A Sparrowhawk Drops in for Breakfast

3rd October 2016

I was sitting in the lounge having breakfast and reading the paper when there was a loud bang on the window just 2 feet behind me. I got up and looked out into the front garden expecting to see a Wood Pigeon or a Collared Dove sitting dazed on the path that runs by the window, but nothing. But then, sitting on a branch of a tree just four feet away, I spotted a beautiful juvenile Sparrowhawk. Juvenile because of the orangey fringes to the brown feathers, and probably a female because of its size.

I assumed it was a little dazed and would not be rushing off so I dashed upstairs for my camera. I then had to quickly adjust some settings to be able to photograph the bird in deep shadow and through glass, but managed to get these shots before it flew off. It was so close that I could only take head and shoulders.

Thank goodness it survived its ordeal.