How sparrowhawks catch garden birds - Life in the Air: Episode 2 Preview - BBC

[@nyebe6598]

4 years and I still enjoy this. It's like watching someone doing parkour in the winds.

[@ksmobile1]

I am frankly more impressed by the video, the shots the low-speed angles and the detail that the editor was able to capture. Great job

[@bkjeong4302]

The really impressive thing is that they actually filmed this-there is no CGI here.

[@cappystrano1]

@@bkjeong4302 yeah....ummm,.okay

[@cwr8618]

@@bkjeong4302 what? there appeared to be a ton of of CGI

[@danielsteger8456]

@@bkjeong4302 theres a lot of CGI in the slow motion where the leaves react in real time

[@nicktorea4017]

That gate maneuver was almost supernatural.

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

See the cloud they need a salt link to stop Yellowstone from erupting 😂 They trying to use my code against me MOdern warfare 😂

[@BigTanDan]

Also quite edited.

[@HunGyilok]

cgi

[@PepperAndLemon]

I’ve seen Cooper’s hawks fly in between fences like that in my neighborhood. It’s definitely possible

[@eliahupinchasov1976]

The professionalism of the operator plus high-quality "optics" result in a masterpiece. Thanks BBC!

[@ejohnson3131]

The operator?

[@eliahupinchasov1976]

@@ejohnson3131 the ''Camera man"

[@RichDavey]

Many garden bird spotters hate the sparrow hawk but this bird is up there as one of my favourite. Very rare do we get to see them for much longer than a few seconds. There stealthily flight skills are quite mesmerising. Superbly captured film. Must have took some setting up to capture. Top marks all involved 👍

[@seaninlondon4424]

That incredible footage looks like it took weeks to create. Also the sparrow hawk hugs the ground on approach, like a fighter jet does to stay beneath the radar.

[@sevenrats]

No. A fighter jet attempts to hug the ground like a sparrowhawk. Not the other way around. No human will ever fly like this. This bird is flying less than the width of it's body from the ground and obstacles. A jet would have to be 10 feet off the ground to do the same.

[@katastrophenschutzwa]

That is wonderful and very informative. We currently have a sparrowhawk devouring everything it can in our garden. We often glance it approaching at speed through tiny gaps and around corners. This film is spot on. Well done.

[@VandrefalkTV]

Unbelievably well shot, good job on everyone involved in making this!

[@jeffbriggs1987]

pretty sure a lot of that was cgi

[@VandrefalkTV]

El Jefe See this article for more info :) TL;DR, its not. It's a trained bird and a camera mounted on a cable. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5vT6mBjZC1y7hFQJyvCRXWq/getting-a-unique-perspective-on-a-sparrowhawk-hunt

[@reidstewart6396]

Honestly I thought part of that was CGI. Hard to believe camera techniques could pull that off. What a great job!

[@danis8455]

was just gonna write bet this was taken in one shot :p

[@mattchedzey]

did anyone notice that when it went into one side of the gate and then out through the other, that they were different sections of the gate? 😞

[@tarunhari1144]

Absolutely awesome!! Had never seen a bird of prey flying so close to the ground!!

[@timeslush]

This footage is absolutely incredible! I'm simply amazed.

[@smokescreen2146]

yeah baiting birds

[@dustintacohands1107]

I don't usually give thumbs up but I like this a lot. Whoever filmed and put this together deserves a raise... or some incentive to stick around.

[@mark-ish]

Do you think it has something to do with BBC written all over the video.

[@Stephen-br6il]

Believe it or not. Some peoples jobs are their passion. They do it for the recognition.

[@sinethembambangeni1816]

😂😂😂😂 I agree ...this is good stuff 👌🏾

[@oscarbear1043]

Best footage of bird in flight I have ever seen. Only the BBC has the people with experience to do this. Bravo. My cockatiel couldn’t take his eyes of it he seemed nervous. Thank you 😊.

[@johnrss5]

How on earth can they make such a good video, the camera is moving alongside the bird. I'd love to see another video, about the making of this. Totally amazing.

