Lucky escape

Trev · Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:37 pm

I finished work a little early on Thursday so when I got home I let the birds out, I'm not letting them out regularly yet and certainly not the same time every day mainly due to the bloody Sparrow hawk !!! I let them have a fly and once they were down got them straight in, most did come in straight away but there were a few not playing ball. When I shut the loft up just after dark there were two babies missing

It was raining Friday morning and I wasn't working so after Lisa left for work at half 7 I let the birds out again before feeding them just after 8, when I got them in one of the missing babies was on the house. Anyway I had some errands to run and a couple of hours work so left things as they were and went about my morning. I got home just after half 1, our house is a mid terrace with no off road parking so we have to park in the street, I got out of my car and was just walking towards the back gate when I noticed the bloody Sparrow hawk crouched down in the road pinning something to the ground. I soon realised it had hold of a pigeon so ran towards it forcing it to let go, the pigeon tried to escape but the hawk soon had it in its grip again so I continued to run towards it and the hawk lost its grip and flew off while the pigeon (which turned out to be my baby) crashed into my neighbours porch. I managed to catch the bird and thankfully apart from two puncture wounds under its wings it seems to be ok

Yesterday morning we were just heading out around 10am when the other missing baby turned up, I had opened the loft so was hopefull that by the time we got home it would in. We got home just after 3pm so I wanted to let the birds out and get the loft cleaned out before the Rugby at 5pm. The birds had only been out for less ten minutes when guess what, the bloody hawk appeared

This time the birds saw her coming and headed off in all directions, there were a group that stayed together and actually flew towards the hawk and with the aid of the Jakdaws and the other individual pigeons that had also started flying at the hawk they dove her out of site. I got finished cleaning out and got the birds back in just after half 4 only to find that the nest mate of the baby who had returned earlier in the day was now missing

I had the birds out again this morning for an hour and other than that one baby all seem to there safe and sound tonight. Only another couple of weeks to go and hopefully she will be on her eggs and the danger will be gone again until the autumn

Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:43 pm

What a shame hope the missing one returns and the injured one recovers, don't the hawks bother you during the summer then they do here several times a day hawks and falcons we have here

Trev · Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:24 pm

Buster121 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:43 pm What a shame hope the missing one returns and the injured one recovers, don't the hawks bother you during the summer then they do here several times a day hawks and falcons we have here

It is only the Sparrow hawk that I seem to have problems with here Buster, there are peregrines in Arundel, Chichester, Shoreham and Brighton but I've never seen them over here. Its only the Sparrow hawk hen that's a problem as the cock is too small and won't tackle a pigeon so once the hen is on her eggs she will stay on the nest until her babies fledge, she then becomes a threat again in the autumn as she prepares for the winter.

Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:58 pm

Trev wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:24 pm
Buster121 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 19, 2023 8:43 pm What a shame hope the missing one returns and the injured one recovers, don't the hawks bother you during the summer then they do here several times a day hawks and falcons we have here
It is only the Sparrow hawk that I seem to have problems with here Buster, there are peregrines in Arundel, Chichester, Shoreham and Brighton but I've never seen them over here. Its only the Sparrow hawk hen that's a problem as the cock is too small and won't tackle a pigeon so once the hen is on her eggs she will stay on the nest until her babies fledge, she then becomes a threat again in the autumn as she prepares for the winter.

The parents here bring the young with them and the males do go after the pigeons one male used to fly with the pigeons and gradually cut corners as they flew around the trees until close enough to take one down usually a red or mealy thankfully even though they got took down none killed

Sun Mar 19, 2023 10:18 pm

Hope you get the missing one back Trev. I do have a sparrowhawk here but fortunately gives me little trouble. Keeps the birds fit flying after her lol. The problem is that the average age for a sparrowhawk is only 4 years with apparently only 34% of youngsters making it through their first winter and 69% of adults surviving a winter. This means that a new female will take over the territory every few years and the next one might be more of a problem.

Trev · Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:38 pm

Sadly the latest missing baby hasn't shown up

I let the birds out again this evening at about 4pm, they did seem a bit cautious and unsettled today and quite a few stayed in the loft, the hawk did make another appearance but thankfully all seem to be in tonight.

Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:59 pm

Trev wrote: ↑Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:38 pm Sadly the latest missing baby hasn't shown up
I let the birds out again this evening at about 4pm, they did seem a bit cautious and unsettled today and quite a few stayed in the loft, the hawk did make another appearance but thankfully all seem to be in tonight.

Shame but hopefully no other will go missing