Country diary: The day I made eye contact with a sparrowhawk

Allendale, Northumberland: I'd heard them about and seen the signs, but nothing prepares you for the close shaveAs we have had no snow this year - so far - there are no tracks to reveal which animals have passed this way. I have to look to other means: a fallen feather, footprints in mud, hairs caught in fence wire.A dramatic sight, though, is a dismembered pigeon in the field near our house. Plucked feathers lie scattered in a wide circle like spume on a beach. The head has gone and the flesh has been ripped from the breastbone, leaving only wings and feet splayed on the ground. A drama unwitnessed, it's a sign that a sparrowhawk has fed. Continue reading...