A close encounter

We were at the golf club on Thursday. We were happily watching the sparrows, juvenile starlings etc. on the feeders just outside the window when the barmaid drew our attention to a side window.

On the windowsill sat a juvenile sparrowhawk. Before we’d arrived it had apparently been attempting to catch some dinner at the feeders, when it had slammed into the window. Since then it had got round the side but still seemed dazed & reluctant to fly off.

The three of us, looked carefully at the bird. It is rare to be able to safely get so close to such a bird. His eyes were so dark & unblinking. The hooks on his talons looked piercingly sharp, as did his hooked beak. His legs seemed incredibly fine, sticklike. Then we noticed he seemed to be favouring one leg. Had he hurt the other in his crash? We weren’t sure.

We spent the rest of our visit with one eye on the youngster. There was nothing much we could do to help it. I certainly wouldn’t fancy getting too near without protective clothing. Where he was would have been a difficult place to get to, so we contented ourselves by keeping a careful eye out for any marauding cats. Eventually, when we were looking elsewhere, he disappeared. Had he flown off? Or had he fallen from the sill down into the shrubbery below? We had no idea. We hoped he’d flown away. Then we noticed he’d got round to the front window once more, near the feeders. We consoled ourselves that if he’d managed to move that far he was probably okay, just dazed & possibly bruised. We left to make our way home & to dinner.