[Fleecewife]

There is, or was, a pair of sparrow hawks which hunted on our land and in our garden.  The other day we found the tail and two wings of one of them, the female we think, lying out in a pasture.  There were no soft tissues so we couldn't send them off to see if the bird had been poisoned.  There are no electricity pylons or wires over our land that she might have collided with.  We do have a neighbour who shoots anything he can get in his sights, but he's never shown a dislike for sparrow hawks previously.  Also shooting a bird doesn't usually remove everything bar the wings and tail.


Does anyone have any ideas of how this bird may have died?  Is there anything which would prey on a sparrow hawk?  We have tawny owls and buzzards, and there used to be a peregrine which doesn't seem to come this way any more.  She did hunt the rough bits of pasture we had left from last year, where at least a dozen yellow hammers would rise when she flew over low, but the only animals usually around are sheep, a hare and some poultry.  Could a fox have jumped up for her? Or a stoat or weasel?  It looks a bit as if the wings had been ripped off, as the bare bones to the next joint up are present.


Please don't say 'good riddance' because we don't see the sparrow hawks as any kind of unwelcome visitor and we are upset that the little male may not find another mate in time to breed this year.

[sheeponthebrain]

possibly a cat as if the sparrow hawk makes a decent kill (pigeon) it has to do a lot of eating on the ground.  making it a easy target.  pretty sure the neighbours cat had our resident pair.

[abc123]

There is, or was, a pair of sparrow hawks which hunted on our land and in our garden.


How nice!!   Nature takes its course again though. Yes most likely a cat or fox. Or possibly the buzzards over territorial dispute. You can rule out the owls because they dont eat much birds.
Peregrines maybe from a stoop but very unlikely. Female SH are about the same size as pigeons body wise arent they? If she had been poisoned you may well find the culprit diner around dead as well somewhere

[Fleecewife]

possibly a cat as if the sparrow hawk makes a decent kill (pigeon) it has to do a lot of eating on the ground.  making it a easy target.  pretty sure the neighbours cat had our resident pair.

There are very few cats within quite a distance since our last one died.  Wouldn't a cat leave the head, or at least the beak?  Every scrap was gone bar the wings and tail.  There was no sign of the debris from the sparrow hawk having caught its own prey either.  I can imagine a cat catching one though - ours once caught a swallow, after years of trying 

[Fleecewife]

There is, or was, a pair of sparrow hawks which hunted on our land and in our garden.


How nice!!   Nature takes its course again though. Yes most likely a cat or fox. Or possibly the buzzards over territorial dispute. You can rule out the owls because they dont eat much birds.
Peregrines maybe from a stoop but very unlikely. Female SH are about the same size as pigeons body wise arent they? If she had been poisoned you may well find the culprit diner around dead as well somewhere

I'll keep my eyes open!  So at the moment my money is on a fox, poison or shooting?  We have loads of corvids about to clear the carcase.  Although if it was a fox it would probably carry it off whole like a chicken, or leave it torn about but not eaten, wouldn't it?

She used to sit on top of the bird feeder outside our bedroom window when we were having breakfast in bed (the luxury!), eyeing us up for size and edibility, or stop off in the lilac tree for a snooze.

[Me]

Every bird hatched will die, just because you find one does not mean cnl mustard is handing out poisoned sparrows in the library. Don't stress unduly over a single death, patterns on the other hand

[Buttermilk]

She could have had a natural death and the carcass got scavenged by other wildlife, fox or badger would be my guess.

[chrismahon]

In the cold weather it could have just dropped from the sky and then been eaten by a fox or cat. Our dog will chew up the bodies and heads of coypu and I had a cat that used to crush rabbit heads and eat them, plus all the rest except for the tail, which she left on the doorstep. Wings are just bone and tough feathers, presumably why they are left. We do see many pigeon wings left lying around here after the annual migration.

[Womble]

Vengeful ninja sparrow? 

[Fleecewife]

Thanks all.  I realise on second thoughts that poisoning a sparrow hawk would be difficult, as they don't take carrion.
Being shot by my neighbour is still a possibility (he's not got a clue about field of fire, so shooting towards us can happen and has happened.  Keeps us on our toes  ).  But it is more comfortable to accept a natural death from old age.  We'll keep our eyes peeled for other corpses and further evidence, but I know it doesn't help the fact that she's gone and her mate has to replace her.

[chrismahon]

There are rules about shooting (for good reason) and it is worrying your neighbour is ignoring them. They are very strict here but accidents still happen- a wild bore round went straight through a passing car, fortunately without injury.

[Fleecewife]

There are rules about shooting (for good reason) and it is worrying your neighbour is ignoring them. They are very strict here but accidents still happen- a wild bore round went straight through a passing car, fortunately without injury.

Yes, it is.


We've just seen the female hunting, so the dead one is the male.

[petectid]

Could have succumbed to any predator.  It was early in the year and the female will find a new mate, I bet if you haven’t seen it yet you will.

[Fleecewife]

Could have succumbed to any predator.  It was early in the year and the female will find a new mate, I bet if you haven’t seen it yet you will.

We haven't seen a new male yet, but if there is one then as soon as the small bird young start to fledge we'll see them both about, hunting.