Is this a Hawk?

Some12

This bird has been perched on the wall by house every day for the last couple of weeks.

Is this a hawk?

Thanks!

liah

What's the size of it, roughly?

It looks oddly like a mix of a sparrow hawk/kestrel and a peregrine falcon. Neither of which are native to Ireland as far as I know (could be wrong, but I know them from North America). Also i'd be incredibly unlikely to see a peregrine falcon in the wild at all, even if it is native.

I'd say it's some kind of hawk/falcon anyway. Can't see its beak or claws well though.

I'm going to do some research on this, OP, cool looking bird!

mymo

Looks like a Sparrowhawk to me, here's a pic on this link
http://room11.patstuam.ie/blog/?tag=birds-of-prey
see what you think.

niallb

Sparrowhawk I think, but I'm no expert on names.
We get a lot of raptors around here.

Might just be a cross alright, though I think I've seen similar - wonder which way it hunts?

Some12

liah wrote: »

What's the size of it, roughly?

It looks oddly like a mix of a sparrow hawk/kestrel and a peregrine falcon. Neither of which are native to Ireland as far as I know (could be wrong, but I know them from North America). Also i'd be incredibly unlikely to see a peregrine falcon in the wild at all, even if it is native.

I'd say it's some kind of hawk/falcon anyway. Can't see its beak or claws well though.

I'm going to do some research on this, OP, cool looking bird!

It's about 12-15 inches tall. It sits on the wall watching my bird feeders when they are covered with birds.

An interesting this is that there seems to be a "Guard bird" on the feeder when that brid is there. One bird seems to be keeping an eye on it while the others feed.

It's a beautiful bird to watch!

Thanks!

Some12

mymo wrote: »

Looks like a Sparrowhawk to me, here's a pic on this link
http://room11.patstuam.ie/blog/?tag=birds-of-prey
see what you think.

Thanks for the link! It does look like a Sparrow Hawk.

Thanks!

Jurgen

Some12 wrote: »

This bird has been perched on the wall by house every day for the last couple of weeks.

Is this a hawk?

Thanks!

Hi, that is a beautiful adult male sparrowhawk that you have visiting you house, he seems well chilled out for a wild bird, have you other small birds feeding at/ near your home? Regards Jurgen

liah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Sparrowhawk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_Kestrel

Those two are the closest I could find on the list Wiki has of native Irish birds. Doesn't look exactly like either. Nearly looks like a blend of the two!

charlesanto

http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Default.aspx?tabid=395
Aye, Sparrowhawk

Some12

Here's the picture from today.

Sorry for the poor quality but I don't want to scare it off by getting too close.

Jurgen

Some12 wrote: »

Here's the picture from today.

Sorry for the poor quality but I don't want to scare it off by getting too close.

Hi, really great photos , its diffently a male sparrowhawk also known as a musket.

Some12

Thank you all for your help!

It's great knowing what it is.

All the best all!

The Falcon

Yep, Its a male sparrowhawk. The male is a good bit smaller than the female which does not have that russet colour around the neck and breast area.. You're lucky to have such a beautiful creature like that where you can watch it. They hunt small birds by gliding at a low level with occasional wing flaps. The female is big enough to take out a pidgeon.

luvdogs

What a beautiful bird......we get lots of buzzards round here could watch them all day!!!