Stunning pictures show sparrowhawk taking down its prey in Shropshire
Many of us have seen a sparrowhawk in the wild but these stunning images capture a sight rarely seen – the bird taking down its prey.
The pictures were taken by the wildlife photographer, Andrew Fusek-Peters, although he did not have to go too far to snap the sparrowhawk in action.
Mr Fusek-Peters, who lives in Lydbury North, was in his front room when a call from his wife alerted him to the elusive bird landing in his garden.
Rushing to grab his equipment, he took the pictures through his kitchen window.
He said: "I was in the living room and my wife just shouted 'sparrowhawk'. It is the first time a sparrowhawk has been in our garden in four years, so I grabbed my equipment and ran through."
Mr Fusek-Peters' garden has provided the backdrop for a number of his wildlife pictures, but he explained how he launched into a hurried effort to clean the kitchen window to ensure he got the best shots.
He said: "The window was dirty so I was cleaning it while she was staring at me but because I was not a threat she just carried on with what she was doing." The unlucky dove captured in the pictures is the largest type of bird likely to find itself hunted down by the sparrowhawk.
Capturing the pictures was a race against time, and largely down to preparation, Mr Fusek-Peters revealed.
He said: "This is all happening very, very fast. You have only got a few seconds. I had the camera ready behind me and had the right lens on it and just ran into the kitchen. You have to react very fast or the chance is gone."
