Sparrow Hawk Prey Items.

[krawnden 1,036]

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....

Missed seeing it again today - was out ferreting and a spar flew 6 foot in front of me just off the ground on the other side of a thin spindly hedge carrying something it had obviously just caught. Couldn't tell what it was but it was a fair size - possibly a pigeon.

[neil cooney 10,416]

Buzzards are opportunists, seen them take all sorts. leverets, blue tits and poults, lifted this off the net but it shows anything is fair game to them, this one has a pigeon chick

Don't you mean a squab ????

 

 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist, good pic though and proves they ain't just scavengers.

[peterhunter86 8,627]

 

Buzzards are opportunists, seen them take all sorts. leverets, blue tits and poults, lifted this off the net but it shows anything is fair game to them, this one has a pigeon chick

 

Don't you mean a squab ????

 

 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist, good pic though and proves they ain't just scavengers.

 

Some beak on it for a pigeon or shoud i say bill

[jok 3,211]

Yep, if that ain't a duckling i'm going to stop going out.LOL.

[fireman 10,869]

A few of us had a hours pigeon roost shooting this evening and one gun shot a pigeon and while the pigeon was flapping about still 10 yards in front of him a spar came it on it and tried to carry it off,he shouted at it to "leave my fcuking pigoen alone" and it flew off empty taloned ...

[fireman 10,869]

I was in a pals van comming back from a mooch out with the mutts and as we drove passed a gate way up flew a male sparrow hawk from right next to the road/gate,my pal who was driving reversed back to see what it had had as it didn't fly off with it's capture,a woodcock was what the spar had just caught and left as it flew off and my pal is having it for his tea .It was a male spar by the way and we didn't feel at all guilty of robbing it of it's dinner ..

[neil cooney 10,416]

I was in a pals van comming back from a mooch out with the mutts and as we drove passed a gate way up flew a male sparrow hawk from right next to the road/gate,my pal who was driving reversed back to see what it had had as it didn't fly off with it's capture,a woodcock was what the spar had just caught and left as it flew off and my pal is having it for his tea .It was a male spar by the way and we didn't feel at all guilty of robbing it of it's dinner ..

Goes to show that the Spar will punch at it's own weight as the Woodcock in flight is just like a Sparrowhawk.