Finest living bird on planet earth?

[Swarm]

Did anyone see the footage of that male Sparrow Hawk on Autumnwatch? I was transfixed by the sheer beauty of this stunning bird, his condition was superb and I think I'd agree with Packham.
Best piece of TV I've seen in a long time.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I agree, never seen one so blue, though.
When we were living in Cumbria one took refuge on our windowsill during a thunderstorm.
We have a resident youngster that takes collared doves off the bird table

 

[Itchy]

Stunning birds. I once rescued a male from between two sections of rabbit netting. I had a good look at him before release, perfection!

 

[bontbee]

Nice photos ericA. What a treat!
We have a pair which insist on thinning out the collared doves, too. Suits the OH, though - he hates their cooing...

 

[Fritillary]

Great pics - And I've never seen a sparrowhawk looking endearing before! - I've only photos of one murdering and eating an unfortunate pigeon.

 

[Michael Palmer]

I rescued an American Kestrel once, as it was being mauled by a flock of Blackbirds. I called the rehabilitation center and they sent the cops with guns on their hips. They just had to confront the lawbreaker...Me. For a week I got calls about the bird, asking me why I had performed such an egregious act as rescuing a beautiful creature from certain slaughter.

I told them...Because!

They set it loose at the spot I had rescued it.

 

[Erichalfbee]

When Stan (husband) was a Mountain Rescue member in Cumbria they often got calls out to marooned sheep.......
Not just benighted climbers/tourists.

 

[user 6228]

I rescued an American Kestrel once, as it was being mauled by a flock of Blackbirds. I called the rehabilitation center and they sent the cops with guns on their hips. They just had to confront the lawbreaker...Me. For a week I got calls about the bird, asking me why I had performed such an egregious act as rescuing a beautiful creature from certain slaughter.

I told them...Because!

They set it loose at the spot I had rescued it.

Don't understand the cop bit and the calls

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've only photos of one murdering and eating an unfortunate pigeon.

They don't murder them, they kill them, it's nature.
Wish people would stop anthropomorphising everything

 

[Swarm]

I regularly see females but only a handful of sightings of male birds. Like Packham, I was close to tears, I can't get over his condition. Every feather was perfect and he really was in the prime of his life, looking into those eyes was like looking into the glowing embers of a fire. Magical.

 

[midnight sun]

They don't murder them, they kill them, it's nature.
Wish people would stop anthropomorphising everything

Blame Johnny Morris and his programmes.
PS My cat says he agrees!

 

[Fritillary]

Wish people would stop anthropomorphising everything

Oh don't take it so seriously!
Though come to think of it, the sparrowhawk in this case neither killed nor murdered the pigeon - I did, as it was being eaten alive. The hawk watched from a tree until I'd crushed the pigeon's head with a stone, then came back down to eat. - Mine being an equally natural response, in my book!

(Anyway, I don't think there's as nearly as much of a divide as some humans seem to want to think, between a lot of human behaviour and many other creatures'!)

 

[peteinwilts]

Oh don't take it so seriously!
Though come to think of it, the sparrowhawk in this case neither killed nor murdered the pigeon - I did, as it was being eaten alive. The hawk watched from a tree until I'd crushed the pigeon's head with a stone, then came back down to eat. - Mine being an equally natural response, in my book!

(Anyway, I don't think there's as nearly as much of a divide as some humans seem to want to think, between a lot of human behaviour and many other creatures'!)

It may have been a young one. Look at any falcons beak and you will see an additional tooth. This is for breaking birds necks in the air.
Most kills by an adult are dead before the prey hits the ground.

Spars will not kill for any reason but to feed itself or its family. Cats will instinctively kill anything small enough to be quarry whether hungry or not, and takes countless more birds than the spars could ever take.
I have also seen this behaviour by a heron standing over a trout pool, taking scores or fish and flicking them onto the bank.

Neither are 'murderers'. They are doing it instinctively.
Be it Tiddles that is pre-fed go-cat, a bird over captive prey, or a hive near a jam factory, put any animal in an unnatural environment, and it will act unnaturally.

Spars and other wild predators kill to survive. It is not their fault.
Animals placed or living in an unnatural environment should also not be judged as this is also not their fault.

 

[peteinwilts]

A lot of 'twitchers' cannot tell the difference between a female spar and a male goshawk.

for me, a Goshawk's seemingly suicidal tendency of hammering through woodland to catch prey is a thing of beauty and masterful precision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYGz32iv1vw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CFckjfP-1E

 

[Michael Palmer]

Don't understand the cop bit and the calls

And the guns...Here in Vermont, it's against the law to keep a wild animal. When we find an orphaned fawn, or a bird as I did, we're supposed to walk away and leave them be. Next time I won't be calling anyone.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The one in my pictures must be a female as she is predominantly brown.
The one that collars the doves also as I have just read that the females being larger can tackle the larger birds. I once saw one take a starling but drop it in the pond. I did retrieve it hoping it would be collected but it didn't come back for it.

 

[peteinwilts]

A female spar weighs somewhere between 8-11 ounces and is 30-50% bigger than a male.

Male goshawks start at about 10 or 11oz. A lot of ex-captive goshawks are in the wild and breeding so is a very rough figure.

Spars and gos's are born with pale yellow eyes. As they get older, there eyes turn to a deep orange. It is a nice easy way to approximate their ages.

 

[Fritillary]

This is a young female then? (Poor pics, I know, but such a wonderful shape in the first one.) I hadn't realised how similar a goshawk might look, and didn't know about the tooth either; thank you.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just lovely to watch them mantle the prey before plucking it.

 

[Swarm]

It's a female, yes and so is the bird Erichalfbee posted. I've witnessed some wonderful hunting displays in my garden, Collared doves taken out of the air, a Blue tit taken from a branch above me as I was weeding, all I heard was a whoosh of air and I just caught a fleeting glimpse as she flew over the fence and into the trees. Probably the most 'sinister' was a Sparrow taken from our Dwarf Cherry tree which is right outside the front window. This time she crashed into the branches, punched in with one foot and flew off with the bird in her talons. Amazing birds and every bit the hunter a Goshawk is but obviously not the power of the bigger bird.
All my male bird sightings have been fairly distant or over in seconds, which made this piece so special.
That solid gunmetal blue has none of the barring seen on the female and no brow stripe as in females and Goshawks.
If you want to tell the difference between a juvenile bird and a female, look at the breast pattern. Adult birds are barred whereas juveniles have vertical ticks.
So in answer to the question, the last bird is adult