A special visitor

If it had a hooked beak it was a hawk, i don' t know what kind, but apparently they're being seen more often in gardens. That's why the others were so scared!

 

It probably was a young buzzard Lyn as they are the only hawk/falcon you are likely to see in the garden this time of year, with that colouring (white spots)it wouldn't be a kestrel or sparrowhawk .

 

I would bet its a sparrow hawk. I have one regularly visits my garden, as I provide his/her lunch by feeding the birds all year round. They are about the size of a pidgeon - and the whiter underside can look spotted, though its actually not spots. Beautiful bird - though it feeds on the small birds I love. However I have known it take pidgeons - but only twice. Covered the garden in feathers :(

 

thats a bird I have never seen and only heard once Lyn. It sounds like a sparow halk to me. we had one a few weeks back tryd to get sparows in climer on front of house.

[ 25. February 2006, 11:06 PM: Message edited by: Madrat ]

 

Funny you should say that. We have been having a few mornings over that past months when the garden was covered in feathers. We blamed the cat next door

I do feed the birds everyday and get a lot of small birds in the garden. It was swooping down very low round the feeders.

[ 26. February 2006, 05:42 PM: Message edited by: Lyn ]

 

friend over allotment(loves his pigeons)has actually witnessed this bird taking one of his pigeons from practically under his nose.the hawk sits on roof of factory close by and taunts the poor man till hes spitting feathers!

 

sounds like it is a sparrowhawk as buzzards do not normally come into gardens and I remembered about the yellow eyes which are more prominent in a sparrowhawk. As long as it doesn't mutilate anything infront of you enjoy it.

 

We actually have a resident buzzard that took a dove and landed with it right by me as I sat in my arbour.It is a beautiful bird and he has silenced the dove population that was over crowded anyway. I have never seen it take the smaller birds, they feed in vast numbers in the garden and don't seem worried when he's overhead anyway.

 

I regularly hear buzzards overhead when I'm out in the garden - but hardly any birds come to visit here yet. It's a really new place, and hardly any of the neioghbours have anything but tdgy conifers - so we're trying to encourage everything in - I'm even growing teasels, as I've been told they spontaneously generate goldfinches! (joke!) I have a resient robin now, who loves me as I dig a lot - and several blue tits and coal tits come to our feeders when the cat's not out!

 

I don't think we get buzzards in the Midlands.I wouldn't no one if I saw one though.
The reason we get so many birds is because we live by Sutton park a very large nature reserve.
We are very lucky with the wild life and birds we see.

 

Back to the Kingfisher,We had one sitting on the edge of our pond for a whole afternoon ,we watched it the for ages thinking how lucky we were.............It never returned again.........So far this year we have had visits from ringedoves,pidgeons,robin,chaffinches
sparrows,blackbirds and bluetits.I am new to this its fun.