The UAFC

justinr73 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 11, 2022 11:02 am Large raptor in a tree just off the Upper Newtownards this morning.

My eyes were still a bit bleary but I guess it must have been a buzzard.

Buzzards getting quite common over North Down, Craigantlet, Dundonald, Ards etc.

Had a pair circling over my house the other day, and see them low and in the trees frequently.

Regularly getting sparrowhawks into my back garden after the smaller birds, but haven't managed a decent photo yet.

Not quite what I had in mind when I set up the bird feeder

big mervyn wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:35 pm

promenader 2 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 5:33 pm

big mervyn wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 9:17 am Courting foxes in the garden last night at about 2am This is the time of year when they're at it. Usually lasts for about 3 weeks.The vixen is very vocal and makes some unearthly noises. Cubs are born in Mar/Apr. If we're lucky we might see them in the summer.

'This is the time of year when they're at it. Usually lasts for about 3 weeks.'
Respect. 10 minutes does me

I was watching countryfile on Sunday which featured a couple of rams who were taking a well earned rest after servicing 160 ewes

I hope one of them doesn’t make up a pack of lies to try to save her (dis)honour.

Rovi Snave wrote: ↑Sat Feb 19, 2022 6:41 pm Not quite what I had in mind when I set up the bird feeder

Sparrow . . . tick

Hawk . . . erm . . . no tick?

I'm jealous though. I have a male and a female sparrowhawk that both come into the garden and try to take birds on the ground below a bird feeder similar to that, but neither of them use the feeder as a perch.

I can always dream though.

Bit of a mixed blessing Cap’n
Lovely to see but causing havoc with the feeding bird population - I’ve seen the Sparrowhawk take a Robin, a Great T1t and a couple of Bluetits over the last six months and that’s only the ones I’ve seen
Lands in a nearby tree afterwards and all you can see are clouds of feathers as it plucks it’s prey!
I’ve tried moving the feeder closer to a hedge but it makes no difference- they are so agile it’s incredible
That’s nature I suppose!

Rovi Snave wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:51 pm Bit of a mixed blessing Cap’n
Lovely to see but causing havoc with the feeding bird population - I’ve seen the Sparrowhawk take a Robin, a Great T1t and a couple of Bluetits over the last six months and that’s only the ones I’ve seen
Lands in a nearby tree afterwards and all you can see are clouds of feathers as it plucks it’s prey!
I’ve tried moving the feeder closer to a hedge but it makes no difference- they are so agile it’s incredible
That’s nature I suppose!

True. I had a male into my garden this morning , but it missed.

However as the birds scattered, this little beauty flew into the window and stunned itself. I checked her over and nothing appeared broken, so I put her in a darkened box to sleep it off and follow the return to play protocols. After a couple of hours and wee fly round the kitchen I took her out again and released her. She flew off none the worse for wear (or so it seemed).

Cap'n Grumpy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:24 pm

Rovi Snave wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:51 pm Bit of a mixed blessing Cap’n
Lovely to see but causing havoc with the feeding bird population - I’ve seen the Sparrowhawk take a Robin, a Great T1t and a couple of Bluetits over the last six months and that’s only the ones I’ve seen
Lands in a nearby tree afterwards and all you can see are clouds of feathers as it plucks it’s prey!
I’ve tried moving the feeder closer to a hedge but it makes no difference- they are so agile it’s incredible
That’s nature I suppose!

True. I had a male into my garden this morning , but it missed.

However as the birds scattered, this little beauty flew into the window and stunned itself. I checked her over and nothing appeared broken, so I put her in a darkened box to sleep it off and follow the return to play protocols. After a couple of hours and wee fly round the kitchen I took her out again and released her. She flew off none the worse for wear (or so it seemed).

Good work Grumps, my preferred option has always been a sharp tap on the scone with a weighty hammer to end it all quickly. I never owned a gun as like Gerry I was naver in the Ra.

BaggyTrousers wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:50 pm

Cap'n Grumpy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:24 pm

Rovi Snave wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:51 pm Bit of a mixed blessing Cap’n
Lovely to see but causing havoc with the feeding bird population - I’ve seen the Sparrowhawk take a Robin, a Great T1t and a couple of Bluetits over the last six months and that’s only the ones I’ve seen
Lands in a nearby tree afterwards and all you can see are clouds of feathers as it plucks it’s prey!
I’ve tried moving the feeder closer to a hedge but it makes no difference- they are so agile it’s incredible
That’s nature I suppose!

