Sparrowhawk tactics (1 Viewer)

[ChrisKten]

I've posted my experiences of Sparrowhawks, and pictures, in other threads here; but I wanted to post here what I may have discovered.

Because of the amount of potential prey (70+birds) in my garden, and the amount of time I observe each day (6 hours +), I see Sparrowhawk attacks frequently. During the last 2 years I have seen more than 10 successful kills and videoed the feeding a few times. I have also witnessed many more unsuccessful attacks. I should also say that my feeders and bird baths are not set up to give any advantage to the predators; there is plenty of cover for the prey to retreat into.

I was trying to work out how the Sparrowhawks attacked, where they hide, how they manage to hide in the first place, etc. Well I may have worked out some of this:

The male Sparrowhawk seems to hide in a tree at least 100 metres from my garden. He makes his run at speed across the top of the garden fences, ending up near the feeders in one of my trees. He crashes into the prey, often killing it on the strike. He usually takes Sparrows, the occasional Starling, Dunnock, Great Tit.

The female Sparrowhawk was a little more difficult to work out, but I think I know what her favoured method is. She flies into one of the trees; the tree, and my garden is filled with birds. But she doesn't fly at great speed, it appears she wants to be seen. She spooks every bird, and they fly as far away as they can. Then she waits in the tree, and in time, sometimes more than an hour, the birds return. Then when the time is right she strikes, taking either a Collard Dove or a Starling, which are nearly always eaten alive.

Now I'm just a garden birdwatcher, so I might have this all wrong. So what do you think? Does this sound like plausible Sparrowhawk behaviour?

 

[ChrisKten]

So, over 40 views of this thread, but nobody interested enough to even comment.

Oh well, I guess it's not important. I'll just have to assume that I've correctly interpreted what I have observed in my garden.

 

[Keith Glasgow]

Interesting!

Now, assuming that there are also a number of young sparrowhawks (almost a year old) hanging around as well, what is their mode of attack. Can you differentiate with certainty between an adult female and a 1st yr female? Could the waiting behaviour be characteristic of younger birds? I'm only thinking out loud as it were. Food for thought in any case.

Thanks for your input,
Keith.

 

[ChrisKten]

Interesting!

Now, assuming that there are also a number of young sparrowhawks (almost a year old) hanging around as well, what is their mode of attack. Can you differentiate with certainty between an adult female and a 1st yr female? Could the waiting behaviour be characteristic of younger birds? I'm only thinking out loud as it were. Food for thought in any case.

Thanks for your input,
Keith.

Thanks for responding.

If you skim through this thread http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=122165 to the posts where I attached images of the female, maybe you will have an idea of the age.

There was one female that I suspected as being immature as she messed up the kill of a Starling. It basically came back to life when it was half eaten. I believe the video I captured the images from are of different females, but I'm not sure. I can't remember if I posted pics of a male in that thread, or another thread.

 

[sglynas]

I have seen several "Kills" in my back garden by both male and female.but everyone has just happened in an instance, as there are no trees around for cover for the hawk,looking from a bedroom window I have seen male and female comming along the gardens then up and over the fences to "supprise" its prey,
interestingly though there is often a male just sat on the garden fence, never seen a female doing this in the garden.

Last year I watched a male try to break into a house martins nest, unsuccessfully.
I have never heard of this befoe though

 

[Greg Butler]

Sounds about right to me but there countless ways that sparrowhawks hunt. Each bird will develop the method that works for them. Have you ever watched Sparrowhawks after the large flocks of starlings in the winter? I've seen them take the whole flock up to 4-500ft then roll on their back and take one from the bottom of the flock. A local musket used to stoop out of the clouds like a falcon and take jackdaws!

 

[mike from ebbw]

On several occasions I have seen both male and female Sparrowhawks fly just a few feet in front of my car whilst driving along a narrow country lane.They know I am there as they look over their shoulder to make sure I am not too close.It is as if they know the car flushes birds from the hedges and hope to grab something whilst using the car as cover.
Chris this is a great thread and very interesting observations by yourself.Nothing like learning first hand rather than learning from a book.

 

[Bananafishbones]

Mike and the car flushing is fascinating.

I have never seen the male Sparrowhawk that visits my garden make a kill yet.

He has come from both sides of the garden, right to left side is over neighbours garden fence, and over my lawn and through a narrow gap in the trees where I hang my feeders. The other side left to right he has plenty of cover and he sits in the trees for a while waiting for the birds to return.

He did come in once at knee height across the lawn and made a attempt at the neighbours cat, serioulsy!! the cat ended up rolling on its back in the middle of the lawn as the Sparrowhawk rose and exited over the fence.

As I say he hasnt had any luck in my garden, good news for my inhabitants!!


Slightly off subject... had a Buzzard circling the garden today (first time I have seen one over the garden), it returned 3 times during the day each time he was a little higher and attracting a mob of Starlings that kept a reasonable and safe distance but mirrored every move of the Buzzard.
Dave

 

[mikfoz]

Sounds like pretty usual standard tactics to me. I've seen them do this out in a field where they perch on top of a telegraph pole and sit motionless for up to an hour. They then suddenly drop like a stone, bottom out into an insanely fast glide and hit some poor unsuspecting bird at about eighty miles an hour.

