Sparrow Hawk Prey Items.

[krawnden 1,034]

Over the years I've seen loads of 'almost' kills - smashing into cover after something, disappearing behind some obstacle or other fractionally before the point of impact, hurtling across the road right up something's arse etc, but I've never been fortunate enough to witness a spar actually binding to its quarry. Also disturbed plenty of spars having just killed, either already plucking their quarry or sometimes not having yet begun to. One day I hope to be in the right place at the right time. The closest I ever got was watching a spar foot a collared dove - there was a burst of feathers but the dove got away. And I did once see one right up the arse of a pipistrelle bat shortly before sunset. They disappeared over a bank so I don't know what the outcome was. I've always wondered if the bat knew it was being pursued???

 

I think they're spectacularly exciting birds to watch; I just love their 'cut and thrust' style of hunting. I used to live on the Herefordshire/Wales border where there were lots of quiet country lanes with high hedges either side and it was almost a weekly occurrence to drive along behind a hunting spar. They'd fly up the road for 50 yards or so a few feet off the ground then flip over the hedge, flip back into the lane, back over the hedge and so on. Sometimes you could follow them like this for about a mile. Sooner or later as the spar flipped into a field a cloud of little birds would burst over the skyline and the spar wouldn't re-appear. One of my favourite British birds....

[The one 8,138]

Last week two of us came round a corner as one got a pigeon in a alcove don't know who got the biggest fright but it fled the scene and the pigeon walked into some bushes

[Fieldsporthunter 1,862]

Funny this topic popping up now. . .

a sparrow hawk took a robin then landed on our cattle crush only yards away from me, two days ago.

[MOLE265 791]

Were have all the songbirds gone?

 

Used to keep racing pigeons and the hen sparrowhawk was more than a pest from September till March.

[fireman 9,669]

As a bird keeper i hate them and a few won't be comming back to torment my birds(i scared them off very well )but i watched one take a young rat on a farm i hunt rats on last winter,it came over our shoulders as we were mooching about with a couple of terriers and took the rat about 30 yrds in front of us.It just picked it up and carried on flying,saw another one hit a starling on my front garden and ran outside to watch it but i spooked it and it let go and flew off,i didn't feel that bad at saving the starling ..

[perthshire keeper 1,236]

you must all be wrong...don't yous know they only eat dandelion roots and turnip tops...not a vast array of our struggling and declining song bird population

[Fat-Ferret 857]

I saw one pull down a Black bird...Amazing!!

[All-terrain 10,607]

I saw a tawny owl take a greenfinch out the top of a hedgerow one night,then it flew into my windscreen knocked itself out with finch still in it's talons laying upside down, I got it, had it in the landrover for a bit and it sorted it's head out,the finch was well dead though,see sparrowhawks chasing birds all the time but owls are just as deadly atb AT

[undisputed 1,664]

One from last year, pishing down

[budharley 945]

Seen a few kills , a couple that stand out was watching one chase a starling over a cross road both getting hit by a car . The one that is the best ,I was fishing at last light when a female whizzed past me and took a bat out the air from over the water 👍🏼

[dytkos 15,608]

Lamped a barn owl catching a mouse a couple of months back and seen peregrines take pigeons off Truro cathedral.

 

Cheers, D.

[Accip74 7,111]

you must all be wrong...don't yous know they only eat dandelion roots and turnip tops...not a vast array of our struggling and declining song bird population

Yaaaaaaawwwwwwn.........

[Chicken_man 1,651]

Good pic AT.

Atb

[bell 2,836]

Picked these 2 off the road last year...........the Spar was living upto its name !

 

 

[fireman 9,669]

How about this although not a spar but on the shoot today a fella told me his pal the other day was taking pics of a barn owl and a buzzard came and hit it in flight,they fell to the ground and the fella taking the pics ran over and seperated them,the buzzard flew straight up and then swooped down to hit the owl again but the owl dodged the grab and the buzzard hit the ground in a heap.The owl then took it's chance and made good it's escape and the buzzard also made off after a few mins,wish i'd seen that and the fella was so mesmerized by what was happening his didn't take any pics of it ..