Saturday 19 February 2011

Sparrowhawk attack in my garden........................

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
I heard a bird hit my patio doors this afternoon and saw what I thought was one of my Woodpigeons fly up onto the neighbours roof with his feathers all ruffled.
I then realised it wasn't a pigeon at all but a male Sparrowhawk.
The collision on my window had been a failed attack on one of my garden birds.
The hawk was a real beauty and luckily stayed around long enough for me to grab my camera and get a couple of record shots taken through the window.
I couldn't have wished for a better birthday present.
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11 comments:

  1. grammie g19 February 2011 at 19:41

    Hi Andrew..I bet that gave you a start...hey you may be a year older, but you can still move quick!! ; }}
    He sure is a beauty and a great photo to!
    Glad you got a great birthday gift!!

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  2. Unknown19 February 2011 at 19:52

    See as you get older things are more exciting!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  3. theconstantwalker19 February 2011 at 19:59

    Cheers grammie I couldn't have wished for a better present.

    Gary you are so right. Lets hope it keeps getting better.

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  4. Unknown19 February 2011 at 20:12

    Happy Birthday & I agree it was a great gift. Glad I've discovered your blog and I appreciate your kind words on mine lately. Cheers from Texas!

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  5. joo19 February 2011 at 21:23

    Happy Birthday! Beautiful photo - it's a terrific birthday gift, also for us:)

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  6. theconstantwalker19 February 2011 at 22:46

    Many thanks John and joo. It really has been a lovely day.

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  7. firebrace20 February 2011 at 12:39

    another beauty andrew. with the varied birdlife you have in the garden i`m amazed you have the time to go on your wanderings, i`d be too frightened of missing something on the doorstep! a couple of years ago at work we had a sparrowhawk fly into the warehouse and took up residence in the rafters. unfortunately it couldn`t find it`s way out again. we tried placing raw meat as high up as possible but he wasn`t interested. after about a week a local falconer agreed to come and net him, but sadly he died a few days later. i once had a peregrine eating a sparrow in the garden, all that was left as he flew off was a beak and a pair of feet!

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  8. leschornmom20 February 2011 at 13:48

    Well Happy birthday!!!love, Love, LOVE this picture! Do they visit you yard often?

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  9. Kerri Farley20 February 2011 at 19:26

    Super capture! And Happy Birthday!

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  10. Johnny Nutcase23 February 2011 at 18:23

    Those are really neat bird. Pretty cool he was in your yard, and I'm glad the collision into the window didn't hurt him!

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  11. Sallie (FullTime-Life)24 February 2011 at 13:39

    Well -- happy belated birthday -- that really IS a very handsome fellow. (I am always sort of glad when a hawk attack fails...I mean I do understand the balance of nature and all that, but can't help wanting the songbirds to escape.) In Oregon we used to have kestrels in our yard often -- whenever I spotted him, I had to restrain myself from going out to shoo off the songbirds.)

    But I love the regal-appearing hawks as well! Your picture is excellent!

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