[@ellismainworth8079]

It's called having a tamed sparrowhawk, like you can go see and interact with in a zoo. There is one person who launches the bird, and another down field who has some meat on a glove. The bird takes it's natural path as if it's hunting.... No rocket science here i'm afraid. That's how they get these shots. Probably 15 minutes work.

[@SiddharthKulkarniN]

Amazing videography

[@Jadae]

It's all ogre in seconds.

[@yakkyuu12]

The camera work and crystal clear video is AMAZING, Thank you BBC for a great experience!! There has to be an award in a major catagory for this!!

[@djkentuckyham]

The creativity and technical execution of this piece is exceptionally impressive.

[@sassy1970sy]

I’ve just seen one in Action for the first time in my life, in my front garden and I saw it in such great detail because I have a massive window and what a sight it was, I don’t know whether he got the sparrow or not because it happened so quickly but all I can say is it was an amazing thing to witness and I had to have a look on here and see if I could find anything and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Beautiful videography

[@boneythelynx8884]

I have just seen one in my garden eating something. I was not sure what it was until I searched here and google and definitely a Sparrowhawk. Although this one appeared to have a rodent, as it discarded what looked like fur rather than feathers. Was fortunate enough that it was there for probably 30 minutes, such a beautiful bird. And the local Seagulls didn't want to mess with it haha.

[@ElizabethAnnLife]

I am here for the same reason. Just watched one from my window capture a sparrow almost faster than the eye could detect! But the birds were all screaming and chirping while it went on.

[@theodorekaxiris644]

It's a truly miracle of flight this bird .Excellent hunter with magnificent skills

[@f2mel2]

I saw a Coopers hawk fly across the street just above moving traffic, drop to about the level of the car door handle, slot in between parked cars and the moving head on traffic, and at the last moment, fly just over the hood of a parked car towards the sidewalk where some sparrows were feeding on seeds. 1. He used the cars as cover. 2. He could not see the birds feeding yet knew they were there as they were fleeting up and down to avoid predators. 3. He had to time it just right. 5. He might have known exactly which car to fly over once he decided to break cover. I've also seen one bank in mid air at greater than 90 degree angle and hit a Norway rat. Similar to throwing a Frisbee at a steep angle and watching it work it's way right back to you.

[@PeterPete]

named after tommy cooper?

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

​@@PeterPete😂👍🤫😉💰

[@Onlywilberta]

​@@PeterPetethat cooper hawk Is Maverick from top gun in a hawk's body

[@edmundmondo1682]

OMG! This is amazing! Birds of prey are awesome!

[@dyllan1503]

Last week I was privileged to see this happen in my garden. A Sparrow Hawk caught a Nuthatch that was feeding on our hanging nuts. It was blazingly fast, puff of feathers and all over.

[@markrainford1219]

Yes, I'm here because I just saw our Robin taken whilst trying to make it to the safety of the privet hedge. No chance. Sad but at the same time awesome.

[@K777John]

I love all raptors, used to have a Tawny Owl when I was in my late teens. My favourites now are Goss Hawks-just like a sparrow hawk only much bigger and deadlier-very rarely get to see one though as they are a bird of the woods and forests.

[@theHAL9000]

Right up there in terms of most phenomenal wildlife footage. Amazing.

[@rlittlejohn2772]

Breathtaking and well staged. Too many coincidences. Very enlightening. So many angles. Its amazing.

[@S3v3n13tt3r5]

It's a bird eat bird world out there son.

[@wienzard93]

the flight is so damn smooth (especially when it overcome obstacles), I had chills watching it.

[@MaikiStarwood]

The Sparrow Hawk is definitely an amazing little raptor with superb hunting skills.

[@pospicles2424]

One word - EPIC. Both, the shooting of the footage and the sparrow hawk. Hats off!!

[@oneangrycanadian6205]

I actually seen a sparrow hawk do this once. It was amazing to see. He went right through a hedge and cane out the other side with a bird. So neat to see!!!

[@John-gh5nn]

These birds are just something else, they are so agile and their eyesight must be so sharp to focus on the narrow gaps in that gate they are wonderful to see I appreciate they are not everybody’s favourite but they have to eat like us all. Awesome video here so professional.

