Cheeky sparrow hawk

[wafter]

We see one occasionally too; most of the time it's gone in an instant, although occasionally it'll remain in the garden to devour whatever hapless victim has copped it this time.. eveything has to eat of course.

I feel sorry for Figbat's yellowhammer(?); looks like it might still be aware of the situation too

 

[Beebo]

This one was outside my home office window with its newly-acquired lunch.
View attachment 738606

It looks like a green finch.
I could be wrong.

 

[Rusty Nails]

This photo was taken from our breakfast table in the kitchen. I have seen others in the same place a few times over the years. Not far from our bird feeders.

 

[Time Waster]

I don't see sparrowhawks round here but kestrels aplenty. Used to come off the motorway near home, hit traffic and sit in the car watching kestrels hovering overhead through the sunroof of my car back then. One saw something worthy of its attention in my car, near the gearstick I think.

Other times I saw them in the nearby grass verge between road and footway. Busy prepping its prey with wings shielding the food and its head ducking under its wings to prep and eat but sticking it out again to make sure everything is still OK. Amazing to see that habit I think. Not sure if that's common to see or not but I felt privileged to see it.

I always think feeding kestrels have a look as if to tell its to keep our nosy beak out of its business. They might be common but they're a fascinating bird to watch. Imho of course.

If you like the sparrowhawk you'll love the goshawk if you're ever lucky enough to see one. They used to nest not far from Keswick I believe. King of hawks.

Sorry for the digression.

 

[Bazzer]

Pretty soon that pigeon population will be noticed and will become lunch!

I hope so. I'm tired of them taking massive dumps on our cars and our roof.

 

[Gillstay]

I don't see sparrowhawks round here but kestrels aplenty. Used to come off the motorway near home, hit traffic and sit in the car watching kestrels hovering overhead through the sunroof of my car back then. One saw something worthy of its attention in my car, near the gearstick I think.

Other times I saw them in the nearby grass verge between road and footway. Busy prepping its prey with wings shielding the food and its head ducking under its wings to prep and eat but sticking it out again to make sure everything is still OK. Amazing to see that habit I think. Not sure if that's common to see or not but I felt privileged to see it.

I always think feeding kestrels have a look as if to tell its to keep our nosy beak out of its business. They might be common but they're a fascinating bird to watch. Imho of course.

If you like the sparrowhawk you'll love the goshawk if you're ever lucky enough to see one. They used to nest not far from Keswick I believe. King of hawks.

Sorry for the digression.

Had a Goshawk come into the garden one day. The hens were terrified. She was a big bird and very intent on killing something. Impressive.

No chance of a photo though.

 

[Windle]

It looks like a green finch.
I could be wrong.

I was thinking the same, or possibly a Siskin.

 

[figbat]

I was thinking the same, or possibly a Siskin.

I also thought greenfinch - we have a few in the garden occasionally. I've never (knowingly) seen a siskin here, although we do get the occasional yellowhammer.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

We were visiting friends a few years back and the people down the street had a family of peregrine falcons nesting on their property. There were two young ones, just fledged, chasing each other about the trees making all the noise in the world so we were standing in the street enjoying the show when the owner of the house came out and asked if we knew of any way to get rid of them. Seems nothing was coming to his feeder while they were around.

I thought he was nuts as he was getting a once in a lifetime front row seat to a pretty good show.

another friend had red tailed hawks nesting somewhere near his property. His wife phoned him at work in a panic because the two absolutely huge “chicks” were fighting over their little birdbath and she was certain they were going to knock it over and break it. My friend laughed at her and told her to enjoy the show… we both wished we could have left work to see it.

 

[gbb]

It's a double edged sword, they're all beautiful creatures, the sparrowhawk as well. It's all part of life's cycle, it happens all the time, you're just witnessing it when you normally wouldn't.
In the same way, we found a slow worm on the path, relished its presence, put it back in the scrub where it had come from. Then it occurred to me,if we'd not found it, it would have certainly been a lunch for the many rooks and seagulls in the vicinity, pretty damn quick.

We are funny creatures (humans). We feel empathy when we witness something unfortunate...yet it happens all the time, everywhere without us being in the slightest concerned.

It also slightly perplexed me when you see frequent posts in local FB pages...I've found an injured seagull or pigeon, what can I do ?
My inner thought is always...errr leave it alone, it will live or die. It happens billions of times a day over the planet with all sorts of creatures. Such is life...

 

[Rusty Nails]

It also slightly perplexed me when you see frequent posts in local FB pages...I've found an injured seagull or pigeon, what can I do ?
My inner thought is always...errr leave it alone, it will live or die. It happens billions of times a day over the planet with all sorts of creatures. Such is life...

A couple of weeks ago I saw a young seagull, which obviously had not fully fledged, scuttling down our garden with a cat following it. I went out and frightened the cat off but was then at a loss as to what to do about the gull. I looked online but found out that there is no local organisation which really wants to look after a young gull.

I walked down the garden to have a closer look at it but couldn't get close because it's parents just kept swooping very close to my head...and they're big buggers.

