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# A sparrowhawk on Shoreham Beach
- URL: https://walkingwithdaddy.com/a-sparrowhawk-on-shoreham-beach/
- Published: 2025-09-04T11:35:37.000Z
- Updated: 2025-09-04T11:35:37.000Z
- Author: Adam
- Tags: Sussex, birds

Our first morning back at home after a week camping transformed from quiet and sleepy to excited in an instant. One of my daughters spotted a bird of prey in the back garden. I grabbed my camera, slapped on my longer lens, and tried to grab some decent images of what seemed to be a young female sparrowhawk on the fence.

![A female sparrowhawk perched on the fence, with a magpie just in shot. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/0e/c10e5513-b9b3-4535-8428-3e3aa38a2a01/content/images/2025/09/_MG_4366.jpeg)

A sparrowhawk happily perched on a fence. 

I have a suspicion she was watching our neighbour’s bird table. Our feeders had been empty for the best part of a week, but Sue is good at keeping hers topped up. I’m not sure many small birds would be tempted to the table with a predator so clearly watching, but a magpie had no such qualms…

![A female sparrowhawk stares at a magpie. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/0e/c10e5513-b9b3-4535-8428-3e3aa38a2a01/content/images/2025/09/_MG_4370.jpeg)

Could the magpie be lunch?

I suspect that either the sparrowhawk wasn’t hungry, or that it saw the magpie as too much of a challenge. It eyed it up a few times, but made no aggressive move at all, apparently happy to just perch on the fence. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/0e/c10e5513-b9b3-4535-8428-3e3aa38a2a01/content/images/2025/09/_MG_4365.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/0e/c10e5513-b9b3-4535-8428-3e3aa38a2a01/content/images/2025/09/_MG_4367.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/0e/c10e5513-b9b3-4535-8428-3e3aa38a2a01/content/images/2025/09/_MG_4368.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/0e/c10e5513-b9b3-4535-8428-3e3aa38a2a01/content/images/2025/09/_MG_4369-1.jpeg)

But apparently the magpie*s* weren’t happy about their new neighbour, because a second one flew in from a nearby roof, heading straight for the sparrowhawk. There was a brief moment of aerial combat, and then the sparrowhawk took off up the river.

I do hope she comes back. She’s an absolute beauty:

![The sparrowhawk on alert, as another magpie (out of shot) flies at her. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c1/0e/c10e5513-b9b3-4535-8428-3e3aa38a2a01/content/images/2025/09/_MG_4371-1.jpeg)

The sparrowhawk on alert, as another magpie (out of shot) flies at her.