Sparrow Hawk is back.

[Kirk]

Looks like the local sparrow hawk is back.
Something fast, handful of feathers floated to the ground.
10 minutes later he flew off out of the garden.

He was happy the bird he caught less so .

[Gillykat]

Beautiful birds. I often see a pair above my allotment as we are right next to a huge wooded area in Hulne Park Haven't seen them so much this past few months but hopefully once Spring arrives I'll see them soaring up above their territory once more.

[muddled]

As sad as it is for the (former) owner of the feathers...

There is something truly awesome about a bird of prey on the hunt.
A real privilege to see.

[the plumber]

i hate these overprotected killers. they are slaughtering our native birds in all our back gardens. add these to cats and egg stealing squirrels and one wonders where our birds are in decline. i know its their nature to do so . but its my nature to stop them.

[muddled]

Do you not consider sparrowhawks to be 'native' then?
or not 'ours'?

[jackarmy]

i hate these overprotected killers. they are slaughtering our native birds in all our back gardens. add these to cats and egg stealing squirrels and one wonders where our birds are in decline. i know its their nature to do so . but its my nature to stop them.

Wow, do people really still have this view ?, incredible really.
I used to have an aviery up untill last year ( now been added to my greenhouse ) and i used to get regular visits from them trying to steal my canaries, they were so used to popping in theyd sit on the wall after a failiure for a good ten minutes sometimes trying to work out how they failed

[Scarlet]

Did you keep canaries in an outside avery Jack? My brother loves birds, he kept kestrels when we were kids and as he was registered with the rspb we were often given injured birds to keep and release.

[jackarmy]

Yes i did Scarlet amongst lots of other varieties, mainly forign aviery bred finches.
I love Kestrels, for some reason very rarely see them around here now.

[Guest]

i hate these overprotected killers. they are slaughtering our native birds in all our back gardens. add these to cats and egg stealing squirrels and one wonders where our birds are in decline. i know its their nature to do so . but its my nature to stop them.

Sorry to single you out, but I feel you should research your subject. Birds of prey kill to survive and if food supplies aren't there than neither are they. Also it is dangerous for birds of prey to overeat as stored food can rot and kill them. Below is a paragraph taken from RSPB The RSPB: Sparrowhawk: A top predator . Sorry if I am being forceful everyone is entitled to their opinion, but wildlife is really fascinating when you really start getting into it.

Balancing act
Some people are worried that sparrowhawks eat too many small birds and cause their population to fall or even become extinct. Emotions can cloud the fact that the scientific research points to the contrary. Long-term scientific studies have shown that sparrowhawks generally have no or little impact on songbird populations.

[Scarlet]

We have a breeding pair of buzzards in the next field. Always circling, and one often sits on the post at the edge of my veg plot. He looks huge when he flys off. I just see the odd kestrel on the drive to and fro school. We are also lucky enough to have little owls that nest in the garden. The young ones sit on the kids trampoline late summer evenings. We've had them here for over 10 years.

I love finches, one of the guys that works with my OH has a pair. They keep him company as he works from home when they do conference calls we can hear them tweeting in the background.

[veggiechicken]

i hate these overprotected killers. they are slaughtering our native birds in all our back gardens. add these to cats and egg stealing squirrels and one wonders where our birds are in decline. i know its their nature to do so . but its my nature to stop them.

I hope the RSPB aren't reading this

[Knight of Albion]

I think you're all being harsh to The Plumber. When you feed birds every day, you get to know them and you get fond of them, so if a passing sparrowhawk grabs one of your birds, especially one of your favourites, of course you're going to go out and rescue the bird - shooing off the sparrowhawk, unharmed - if you can.

[veggiechicken]

I think you're all being harsh to The Plumber. When you feed birds every day, you get to know them and you get fond of them, so if a passing sparrowhawk grabs one of your birds, especially one of your favourites, of course you're going to go out and rescue the bird - shooing off the sparrowhawk, unharmed - if you can.

Presumably you mean, "shooing off the sparrowhawk" leaving its "prey" unharmed - if you can?

[Knight of Albion]

"Rescue the bird" ... "shooing off the sparrowhawk, unharmed" There appeared to be a suggestion that The Plumber was advocating injuring the hawk. I'm sure that wasn't what he was saying.

[Nicos]

Moving away from that aspect of the discussion( and perhaps we should).....humankind as a whole is making survival difficult for wildlife to maintain a grip in so many places.
Perhaps we should reflect on that aspect for a while?

Personally I was pleased to read the original post . We have a sparrow hawk , buzzards and we think some kind of eagle , flying around here regularly.
They miss so much of their prey that, although I feel relief for the escaped animal, I can't help but feel sad for the hungry bird.
Especially in this weather when the ground is frosty and cold and the small mammels hunker down.