www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

This afternoon I was sitting in the garden hoping that one of the passing holly blues would actually stop, they did not but this did.



Dave

Fantastic pictures!! In the first one it looks as though her head's been screwed on backwards - I wish I could do that.

I was perched on a rock this Saturday watching for brown hairstreaks when suddenly I noticed a sparrowhawk similarly perched about 20 feet away - I think it had been there since I arrived. But I lack your quick reactions or skill or luck or something, as it cruised off before I could get the shot.

Guy

Excellent pictures. Thanks for showing them.

Fifty years ago when I was small boy, Sparrow Hawks were a rare sight in England and you needed to visit remote woodlands to have any chance of seeing one. Now, both sexes are frequent visitors to my small suburban garden and are always a welcome sight. When they soar around overhead 'casing the joint' it's interesting to see a squadron of Starlings take flight and harrass the 'poor' bird.... relatively speaking as the hawk easily and skillfully dodges their closer attentions.

I drove past this one on a country lane last year, reversed, stepped out with my compact and reeled off a few photos from a range of 4 or 5 feet. It watched me but didn't move. I can only assume it had been stunned by a passing vehicle, though there was no obvious sign of injury. It had gone when I returned that way later in the day.

Definately traffic casualty, the right wing appears to be broken or damaged judging by the way it's hanging limply away from the body.

John

Thanks John. The injury to the wing is obvious now you have pointed it out.

Incidentally, I attended your presentation to Harrogate Nats earlier in the year and thought it was excellent.

On Friday 26th Oct, I was watching a very worn Speckled Wood flitting around the garden. It was closely followed by a Blackbird which in turn was followed by this!



I took this pic through the window so it's not brilliant. All survived to tell the tale, but half an hour later a Greenfinch was not so lucky.

Denise

here is a very shaky picture of a sparrowhawk noshing on a pigeon in our garden... the shaking was mainly due to excitement !!

charles

while we are on the subject of sparrowhawks noshing pigeons, here is one taken by my son
[img]http://homepage.ntlworld.com/djfmackenz ... whawk2.jpg[/img]
Dave

And on the subject of "nosh". They like Starlings too!



Taken late one evening in the summer.

Denise