Sparrowhawk(warning eating prey)Couple more added

Chris Wormwell said:
Not wanting to get bogged down and divert attention away from what is a fabulous set but, as I said in my first post, this is a Male Sparrowhawk.
I'll address the points one by one:

1. The leg colour is irrelevant and does not indicate either sex at any age.
2. White above the eye (it's called a supercillium) is often present on younger males (see: http://www.machrihanishbirds.org.uk...parrowhawk Machrihanish SBO 10th Sept '08.jpg).
3. Again, the amount of, lets call it orange, varies from bird to bird depending on the age and state of moult (again, refer to link above in item 2). At no time does a female show this colouring of any degree.
4. The bird is way to small for a female.
Click to expand...

thanks Chris as I say I am no expert on these thats why I titled it Sparrowhawk and didn t attempt to sex it was just going by what I saw in the book but thanks for all the information on them thats the trouble with some books to little information but whatever sex it is I was chuffed to watch and capture this beautiful creature and thanks for the comment:)
 
great set ,hope he cleared up the mess afterwards
 
I think its all been said, never seen one at the kill so thanks for sharing these excellent images.
 
kaz10 said:
thanks Chris as I say I am no expert on these thats why I titled it Sparrowhawk and didn t attempt to sex it was just going by what I saw in the book but thanks for all the information on them thats the trouble with some books to little information but whatever sex it is I was chuffed to watch and capture this beautiful creature and thanks for the comment:)
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Do not listen to them Kaz... :cautious: ...they are trying to bamboozle you into thinking I was wrong... :shrug:


Not so and I reckon we need to call in the real experts... :naughty:


I believe it is a she Sprawk... :D






:p
 
I don't know why I am bothering to reply to this as there will be a few that
won't believe me anyway, Even though I have imprinted and hunted Spars
for awhile However................

This is definitely an adult Spar (female)
As I have said many times before
The mail (chest feathers) are heart shaped in a juvenile (Pre 1st moult)
The leg ruffs are one give away, that its female
the legs in the Musket really are matchstick thin.

The female retain more "brown colouration" than the males but do
go slate grey across the back
where the males are more a steel grey and salmon pink to red tinge.
The eyes are really of no consequence,
the older they get the deeper they get
Sometimes turning orange at an older age.

I wish my female dwarfed Doves then I could go hunt pheasants
with her, but at an average hunting weight at less than 9 oz
A collard dove is a handful, even for a female
Males weigh in at around 4.5oz making blackbirds and smaller
their preferred quarry.

Oh and someone was concerned about the eyes open / shut?
they go for the neck where possible to subdue the prey as fats as possible
the more the prey struggles
the more risk there is that the spar will get damaged
or damage feathers, these must be kept in pristine condition to allow the hawk
to hunt manoeuvre successfully
even minor damage to the feathers will slow the hawk ( thats any hawk)
down to a disadvantage

I digress the point is that its a nervous reaction
I am sure that dove was pretty much dead before it hit the floor

I will add a picture in a few minutes of my mature female
then you can make up your own minds if you still need too
 
Venomator said:


Do not listen to them Kaz... :cautious: ...they are trying to bamboozle you into thinking I was wrong... :shrug:


Not so and I reckon we need to call in the real experts... :naughty:


I believe it is a she Sprawk... :D






:p
Click to expand...

:D
 

Cobra said:
I don't know why I am bothering to reply to this as there will be a few that
won't believe me anyway, Even though I have imprinted and hunted Spars
for awhile However................

This is definitely an adult Spar (female)
As I have said many times before
The mail (chest feathers) are heart shaped in a juvenile (Pre 1st moult)
The leg ruffs are one give away, that its female
the legs in the Musket really are matchstick thin.

The female retain more "brown colouration" than the males but do
go slate grey across the back
where the males are more a steel grey and salmon pink to red tinge.
The eyes are really of no consequence,
the older they get the deeper they get
Sometimes turning orange at an older age.

I wish my female dwarfed Doves then I could go hunt pheasants
with her, but at an average hunting weight at less than 9 oz
A collard dove is a handful, even for a female
Males weigh in at around 4.5oz making blackbirds and smaller
their preferred quarry.

Oh and someone was concerned about the eyes open / shut?
they go for the neck where possible to subdue the prey as fats as possible
the more the prey struggles
the more risk there is that the spar will get damaged
or damage feathers, these must be kept in pristine condition to allow the hawk
to hunt manoeuvre successfully
even minor damage to the feathers will slow the hawk ( thats any hawk)
down to a disadvantage

I digress the point is that its a nervous reaction
I am sure that dove was pretty much dead before it hit the floor

I will add a picture in a few minutes of my mature female
then you can make up your own minds if you still need too
Click to expand...


