Sparrowhawk??

[Hans Mum]

sat on the bench on sunday enjoying a cuppa watching loads of sparrows landing & taking off on one of the other plots when out of the wooded area a hawk shot out of the trees took one of them & was back in the woods before I could register what kind of bird it was. I'm presuming it was a sparrowhawk definately a bird of prey & at a city allotment, although we do have quite a wooded area at the top of the site. Poor sparrow but it was a spectacular to witness.

[Two_Sheds]

I wish they'd eat the bladdy pigeons

[ladylottie]

I wish they'd eat the bladdy pigeons

So do I !!!!!

[Flummery]

But city pigeons must taste of stale chips and ciggy ends. Would you fancy one?

[TEB]

I wish they'd eat the bladdy pigeons

SHH dont say that, the racing pigeon community already want to see a cull on birds of prey

[GriffR]

We have a regular Sparrowhawk visitor to our garden, probably because both we and the neighbours have quite a few bird feeders. It doesn't take long for the food chain to kick into gear !!.

[Jeanied]

Ditto here GriffR- and judging by the scattered feathers, pigeon has been consumed by one in a nearby garden!

[DaveJ]

I have a regular sparrowhawk pair visiting the garden. Always difficult to watch though when an unlucky small bird gets caught and then plucked feather by feather - but that's nature. Apparently one of the best pigeon deterrents is the peregrine which is starting to become more common, even in cities.

[jacob marley]

I wish they'd eat the bladdy pigeons

They do i have seen it....jacob

[Prince of Durham]

Wonderful to see, they are such skilled aviators. In a past life many years ago I was a bus driver and whilst plodding along at about 30mph, a Sparrowhawk appeared in front of the bus. I didn't know what to do and before I knew it she'd vanished below the window. I was sure she'd gone under the bus, then seconds later she pulled away in front again and did a backwards roll over the hedge lining the road.... Amazing.

[KayJay]

sparrowhawk in garden

we had one plucking a collared dove in our back garden. The dogs were fascinated but they knew their place and left the bird alone. OH didn,t believe me till he same the feathers left on the lawn. nature is a wonderful thing

[KayJay]

sorry about mistakes, trying to eat lunch at the same time
Kath

[Two_Sheds]

I saw a sparrowhawk take a starling today on the bike home. A puff of starlings went up over me and I thought how lovely.
Then I saw what I thought was a seagull chick attached to a blackbird. Once my brain had deciphered what my eyes had seen, I realised it was a sparrowhawk, out of nowhere, who had snatched one of the starlings.

S/he landed over to my right, and I tried my best to get the kill on my bike's video recorder, but it was angled all wrong.

S/he then took it off to the tennis courts to pluck it

[Jeanied]

A video recorder on your bike Two Sheds?

[Two_Sheds]

Oh yes Jeanie. It's essential kit I'm afraid (in terms of claiming against drivers who hit cyclists: because the police aren't bovvered)