sparrow hawks!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Vic]

Well just had my young birds attacked by Sparrow Hawk hen lost one cost £60 quid and lost one,fact was i appraoched the hawk whilst it was about to feast on my young bird and i felt it was ready to attack me, it was gut renching the reports of sparrow attacks are now at a totally unacceptable level,time to let the dogs loose?.How far does a hawk travel what sort of area does it cover and where would be the most likliest place for it to nest i live on the outskirts of the town plenty trees pylons around.

  The hawks feeding territory will be in a 3 - 4 mile radius. It builds its nest mainly in trees, pine trees, or any large conifers which seem to be their favourite  nesting haunts. Vic.

 

[Guest Vic]

A liitle poem, from the great poet John Keats from many years ago, about a songbird trying to shelter itself in foliage.

 

The hawk slipped out of a pine, and rose in the sunlit air,

Steady and still it poised, its shadow slept on the grass.

A birds song sickenned and sank, cowering with furtive stir,

Due to the quivering dimness, that should flicker and shrink and pass

Suddenly down it dropped! She heard the hiss of its wings,

Fled with a scream of terror, from where she had dared to rest.

Now he, the hawk was full! and there was no bird to sing,

And over the heather drifted, the down from its bleeding breast.

[Guest mikkey]

nice poem but i still hate the b******S......... had another hawk attack today but im glad to say the swine is still hungry but if it wasnt for the crows letting me know what was going it would have enjoyed its dinner got to it just in time a bit of blood on pigeons wing but he will survive to fight another day, the pigeon in question was one i got from billy mc (tough little bugger)   :)

[sherbs]

i've had two sparrowhawk attacks inside 7 days, one bird was hit at head height not 6 feet away from me, the other knocked off the landing board whilst i was in the loft. Managed to save both birds,escaping with minor bloodied wings. Has anyone got any ways of deterring these attacks ? My garden is now strewn with cd's in vain hope this works. I've only just come back into the sport and these attacks are really hard to witness.

[jimmy white]

this is getting really bad now, at my place  im seeing the perigrine every day, the buzzards hovering above ,sometimes in groups of 6 [i know these wont kill the pigeons , but the state the birds are in after that kill , their nervous of a blackbird ],,, and the sparrowhawk whizzing in from nowhere     just a few years ago , you wouldnt see anything like that here , so what the heck does the future hold if something cant be done ???

i find it amazing that a three week old yb can cock its eye and head  to the side and know that its hawk =  danger, then fly straight in the loft like a shot

[Merlin]

 

Got to agree with you Jimmy 100%,birds are apparently in a permanent nervous state a lot of the time,scared of everything it seems, a seagull at a distance can have then freezing like gun dogs,until its idintified,

can you begin to imagine what it will be like some years down the road,the way these killers are being allowed to breed unhindered,encouraged by the law of the land,within a few years these hawks will be rampant everywhere,and self presevation being paramount for all species,within a couple of years,racing will be a no no,after a couple of near misses,racing goes out of abirds head,you will see this with birds to day ones that have been attacked,they are reluctant to leave the basket when training,we as fanciers have to take some responsibility for matters being as bad as they are,with no direction or very little leadership from most unions,Bilco has been advocating against hawks for at least twenty years,did we listen,are we even listening now,individual resistance is just a drop in the ocean,it will have to be done as a collective body,i,e,all fanciers everywhere,no point burying our head in the sand,hoping it goes away,it wont,it will only get worse,look at response on this site alone,to a bad situation that will eventually affect all fanciers.   ?

[rabfefe]

hi m8 was hoping the sparrowhawk was down on eggs but no two mising in two days it got a blackbird just now my m8 sead get a tame hawk for the hawk to see if will help to get rid

[Guest IB]

Its now been over two weeks since the attack in my own garden. I think it affected me more than the pigeons, and I think that is an aspect of a hawk attack that has not been given the prominence it deserves, cos it does put you on edge .. never been a worrier till then.

 

Started by keeping them in until I'd put up CDs. 4 stuck on the front of the front gutter;  they shimmer and move in the slightest wind; 2 on the apex on far away end - saw these in action for the 1st time yesterday from the street, they put out a search-light like light which changes colours as you get nearer; and I've another 4 dancing on a rope between the end of the loft and my hedge, these face in different directions and give out a constantly moving reflective light.

 

When I did put the birds out again, for the 1st week or so I got them in as soon as they landed, and closed over the doors. I then cleaned out, with the birds in.

 

They've been more or less back to normal from the middle of this week, allowed to potter around the garden again, but I'm always out there too.

 

 

 

 

[ozbrit]

Well just had my young birds attacked by Sparrow Hawk hen lost one cost £60 quid and lost one,fact was i appraoched the hawk whilst it was about to feast on my young bird and i felt it was ready to attack me, it was gut renching the reports of sparrow attacks are now at a totally unacceptable level,time to let the dogs loose?.How far does a hawk travel what sort of area does it cover and where would be the most likliest place for it to nest i live on the outskirts of the town plenty trees pylons around.

I found this on the net hope its of some use to you

 

"Their territories are well spaced - pairs do not tolerate another nest close by. The distance between each nest varies ranges from 0.5 km to 2.1 km. This is determined by the local food supply - the better the food supply, the smaller each territory will be.

 

The nest is usually built in lower parts of the canopy, close to the trunk of a tree and usually concealed from view. It is a sturdy platform of twigs, lined with bark flakes. A central 'cup' prevents the eggs from rolling out. Nest building can take several weeks and is often completed long before the eggs are laid."

 

[Guest scoobybob]

Put my first birds in the loft yesterday..(14 ybs) look who came a calling today.

 

Never had me camera on me so used phone...

[ozbrit]

i havent seen a sparrow hawk all winter then just like you scoobybob as soon as i moved my youngbirds the sparrowhawks back flying round every morning

[ozbrit]

sorry bout your bird rose will he make it?

[Guest mikkey]

is it one of your birds rose looks like a youngun

[Guest mikkey]

we could have another dr dave here then(invalidusername)

[Guest mikkey]

well you must already know all there is to know about keeping birds or have you kept them before?

[gangster]

ive got a ex pigeon guy local with a female harris hawk if we need 2 hell fly her over our area at least it will keep em quiet for a while