Topic: Sparrow-hawk in the Garden!

[Garden Manager]

This gave me the fright of my life out in the garden yesterday.

I live on the edge of my town, my garden backs onto open fields (at present), but never before has the garden been visited by a bird of prey. Until yesterday.

I was halfway up the garden facing th house when I heard this strange screeching bird noise and a clatter of wings. I looked around just in time to see (what turned out to be) a sparrow hawk on the top lawn. It had evidently picked on one of our poor local blackbirds as I saw one of them disappearing over the fence with the sparrowhawk in hot pursuit.

This all happened so fast I wasnt quite sure what had happened but I was certain from what I saw that it was a bird of prey, and i am pretty sure it was after a blackbird.

On further investigation i managed to identify the visitor.  A most unexpected sight. As I say such birds have never come our way before, but perhaps this has set a new precedent. A little unsettling considering the affection I have for many of the local small bird population.

[Carol]

Handsome birds Richard but they are killers among the smaller birds.  I hate to see them taking the blackbirds.  If I see the sparrowhawk perching in my garden I go out and chase the small birds away so that the kill is not in my garden.  Mind you they have to eat too, but not in my back yard!!!

[Garden Manager]

This is the trouble, carol you dont want them to kill the small birds you see everyday, because they have enough of a hard time of it as it is these days. However the predator birds are likewise not having it easy at the moment and they have to eat as well.

I have a feeling this one arrived as a result of a local building development - it's had to find new places to hunt.

[Gardengirl]

Talking of 'killer' birds, I remember a few years ago hearing an almighty row going on in the road just outside our place.  This was very early in the morning.  When I looked out there were about 20 magpies all attacking one poor magpie in the middle of the group.  I was told by someone that they were probably attacking it because it had lost it's mate and was on it's own.  Could this be true I wonder - I know they are viscious birds but I found that hard to believe.

[Carol]

Apparently this is the case Patricia.  Rooks and Jackdaws also attack their own to death.

[Garden Manager]

Not to mention other smaller birds.  :(

[sunflower]

Last spring while out on my delivery round i heard a horrible noise in someones front garden when i looked i saw two magpies attacking a baby bird continually pecking at it. I managed to rescue the baby bird, i know magpies need to eat but do they have to be so cruel why can`t they just kill their prey outright.

[gilgamesh]

We get visited most days by the sparrowhawk (only the hawk, though, the tiercel hunts about 1/2 mile away. She flies up one side of the hedge then back down the other, and once chased a young starling into the garage. I went in to see what was going on just as she came back down the passage to the back door. She saw me, and turned in at the open kitchen door .. I followed, but she'd vanished. 15 minutes later I found her perched on the shower rail. Gardening gloves on, I caught her & put her out of the window. We also get visited, less frequently, by the kestrels. The hens are frightened witless (OK so hens aren't exactly 15 to 1 candidates to start with) by either. Luckily, though, the buzzard flies too high to cast a shadow....