[@jerrydc818]

Incredible how the camera crew knew exactly the path the hawk would take. 😎

[@BarracudaB68]

I strongly suspect this film is of tame, captive bird controlled by the falconers eg Lloyd and Rose Buck. It's all choreographed, filmed, and carefully edited, which is how they get such amazing footage. Otherwise it would be very hit and miss trying to capture this as the camera crew simply wouldn't know where the hawk would fly and when.

[@book3100]

I love them. Perfect things.

[@Mcninjaguy]

Sparrowhawks are so adorable and deadly! Awwwww!

[@Nettsinthewoods]

I’m watching this as I thought I saw one barrelling across the garden this morning, smack dab in the middle of London. What a thrill, what fantastic footage!

[@wilhelm5979]

Last year a sparrowhawk crashed into my window and proceeded to just sit there. So we ended up just looking at each other for 20 minutes.

[@venkatraghu5696]

Kudos to BBC team, imagining how much u struggle to capture this moment. Hats off wonderful

[@lamaspacos]

A very deserved tribute. In fact, this video is just a very small sample of the incredible flight of the Accipiter nisus, with high quality slow motions that allowed to realize the details of the flight.

[@laluzdelsol7587]

Pretty sure the first "strike" at 0:11 is edited. If you watch at 0.25 speed you can see the feathers dissapear slightly above the bottom of the frame, like they are an effect that was layered on top of the video.

[@dawidjagusiak]

This video is about sparrowhawks hunting technique and how he catches the pray, not about him feeding. If you want to see it eating the pray search for a different video showing it, alternatively use your imagination, don't think there's something outstanding about it. In my opinion very well made, informative and captivating footage, delivering what was promised in the title.

[@onemaninaboat]

Bloody hell! Only BBC can pull that sort of footage! Amazing!

[@tacoconch7678]

There's no actual strike footage. It's most likely just a trained bird flying about while an intern throws loose feathers off camera. Meanwhile, people are commenting, "Amazing footage! How did they do it?!" hahaha

[@muzaffarabbas9922]

100% accurate.

[@leeandjancruise]

Yes it was, I read it somewhere.

[@syedraziqueali3038]

What ppl want is excitement ...that it ,, if you can do that , you too wel come .

[@amyb8571]

It would impossible to film a wild Sparrowhawk hunting like this. Captive or not, it's still amazing filming.

[@GavinAdams-k6k]

Really, ffs 🙄

[@rogerporath9515]

Excellent photography and the narrator nailed it.

[@michaelfogarty6772]

He should be changed to she. That's a female sparrow hawk. Excellent footage.

[@mountainemperorsupreme7766]

Maybe a juvenile male?

[@adznz11]

@@mountainemperorsupreme7766 no females are the larger of the sexes for nearly all raptors. They are dysmorphic.

[@mountainemperorsupreme7766]

@@adznz11 I know that. Is there a raptor species in which males are larger ?

[@kinglion7867]

@@mountainemperorsupreme7766 To my knowledge, there's a genus of owl which I forgot the name of. It includes the powerful owl (yes, that's actually its name).

[@conorsirishnature998]

Its a juvenile malem

[@E-Tee]

"The Last thing a Garden bird might see, is this!!" The picture of the Sparrow Hawk was scary asf!! 🤣

[@paulk5311]

they have been nesting in my backyard for several years now. a few years ago i was having problems with squirrels eating my peas and one morning i say some fur and a few guts as all that remained of a squirrel in the back of my garden. i have not had any more problems out of the furry little critters since then even though there are plenty behind my house. i also saw one of these hawks carrying a squirrel just up the road one day. i am driving down the road and see this low flying hawk about hood high cross the road in front of me. in its clutches was a squirrel dangling from it claws.

[@aricgill1290]

Oh yeah, back in 2019, I had a sparrowhawk in my back garden. It was standing on the patio eating a pigeon that it had apparently chased slap bang into my parent's bedroom window, making it all the more easier for it to catch and kill. My parents were out at the time as Dad was getting his ears checked, so my sister and I took pictures of the bird as it just stood there disembowelling the dead pigeon, leaving a couple entrails on the patio as it did so. By the time my parents got home, the sparrowhawk had gone, taking the dead pigeon with it. At first, my dad got all excited thinking it was a Peregrine Falcon, until he researched the bird in the picture and found it was a sparrowhawk instead.

