When you have lots of busy feeders and you live in an area like me, it is just a matter of time before you have a visit from a sparrowhawk! These amazing hunters are the masters of speed and manoeuvrability! Before you have a chance to blink, they have powered through your feeder arrangement, often plucking some unsuspecting small bird from a feeder. I have seen both male and female here on a number occasions, but this is the first time I have caught the footage on my cameras…. and one of my HD cams at that!
I was working at my desk and saw a sudden movement on one of my cameras on my monitor. The male sparrowhawk actually landed on top of the camera and you can see its shadow on one of the feeders. It then made a brief visit to the feeding platform before disappearing.
Using the i-catcher motion detection software I have on my PC, I was able to play back the recorded footage and capture a screenshot a frame at a time…. which I was really thrilled with. First, have a look down the screen shots, then watch the video… make sure you select to watch it in full HD!
… and the complete video….