Sparrowhawk Outside My Front Door

There are times when I’ve been on all-day walks with my camera and come back with next-to-no photos. Then on Monday, I strolled out of my front door and there was a charismatic bird of prey.

I think the sparrowhawk launched an attack a split second before I opened the door. There was a kerfuffle behind the low wall at the edge of the front garden; its prey must have got away, because the sparrowhawk flew into a cherry tree, empty-clawed.

It was a grey afternoon, and the sparrowhawk was grey too. I could easily have mistaken it for a pigeon, but I’ve seen sparrowhawk attacks before and I was pretty sure that’s what I’d just witnessed. That made me curious enough to peer into the tree to try to ID the culprit.

I was carrying a bucket of water and some washing-up liquid, ready to clean my bike. I didn’t have my camera.

Whenever I’ve been in that situation before, by the time I’ve fetched my equipment and come back out, the animal I wanted to photograph has gone. On this occasion, I had the feeling the sparrowhawk wasn’t going far, and I was right. Maybe the attack took a lot of effort and energy, and it needed a rest.

When I came back, it had flown across the road to another cherry tree, but it was still close enough. Those trees aren’t tall so it was not far above eye level.

In the late afternoon murk, I had to dial the shutter speed down and try to keep the camera as steady as possible. I was lucky enough to get a minute or so taking photos and occasional steps forward.

Then a dog walker came along the street on my side, at the same time as three people and a dog on the other side. The sparrowhawk didn’t like the idea of being in a sandwich, and it flew off. One of the party of three looked up, a bit surprised; no one else noticed the sparrowhawk at all.

With the light fading, I wondered if the sparrowhawk would launch another attack, or go hungry.

I felt very fortunate to see such a beautiful bird. Next time I walk for a few hours and come back with three and a half blurred photos of pigeons, I’ll treat it as payback for the sparrowhawk, and I won’t grumble.