Garden bird - Leicester UK - rare sighting twice a year winter (2 Viewers)

[noonoo]

Hi all.

Just joined and for the life of me I can't identify this bird. I would say Hawk of some type. Here is the info.

Seen very rarely near our feeding platform.
Only seen 2-3 times each winter.
Never seen in spring/summer/autumn.
Sometimes in apple trees next door, but never seen eating the aging winter fruit.
All other birds seem to vanish when it's in the locale.
It doesn't appear to have the spotted / speckled frontage of a hawk but hard to see.
The wings are a striking characteristic, two swept affairs running beyond sides of body.
Very neat wings if that's a description, almost rectangular at their ends.
Long stocky legs with decent claws, yellowish in colour.
See picture, brown blaze lower chest running between to top of legs.

Images from my worst CCTV camera, shame as it was the only one triggered.

Please help as it's bugged me every year and never managed to get a good pic.

 

[Original PaulE]

From your description and presuming in UK would suggest Sparrowhawk would be most likely contender, although the pictures are not helpful!!

 

[noonoo]

Video on incoming to fence. Leaving video to follow.

Their appears to be two, one flies off to the left...

 

[noonoo]

More

 

[noonoo]

Flying away

 

[noonoo]

Our garden is usually flooded with wood pigeons, we feed seed, fat balls and peanuts.

I am inclined to think sparrow hawk. Are they rare in suburban gardens? Although Bradgate park is nearby and open fields are only a few hundred metres away.

 

[birdboybowley]

Sparrowhawk indeed

 

[noonoo]

Any other possibilities?

Thanks 👍

 

[Butty]

No.

 

[noonoo]

Would my recent turkey waste on the table have attracted them?
I have only seen the jackdaws and crows on a regular basis.

I read sparrow hawks are unwelcome guests to gardens...

 

[Edwin Sapatsch]

Would my recent turkey waste on the table have attracted them?
I have only seen the jackdaws and crows on a regular basis.

I read sparrow hawks are unwelcome guests to gardens...

Not really ..... but some consider them to have atrocious 'Birdtable' manners.

60 years ago when I started birding one had to travel far and wide to catch a glimpse of them in the UK as they were so persecuted. I saw my first British sighting of one devouring a bluetit outside my bedroom window here in a crowded north London garden. They have become a common sighting over London these days breeding in our endless wooded parklands and feeding off the easy spoils of endless bird tables. They fit in with natures natural balance and are a pleasure to watch ... we are lucky.

 

[RichieTwitchy]

No.

Listen, there is really no need to go on and on and on explaining the reasons why - just get to the point will you.

 

[THE_FERN]

Any other possibilities?

Thanks 👍

Not really, even given the quality of the footage. If you were in the States or if some of the smaller related foreign species of sparrowhawks were more common in captivity then maybe (birds of prey often escape from captivity). The judgements here will be based on rough colours, behaviour and what we can tell of shape.

Here the dark and contrasting lighter colours only really fit with a couple of other possibilities in Britain. They rule out things like kestrel, red kite or buzzard—as do the setting, the shape and the behaviour. Colours are broadly similar to those of peregrine but the shape is all wrong and so's the behaviour. A peregrine wouldn't seem to sit so upright ["tall"] and you wouldn't see one in your garden like this.

The only real confusion species could be goshawk. On the continent they occur larger parks but here they're wary and mostly difficult to see. They are much bigger although the shape and colours are roughly the same.

Sparrowhawks are pretty much the only [day-active] birds of prey you regularly see in gardens.

 

[KC Foggin]

I'm just going to jump in here and wish you a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum
We're glad you found us and please join in wherever you like

 

[noonoo]

Appreciate everyone's comments. Many thanks 👍

 

[Andy Strachan]

Our garden is usually flooded with wood pigeons, we feed seed, fat balls and peanuts.

I am inclined to think sparrow hawk. Are they rare in suburban gardens? Although Bradgate park is nearby and open fields are only a few hundred metres away.

A sparrowhawk's just started visiting our garden too. I'm always torn between wanting the sparrowhawk to succeed in getting a meal, but also rooting for the other birds to escape it's evil clutches!

Btw, what's that tree on the right that the feeder's are hanging on to?
It's an affa' bonnie tree!

 

[Edwin Sapatsch]

Not really, even given the quality of the footage. If you were in the States or if some of the smaller related foreign species of sparrowhawks were more common in captivity then maybe (birds of prey often escape from captivity). The judgements here will be based on rough colours, behaviour and what we can tell of shape.

Here the dark and contrasting lighter colours only really fit with a couple of other possibilities in Britain. They rule out things like kestrel, red kite or buzzard—as do the setting, the shape and the behaviour. Colours are broadly similar to those of peregrine but the shape is all wrong and so's the behaviour. A peregrine wouldn't seem to sit so upright ["tall"] and you wouldn't see one in your garden like this.

The only real confusion species could be goshawk. On the continent they occur larger parks but here they're wary and mostly difficult to see. They are much bigger although the shape and colours are roughly the same.

Sparrowhawks are pretty much the only [day-active] birds of prey you regularly see in gardens.

Pretty sure it is a male. In #5 I can quite clearly see the orange/rufus of the underthroat/breast as it finishes its nimble turn.

 

[delia todd]

Hi noonoo and a warm welcome from me too.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I hope to hear about all the birds you see when out and about.

 

[Derbyfella]

Our garden is usually flooded with wood pigeons, we feed seed, fat balls and peanuts.

I am inclined to think sparrow hawk. Are they rare in suburban gardens? Although Bradgate park is nearby and open fields are only a few hundred metres away.

I’ve seen peregrines around Barkby, over the city and one nearly killed me, out near Stockerston.
being a garden I’d be confident in sparrowhawk…..the only thing is the ‘white appearance’ but I think that’s likely the quality of the video

 

[PaulCountyDurham]

A sparrowhawk's just started visiting our garden too. I'm always torn between wanting the sparrowhawk to succeed in getting a meal, but also rooting for the other birds to escape it's evil clutches!

Btw, what's that tree on the right that the feeder's are hanging on to?
It's an affa' bonnie tree!

I have a couple that come in, usually the female. I haven't seen either of them capture anything yet despite numerous attempts. For whatever reason, the male tends to come from the right where there's not much cover and the female from the left where there's garages and fences to bob and weave behind and fly over pretty much unseen until the last moment. There were 3 sparrows sat on the fence the other day turned away from the direction of the female sparrowhawk, and they still spotted her coming a mile off and were away.

It's quite fast how it all happens, and so I'm not fully sure what I've seen sometimes but there are only two options with the female sparrowhawk: either the garden birds dart into a shrub when the female sparrowhawk turns up and the sparrowhawk flies 'round the shrub for a minute trying to get in or the sparrowhawk chases them 'round the shrub with them all circling 'round the shrub for a minute.