This summer I have been hearing a few high pitch bird of prey noises but just couldn’t figure out what type of bird it was.

This morning a resident whose garden backs onto Leafy Lane woodland managed to catch a glimpse of a sparrowhawk flying from the woodland into their garden to attack the magpies. Video here: https://fb.watch/f345IgyFm-/

After checking common sparrowhawk sounds on youtube (not from above video), this matched the noise I had been hearing all summer!

Besides soprano bats, owls and other protected species living amongst the land, it appears as though majestic sparrowhawks are living in our Leafy Lane woodland too! Also protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

As a top predator, sparrowhawks primarily breed in woodland. Usually, if their prey is abundant in an area, which they are in Leafy Lane woodland, you can be sure that a sparrowhawk won’t be far behind. They can only survive in trees and habitats like Leafy Lane!

Woodland Trees keep the climate stable, oxygenate the air and transform pollutants into nutrients. According to ec.europa.eu:

“Birds play an important role in the effective functioning of these systems. As birds are high up in the food chain, they are also good indicators of the general state of our biodiversity. When they start disappearing, it means that something is wrong with our environment and that we need to take action.”

Sparrowhawks were once close to extinction in several countries. This was predominantly due to deforestation, leading to habitat loss, and persecution. With many local authorities up and down the UK including Woodland green spaces like Leafy Lane in their local plans it is only a matter of time before we see the incline of sparrowhawks reverse back to extinction levels.

Now we know that Sparrowhawks are living amongst all our other wildlife including protected in a small pocket of Woodland surrounded by housing, it looks to me that the only way to mitigate any losses is to make sure all of the trees and habitats are protected!

The evidence is there and it clearly shows that Leafy Lane woodland has the biodiversity factor! Now leave our trees, our ponds, brooks and our wildlife alone!