[angelika611]

I saw a sparrowhawk for the first time in on my small town garden wall a few months back with a plucked starling in its mouth,i know they have to eat but it made me feel bad on the birds i am feeding for the hawks lunch,no way did i think i would get a hawk in my garden i live on a high street,so i read up that crows keep them away so i feed the crows and gulls and have not had another attack from the hawk since,it does work.

[Red Robin]

I've already posted the story of witnessing a Sparrowhawk kill and eat not one but two Wood Pigeon chicks (large!) in a 50ft evergreen tree in my garden. I stayed and watched for literally 2 hours and the hawk wasn't phased by my presence in the least.

After a hawk attack, it's the smaller more junior of each species which venture back to the feeding area first. The alpha males hang back until the coast is clear. It's just Nature taking its course - Nothing to get sentimental about.

[FUDGEY]

The anti sparrowhawk brigade are here again. What is it with you people? Leave them be to go about their business in peace. In these hard times the birds they prey on will be mainly in gardens getting the free offerings. It is inevitable sparrs will have to follow. If you walk through a wood when conditions ate like this it will be silent and you will be lucky to see a small bird. Sparrowhawks are fantastic birds and have as much right as any other to be left alone to do it's thing. Please think about it they get a bad enough deal from game keepers with out birders going against them.

[~T~]

My garden is tiny so not much cover apart from some smallish fir trees (about 7-8ft) and a some celmatis (though thats kinda dead anyway). Later on some woodies and finches arrived but were still very wary. Maybe the sparr had been back around today.

I hope im not getting tarred as an anti hawk person. I was really happy to see it and would have had no problem if it had made a kill (I would have taken pictures if possible). People shouldnt feel bad because all birds need to eat and by feeding the garden birds you inevitably feed birds higher up the food chain.

I think im most annoyed about having put out a big tray of xmas dinner leftovers (and there was a little bit of everything in there) to not see a single bird go near it