Richard Bell's Wild West Yorkshire nature diary
Wednesday,
14th February, 2007
8.10 AM: a male sparrowhawk swoops across to the bird-feeder.
A single bird that it has surprised there makes a dash for the hedge but the
hawk makes a vertical turn, catches up with the bird at ground level and clutches
at it with one talon as it zooms past.
It all happens so quickly that at first we’re not sure if he really has caught anything but he makes straight for the corner by the greenhouse and soon starts feeding.
This
is the same spot where I found the feathers 2 weeks ago and, when we check later,
it turns out that, once again, the prey was a goldfinch.
Two
song thrushes are flitting around our ivy-covered shed. I hope
they might decide to nest in some suitably disguised corner; it’s a long
time since I saw them in our garden.