Sparrowhawk

I think we last saw a sparrowhawk in the garden back in August so we were very pleased yesterday evening when one landed on a fence from where it had a good view across both our and our neighbour's gardens.

However, the hawk didn't stay long, probably because, in my anxiety to take a picture, I disturbed it.

We've noticed in previous years that the small birds, like this juvenile goldfinch and....

....this very smart adult, seem to disappear at this time of year, perhaps because there is plenty to eat in the surrounding forestry and fields, so the generous portions of seeds, peanuts and fats we put out are largely ignored. That the birds aren't being drawn in must make it harder for the sparrowhawks to catch their prey.

For several weeks now we've been growing accustomed to the skeins of geese flying back and forth along the coast, and heard the cacophony of noise as these hundreds of birds settle in the fields by the golf course to feed. These have been pink-footed geese but in the last few days we've noticed different calls, those of....

....greylag geese, most of them heading determinedly south.