2 adult and 2 juvenile Sparrowhawks at Pwllywaun , Newton. The young have been calling regularly for days from the large willows and all four were in the air this afternoon. Earlier the male came in with prey and either the much larger adult female or a youngster flew to meet him, almost touching talons in flight. Unfortunately I couldn’t make out if the prey had been passed but that seemed to be the intention.
Hi Richard. Do you record your observations [e.g. on Bird Track]? If not is it OK if I do, confirming you as the observer – it’s not often we get confirmed breeding reports of Sparrowhawk.
Cheers, John Wilson
Hi John. I’ve just posted the sighting on BirdTrack. As I’ve posted previously I was fortunate to view the adults copulating at the end of February, which I thought was very early in the breeding season , and given the timeline from egg laying to fledging and flying(8-9 weeks) means the eggs were laid in mid to late May , quite a gap. I haven’t seen the nest, but I see the adults almost daily in the general area of the lake , either flying in low and fast or soaring high above the trees.
Thanks Richard. Nice one!