Sparrowhawk attack on my Goldfinch.

A must watch video !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IT UNDERSTOOD THAT AFTER FILMING THIS SPARROWHAWK FLEW AWAY AT SPEED AND HASN,T BEEN SEEN TO DATE,
AT NO POINT WAS HE POCKED OR HIT OR HARMED IN ANY WAY AND HE WAS ALREADY WET FROM THE RAIN AND THE LONG GRASS.

[@TheGuidance66]

That sparrowhawk is either your pet or an escaped pet - they do not let you get that close no way!!! I have seen them many times out in nature and they are shy they dont hang around.

[@StealerNinja]

I'd disagree there, I tried to save a pigeon that was in the road, stopped the car, jumped out to save it from traffic and a sparrowhawk landed on it, while it stared at me, was only a few feet away from it - it was not going to give up the pigeon. I jumped back in the van quick, it was not bothered by me in the slightest, I honestly think it was wondering whether it could eat me.

[@JB.12.]

No they are like sharks on my aviary one had a goldfinch and killed it through the wire before I was there and then I ran at it right next to it and it didn’t bat an eye lid

[@JB.12.]

It would be ringed as well

[@colinbrooks6290]

Lol, it’s not often you see a confused sparrow hawk 😂

[@colinbrooks6290]

!… is this bird domesticated…. Is it a young inexperienced bird..

[@olivebranchbirds]

He's quite a determined hawk, I have a regular, he often sits on the adjacent fence pondering why there's mesh in the way of his dinner!!

[@snsbritishbirddiaries]

Gly ive waytched this 100s of time little bugger looks like he been handreared great footage goldys fed up of seeing is face lol all the best pal sammy

[@redcanaryman]

Yes I lost a few birds at that time, just the head was left, double wired after that but they would still fly over my head and slam into the mesh.

[@snsbritishbirddiaries]

He would of been taxidermied the little shit beutiful to see up close have a great week enough l8ve sammy

[@easypviewer2949]

This bird has NOT had it's wings clipped, It is a wild ADULT male sparrowhawk which has clearly just finished a moult and is very hungry due to not being able to hunt properly for the past few weeks. He is a natural aerial acrobat which is why he has very short, rounded wings... They have not been clipped at all, they're supposed to be like that!!! A lovely bird and you're lucky to have got such a close-up view of him... Even if he was after eating your goldies... Which, for the record, are kept, shown and bred by thousands of people all over the UK perfectly legally... Nice camera work Oh and for the GENIUS who suggested it's "worth money"... it's worth less than £50 as an illegally caught, un-rung, un-chipped and un-registered bird of prey!!!

[@goshawk1974]

Well said Peter. I was thinking the hawk might of flew into the wire mesh full speed and got his bell wrung.

[@antonkrisman2416]

.Maar.

[@sbenard1]

Amazing! I wonder if he may have hit a window and was temporarily shocked or injured, but flew away once recovered from the shock. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[@mhtjabermht]

Sparrowhawk like: i don't give a fuck

[@hogawitcha1970]

This sparrowhawk looks tame it could of flown away from its owners avairy.it's starving.

[@theotheseaeagle]

It’s illegal to keep sparrowhawks or any other native raptor in the uk apart from peregrines.

[@Omg_imsoawesome]

It's quite tame, usually they'd fly straight off as soon as they spot you!

[@redcanaryman]

Hi thanks for the coment at last someone sees the video in the smae light that it was made, yes i love all birds and have been keeping them for over fifty years + ill go out with my camera to take shots of wild birds.

[@BlackbirdGirl72]

I can't believe he came back the next day! Let's hope he doesn't start a family near you:(. It does make me smile though when such a scary looking bird just meekly hops on the branch when you told it to lol

[@GrinningCheshire42]

Beautiful raptor. I had a sparrowhawk fly at my bedroom window once, trying to attack my senegal parrot which was sat on an antler on the windowsill. Never heard such a thud in my life!

[@Lobonova]

Very Fascinating mate!

[@wildaboutbritain4264]

In my opinion this is definitely an imprinted bird. Many people have taken a wild sparrowhawk chick from a nest, imprinted it, and used it to hunt for a year or two before then releasing it and starting again with a new chick (this is all illegal before anyone gets any ideas!). This is why it's trying to hunt in the company of a person, and why it happily steps up on to that stick when it was pushed against it's legs, just like you'd do to get a bird to step up onto a falconry gauntlet.

[@thewidowmaker4037]

Why are you keeping a wild Goldfinch? The Male Sparrowhawk is stunning. Also from the UK your so lucky to have an interaction with a Sparrowhawk like that. Haha this video in my recommended 8 years later.

