One lucky bird

[B725]

This just flew into the car port window I thought it had broken its neck but it soon recovered and when I released it it flew away just fine 

Edited May 17, 2020 by B725

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Cracking to get up close isn't it!

[B725]

It is even more so to hold one for a minute. 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

I bet.

[islandgun]

Fantastic, Is it a Sparrow Hawk  

[B725]

Kestral, its surprising how small they are 

[washerboy]

An old guy down the street had one stuck in his greenhouse a few years ago, I caught it with my landing net. It had chased a finch but couldn't get out the skylight. 

 

1 minute ago, B725 said:

Kestral, its surprising how small they are 

What! 

[JKD]

2 minutes ago, B725 said:

Kestral, its surprising how small they are 

Glad it wasn't injured and a great experience for you to handle it, briefly though it was 😁 Oh, by the way, it's a male sparrowhawk 😉🤭

[7daysinaweek]

22 minutes ago, islandgun said:

Fantastic, Is it a Sparrow Hawk  

That is a sparrowhawk

(Accipiter nisus) , looks like a female. The males are known as a musket and are approx a 3rd smaller than the females, many male birds of prey are referred to as "tiercels" the name derives  from the latin term Tercel which means "one third"

[B725]

4 minutes ago, JKD said:

Glad it wasn't injured and a great experience for you to handle it, briefly though it was 😁 Oh, by the way, it's a male sparrowhawk 😉🤭

Thank you for putting me right its still quite small, my bird of prey recognitionneeds updating 😊

[JKD]

10 minutes ago, B725 said:

Thank you for putting me right its still quite small, my bird of prey recognitionneeds updating 😊

You're very welcome, and yes it does 👍 😋

I've never handled any [live] BOP, but seen many while out shooting. Was stared out by one of yours once,,,, it landed on a post of a stock fence about 20 metres from me while I was waiting for some rabbits to appear. Its stare was piercing 😲 Had them whizz past in woodland many times too,,,, incredible sight 😃

The male will possibly be the only one hunting at this time of the year, if it has a mate and young to feed. Probably why it looks quite slender. The females are slightly brown/grey on the back/wings, and as our [brilliant] medical expert said, is slightly larger 😊

Edited May 17, 2020 by JKD

[Clodhopper]

I have just had a very close encounter with one myself. It took a Starling from the hedge beside the footpath we were walking along, not 10 yards in front of us. Both hit the deck with the Hawk pinning the Starling to the ground. It then saw us standing there and flew off, leaving the startled and very lucky Starling to flap off in the opposite direction.

[B725]

When I let the dog out for a waz this morning it looks like it had already ate something on my garden 

[islandgun]

I picked a Peregrine out of the water after it had been in a fight with two Hoody crows, it took steak out of my hand,  some grip it drew blood with its claws. When it had dried out I let it go. strangely It hung about for a couple of days, perhaps looking for more steak, it had a ring and i was able trace with BTO to its birth, a couple of Islands away

[London Best]

My daughter watched one eating a young blackbird alive in her garden two days ago, whilst it’s parents went frantic. This was Derbyshire too.

[B725]

Where abouts in Derbyshire are you?

[old'un]

It maybe a striking looking bird, but one I dislike intensely, pity it didn’t break its neck, they are worse that bloody magpies.

[oowee]

Beautiful. Never got that close to one. Spend a fair bit of time trying to keep them away from the bird table. 🙂 

[London Best]

2 hours ago, B725 said:

Where abouts in Derbyshire are you?

S.E. between Derby/Nottingham.

[WalkedUp]

Great pictures of the sparrow hawk. We have a pair nesting in the field behind us. Great when they get a woodpigeon or collared dove feeding on our lawn, but somehow sad when they take the tits from the feeder. 

[JDog]

26 minutes ago, WalkedUp said:

Great pictures of the sparrow hawk. We have a pair nesting in the field behind us. Great when they get a woodpigeon or collared dove feeding on our lawn, but somehow sad when they take the tits from the feeder. 

That's about it. I don't like what they do but I like the way they do it.

[ditchman]

3 hours ago, islandgun said:

I picked a Peregrine out of the water after it had been in a fight with two Hoody crows, it took steak out of my hand,  some grip it drew blood with its claws. When it had dried out I let it go. strangely It hung about for a couple of days, perhaps looking for more steak, it had a ring and i was able trace with BTO to its birth, a couple of Islands away

we have perigrines here...they nest on the factory silo's...........a couple of months ago there was a hell of a comotion in the garden.....there was a perigrine with a skawking rook in it talons and half a dozen rooks beating the bejeebers out of the perigrine....the hawk eventually let go and flew off ...and the rook did as well with all its mates................

[ninjaferret]

That's actually a cock sparrowhawk

Sorry just noticed JKD had already clarified that

Edited May 17, 2020 by ninjaferret

[islandgun]

15 minutes ago, ditchman said:

we have perigrines here...they nest on the factory silo's...........a couple of months ago there was a hell of a comotion in the garden.....there was a perigrine with a skawking rook in it talons and half a dozen rooks beating the bejeebers out of the perigrine....the hawk eventually let go and flew off ...and the rook did as well with all its mates................

Christ I wouldn't want to be attacked by half a dozen rooks ! [ I had a pet one as a kid but thats another story] The peregrine i picked up, was having a squabble over a lapwing it had brought down, and the hoodies had somehow manged to knock it into the water, peregrines arn't great swimmers..😄

[stuy]

Great to have a close up of the spa , we’ve a few here on welsh borders/ hereford but not as many as you’d think because of predatation  from goshawk which lately I seem to see every week !!!