[@alisonancell6047]

The footage is in deed impressive. I have my bird feeding station set up beside a tall mixed hedge which is quite dense, and attracts an abundance of garden birds. This of course also attracts sparrow hawks. I have seen both male and female around my garden. The garden birds are constantly on full alert when feeding and dive into the hedge at the merest hint of the hawks being close by. The female has a distinct way of hunting which I am not sure is usual or not? There is an opening, around 12'' wide in the hedge near the feeding station where a wood pigeon enters to get to her nest. The sparrow hawk will dive into this opening at an incredible speed, stays there until she flushes some birds out and then is in hot pursuit and catches one. What amazes me is this opening does not go through to the other side and is only aprox 2 feet deep, in fact this particular area is a large dense holly bush and mature ivy. How does she not get injured when flying at such great speed to basically hit a a dead end. Another thing that I wonder is why, as far as I know the pigeon's chicks have never been taken. Nature is brutal and amazing I know, but I do mourn for my garden birds.

[@المتواضع-ز2ح]

سنه الله فى خلقه هذا رزق الصقر

[@MsSoziD]

What incredible footage. This must have taken forever to capture and quite how they managed to track the entire route is quite staggering. Bravo.

[@BarracudaB68]

I strongly suspect this film is of tame, captive bird controlled by the falconers eg Lloyd and Rose Buck. It's all choreographed, filmed, and carefully edited, which is how they get such amazing footage. They did a BBC film on Goshawks (plus lots of others) and I suspect it's the case here too.

[@maldoran9150]

Fantastic video, very high production quality.!

[@Focusedone-yr9ci]

mal doran you realise that this is from a TVs show

[@georgelegrand9476]

and then ? cameramens did a great job anyway

[@kevslife]

mal doran that's what the BBC do best. You won't get a better nature programme than on the BBC.

[@wilsonblauheuer6544]

it is computer graphics. fake, in other words.

[@mummiedanser1609]

wilson youre pretty dumb bobba

[@rogerswyer5357]

Cannot make my mind up how much of this is genuine, part through two vertical trees looks like goshawk footage seen many times.

[@RachaelTee]

I filmed one of these in my garden today! It had caught a pigeon and was feasting. I wish I could share the footage with you all, the markings and strength of this birds legs were amazing.

[@amfohr]

Must have been a female, a pigeon is too big for a male sparrow hawk

[@enrobsorussell]

@@amfohr Correct...the female id 40% bigger than the male. Females regularly take on Magpies & crows, yet if a male tried....it would be bye bye for him.

[@nickxcore74]

Now this footage is great work by the BBC.

[@noah12314]

Give Cameraman a raise Clearly the best camera shot I've seen so far in a bird video So impressive

[@nicholasc.5944]

Cinematic, unreal, much respect

[@charonstyxferryman]

132 sparrows don't like this video. OK serious now: : I think people must learn to understand that a raptor eats meat in order to survive.

[@quietcorner293]

Yep as much as we see these little song birds as cute, this is nature at it's finest. Hawks have to live too!

[@mitocaf1]

247 now 😆

[@fortiond3830]

We are in the age of Leftism. There's no place for your reasonable assertions here.

[@ksmobile1]

@@fortiond3830 so sad, but SO TRUE

[@ksmobile1]

@@quietcorner293 exactly, people only get upset because they're cute what about the evil song birds that eat worms? Who's there for the worms? Do we feel sad when a song Bird eats a worm or spider? They have to live too, we might not like them squishing under our feet biting us when we sleep going inside her ears and making nests but they have to live we have song birds that can take care of them however song birds have their predators as well, AKA cute little hawks. Hawks have their predators as well oh, I see many dead Hawks attacked by and killed by 18 wheelers on the highway. As the hawk swoops in with its eyes focused on its prey in the middle of the median of the highway he darts a cross at unbelievable speed in pursuit of his prey right across the line of traffic in the semi smacks his ass to the ground as feathers fly and then he's dead dead, and then what was once a cute Hawk that was smashed across the front of a semi truck looking like a hood ornament falls off scraped his dead carcass against the highway as as feathers fly then a vulture comes in Scoops up his body or nibbles on it as a little side Buffet. Are we upset now that the vulture is eating what was once a cute Hawk? It's called life cycle.