Luckily the young pigeon got through a gap in the hedge into the garden of the people behind us. I must admit to craftily blocking the gap and being relieved that it then became somebody else's problem.

 

[Time Waster]

We have issues with birds flying into our living room window. It is a huge picture window with a topped pine tree (not scots but a more decorative one) just outside the window (Bungalow on a hill so the ground floor windows are 1 story up at the front). We believe they see a reflection of the tree and fly to land on a branch reflected in the window. I always kills them but not instant. We touch it to check it is alive, an eye opens up and the leg kicks out in defence.

We of course do the pick it up and put it in a padded out box somewhere safe in case it comes round. Never does and the shoe box ends up in the bin with it very dead contents. When you feel the head flopping around on a broken neck then you at least know that any repsonse to touch is just autonomic and it really is dead but without that you just don't know and you feel like responsible and want to help it. Daft really considering if we don't kill the pidgeon (wood) then a car driving down the road usually will. We see a fair few dead on the road but they get a few broods in each year round here I reckon and there are plenty to survive. I am half immune to feelings about pidgeons dying like that, not the same for all bird species though.

I do have an issue with blackbirds striking the window. There are a pair who breed in our garden so we see regular annual brood making it to fledged status.

Being a coastal area we occassionally see angels wings. These are when a bird has been caught by a predator and eaten leaving the wings attached and a load of feathers blowing away. AIUI it is often black backed gulls that do that, leave the wings alone and attached to each other. Gulls are not all scavengers but some are actually hunters of other birds too. Not all predator birds are just predators, some also scavenge food too.I once heard that in some areas birds of prey scavenge more than corvids or rather the corvids are better at hunting live prey than people expect.

We did see a tawny owlet on the footpath at the back of our house. We googled and left it alone. Another local family came along and picked it up to look after. Wrong action as they climb down and climb up trees. They are not in difficulty and will get away if need to. Mind you, there are plenty of Tawny owls in the area. Certain times of the year, early in the morning, you often hear quite a few Tawny owls. One time 5 were calling from totally different directions. We have plenty of them here so even if one chick was lost it is locally no matter.

BTW we live in a National Landscape designated due to its high biodiversity. Formerly an AONB with plenty of SSSIs. mind you nearby there was the case of a lady slippers orchid being dug up by thieves (it being the UKs rarest flower growing in that one place wild). Several years later it flowered again after it was thought to have been locally extinct. This is just one rare flora and fauna we have round here. I feel so lucky!!

 

[Chief Broom]

Black backed gulls are definitely predators! ive seen them attack and kill common gulls. The Black backed will be in a group of various species of gulls [like were all mates getting along] and when one gets to close wallop! sometimes they hold them under the water to drown.

 

[Gillstay]

We have issues with birds flying into our living room window. It is a huge picture window with a topped pine tree (not scots but a more decorative one) just outside the window (Bungalow on a hill so the ground floor windows are 1 story up at the front). We believe they see a reflection of the tree and fly to land on a branch reflected in the window. I always kills them but not instant. We touch it to check it is alive, an eye opens up and the leg kicks out in defence.

We of course do the pick it up and put it in a padded out box somewhere safe in case it comes round. Never does and the shoe box ends up in the bin with it very dead contents. When you feel the head flopping around on a broken neck then you at least know that any repsonse to touch is just autonomic and it really is dead but without that you just don't know and you feel like responsible and want to help it. Daft really considering if we don't kill the pidgeon (wood) then a car driving down the road usually will. We see a fair few dead on the road but they get a few broods in each year round here I reckon and there are plenty to survive. I am half immune to feelings about pidgeons dying like that, not the same for all bird species though.

I do have an issue with blackbirds striking the window. There are a pair who breed in our garden so we see regular annual brood making it to fledged status.

Being a coastal area we occassionally see angels wings. These are when a bird has been caught by a predator and eaten leaving the wings attached and a load of feathers blowing away. AIUI it is often black backed gulls that do that, leave the wings alone and attached to each other. Gulls are not all scavengers but some are actually hunters of other birds too. Not all predator birds are just predators, some also scavenge food too.I once heard that in some areas birds of prey scavenge more than corvids or rather the corvids are better at hunting live prey than people expect.

We did see a tawny owlet on the footpath at the back of our house. We googled and left it alone. Another local family came along and picked it up to look after. Wrong action as they climb down and climb up trees. They are not in difficulty and will get away if need to. Mind you, there are plenty of Tawny owls in the area. Certain times of the year, early in the morning, you often hear quite a few Tawny owls. One time 5 were calling from totally different directions. We have plenty of them here so even if one chick was lost it is locally no matter.

BTW we live in a National Landscape designated due to its high biodiversity. Formerly an AONB with plenty of SSSIs. mind you nearby there was the case of a lady slippers orchid being dug up by thieves (it being the UKs rarest flower growing in that one place wild). Several years later it flowered again after it was thought to have been locally extinct. This is just one rare flora and fauna we have round here. I feel so lucky!!

Have you tried putting objects on the window to lessen the deaths ? We have a conservatory that was a trap to birds so have fitted a net lik curtain on the back window and that has stopped it as they were trying to fly through. lus a couple of hawk cut outs helped.