Wild ? I bet it was furious.
I posted some weeks ago about a pigeon tjinking our lounge was a tunnel. It happens all to frequently.
I was woken this morning by an almighty smack on the bedroom window.
Looking at it & the shape it realised & put on the breaks, just a little too late. Either that or it’s a bird based “Turin Shroud” on glass.
So Sparrers & 'awks beware.
Shame.
We just once had a hawk (Hedgers knows what sort, I have blanked on it) fly pigeon-first into the French windows onto the stoep, leaving a pigeon-shaped smear on the glass. The pigeon was very dead, the hawk was stunned and sat there for about five minutes plucking feathers from the pigeon in a dazed-looking way, like a cat saying"I meant to do that!" and grooming itself after it falls off a polished table.
Definately a sparrowhawk. The grey, rather than brown upper suggests male but I’m not certain.
We have a couple. They catch a pigeon and throttle it whilst looking around to ensure they don’t get attacked . They appear ever so matter of fact about the kill when they do this.that said, looking at the windiw I’m not sure this one took much catching.
Beautiful bird.
One wrote itself off against the Ma’s dining room window a few years back. She was greatly distressed.
[quote=“Fanta, post:3, topic:702”]
like a cat saying"I meant to do that!" and grooming itself after it falls off a polished table.
[/quote]…or when it mistakes a protruding bit of duvet for actual solid bed and rolls over on to it. One daren’t laugh, for fear of Killing Looks and hours of sulking.
I would say it was male, Armers. The females are browner and a lot larger.
Soo xx
We had a sparrowhawk take a collared dove a few years ago. Its mate sat on their usual perch for weeks waiting for it. Very sad.
That is so tragic, Marjorie. Our doves are more, ahem, flighty.
Soo xx
Living on the river now I was woken up a couple of months ago by geese making a terrible rowM- where there were 2 there was now one. The bereaved goose swims up and down the river honking. No need to set an alarm with lonely goose. Let’s hope he finds a mate in the spring.
I live in a relatively urban/rural area, Marjorie and think that the (many) bereaved partners of Sparrowhawk predated birds will move around, so I may not witness their subsequent behaviour.
Let’s hope that they all find happiness in a new season.
Soo xx
Indeed. Lonely goose really needs to move on - there are no spare geese here.
[quote=“Marjorie, post:12, topic:702”]Lonely goose really needs to move on - there are no spare geese here.[/quote]Couldn’t it just have an affair, or a 3 'some ??
Well he did try to hang out with some swans but they gave him the brush off. There are no other geese around - presumably his parents were beguiled by the city lights and didn’t consider the children’s well being.
Oh, this is all so sad. Poor goose, or geese. I am exceedingly fond of geese . On the boat, if I was lazing abed after sun up, they would bang on the side to chivvy me along for breakfast and society.