[@identification133]

One can get hypnotyzed with those eyes - fantastic.

[@weeladylou]

Phenomenal shots!! I've been in the garden when a sparrowhawk appeared out of nowhere so it's fantastic to see how it managed to do that in fantastic detail :)

[@LLawliet-tv9ig]

This video is shot almost like the scenes from "Hero". So majestic and visually stunning!

[@df-ln8sn]

Don't stoppp believing, nice sopranos ending! this was a pet trained raptor,baited for that sweet footage!

[@willieboy8798]

hats off to the production crew for footage!!

[@barbaradyson6951]

I never realised how small sparrowhawk's are. I came across one that had caught a sparrow but was sat in the middle of the road. So I waited till he took off.

[@stevehove2648]

The males are much smaller, take smaller prey.

[@abhinandanchakraborty6974]

It's unbelievable how this footage was captured. Mind-blowing work

[@pauloutdoorsandmore8502]

Fantastic work, much appreciated and highly inspirational, thanks, Paul

[@dr.irfananwararnab1925]

Absolutely incredible cinematography.

[@danmiller2940]

We have a similar smallish hawk called a coopers hawk. It also comes in hot and grabs birds around our place. It always startles me a smidge.

[@dino2400]

the birds' actions as stunning as the camerawork. Incredible....

[@robertbohnaker9898]

Must have taken a long time to get those different story telling shots... Bravo !👏🏻

[@annalisa14]

Brilliant. I adore BBC. Extraordinary camera 🎥 people.

[@oobenoob]

Absolutely superb photography.

[@soonerthanlater539]

Every nature video should be this quility

[@lastlaugh7512]

Thanks for showing nothing at the end.

[@NoneOfyourBusiness468]

Totally, everything was great but there was no bird to catch...

[@thekaveh]

Second that

[@9235wayne]

dont you just hate when they do that

[@treewalker1070]

Nothing to show, the bird probably missed its kill, as they do over 90% of the time.

[@MrCrispytoad]

What more did u need Imbiciles

[@SuperStargazer666]

Stunning videography.

[@kateking3953]

Just to point out this is a 'she' not a 'he'. The male bird is smaller and has greyish blue on his upper body on the back. The female is brown and barred.

[@trevoror8668]

Well said

[@1madaboutguitar]

Very true. The rare exception amongst British birds

[@michaeltondi8528]

But, how much does it weigh?

[@ashleybarnes3444]

Looks.like.a young musket to me

[@conorsirishnature998]

Its a young male they startboff brown

[@jamlarna]

That photography was incredible!!! I'm always amazed how they get such incredible footage like this.

[@LokiHiddlestone13]

that shot was spot one, mesmerizing and stunning. Though, there is nothing wrong in showing it catching its prey; would like to see it in slow motion.

[@Czadzikable]

Loli Hid , this video focuses on the sparrowhawk's flight abilities - and to get such detailed, close-up continuous shots of its flight path, they clearly filmed a tame, trained sparrowhawk bred in captivity for falconry (see the band on its leg) - and got it to fly to this bird feeder multiple times as they filmed it from different angles. So there was no "catching its prey" for them to show. The trained sparrowhawk would have gotten fed small treats each time, but *obviously* they wouldn't have put real live birds as bait for it to hunt there (the footage of blue tits at the feeder was clearly filmed separately and the flying feathers is a dramatisation!) - especially as it had to fly to that feeder multiple times for filming - as that would be not only cruel and unnecessary, but also *ILLEGAL!* [baiting with live wild/captured from the wild birds and/or enabling unnecessarily killing of such wild birds is an *OFFENCE against the law* in the UK!] Here's a BBC article talking about how they planned, storyboarded and and filmed this sequence working with a trained bird, to achieve a detailed, high quality footage that wouldn't have been possible to just film in the wild: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5vT6mBjZC1y7hFQJyvCRXWq/getting-a-unique-perspective-on-a-sparrowhawk-hunt

[@jcarrandson]

@@Czadzikable Ahh jesus I'm an idiot, was wondering how the hell they got all them angles.. I forgot birds can be trained lol

[@richardwroblewski8458]

apsoluutely breathtaking camera work. That is absulutely stuning to watch that bird fly that low for so long

[@colorado841]

1:25 I see my game is up. Somebody discovered that my front gate is actually a time machine.

