Mid afternoon, and a resounding crash from the direction of the kitchen. I rushed from the sitting room, flung open the kitchen door; just outside, a bird of prey atop a dead pigeon. I can only imagine that the very dead victim had crashed into the door in a desperate attempt to flee from the bird of prey.
The sparrowhawk, and I think it was a female, defiantly glared at me, and sort of dragged her meal under cover behind some pots on the patio and under the honeysuckle.
I naturally rushed for my camera and not wanting to scare her, was quite careful to turn off my flash and keep my distance. I took about seventy not very good photographs until I realised she had no intention of abandoning her catch, and managed to edge closer.
Apologies for the gore, but that’s nature, innit?
Boadicea's Chariot 
Lucky you! What wonderful shots.
OZ
I’m so pleased Ara captured this, OZ; it was amazing to watch. My camera batteries died (sob!).
Thank you, OZ, it was pretty amazing. I couldn’t believe what I found when I rushed into the kitchen and opened the door!
that ‘kew’ ‘kew’ call int he back ground… was that her, or a mate, or something different entirely? Pretty impressive photography. She’s lovely with her striped legs.
Hi Nym.
Thank you, it was amazing that she refused to leave her meal, although I was quite careful not to scare her too much.
It does sound like her mate calling in the background, but I can’t be sure.
Arrers, spare a thought for the poor pigeon. Wood- or common, stock-, rock- or collared-dove? Male, female? 😦
Janus.
It was a wood pigeon. I didn’t get a chance to find out more because it was dead and the ruthless killer wouldn’t let me get too close!
Janus:
The one thing Ken Livingstone has ever got right in his life is to call pigeons “rats with wings!” They taste nice, though.
Wait til the bastards come for your dog! They used to eye up the little one, We do have sparrow-hawks but they tend to get overwhelmed by the eagles.
I like pigeons, they make a pleasant sound, I never quite understood why people have it in for them considering the antisocial habits of urban dogs and immigrants. I would have thought that pigeons were the least of our problems in the defecation stakes!
We don’t have a dog at the moment, Tina. Sparrowhawks are really not very big. This female was not much bigger than the pigeon.
I don’t have a problem with pigeons either.
That is interesting, so long ago since I lived in the Chilterns had forgotten how small they are, they are bigger here, but apparently the same bird. I suppose evolutionary development as they have to compete with far larger predators for their dinner!
There are far larger hawks here too, many of them as big as eagles.
I did see a tremendous amount of red hawks in Carms, I think they must have a fair explosion of population of them down there. No natural predators I presume and people don’t bother to harm them, these days most people lamb inside and keep them in for about a fortnight, by which time the lambs are a little too big to lift easily!
We do not have wood pigeons as we know them here but have ring necked doves instead, such pretty, gentle creatures and natural prey to everything. We feed them under the trees to keep them from being attacked whilst they eat. Birds of prey do not like to attack through tree branches.
Ah, yes, I suspected that the American version would be larger!
We have Red Kites in abundance here; I’m sure you remember them. They are much bigger than the sparrowhawks, but smaller than eagles. They mainly eat carrion, but will take small birds if they are desperate. It’s quite alarming sometimes, they swoop on the road-kill and frankly, I wonder that more of them do not collide with cars. I tend to slam on my brakes. I really wouldn’t want to kill one!
a big bird like that does a lot of damage to a car. About £300 + in my experience.
This is true, Nym. We nearly had one through the windscreen!
I lost a windscreen once to a slow-moving pheasant. 😦
I had a bent bonnet and the VW logo broken… and the grill at the front. A buzzard – well that’s what I thought at the time, but I may have been mistaken, it could have been a red kite.
Try a deer up in Stonor, the car was a write off! The damned thing stomped us, danced a fandango all over it and ran off totally unharmed!
Even funnier it was a brand new company car only two weeks old!
Ooops.