Breakfast Guest

If yesterday was a good start to the working week, this morning out trumped it!

I wasn't the only one up early and looking for breakfast it seemed!

I looked out the kitchen window as I always do, whilst waiting for the kettle to boil, expecting to see the mob of hungry sparrows tucking into the freshly filled feeders from the night before. Instead I had to blink, double take and blink again!

Sat on top of my feeder was a stunning Male Sparrowhawk. I didn't want to move in case it flew off, but I knew after about 30 seconds of watching him that I would have to try and get my camera. The most frantic minute of my life followed. As is the norm, the camera had the wrong lens on it, no memory card in it and when I switched it on, it was all set for taking a portrait of my mum and dad and nothing like what you need for wildlife on a gloomy Tuesday morning!

I reckon it was a young bird, as it had very pale feathers and seemed to be a very clumsy hunter. It did eventually catch something, although it was hard to determine what, although it was on balance of probabilities a sparrow. I thought for a while it was the robin we seemed to have acquired. Which would have been ironic as I was about to blog about him for RSPB Cymru. I've done a Sparrowhawk blip instead now!

It's even more ironic seeing I did a Sparrowhawk blip by proxy on the 6th of October after ValleyAllBlack had a female Sparrowhawk on his feeders!

We did see the male try and have a go at Jackdaw at lunchtime, further evidence that this a youngster honing his skills.

What a start to the morning, this coupled with a phone call from Tyntyla Hospital thanking me for my talk yesterday and how I enjoyed it, and being told that the patients thoroughly enjoyed it and gave great feed back has put me on a high for the day.

I am off to play bowls shortly .. I'm playing third, so a nice comfortable win wouldn't go a miss!

I've edited a few more. The best are below if you want to click the links!

Sparrowhawk #1

Sparrowhawk #2

Sparrowhawk #3

Sparrowhawk #4

My autumnal back garden nature photos are in this Flickr Album.