Love them or hate them, you have to admire sparrowhawks for their lightening speed and superior skill as hunters.
I've been studying one for a painting and I have mixed feelings about it when it takes birds from my garden. Read about my efforts to get it to comply as a painting model in the Yorkshire Post.
They are beautiful, powerful birds. However my Dad witnessed one tear the heart out of a Blackbird in mid air, it dropped like a stone, and he held the blackbird as it died. He could never bear to see the Sparrow hawks in the garden any more. We live near a wide scrubland, so I make sure our garden birds table is hidden under a tree so if they're circling, they might not spot it as easily, people who stick bird feeders right in the middle of the lawn don't realise they've actually created a birdie-breakfast-bar for the hawks!
ReplyDeleteAmazing photographs as always!
Katie