It was circling, clearly looking for prey.
Just before it got to the wood it plummeted down like a stone. We waited but it didn't come back up so it must have caught something.
It was quite exciting and something I haven't seen before.
Then this morning I went into the front garden and in the corner there were feathers, not in a ring, but all in a small area. I knew straight away that the sparrow hawk had taken the blackbird that frequents our garden. I speak to him (or her) when I'm hanging the washing or weeding, or I did.
I know it is the circle of life and all that but I feel really sad that my little blackbird friend is no longer.
On a happier note next door's sparrows are providing some excellent entertainment. The sparrows have a nest in next door's loft and at this time of year they are roosting in the bushes in our garden. They are like a bunch of kids squabbling and sending bird feed everywhere and doing a great line in teasing the cats by flying by just out of reach.
I think I will take a cup of tea into the back garden to hear them chattering to cheer myself up. And the garden is looking pretty good at the moment so all in all some warmth from the sun and the sparrows should do the trick and lift my mood.
Nature can be beautiful, magnificent and brutal can't she. I saw a gull take a baby coot, just a little black ball of fluff, not long ago. We love to see birds of prey here, but I do sometimes think of all the small fluffy things that get eaten. Really sorry about your blackbird, it's hard when it's a bird you're attached to. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteThat would make me sad too. I have become very attached to the same birds which nest in our back garden and which I see every day. Especially the two comical pigeons who sit on the top of the fence and flirt with each other. My sister once went outside to hang out the washing to find a massive sparrowhawk on her decking, eating another bird. It gave her a fright!
ReplyDelete