WINTER’S WILDLIFE Raptor’s scary dive downward
Saturday lunchtime and all was calm. A pile of newspapers and a warming bowl of soup made for homely comforts after a spot of birding in a wintry quagmire.
Suddenly, there was carnage in the garden. The blackbirds were in a state of apoplexy and the starlings had gone demented. A blue tit was sounding its “boots and saddles” alarm call. Our not-so-friendly neighbourhood magpies had scarpered.
One glance out of the kitchen window was enough to explain the brouhaha.
A female sparrowhawk, all fiery eyes, flapping wings and flailing talons, was assailing the pyracantha.
Inside the tangle of thorny sprigs, a terrified house sparrow scurried for his life, the shrill chirping of flock-mates heightening the tension. When the sparrow made a do-or-die dash towards a nearby lavender bush it looked as if this would be his last ever decision.
What followed confirmed that my wife and I could never be wildlife documentarymakers. We broke the cardinal rule of letting emotions snap the natural food chain.
Loud bangs on the window and a mad rush into the garden with clapping hands sent the famished sparrowhawk packing and its potential lunch back into the welcoming bosom of the sparrow flock. A victory for the underdog but, sadly, a setback for one of our most handsome and dashing raptors.
Sparrowhawk numbers have been in a worrying glide downwards of late.
A look at long-term population trends shows a 25 per cent decrease between 1995 and 2020. Latest figures reveal there are only 31,000 nesting pairs.
Reasons for the decline are unclear and need further research but the lack of prey items – small birds up to the size of pigeons – is bound to be having an impact.
Trichomonosis – a disease caused by protozoan parasites and spread through contaminated food and water – has been devastating for greenfinches and chaffinches. And it’s now known to have been passed on to sparrowhawks preying on infected birds.
Another reason to make sure we all keep our bird feeders clean.