Sparrowhawk

The other birds can see it before I can. They’re up in the air in a mad panic, flocking into a defensive formation to make it harder for the predator to pick one of them off.

Then I see the Sparrowhawk heading fast and low across the water while the Lapwings and Golden Plover fly up and away. I see one fly in a sweeping arc as the Sparrowhawk nears then disappears behind a hedge.

I love wildlife encounters like this.

The Sparrowhawk is of shadows made