Sparrowhawks hunting in Town Centre
IT is not your average thing to spot in the back yard of your office, but this week our Editor spotted and snapped these pictures of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk. This 'small' bird of prey in the family Accipitridae is extremely adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces like dense woodland, and also many gardens make ideal hunting grounds for them, but surprisingly the pigeon population is also pulling them now to the back yards of many offices and shops in and around Southport. Thankfully numbers of these birds all over Europe are increasing, since being driven dangerously low, due to persecuted by gamekeepers, in the 20th Century and in the 1950's to 1960's, when numbers dropped even sharper due to harmful organochlorine pesticides. If you live in or around Merseyside we can safely say that these birds are still vulnerable, but sittings are increasingly more common site over the Merseyside Coastline and Farmland. So keep your eyes open for these amazing hunters when at work, but also that it is illegal to harm or disturb them or their nests.
Fact File:-
The bird's length is around:- 28cm to 38cm
It's wingspan is around:- 60cm to 75cm
The male bird weighs around:- 110g to 195g
The female bird weighs around:- 185g to 342g
They fly around 10mph to 30mph due to their shorter wings that are designed for
more manoeuvrability at the expense of less speed.