:cautious: ...couldn't have put it better myself Cobra... :D

Thanx for the confirmation and I, for one, certainly believe you... ;)

It's one of those occasions when one starts to doubt ones own conviction but I did not want to turn this into an argument thread about the sex of the bird that Kaz has captured so briliantly... :shrug:

Good of you to take the time to go into so much detail... (y)





:p
 
mid moult, still scruffy, but getting there

Sp1.jpg


Sp6.jpg


And in baby clothes note the "hearts" on the chest
There are reputedly 140-odd the amount of young birds that
give their lives so that Sparrowhawks can "fledge"
its a "nice" story but have no idea if its true


spar_2-1.jpg


and this link will take you to a picture of a "classic male"
 
Venomator said:




:cautious: ...couldn't have put it better myself Cobra... :D

Thanx for the confirmation and I, for one, certainly believe you... ;)

It's one of those occasions when one starts to doubt ones own conviction but I did not want to turn this into an argument thread about the sex of the bird that Kaz has captured so briliantly... :shrug:

Good of you to take the time to go into so much detail... (y)





:p
Click to expand...

Cheers Ven,(y) So as ( as you said) not to detract from the
cracking images, if the battle continues
I'm out, I've said my bit :)
 
Thanks for the images too Cobra... (y)

Correct me if I am wrong but is it ony the Spar that has the white marks on the back of its nape... :shrug: ... only I notice one of the additional images Kaz posted has just such a white spot... :cautious:






:p
 
Venomator said:
Thanks for the images too Cobra... (y)

Correct me if I am wrong but is it ony the Spar that has the white marks on the back of its nape... :shrug: ... only I notice one of the additional images Kaz posted has just such a white spot... :cautious:






:p
Click to expand...

Ven The ridge over the eye ( the name escapes me at the moment)
is usually "white lined" as is the nape of the neck with the Spar
But its not 100 % reliable
 
Cobra said:
Ven The ridge over the eye ( the name escapes me at the moment)
is usually "white lined" as is the nape of the neck with the Spar
But its not 100 % reliable
Click to expand...

(y) ...Supercillium... ;)


Is anything in life 100% reliable... :naughty:






:p
 
They eat their prey alive. Great shots, nice and sharp.
 
Well done as always Kaz You make it look all
so easy LOL

But well captured and crisp shots....thanks for sharing... Superb...(y) (y)

John
 
Cracking set Karen - well done you.
 
Venomator said:


(y) ...Supercillium... ;)


Is anything in life 100% reliable... :naughty:






:p
Click to expand...

Kaz`s 50D :D

Its good to have some info on the subject discussed as well, and imo it does not take anything away from the pictures posted, in fact it adds to them.
 
Absolutely stunning pictures !!!
 
peat said:
A good example is from wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Accipiter_nisus_female.jpg
Click to expand...

Actually not a good example and an awful photograph imhgo and it will always be dodgy to quote Wiki for anything in my view... :cautious: ...it is NOT a recognised authority on anything at all and, for the most part, relies on input, information and images of, sometimes, rank amateurs who may mis-represent what they post... :shrug: ...use this source at your peril especially when there are always more authoritative sites for just about everything organised and operated by real experts... ;)

Chris Wormwell said:
I'm surprised that the colour of the upperparts is being described by "Ven" (?) as brown,
Belting shots, you lucky lady!
Click to expand...

Please, if you are going to quote me, or anyone for that matter, keep it accurate and in context... for a start I said browny NOT brown and the reference was used in direct contrast to the stated slate grey of the male... ;)

You were not totally wrong as I do agree with you on your last comment though... :D

Chris Wormwell said:
http://www.machrihanishbirds.org.uk...parrowhawk Machrihanish SBO 10th Sept '08.jpg).
Click to expand...

Unless the reference is an acknowledged expert all cross-references, as mentioned for Wiki, above, should be used with caution and some qualification imhgo. That said that one is, at least, not too bad a photograph.

u8myufo said:
Its good to have some info on the subject discussed as well, and imo it does not take anything away from the pictures posted, in fact it adds to them.
Click to expand...

Thanks U8... (y) ...I agree to a degree but we always need to avoid out and out arguments and should, always, try and get our facts right... or at least qualify our comments with 'in my opinion'... as we all are entitled and do have an opinion on most subjects... :D

I hope the OP is as liberal in her thinking as you are... :naughty:


Hopefully the discussion will always be secondary to the main topic anyway and should not either take over from or detract from the OP's intended posting... ;)





:p
 
kaz10 said:
Looked out the window today and there was the sparrowhawk at the top of the garden with what I think is a dove.Managed to quietly open the patio doors and get loads of shots

59363ab9.jpg


07c74657.jpg


42d8e3f0.jpg


df79d5bc.jpg


c0a1b4ad.jpg


342324d4.jpg
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I love these shots :D
 
Tee! Hee! :D Kaz If I was you I would get the quilt out and re-stuff it. And I think you have covered every angle of that M/F :) Lovely additions (y)
 
These photos are in a photo critique forum and, as such, can we please keep the conversation to the merits of the photos now. I think the sex discussion has run it's course. Thanks :)
 
Great set, loved the way it told the story of the meal by the amount of feathers which increased from the first to the last shot(y)
 
dove , pigeon whatever it was , it got proper ****ed up , cracking shots kaz :clap:
 
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