My partner saw some birds feeding on caterpillers in our garden, which she later identified as sparrow hawks(probably juveniles) from a photo.
Has she got the id wrong or is it possible?
It is possible for any bird of prey to be reduced to eating such things. I have seen a Buzzard eat worms and Owls eat moths and worms. So why not. I am not so sure about this happening in a group, You say SOME, that is less likely, but then. As they are likely to take on any free meal, anything is possible!
For viewing or photography right place right time is everything. I'd rather be in the right place with poor kit than have the best kit and be in the wrong place.
apparently there were three of them and my partner is pretty sure they were young. There is no shortage of wood pigeons, doves etc around here, today I found a scatterring of pigeon feathers in the alley that runs next to the house. I am just curious as the books that I have read state that they feed exclusively on birds, I can,t find any reference of them eating caterpillers etc. Maybe just bone idle teenagers. (we should know, we,ve got three of them).
Thanks for reading.
I doubt very much that they were Sparrowhawks, as they feed almost entirely on small birds, i wouldn't wholly dismiss it though. Sparrowhawks don’t specialise in particular species, but take whatever is available and easy to catch. As a result, the most frequently caught birds are numerous, and conspicuous or easily caught. Hawks time their nesting so that they have chicks when there are plenty of fledglings of small birds around – in the same way that blue tits synchronise their breeding to the peak availability of caterpillars.
You mention they were identified from a picture? do you still have this picture? if so, you should get it posted up in the "whats this?" forum and the commmunity could help and try and identify it for you?
It's easy for cuckoos to get confused with sparrowhawks, they feed exclusively on hairy caterpillars but to sight three together in a garden is disticntly improbable. Cuckoos have no connection with their young and are also very territorial during the breeding season..the vast majority will of also left the UK by early August - so that writes that off then! perhaps they were feeding thrushes, mistle thrush? would love to see a picture, if they were sparrowhawks feeding together like that it would be very unusual to photograph!
LS