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  • Got an excited message from my wife/kids that a bird of prey had caught a pigeon that was sitting on our fence and had a proper scuffle with it right next to the kitchen window. Feathers everywhere when I got home. Everyone was insistent that it was Grey and speckled. What are the candidates here, Peregrine Falcon/Sparrowhawk?

  • Most likely sparrowhawk, but could also be a peregrine. In my experience the peregrine grabs a pigeon on the wing and takes it somewhere up high to eat, and the scuffles are more sparrowhawk -like, with eating nearer to the ground.

  • I remember a few years ago I was sitting outside Canterbury Cathedral and noticed the occasional feather drifting down from above. I eventually traced the source back to a peregrine right at the top of the crossing tower, about 70 metres up, plucking a pigeon.

  • Thanks. I thought that may be more likely. Also the likelihood of seeing a peregrine falcon in our back garden seems pretty slim to me.

    In other bird news I saw an excellent buzzard sitting in a tree right next to the cycle path on the ride to work. Of course by the time I’d got my phone out it had decided I was a bit suspect and flown off.

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