[@klr-canary7100]

How do you know it's wild

[@curtflirt2]

Very nice looking bird up close, it's one of the prettiest out of all the Hawks.

[@Populiervogel]

The sparrow hawk seems to be domestic or ill, normally you cant approach a wild one that close. Also strange that your goldfinches weren't afraid, mine always quickly hide in my shade, when they spot a sparrow hawk.

[@happybee7725]

Ha! We used to get the exact same trying to get to our goldfinch and bullfinch’s

[@dfusco73]

what a nice vid red factor man , sparrow hawks are such a lovely bird and of course they will want to try and get your goldfinch,its natural , my old neighbour had this happen frequently with his prize pigeons , the male sparrow hawk that patrols my garden is amazing , the other day he tried to take out a jackdaw but the jackdaw flew high to get away , when hes around my garden all the little birds vanish for a few hours once hes gone , all fascinating to watch

[@markr1142]

Bird is starving, very weak.

[@MrUniman609]

How do you know it's starving and weak?

[@redcanaryman]

HI, thanks for asking yes he is in top breeding condition and singing is head of in the sunshine.

[@redcanaryman]

When you have been keeping birds for as long as me you get to know that a bird that is sick will usually die even if you take it to a vet, so some times its best to let nature take its coarse, this bird could still fly ok you should have seen the speed when he flew away. at no point did I poke this bird with a stick. I have lost birds to hawks before when only there heads are left in the aviary so you should try dealing with that, you are entitled to your opinion but have you looked after birds

[@dchubad]

that hawk looks tired from hunger and see's food directly in front of him... the goldfinch. thats why he wont leave. it could also have been a hand reared hawk released into the wild... would explain a lot. it is an awesome bird to see and im glad it didnt get your goldfinches. keep an eye out for it in future cos he knows easy prey is kept there now. thanks for posting :)

[@danielcristianrus7907]

amazing bird

[@mikeperez31]

sparrow hawk must be really is Hungry lol

[@BlackbirdGirl72]

I can't believe how bold it is. Sparrowhawks are notoriously difficult to tame aswell and it's why very few falconers have them. He must be very desperate & very hungry. You should send this into springwatch when it comes back on because I don't think anyone would belive you if you told them about this - they would have to see it. Can it fly okay? He is a beautiful bird. Do you have a local sanctuary that could come and get him and release him elsewhere? What happened?

[@kenthompson4468]

That sir is what what is known as a Musket. He is an imprinted male sparrowhawk and obviously has been kept possibly in an aviary (you can tell by his ragged tail feather ends) and likely has been robbed from a nest (no BTO ring band on legs) the previous year ago as it looks like he still has some of his juvenile flight feathers (they keep them for the first year or so). He is in full breeding colours and the sound of the blackbird in the background tells me that it is late spring/summer therefore plenty of food about. The thing is with hawks, especially the spar, if truly wild would have heart attacked (seriously) if you had have got that close to it, or if ill or uncomfortable with you could attack, and straight to your eyes. Conclusion: An escapee robbed bird from nest (illegal) part imprinted, drawn to familiar objects (aviary) and passerine with no fear of humans. I'd have taken him in, if he has not been taught to hunt he would be dead by now.

[@terryowings9469]

he is hungry for sure

[@MrEreda]

Did you take any high resolution photos of it? It would have been a great opportunity, since the bird allowed you to move it around into good photo locations (onto the tree for example, at 4:28).

[@debilewis186]

Wish I'd not clicked on this. What the hell are the Goldfinch doing in a cage😡

[@aiwayamaha]

This video is quality. Lucky to get that close really

[@NEWHOLLANDMAN870]

Were did u get the goldfinches

[@mallitkim]

strange behavior of the sparrowhawk! i must be very hungry to be not afraid of you! very rare :)

[@bobbyjeffryes5120]

i have been a falconer for quite a few years now,i have flown many sparrowhawks,a low in condition bird is not a sick bird so to speak its in the need of food a sparrowhawk has a very fast metabolism and need regular food to keep there blood sugar levels right,if you would of caught this bird up,he could of been cared for and released within id say a week,this video as been posted on the largest falconry forum in the world,id say my comment is quite mild.

[@JohnCleary52]

That hawk is sick.

[@secretarybird216]

beautiful bird, anyone notice the growth on its beak.

[@goshawk1974]

The feathers weren't cut. It might be a falconer's bird that was released. It needs to be fed, or it will starve. A falconer must be called soon.

[@codyz-549]

you could feed that bird instead of throwing him

[@tomgallone1035]

the best wirenetting, none of attackers can put claws through those tiny wiresquares😁😁

[@yenghang1609]

That hawk must be really hungry lol

[@ArtyEremenko55zxl]

Very awesome vid & he doesn't take shit from no one!