Nice to observe something like this and spot the pattern, though, isn't it. To have that in your garden doesn't make me jealous at all... :-C

 

[deborah4]

Sounds like pretty usual standard tactics to me. I've seen them do this out in a field where they perch on top of a telegraph pole and sit motionless for up to an hour.

I'd say that was rather less typical of a Sparrowhawk. They tend not to perch in the open for long periods (cf. with Kestrel which are often seen in this context and do sit on telegraph poles etc in the open for long periods) but are more furtive hunters on the whole.

Interesting observations Chriskten. The difference in prey items between male and female Sparrowhawk might suggest variation in hunting technique at times perhaps.

 

[mikfoz]

Better tell that to the Sparrowhawk then. They often (but not always) swoop from perches.

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/british-birds/9459-sparrowhawk-hunting-techniques.html

http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/birds/sparrowhawk.htm

Yes, it's usually from cover, but the one I saw doing this was clearly not reading the rule book on cover and using the same technique described. It also tends to deliberately flush prey from reed beds and pick one off as a tactic. Dropping from perches after having blended in is not all that unusual, but spectacular to watch.


It seems that the more on the spot accounts from actual observers I read about any type of bird, the more atypical behaviour seems to turn up.

 

[ChrisKten]

Thanks for all your comments. I won't respond to each post, rather I'll give a bit more information that may answer some queries.

It may surprise you to know that my garden is only about 20 feet square, and that I live on a council estate in London. I have 2 trees and a shed. There is a metal pole that used to support a rotary washing line that I left as the Jays like to perch on it, well, bounce of it would be more accurate. I have 2 Bird Baths, and in the trees I have various feeders, some bought, some made by me (small trays made from CD spindle cases). I've posted a picture of my garden below.

Although I'm sure it must look messy and disorganised, everything serves a purpose:

The wire fence sections propped against the back wall are used by Starlings and Squirrels to hide behind. The Starlings know they are vulnerable after a bath so they sometimes dry out behind there. Fledgling Starlings and Blackbirds also dart behind the wire when they feel threatened. The Squirrels eat behind the wire, and hide from other squirrels.

The section of old wood leaning against the wall serves a number of purposes. The Squirrels use it to climb up and down from the waste ground that is at the back of my garden. It's also used by fledgling Starlings and Blackbirds to hide behind, and the occasional sick Pigeon.

I have no grass, it all died from being trampled by the 30+ Pigeons, dug up by 6+ Squirrels, and from myself walking on it to fill bird baths and feeders when it was muddy. The mud (which is all it is really) is taken throughout the year by Magpies and Blackbirds, either for repairs, or nest building (which the Magpies are doing as I type). Blackbirds have an easy time finding worms as the worms are in plain sight when breeding.

So it's a mess, but it all seems to work. I have been tempted to tidy the garden and lay turf, but I'm frightened to change anything.The garden is regularly filled with Birds and Squirrels. The regular crowd are as follows:

10+ Sparrows
20+ Starlings
8+ Collard Doves
3 Crows
5 Jays
3 Magpies
1 Goldcrest
2 Chaffinches
1 Robin
1 Dunnock (not seen for ages)
2 Wood Pigeons
30+ Pigeons
Blue Tits (numbers vary, not more than 3)
Great Tits (numbers vary, not more than 5)
2 Blackbirds
1 male Sparrowhawk
1 female Sparrowhawk (could be 2 and a juvenile)



All the above numbers change at times, so I might post different numbers at other times; it's a pretty good representation of what I see each day. I've also posted a picture of the feeder arrangement below, so I hope you get an idea of what the Sparrowhawks are faced with.

This post is a bit long, I'll post a bit more detail about where the prey is taken from later (things to do first IRL).

 

[mikfoz]

Thanks a lot for the details of your garden. Size clearly isn't always the issue

I can see why you don't want to change a thing, that's for sure. Birds don't read gardening books but they know what they like, and they clearly like your garden.

I'm obviously going to have to follow your example and provide more cover in mine. It just goes to show how gardens can become real wildlife havens if not overgardened.

 

[deborah4]

Yes, it's usually from cover, but the one I saw doing this was clearly not reading the rule book on cover and using the same technique described...

'I've seen them do this' ....

Your previous post you referred to ''them'' doing this. 'One'? or 'Them'?!

Dropping from perches after having blended in is not all that unusual, but spectacular to watch.

That's not quite the same as being in an open field and sitting on top of a telegraph pole for nearly an hour.

Sounds like pretty usual standard tactics to me. I've seen them do this out in a field where they perch on top of a telegraph pole and sit motionless for up to an hour.

As I said, this type of hunting behaviour is not typical of Sparrowhawk. In 'still' hunting, they prefer to hunt from cover. Perching in the open for long periods is certainly not ''pretty standard technique'' as you implied. Dropping from perches from a concealed spot ''having blended in'' is certainly more usual as the behaviour Chriskten describes and as is the ambush and chase technique through gardens/woodlands etc.

