Early autumn is a really good time to watch out for a very special bird in your garden.
Young sparrowhawks are striking out on their own into the big, wide world and we get a lot of queries about mystery birds of prey seen in gardens. Roughly 90 per cent of the time, they turn out to be sparrowhawks. If you're not sure if you've seen a sparrowhawk, check out our identification page.
Some people aren't fond of seeing these predators in their garden. As the cliche goes, nature is red in tooth (or beak) and claw and sometimes that can be a bit too close to home.
When I'm lucky enough to see a sparrowhawk, I wish it good luck. Only 10 per cent of its hunting attempts will be successful!
Being an effective hunter is never easy. And it's even more difficult if you're a young bird which doesn't have the benefit of experience. Only 34 per cent of sparrowhawks hatched this year will see their first birthday next spring, and lack of hunting know-how plays a large part in that.
Seen well, a sparrowhawk is a magnificent, beautiful bird. But all too often, this is the kind of view you get, as they whizz out of sight!
Tell us if you've had an encounter with a hunter recently - please leave a comment!
My wife was by the kitchen sink, (quite right too!, don't tell her I wrote that!), when she heard a rather loud bang outside and a cacophony of shrieks. She and I went running out to investigate and found a sparrowhawk on the ground with a starling in it's clutches. She, (my wife, not the bird, either of them), flapped her tea towell, (kitchen sink life), around and the starling was released.
Now my opinion is that the BOP's need to eat, however my wife agreed, but thought that it would be better that they didn't use our bird feeder as a fly through take-away.
Rick Hughes, Buckingham