[@MyEuropeanGoldfinch]

OMG...glyn my friend this Sparrowhawk is gonna give your lovely Goldfinch a heart attack. Please catch it and release it in a very,very far place from your home.

[@mateloman]

That's what happened to my 3yrs old fold finch last week 😳 he got panicked obviously ND cut his right leg right by the ring and this is another matter , it could be the ring when scared maybe bcs I found the cage in good condition....except my bird on his back shocked injured !! I tried to fix his leg by cleaning his wound wrap it by coton and the middle of a small piece from a straw just like I used too ...day after infection killed him :/ ..

[@curtflirt2]

Did he ever come back?

[@Africa1000]

This is not the behaviour of a truly wild sparrowhawk. They are by nature very shy birds. Almost certainly an escaped bird!

[@ignatiuslaurent58]

That hawk wants these birds so much that it forget all the danger that human can pose to it . It's like it saying let me take care of these bird for you .i gladly pay you Tuesday for one today .

[@redcanaryman]

Hi, yes he could fly ok as when i wet him for the second time he was off like a shot but came back the next morning.i havent seen him this week so he may have left the are area. if he returns i will capture him and release into the country.

[@bryanedwards1000]

I have never seen anything like that is he still doing it??

[@huntha2613]

wow some people have not got a clue hawk was knacked and you can keep any bird that you want as long as it is ringed up or does have reverlent paper work to go with it

[@Melanth89]

This is very obviously a tame bird, probably an imprint judging by how passive it is. There is no way in hell that a wild bird, or even most wild caught falconry birds would tollerate being poked with a stick unless very gravely ill. I doubt that he is attacking your Goldfinch; much more likely he associates the cage with food and shelter. Falconry birds recognise visual cues exceedingly well and they are heavily used in training. You really should have dropped him off at a vet. That bird is likely dead now.

[@justinlikesfishingfishing4199]

Melanth89 no if he puts that bird in the goldfinches cage, then it would’ve got the goldfinches killed because I used to have a zebra finch and they got killed by a hawk. It’s head got ripped off.

[@mateloman]

They are predators they kill whatever it takes a gold finch in a cage ! No ppl that cage will be raided mate it's nature

[@kenthompson4468]

BTW you can take a wild bird in for rehabilitation in the UK

[@MatlockJack]

Did the goldfinch in this video survive?

[@grahamkrussell180]

studies have proved sparrow hawks do not have a negative affect on song bird populations as you suggest,it,s a matter of the balance of nature.

[@redcanaryman]

Hi, yes what a grate looking bird to be so close to.

[@punchbagtickler916]

how long was the hawk with you, hope you fed it as it looks very hungry, this is a domesticated bird, let free at some stage for whatever reason, lovely bird...ta ta...

[@magentamonster]

Raptors are wild. You mean tame or captive, not domesticated. There is a big difference between keeping wild animals in capitivity and domesticating animals. Domestic animals have been bred for centuries, for traits like behaviour, looks, taste and production of things like milk, eggs and wool.

[@thelimelighttv]

sparrow hawk looks stoned when hes on that stick !!!

[@mealy777]

What studies have proved Sparrowhawks don't have a negative affect on song birds ?where and when ? who conducted this study ?

[@chickenboi4281]

Yeets hawk

[@chilipepperslooney]

PS, if this or similar ever happens to anybody again, DO NOT CONTACT THE RSPCA or RSanything, they will kill it quicker than starvation will! Contact somebody who deals exclusively with birds of prey or contact a moderator on the International Falconry Forum and they will point you in the right direction.

[@redcanaryman]

Hi, you can keep British birds if they are captive bred and close rung. it would have been illegal to catch up the sparrowhawk and kept it as a pet. my goldfinches were breed from a pair of finches brought from a breeder.

[@aklanpinoy6717]

stayed for mozart! :)

[@MrBeboopman]

obviously an imprinted bird... he has been manned and is now somewhat tamed. He is only doing what comes naturally to him.. hunting. A very nice musket.(male sparrowhawk)

[@Pure-Crystal-Fire]

I think you should feed the sparrowhawk ,and I dont think you should keep wild protected english birds such as Goldfinches in cages having said that ... Edit : Says that you are keeping the species alive , and thats always good to see :)

[@redcanaryman]

You can keep most British birds in captivity if they are cage rung.

[@Pure-Crystal-Fire]

@@redcanaryman Hmm maybe so , but they are far nicer in the wild and filming them on bird feeders is a joy , and it's always nice when they come back , we film alsorts of birds ,from ospreys to wrens , whatever bird is nice to film ,it is nice you have a love of them ,lots of videos we have shot, are on our old deleted channel , but I still have some raw files on checking

[@donnafield2616]

I have no time for hawk! and I have no time for outdoor cats!

