The Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)
Ranger Donald's brush with nature in his garden
I opened up the bird feeder to top up the seed and as I did so I heard a rustling in the bushes at my side, turning quickly I could make out a feathery mass in the bush, at shoulder height, so I reached out and parted the branches for a better look.
To my utter amazement there was a sparrowhawk struggling, with a sparrow in its clutches, now squawking, tangled in the fine twigs. I reached in to release them [did I want to help the sparrow? – I don’t know] but the hawk struggled free and flew right past me, I felt the rush of its wings past my ear, the poor sparrow still held tightly in its talons.
Tennyson’s oft’ used phrase “Nature red in tooth and claw” [from his poem “In Memoriam A.H.H.”] came quickly to mind, the natural brutality was raw and real.
We were having a period of bird mania around our house at the time, I counted eighty house sparrows at one time until I lost count, maybe there was a hundred, plus twenty-one rock doves, two semi-tame herring gulls and seven flighty, sneaky, crafty hoodie crows all making the most of our birdie generosity. Not forgetting the sparrowhawk - or two! We have at least two, a male and female, quite different looking birds really, the female almost twice the size of the male and with differing coloration.
Whilst the male Sparrowhawk is blueish grey on its upper parts and a pale orange on the underside, the female is a dark grey/brown on back and wings with a white brown barred chest.
Both have yellow legs and bright piercing yellow irises, thrilling to see at close quarters – or chilling to see if you happen to be the unfortunate prey. They are hypercarnivorous birds eating only other birds, the females can obviously take larger prey, starlings, blackbirds, or pigeons, or in our case rock doves. The males typically prey on small species like sparrows or pipits, once, sadly, a tame robin we had which ended as a pile of feathers by our back doorstep.
Although our garden is definitely on their regular flight path the wonder is where they nest as woodland trees are their favoured nesting places and we are in Durness - there is hardly a tree let alone a woodland here. It is about two miles to the nearest wood, or perhaps shorter as the crow flies. I suppose it would only take the hawk a couple of minutes to reach us, swooping fast and low over the contours of the fields on its way here. Even our strong gales do not deter it.
I once observed the female stalking around the aforesaid bushes on foot, it certainly caught the sparrows off guard that day, I never saw them move so quickly.
The sparrowhawks don’t always get their own way though as our hoodie crows can give them a good chasing - and they also have a powerful beak which could do some damage.
Donald Mitchell is a High Life Highland Countryside Ranger, a keen observer of nature and wildlife, he dedicates his time to documenting and sharing insights about the natural habitats in North West Sutherland. With a particular interest in marine life, he aims to help others gain a deeper understanding and respect for the delicate balance of our ecosystem.