This morning I was letting my birds out. I just placed the last drinker in the little chick run and heard a commotion behind me, stood up and a sparrow hawk almost brushed my hood! As it raced through the garden! Chickens scattered to hedgerows, and the bird sat on the fence post, about five meters from where i was standing! seeming not to have realised it had nearly flown into my back.
It sat on the post, looking down at the chicks (8 weeks old) under the hedge and I threw an empty bucket at it. Missed, not by too much, maybe meter or two, gave it hell of a fright. Have now strung up some mesh and hung some stuff from trees to hopefully dissuade it from picking off my lovely birds! Grrrr... Anyone else had sp hawks being a problem? These are big growers, not chicks at all!