Identify please

Hi guys. Can you please help to identify this fellas who landed on my garden fence recently? I thought maybe a sparrow hawk but now I'm not so sure. 

We have buzzards and goshawks in the area as well. (New Forest)

Thanks for your help.

Cheers

Kevin

  • Hello Kevin, yes definitely a Sparrowhawk we get one visiting our garden and clearing the feeders. I think its a male but not totally sure but more likely as females are bigger and less likely to visit gardens. Others may well confirm either way. Lucky you having Goshawks, not many in my area.
  • Thanks Tony. I've only seen the goshawk twice. I'm not a twitcher but take a keen interest. Saw him once hunting in the trees as I walked through. Just saw a flash a few yards ahead and realised what it was as i followed it with my eyes. Also saw it in the open very early one summer morning sweeping quickly back and forth across a patch of gorse a few times before flying off At least I think it was the goshawk from the distance. Got a very 'friendly' young buzzard where i take my dog walking. Hes always ground feeding first thing n the morning over the last couple weeks. I can get to within about 10 metres of him before he flies a bit further away but never more than 50 metres or so. All the best.
  • I find it difficult to judge size, but it's overall brown colour suggests female (or immature) rather than male to me.

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    Nige   Flickr

  • Hi Nigel
    The post is 75mm fence post and the black bracket is 200mm top to bottom that's attached to the fence. So that makes the bird no more than 200mm from the claw to the top of its head I would say.
    K