first time here ......
has anyone any ideas as to how to minimise sparrowhawk attacks on bird tables?.
i have 10 feeders of various types up and was getting a great variety of birds.
about 4 weeks ago a sparrowhawk started getting very active in the garden.
this male has killed at least six bird so far , i presume it is a male as they are reputed to attack the smaller birds while the larger female goes for the bigger ones.
i have no problem with each species doing its own thing but i do feel as though i am setting up a bird platter for the hawk.
it is eerie to watch the activity when the sparrowhawk is around , absolutely zero. sterile even , as to when he apparently is not it is like a bird airport .
any advise will be greatly appreciated , and by the way i think that the sparrowhawk is an absolutely stunning bird .
kevin
If you have a good scan through the forum there has been quite a lot of discussion on this,I think putting your feeders near shrubbery/bushes gives the birds chance of escape but others may have other ideas
seamans advise and your comments are what i need to hear and thank you for the welcome
I'm afraid it's an inevitable consequence of attracting so many birds into your garden. Apart from the suggestions already made I can only suggest you reduce or even remove the feeders for a while. The Sparrowhawk will have to search elsewhere and then perhaps you can reintroduce them gradually.
thank you i will give that some thought and hope he will move to greener pastures
ta
Hello from a newbie!
I've had the daily sparrowhawk in the garden today. It's unsuccessfully attacked (part plucked) a collared dove but left without finishing the job. I've got the dove in a cat carrier. It seems ok but has red raw patches on its back. Any advice welcome as to what I should be doing next. Thanks a lot.