Garden Sparrowhawk in Orpington

by Ian Ferguson.

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus,
in an Orpington garden. 23 September 2013.

On 23 September 2013 I got back home from my lunch at about 13.30 hours and discovered that Mrs Sparrowhawk was still having her lunch, a Pigeon sandwich with no bread, in my back garden.

Over the previous couple of weeks or so, we had noticed a number of Woodpigeons that were seriously unwell – we christened the disease "Pigeon Pox", although I have no idea what the proper term should be. The condition made the bird progressively more lethargic; with the first one we noticed, we could eventually walk to within a meter and the bird would not attempt to move, let alone fly. It overnighted on the ground and I was surprised to see it still there the following morning.

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, with prey
in an Orpington garden. 23 September 2013.

The morning after that there was evidence that a Fox had found it during the night. A few days later, we noticed a second bird displaying similar symptoms; it spent long periods apparently asleep on the lawn and was very reluctant to move away when either of us went outside. Over the next couple of days it looked increasingly unhappy. This one did not, however, have to wait for a Fox to put it out of its misery.

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, with prey
in an Orpington garden. 23 September 2013.

Many birds of prey are famed for being reluctant to give up a hard-won meal. I have sometime been tempted to intervene when a Sparrowhawk has a small bird in its clutches – the victim clearly suffers as it is being stabbed with talons and the calls are distressing to listen to. However, by that stage, the bird would certainly die of infection in the wounds even if it was possible to release it. Further, the Sparrowhawk would then just go off and find another lunch. Better to just let nature take its course. My next thought was would it stay long enough for me to be able to photograph it?

I went upstairs to get camera with the first telephoto lens I could find and the bird was still there. It stayed there while I set up and took a few pictures through the glass of the kitchen window. Photographing through glass is never ideal but I placed the lens as close to the glass as I could so any specks, smears, etc., would be as out-of-focus as possible.

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, with prey
in an Orpington garden. 23 September 2013.

The Sparrowhawk was watching my activities with some slight agitation but I worked out that the such a large meal was a valuable prize not to be given up lightly. It was also relatively heavy – I am sure she would have flown off very shortly if it had been, say, a Starling. I decided to push my luck a little further and get a bigger lens out. The Sparrowhawk stayed, perhaps because I had not made any attempt to open the door thereby convincing the bird that I was not chasing it - or after its lunch.

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, with prey
in an Orpington garden. 23 September 2013.

The background was not brilliant and the pictures would have been a tad sharper if not taken through window glass but they are clearly recognisable. I have wanted to photograph a Sparrowhawk for many years. It is not easy to "cheat" as they do not fare well in captivity. I felt pleased with my efforts.

After a while, Rosemary could no-longer stand the sight of the Pigeon feathers blowing all over the lawn and went out to tidy up – even if Mrs Sparrowhawk had not finished making the mess! (Typical of a woman?). The victor took her spoils and flew off. Rosemary tidied up and then came in for her camera.

The Sparrowhawk had gone no further than the log-pile at the bottom of the garden and remained there, eating, while Rosemary fussed about at the top of the garden. Oh I wish I had realised this as, although it was in shade, the background looked a lot better. Eventually, the bird flew off.

That was not the end of the story, however. At about 17.00 hours we noticed the Sparrowhawk had returned to the log-pile to have some supper. She stayed until about 17.30 hours but which time it was quite dark. In fact, we were concerned lest the Fox should appear and predate the Sparrowhawk. So a single Pigeon was clearly both lunch and dinner.