[@Tigerpuffer]

Accipiters are just incredible birds. They can have a meal at my bird feeder anyday.

[@sentryward8744]

1:15 that water wing tho 10/10

[@richardt.4224]

I have been fortunate to have need staying hut in NZ and was able to observe the New Zealand falcon otherwise known as the bush hawk and sparrow hawk. As this lovely video shows in great slow mow how well it flys. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@andreashoppe1969]

2:23 hello, darkness, my old friend

[@phuang3]

The camera group of BBC is superb.

[@samueljhardiman]

i cant believe how many birds flew through the gate!

[@helenelliott7462]

There was a right ol' noise in our side hedge, looked out & just coming out of sparrow filled hedge, was a sparrowhawk. Lannded on grass a few metres from me with sparrow in claws. Couldn't believe my eyes in our small back garden!

[@jtl4102]

That was a clever edited repeat effect, I wonder how on earth they made it happen

[@mjolnirplissken7032]

that was incredible footage. well done BBC

[@jhall5490]

What an amazing piece of footage, really exciting and informative, I was out for my daily exercise yesterday and saw a very fast glimpse of two blackbirds flying past me,then another slightly larger bird,yes a male sparrowhawk chasing them,so fast ,I didn't see the outcome but isn't nature fascinating?

[@rebekahtylertyler5178]

I think is very good film to watch on.. My phone it is very. Good rating rebekah 🎄

[@Noble-p]

0:55 this hawk looks like a fighter jet XD

[@wailer27]

It was painstaking work to get this footage but we were very happy with the results in the end. One of the best shoots i've been involved in I think.

[@wailer27]

@@cappystrano1 fk you

[@spagoz2136]

F-22 Raptor pilot :- My aircraft combines, supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth and sensor fusion, can perform the Herbst & Cobra maneuvers. Our prey will never know we are coming. Sparrow Hawk :- Hold my feather coat.

[@mk12pickle]

Wow, This bird is better than any drone, and this is great footage.

[@SNKFA]

Well done on this one! A behind the scenes is in order. I'm wondering how many cameras were used to capture all of the angles. This is an amazing production.

[@rmcl1017]

Should win an award for filming

[@wildwildItaly]

OMG. Love hawks though sorry for the little tweeter♥️

[@Youneverknow222]

All birds are amazing.

[@TramainBacchus]

insightful and wonderfully shot

[@ranibertrand8769]

Tramain Bacchus 09h0

[@deceptiveanswer]

I used to fly spar's about 10-12 years back & agility is something else

[@lovingfro]

"It's all over in seconds" My sex life in a nutshell.

[@GiveBlood555]

thats a coconut

[@stayhappy8213]

I'm here because this just happened to me in my garden in my new home. Traumatised but nature infront of my eyes is just amazing.

[@DottyGran247]

Beautiful, but I don't know how you can say it's all over in seconds....I get a sparrow hawk in my garden a couple of times a year...the "catch of the bird" may be over with in seconds but most of the time the prey is still alive and actually often goes through quite a trauma until it's end...amazing yes but not always nice to watch but best to leave well alone, undisturbed and let nature take its course.

[@TheRaoulsdaddy]

Sparrowhawks regularly break the necks of their victims,makes it very fast death,but it takes time to learn so youngsters are often brutal at first.

[@josephking1947]

@@TheRaoulsdaddy Falcons 90% of the time, if what they've caught is still alive will break the neck for which they have a specially designed beak, sparrowhawks on the other hand will eat their prey alive

[@PaulSmith-pn8hi]

Seen them in action in woods in the midlands , they reminded me fighter planes , swerving and angling round obstacles at speed.