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Archive => Archived Boards => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: moonforest on March 06, 2009, 07:48:28 AM

Title: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: moonforest on March 06, 2009, 07:48:28 AM
A few weeks ago I saw two really unusual birds in my apple tree, I had no idea what they were until this morning.....looking up British birds with my son I found out they were sparrow hawks!

Has anybody else seen these lovely birds locally? :)
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: nbt on March 06, 2009, 08:02:29 AM
Yes, we live near the ringers and we frequently get a sparrowhawk in the garden. You can tell because it all suddenyl goes quiet as all the opther biurds fly away! They are beautiful to see, especially if you are luck enough to see them in flight - their agility is incredible! You are very lucky to see a pair, I wonder if it's a breeding pair? Whereabout in Marple are you? I might be tempted to take the big camera out for a walk....
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: moonforest on March 06, 2009, 04:14:37 PM
We're not far from you, just two minutes' walk from the canal, on Mount Drive/Ecclesbridge Road area.

We have a wide variety of birds in our garden which we're learning to identify. One of my favourites is a sweet little robin who visits us regularly.

But discovering those birds a few weeks back were sparrow hawks is soooo exciting!  :)
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: Lisa Oldham on March 08, 2009, 01:25:35 PM
WE irregularly see them in our garden by the Railway on seven stiles... generally flying across the garden very quickly towards the trees

also have seen them along canal.  Never seen a pair together in Marple but presume they must breed round here somewhere!!
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: Ali Bee on March 08, 2009, 05:39:50 PM
I saw one outside my old house, unfortunately it had caught a pigeon and was eating it, so I didn't look for long  :( Not seen one here, yet.
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: jogger on March 09, 2009, 01:50:24 PM
Sparrow Hawks have "a flight path" like Lisa described and anything that gets caught in it,basically get flown into.

There's been a few Wood pigeons etc eaten in my garden

On the bird theme there's pair of Hawfinches in New Mills, spent last Saturday afternoon watching these very elusive birds
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: Victor M on March 16, 2009, 04:44:12 PM
I managed to get a photgraph of the sparrowhawk which has been operating in my garden for the last few days.
Woodpigeon is an impressive prey item for Sparrowhawk, only the biggest females take prey this size since unlike Peregrines, they cant hit them from a dive, and have to cope with taking a bird out of a horizontal pursuit which in this case, is their own bodyweight. or heavier, so this was an impressive feat, and obviously a good meal, particularly as she would only be feeding herself at the moment. This suggests she is on territory and would be nesting nearby come late April/early May. Look out for the smaller male, similar plumage but nearly half the size and with an orangy barring to the chest and flanks.

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Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: Aslan on March 17, 2009, 07:41:02 AM
Excellent photo - well done.
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: Rudolph Hucker on March 17, 2009, 10:45:05 AM
Brilliant Victor - and informative too. Please post any more you get, she is a lovely specimen (I caught a brief glimpse of one at the weekend :-) but didn't have time to show the weans :-( )

Thank you!

RH.
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: moonforest on March 21, 2009, 08:14:31 PM
Thankyou to everyone who replied to my post. Victor M, the photo is fantastic!  :)
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: nbt on March 25, 2009, 10:37:37 AM
The male sparrowhawk came to visit us over the weekend, he sat on the fence at the bottom of the garden for almost 10 minutes! He was keeping his eye on the bird feeders in the gardens to either side. I had the time to get out my good camera and fit the long lens, but even the big lens isn't quite long enough - this 100% crop is the best I could get

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Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: Victor M on March 25, 2009, 12:33:06 PM
Great photo of the male, looks like the small bird population of Marple better watch out. If they nest the male will have to do all the hunting while the female stays with the eggs (3-6). The female has sole care of the eggs and young, while the males' role (from egg-laying through to fledgling) is to provide all food required by the female and the chicks. The female will hunt as the chicks get older, but only if the male is unable to catch adequate food by himself.

Sparrowhawks time their nesting so that they have chicks when there are plenty of fledglings of small birds, usually around June time.

Please, if anyone spots their nest, don't post the location on the forum as the eggs could be stolen, there are about 40,000 breeding pairs in the UK.
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: nbt on April 13, 2009, 09:52:22 PM
If you like birds you could do worse than take a walk down the canal for a drink or some food @ The Sportsmans in Strines. Mrs NBT and I did that tonight and while we had our meal we saw *loads* of different birds on the feeders in the beer garden (or nearby) including

(Common ones first, through to the less common)
Chaffinch
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Wood pigeon
Jay
Kestrel (male, soaring overhead rather than on the feeder!)
Blue tit
Green finch
Nuthatch
Great tit
Long tailed Tit
Bull finch (Saw three of these, 2 male and one female)


I think that's about all I can remember, I'm sure we saw more but I did have a couple of pints with my meal :)
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: moonforest on June 21, 2009, 05:05:02 PM
Did anyone see the fabulous falconry display yesterday? My sons took some photos and I will see if we can post them for you.  :)
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: admin on June 22, 2009, 07:48:32 AM
If you send them to admin@marple-uk.com I will add them to the new Carnival album on the Virtual Tour.
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: Dave on June 22, 2009, 11:50:12 AM
Just to add to nbt's excellent list of birds seen at the Sportsman, it's also a good place to look out for buzzards. 
Title: Re: Sparrow Hawk
Post by: heather on July 06, 2009, 09:02:26 PM
i know its not in marple but we saw one in stockport market yesterday near the church