Sparrowhawk

Having my morning coffee in the living room, I glanced outside to see a Sparrowhawk strike a sparrow in front of the window. The talons were firmly wrapped round the poor bird and the hawk started stripping the feathers with lightning speed. I grabbed the camera but could not move the window plant for fear of chasing the Sparrowhawk, this has resulted in some plant colour reflection on the images. It appeared to be a young male Sparrowhawk and it made short work of the sparrow. I took a short video of the action (see below) before moving position to try and get better still shots. I managed a few pics before the hawk spotted me and flew off with its kill. This Sparrowhawk was smaller then the one last year - looks like I'm going to lose some of my garden visitors again. Nairn has no shortage of Sparrowhawks, with an abundance of feral pigeons and young birds to eat ! I don't suppose the sparrows get a chance to see the fearsome look on the hawks face , those talons are very long and needle sharp!