He pen people.
(Please look away if you’re a bit squeamish).
We are regularly visited by this sparrowhawk who we’ve seen predate enormous seagulls, pigeons and, of course, sparrows in our back garden over the last few months. However this is the first time it’s been this close to the house.
It did once fly in to my tiny workshop whilst I was at the lathe and it stood on my desk. We had that “moment” some of you might know, that you only get when you’re face to face with a wild animal. A feeling of awe, slight fear and ”nobody’s going to believe this” all rolled into one.
I had a similar feeling once when I was fishing in the Adirondacks and I turned a corner on the riverbank to come face to face with a black bear cub. As you may appreciate, seeing a bear cub is, in fact, a lot more scary than seeing an adult. We just stood there looking at each other for what seemed like a very long time. Thankfully my friends arrived a few moments later, before mama bear did, and the cub ran off into the woods. I do recall that didn’t fish much more that day…
But back to this sparrowhawk. It caught the sparrow on the step right up against our patio doors, and luckily it was standing right behind the frame/joint in the bi-fold of the doors so I was able to slither across the kitchen floor on my belly without being seen and I took this photo with my iPhone. (These iPhones really are so impressive at taking pictures). I can’t imagine how manly my stalking technique must have appeared to my wife, who was holding the dog at the time. I must ask her later.
Anyway I thought it was worth sharing. A little gruesome, (apologies if you’re having your breakfast), but isn’t it a very good illustration of how nature can be equally brutal and beautiful at the same time.
Cheers
Ash
(Please look away if you’re a bit squeamish).
We are regularly visited by this sparrowhawk who we’ve seen predate enormous seagulls, pigeons and, of course, sparrows in our back garden over the last few months. However this is the first time it’s been this close to the house.
It did once fly in to my tiny workshop whilst I was at the lathe and it stood on my desk. We had that “moment” some of you might know, that you only get when you’re face to face with a wild animal. A feeling of awe, slight fear and ”nobody’s going to believe this” all rolled into one.
I had a similar feeling once when I was fishing in the Adirondacks and I turned a corner on the riverbank to come face to face with a black bear cub. As you may appreciate, seeing a bear cub is, in fact, a lot more scary than seeing an adult. We just stood there looking at each other for what seemed like a very long time. Thankfully my friends arrived a few moments later, before mama bear did, and the cub ran off into the woods. I do recall that didn’t fish much more that day…
But back to this sparrowhawk. It caught the sparrow on the step right up against our patio doors, and luckily it was standing right behind the frame/joint in the bi-fold of the doors so I was able to slither across the kitchen floor on my belly without being seen and I took this photo with my iPhone. (These iPhones really are so impressive at taking pictures). I can’t imagine how manly my stalking technique must have appeared to my wife, who was holding the dog at the time. I must ask her later.
Anyway I thought it was worth sharing. A little gruesome, (apologies if you’re having your breakfast), but isn’t it a very good illustration of how nature can be equally brutal and beautiful at the same time.
Cheers
Ash
