Monday 28 October 2013

Sparrowhawk............................................................... weighing up my garden

I had this stunning bird visit my garden this morning... a male Sparrowhawk.

 Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus).

I first spotted him on top of one of the feeding stations... and watched as he had a good look around.
I took a chance to grab my camera but he took flight... I thought I had missed the chance of a shot.

He must have only been on the fence behind the bird table because he was soon back...
...this time perched on the water bowl.

He was giving all my garden feeders the once over...

...and nothing went unchecked... including the bird table.

He finished his inspection from where I'd first seen him... as if making up for my missed shot.
A beautiful bird to see on my bird feeders...except he feeds on...... birds!

Linking to Our World Tuesday and Wild Bird Wednesday

41 comments:

Our photos said...

Beautiful photos of the hawk!
Greetings, RW & SK

The Herald said...

A cracking bird to have visiting your garden Andrew. It looks like it might have been weighing up it's prospects for a return visit!!...[;o)

MadSnapper said...

he is gorgeous, excellent photos of him to. we have to think of him that he is like us. we feed on cows and sheep and pigs and birds ourselves. I hope he doesn't get any of your sweet robins.

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Yes, he feeds on birds and other small animals and insects ... that is how nature keeps populations under control ... So, that's a good thing, right? If man didn't get involved there would be balance, but that is probably something we will never see again.

This Sparrow Hawk looks like our Sharp Shin Hawk ... a beautiful bird and typical Accipiter. Over here people try to call the Kestral A Sparrow Hawk ... Hmmmmm, gets very confusing. Great shots, Andrew :)

Andrea @ From The Sol

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

HI Andrew What a wonderful surprise to arrive at your feeders and to get those wonderful shots. Brilliant. You didn't tell us the name or where to get that feeder from yesterday!!!

Unknown said...

What a wonderful visitor you had. It's a gorgeous bird.

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

Wow!!!.. Great captures.. Congrats..

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

Oh what a beautiful bird and you've captured it so well too.

Bob Bushell said...

Beauty Andrew, it is a beauty.

TexWisGirl said...

beautiful! just saw findlay ringing one of these the other day on his blog. :)

Kay L. Davies said...

Wonderful photos, Andrew, but yes, he was checking your yard for sparrows and other small birds, and no hiding place would have worked for the little ones after that hawk-eyed inspection.
K

Arija said...

What an opportunity to get these great shots at close range! I bet the garden went very quiet while he was around.He certainly is a very handsome fellow.

Cynthia said...

Beautiful guy, but I'm glad he's not after my feeder regulars!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely stunning photography of the sparrow hawk ~ makes me want to get a feeder ~ thanks, carol xx

Carole M. said...

uh-oh - yes smorgasbord opportunity for a sparrow hawk. That could really spell 'the cat amongst the pigeons' territory. Don't know quite how you deal with this; it is so beautiful in his own right, let's hope the SH doesn't stop by too often I guess.

FOREST SNAPPER said...

its a bit of a shock when you spot a rare shot like this and no camera to hand, great photos.



peter

eileeninmd said...

Wow, awesome shots of the Sparrowhawk!

Adam Jones said...

Superb shots, of one of my favourite birds. Always exciting to see in the garden.

chai-and-chardonnay.blogspot.com said...

What an amazing bird! And how lucky you were to manage to get your camera on time!

Dave said...

Great series Andrew..... I know the adrenalin rush that you get when the camera is fumbled and the shot may be lost. However this male was confiding, lets hope he returns

Fun60 said...

That must have been an exciting sight to see in the garden. Good job your camera wasn't too far away.

genie said...

What fabulous pictures of this sparrow hawk. So much detail….plus it is like the viewer is looking straight into his needy eyes. He is definitely looking around at everything, So glad he came bcd for you to get these shots,

Carver said...

Fantastic shots of the hawks.

Anonymous said...

That is a beautiful bird. I've never seen one even in pictures. You caught his colors and details perfect!

Karen said...

A handsome bird and terrific shots...but, it could be bad news for the birds! I had a hawk (much bigger) take a blue jay from a feeder last week.

Stephanie said...

Stunning shots of this handsome bird.

mick said...

Great close-up photos of the Sparrowhawk - it will be interesting if it returns!

Cezar and Léia said...

Amazing pictures, I'm always enchanted by your pictures and I'm also a huge fan of your videos!You are a talented artist, thanks for sharing!
Léia

David M. Gascoigne, said...

A raptor in your yard is always a special day. It's not often that a bird of prey permits this kind of photographic opportunity.

Hootin Anni said...

Gorgeous!!! What a thrill that would've been for me. You live right!!

Findlay Wilde said...

Bet you we really excited when you spotted him. From Findlay

Modesto Viegas said...

Great visit!!!

Carletta said...

What a thrilling encounter for you Andrew!
He's a handsome bird and I really like the capture of the eye in the first shot.

The photo of your Grandson below is adorable. :)

sunshine said...

Beautiful photos, maby he looks for a new hunting ground.

Amanda said...

Oh dear, very nice to see but not ideal for the bird feeder!

Pantherka said...

Andrew wonderful.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

He's a regal and handsome fellow -- but (as you say) scary.... Apparently there were no encounters at the feeder? When we had our house in Oregon, we used occasionally to get a kestral hawk -- he was cute, but I always wanted so badly to chase him away. We don't want to fill the feeders just to provide easy hunting grounds.

HansHB said...

Great post, nice to study details!

Brian King said...

Awesome! How fortunate for you! These are fantastic photos! Such a handsome raptor.

Rajesh said...

Amazing shots of the bird.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

What a beauty and how fortunate you were to get these grand captures! WOW!!!