FOLLOWING my article on the sparrowhawk I have been contacted by Robert James of Lee, near Ilfracombe and Richard Huxtable, of Beaford.
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• A sparrowhawk
photographed by Beaford
resident Richard Huxtable |
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• A sparrowhawk in a garden
at Lee, Ilfracombe. By Robert
James |
Robert tells me his garden is often 'inspected' by these swift-flying fearless raptors. And well they might, for his doubtless large garden draws in a large and rich variety of birds,including - and he has sent me photos to prove it - yellow hammers! He regularly feeds visiting foxes and, recently, five badgers. Photos of these to follow he says ...
Richard Huxtable has also seen some sparrow hawks and said:
"We are regularly seeing Sparrowhawks circling the village and making off with small birds, even plucking them on a garden tree nearby. "
"Recently the female has been seen sitting on my garden fence. Last Friday she daringly flew down the back of our terrace, which ends in my garage wall, making a right angle turn with washing lines and kids toys everywhere to capture a collared dove with a soft 'Floomp' easily heard indoors. I managed to get a few shots before she took to the air with the dispatched prey swinging gently in one hand."
"Also this afternoon a juvenile Tiercel has turned up!"
Well thank you both for sharing your encounters with our fearless raptor whose catastrophic mid-twentieth century population collapse now seems distant indeed.
• Stewart’s anthology An Exaltation of Skylarks, now with four colour plates added, is published by SMH Books ISBN 978-0-9512619-7-2. It can be ordered from all good bookshops, or directly from www.smh-books.co.uk