Female Sparrowhawk in the garden
It's mid January, and for the past 3 days I've been blessed with a beautiful female Sparrowhawk in the garden.
She's spent at least a good half hour each time just sat on the top of my tree being completely unphased by me wafting a hot torch around adding patina to some small bronze badger sculptures, or staring up at her whilst I was working with hands full of clay.
She had no interest in any of the other birds in the garden - including a Pigeon who nearly landed on top of her (her camouflage works well!) But was quite content to shake and ruffle her feathers.
It's been pretty dull weather-wise so the background's pretty blown-out but I think her piercing eyes make up for the lack of an interesting backdrop.
I love the fact that there are raptors in the area - Kestrels, Buzzards and Sparrowhawks, as it's a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Every time I see one of these stunning raptors I feel incredibly lucky.
As far as birds of prey go, the Sparrowhawk is pretty small with the female being bigger than the male, who sports an orangey chest and bluey-grey coloured back. They too are stunning - although I've not seen a male in a long time.
I know the neighbours aren't happy to see them in their gardens and shoo them away to "protect their Sparrows from this horrible bird."
What does it mean to see a Sparrowhawk?
I enjoy wondering whether there's any deeper meaning behind encounters with wild creatures and what they might mean.
It's something we humans like to do - find meaning, purpose and order in the chaos. Our ancestors and cultures across the world do the same with specific creatures symbolising certain characteristics, or warnings. We adopt different species as totems and emblems - usually based on the qualities of the species in question.
I find it quite fascinating that seeing a bird in the garden might indicate that I've been imbued with the laser focus of a fierce warrior. That I need to find the strength within me to reach a goal and ignore all other distractions.
Or it might just be that I don't shoo her out of the garden when all she wants to do is rest and fluff up her feathers for a while. Either way, I'm happy.