[@clivemitchell4316]

We have no time for you either.

[@iainbayes]

Sick bird or falconer escapee.

[@chilipepperslooney]

The reason the bird is there in the first place is that it is starving to death, Spars have a very complex and damanding metabolism, no, feeding it would not have encouraged it to stay, once it had gained the energy to fly, you wouldn't have seen this usually extremely shy little bird for dust, if it had the strength to hunt in the first place it would be very unlikely to come so close to humans to find food. It wasn't sick and wouldn't have died had you just given it a piece of raw chicken,

[@pixelTRE]

Hilarious

[@VictoriaHall4949]

That has been hand reared! This happened to me someone hand reared a robin and it kept flying to me in the garden. It was lost and looking for a feed; the sparrow hawk looked like he wanted a feed, not a Gold Finch though!!

[@TheGhassanArt]

OMG !!!

[@jeffiow]

you should send this film to bbc springwatch,they would love to see this sort of behavour from a wild bird.

[@mealy777]

Sparrowhawks have grown to pest preportions throughout Europe, They are protected by the wildlife act, some don't agree with this as they have a very negative impact on the song bird population also they are the enemy of the pigeon fancier who loose a sizeable percentage of their flock to these raptors every year. as a bird keeper i have attacks regularly, but i have never harmed them,open aivaries are a magnet for them, this muskett is starving, thats nature cruel , survival of the fittest.

[@redcanaryman]

Ok thanks Nicholas will do.

[@Pigeon55]

Could it be captive bred or even blind ? feel for you m8

[@redcanaryman]

Hi, thanks for the info if the hawk comes back I will give them a call.

[@godlins]

How is it 'your' Goldfinch? Isn't it illegal to keep wild birds in the UK?

[@ospreyvinyl]

For me it is quite obvious that this is either a tame bird or a bird with medical problems, what is clearer is that the guy who made the video is nothing more than a bird lover, if he wanted to hurt the sparrowhawk he had plenty of chances and was just trying to protect his birds using methods that were not harmful to the sparrowhawk.

[@ZimbaZumba]

Basically Sparrow Hawk porn in the cage.

[@paulallenMacca]

A Male Sparrowhawk.

[@jamesmedina6277]

smoke weed everyday day, and at night

[@briandiehl7283]

You most likely have in your yard a falconers retired passage bird that was used for hunting and is accustomed to humans. Call your local falconer association and they will relocate it.

[@davekelly8168]

What a magnificent bird, you are a little thick..

[@KustomFu]

you should have put it in a box and taken it to a place where they keep animals

[@RedRaikou]

Was it wild, or domesticated? Because you were filming around him and picking him up and he wasn't bothered about you

[@Falconer2023]

this sprrwhwk is relly tired on hungry.nd thts why he doesnt have power to fly out.one bird eats and he'll not let u come to him from 30 meter.

[@ruggerdigger]

Wow he must be very young

[@vladimirhorowitz]

Damn I wish I had your accent man

[@joefrankk6905]

the bigbang no it isn't if you have a close ring on them then you can keep most native birds

[@jarahsbirdz661]

His very hungry !

[@colinbrooks6290]

So close and yet so far…😬

[@dpb82uk]

good shots might b young bird

[@ScaleLilyblog]

Maybe he just wanted to be friends.

[@josephavalos7894]

This is a femme fatal

[@budgieman117]

you should keep him! if he was captive! have the finches inside, and the hawk in the aviary! XD

[@FIntyMAcC10]

Poor sparrowhawk is hungry buy him some chicken :)

[@mandiairhujan]

alap alap manuk ngeyeeelll...!!!

[@SuperDick72]

no it is not illegal to keep goldfinch birds as long as the ringed or are bread from a ringed pair.

[@colliecandle]

Horrible bloody things ! They rate like magpies in my book !

[@goshawk1974]

You rate the same as a shit eating fly.

[@redcanaryman]

Ok i understand what you are saying, but when you see a hawk attacking the only thought is the safety of your birds, and when they are lying on the ground petrified the last thing on your mind is to catch it and give it food. and as for catching up the bird this would just put him through even more stress that would probably have kill him. then who do you contact and how long would it take then to responed if at all.

[@maika0staretza]

damn thing was starving

[@thehonorablejiveturkeyspoo6370]

Thank God for chicken wire

[@jakethekent]

What are you doing with a Goldfinch in cage?

[@jackellis3064]

jakethekent loads of people keep goldfinchs