Why would our local sparrowhawk suddenly decide to take an intense interest in broccoli? The answer, of course, is that....
....one of our small birds had managed to get into the protective cage, despite my very best efforts to keep them out.
We didn't know how long this encounter had been going on but we watched for some time while the sparrowhawk tried every means either to catch the robin through the chickenwire or break through it. The robin, in terror, simply provoked the raptor by fluttering round its cage, while we knew that, had it escaped....
....the sparrowhawk would have caught it. Despite desperate and sometimes....
....very undignified efforts by the hawk, which included....
....jumping up and down on the cage, it failed.
The hawk showed absolutely no sign of giving up, other than taking the occasional brief rest, while we stood at the kitchen window....
....watching this deadly dance and discussing whether we should leave them, in which case we might have come back to find two birds dead of exhaustion, or whether we should intervene, something I was unwilling to do as I prefer to let nature take is course.
Finally, because we really wanted to start supper, I took the camera and went out but....
....the sparrowhawk showed absolutely no fear of me until I was within a couple of metres of it, when it, very reluctantly, flew off.
I found the robin hiding under a couple of broccoli leaves, totally unwilling to leave their flimsy safety, which was very wise as I hadn't appreciated that....
....the hawk was in the rowan tree immediately above my head waiting to come back for its meal.
The robin finally made a break for it and disappeared into the honeysuckle but the hawk stayed until I went out to replace the cage when it, extremely reluctantly, flew off along the hedge.
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