I didn't say you didn't see a Sparrowhawk doing this, just it wasn't typical behaviour. (Not sure what your comment about me telling Sparrowhawks they should read rule books has to do about anything!)

 

[mikfoz]

Jeesh!

We're reading each other wrong here and finding each other abrasive due to limitations in text communication, I think, and would probably have a lively and genial conversation in real time.

I regularly see Sparrowhawks perching and swooping from various vantage points - even a telegraph pole - which is not all that unusual, it seems. The Sparrowhawk in question uses that pole (and others) quite often. I've also seen one perching in the open at another location then dropping to catch prey and returning to eat it on the same post, though I didn't see the actual hit due to cover. At the same time I also see Sparrowhawks using trees in the same way, as the mood takes them in my local patch. I'm still not totally certain how many individual birds use the same location but if it's the same male every time he sure gets about a lot and uses a huge range of different strategies.

It would seem to me that Sparrowhawks adapt their hunting technique based on trial and error and what's successful in their environment. Specifics aside, it's not unusual for Sparrowhawks to sit about on a perch (wherever that may be) then swoop from it and take some oblivious bird pecking on the ground, just as it's also not unusual for them to hedge hop, dart through scrub, soar and stoop or any combination of the above.

It would seem that individual birds use a range of these techniques and the ones described in the thread are perfect for the garden in question. Why the female chooses a nearby tree and the male a distant one is open to speculation but could be just whim, even. For me, the interesting thing about this thread (and other similar ones) is the fact that so many people observing the same species see them behaving in different ways at different locations and spend time pondering on it.

 

[ChrisKten]

I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, but I thought I'd post captures of the Sparrowhawks that I've filmed in this thread. I've posted most in other threads; I figured this will save people from trawling through my posts to find them. These are all from separate incidents, apart from the one with the Squirrel.

They are all videoed through the window, so quality leaves much to be desired. I have to go again but will post the information about where the prey was actually taken from etc a bit later.

 

[ChrisKten]

Here's the rest:

EDIT: I posted the picture of the Sparrowhawk with a full crop, after eating. I've added the picture of her beforehand.

 

[ChrisKten]

As promised, here's a bit more detail of how, and where, the prey is taken.

If you look at the picture of my garden you'll see the fence on the left, near to the bird baths. Many attacks, both successful and unsuccessful, are on Starlings that have flown onto the fence from the bird baths. They are more vulnerable when wet, especially juveniles. Most attacks are from a female that hides in one of my trees (as explained in my first post). I have seen 2 attacks (both failed) by Sparrowhawks that flew at speed from the left of the fence; I'm uncertain of the gender of those Sparrowhawks; it happened too quick. I have also seen a Collard Dove swept off the fence by a female. It was eaten in the next garden. I was unable to video it as I would have needed to stretch out of the window, which would have spooked it.

I have also seen attacks on Starlings that were on the ground near the bird baths; these were also attacked from the tree. It seems that a wet Starling is an easy target, but they seem to love bathing (perhaps they know it might be the last bath they have ).

Two Collard Doves have also been attacked on the ground by a female from the tree.

On one occasion a Starling was taken by a Sparrowhawk that flew accross the fences to the right of my garden. The Starling was taken from the tree and all I saw was it being carried off, still struggling, in the Sparrowhawk's talons. That was the only attack I've witnessed that came from that side.

Nearly every other attack has come from a male Sparrowhawk (or Sparrowhawks) accross the top of the fences, from the left (as explained in my first post). There was one exception where a Dunnock was taken from under the tree. Although the attack was from the left; I think it was from a tree farther away and higher up, judging by the angle it came in at.

Something else I've just thought of, nearly every small bird killed by the male has either been carried off, or eaten in the tree it was killed in. Although I have seen a number of Starlings carried off, most are eaten in mine, or my neighbours, garden. I would imagine this is due to the size/weight of the kill.

I should mention that there are quite a few times that I found a neat pile of feathers in my garden. This only happens when it's light before I look out the garden (before 6 am).

That's all I can think of for now; I'm sure there's much I've forgotten. I'll need to check my videos at a later date to refresh my memory.


Hopefully some of you will find this information useful, or interesting.

 

[lockbreeze926]

I think this actually constitutes a piece of valuable original research.

Worth reporting to......er, somebody.

 

[fugl]

I think this actually constitutes a piece of valuable original research.

Worth reporting to......er, somebody.

I agree--fascinating stuff.

I'm particularly intrigued by your observation that birds which have just bathed are especially vulnerable to Sparrow Hawk predation. This is not something I've noticed in my own back yard & I envy you your setup. Because of the viewing angles & the general layout all I generally see are blurs of motion as the hawk sweeps past the feeders (& water dish) & the quail, doves & sparrows disappear into the bushes . I've had all 3 of the local accipiters (Sharp-shins, Cooper's, Goshawks) at kills in the yard over the years--& have often found the tell-tail heap of feathers resulting from kills I didn't witness--but have never been lucky enough to see a successful strike.