True. I had a male into my garden this morning , but it missed.

However as the birds scattered, this little beauty flew into the window and stunned itself. I checked her over and nothing appeared broken, so I put her in a darkened box to sleep it off and follow the return to play protocols. After a couple of hours and wee fly round the kitchen I took her out again and released her. She flew off none the worse for wear (or so it seemed).

Good work Grumps, my preferred option has always been a sharp tap on the scone with a weighty hammer to end it all quickly. I never owned a gun as like Gerry I was naver in the Ra.

You heard it here first folks.

Baggy's preferred option for anyone failing the return to play protocols is a sharp tap to the scone to end it all quickly!

For the avoidance of doubt, is that for failing an HIA, or later if there's no improvement within a number of weeks/months?

For the avoidance of doubt, I rarely beat humans with a hammer, only when they fail to make loan repayments despite my keen pricing at a mere 249% pa

Sadly, I've rarely, if ever, had time to act as a bird nurse, hence a 22oz claw hammer is ideal to euthanise a bird with a busted wing or a dull concussion.

Did I ever tell you about the time I forgot that hamster's hibernate............

After numerous kills and even more numerous misses, I finally got some photos of one of my sparrowhawks actually make a kill in my garden. Well I say "in my garden" - it (female sparrowhawk) actually made first contact with a pigeon taking off from my garden, within my airspace, but it brought it to ground just outside the garden and "mantled" it against the foot of the fence on t'other side.

In the first image, the pigeon was still alive (you can see its eye open at the bottom of the pixture), but the hawk was very much aware of my presence and was keen not to lose his dinner, so was watching me closely while the prey flapped and flapped. When it first saw me it momentarily let go of it, and it did try to escape, but she was having none of that and quickly brought it down again. At that point I quickly retreated out of sight for a few minutes to allow her to put the poor thing out of its fluttering misery.

I haven't put up the goriest of images, but be aware that the last one below does show a rather messy pigeon, so if you're of a sensitive disposition, don't look any farther than here.

Good work Capn.

I spent the last week at a friend's house in the Swedish countryside.

He said they have wild boar, moose, deer, and even bear and wolves in the surrounding forests but all I saw was a hare

Didn’t see a great deal of nature, apart from a lot of seagull brad pitt, but those hydro-bikes on the river are fun.

Unless you’re content to languish at the back, it’s actually a pretty good workout.

Mine seemed to be sat lower in the water than all the others for some reason but the time I’ve spent on the bikes in the gym finally paid some dividends!

Great pictures Cap’n
Very surprised she managed to take down a pigeon

Rovi Snave wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 8:48 am Great pictures Cap’n
Very surprised she managed to take down a pigeon

It's common enough for a female sparrowhawk to manage a pigeon, although it is about the limit of what they manage. What surprised me was that she seemed intent on eating it on the spot - probably hoping it was safe enough from other predators and human interaction. Based against a fence meant that she only had to watch 180 degrees, so suppose that was a reasonable conclusion (if indeed that's what it was).

Unfortunately she was disturbed by kids playing on or walking past the spot - a point confirmed to me a couple of hours later by overhearing kids saying "oh, the bird has gone" followed by a discussion of where it may have gone. The kids concluded it had been removed by a cat, but I know from watching that it was removed by the sparrowhawk by stages into cover of some nearby gorse bushes.

It was clearly a kill worth keeping an eye on as I watched the hawk up in the trees above returning to the carcass a number of times over a few hours, presumably to get as much food from it as possible while it could. It may well have removed what was left of it later anyway when it was much lighter, but certainly when it was freshly dead, it seemed to struggle to carry the pigeon in the air.

I've also seen the remains of a magpie taken by sparrowhawk in my garden, but missed the actual event. Interestingly (maybe?), the whole time the hawk was up in the trees, the local magpies were very agitated and sounding alarm calls. On at least two occasions, they even attacked and harried the sparrowhawk, but all she did was move a way a few yards as if they were a mere annoyance and not a danger to her.

No way a male sparrowhawk could have taken a pigeon or magpie though. Too puny.