Tim Briggs has sent these photos of a Sparrowhawk that recently crashed into his window in Bexleyheath, and didn’t live to tell the tale.
This Sparrowhawk didn’t survive crashing into a window in Bexleyheath.
A Sparrowhawk’s talons are finely adapted for grasping prey.
The beautifully marked underside of this unlucky bird.
Shortly after this event John Arnold forwarded this image of the impression left by a bird-strike on his window, also in Bexleyheath. The shape and hint of barring suggests that this may also have been a Sparrowhawk, though on this occasion no dead or injured bird could be found in the vicinity.
Feather marks left on John Arnold’s window by the impact of a bird.
Local ornithologist Ralph Todd comments ‘Quite a few records of this happening – as you probably know sparrowhawks can be very focused at high speed chases of garden birds and do seem to not to be able to pull out of the chase as quickly as small birds. I have had one dead sparrowhawk brought to me after such a chase but amazingly they do seem to get away with it quite often. Wood pigeons seem to be another species prone to hitting windows but this doesn’t seem the right shape.’
Sparrowhawk in a Bexleyheath garden (Photo: Ralph Todd)
RSPB advice on ways to reduce window strikes, and what to do you find a dazed bird that has hit a window, can be found here:
