Your Questions

Send all your birding questions to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk and our experts will give you the answers

Pigeon-killing hawk

Q Could you help with identification of this raptor seen in a semi-rural Yorkshire garden please? I know Sparrowhawk are far more common and likely than Goshawk but… It was significantly bigger than the Woodpigeon (appearing around crow size) and wings seemed quite articulated.

It just looked different and bigger than the usual Sparrowhawk we see. It was also happy to sit out on the open top of the tree. Thanks for your help.

John Brehcist

A As far as we can tell, your large hawk is a Sparrowhawk, John, probably a large female. The slim shape and general proportions all fit the smaller Accipiter. Goshawks are really startlingly huge (although males are much smaller than females). Also, Sparrowhawks are much more likely to be hunting in gardens, and contrary to what some people say, frequently take Woodpigeons.

Odd duck

I have attached some Q photos of a duck that I saw on my local patch last week (29 October 2022).

These were taken at Watermead Lake in Buckinghamshire.

I’m assuming this is a hybrid but would love it if you could possibly confirm this bird’s identification! Thank you! Claire Breen

There are a lot of ducks out A and about that have derived from domestic breeds. These in turn are derived from Mallards. Your bird is one such duck, selectively bred to have iridescent green plumage all over! One giveaway of its Mallard origin is tightly-curled feathers on the upper tail coverts (which are unique to drake Mallards).

There are a few ‘breeds’ of domestic Mallard which have similar plumage, including the Cayuga duck and the smaller Black East Indian duck, which this bird probably is.

Garden feeder mystery

I enclose photos of an Q unusual bird on our bird table. I showed them to a friend who is a life-long bird watcher who said he’d

never seen anything like it. He suggested I send the photos to you. I live in South Shropshire. I would be interested to hear what you think it is. Thank you.

Alan Robinson

A We presume your ‘unusual bird’ is the one which features in all three of the photographs, on top of the feeder (rather than the Blue Tits feeding on the peanuts). It is a very dark bird covered in small white spots, with a pointed bill and shortish tail. To cut to the chase, this is a Starling in winter plumage. Even a short while ago this would have been a familiar sight to all birdwatchers, but these days, there has been a large decline in the UK population. Even so, there are still about five million Starlings in the country at the moment. A lesson, perhaps, to look at all birds carefully, and not take any for granted.