Tamed, the garden is where we expect to meet nature half way, but the truth is often hidden away from us. We are not often confronted by its violence and its cruelty.

I am lucky enough to live in a home that is usually surrounded with bird song, especially in the morning. But this morning I was confronted by an eerie silence. Looking out at the garden all I could see were feathers scattered around the ground feeders.

A cat instantly sprung to mind as I looked around the plant pots and borders of the patio. But there opposite me on the ground was the sparrowhawk devouring its prey.

The sparrowhawk is a magnificent bird and the top predator of garden and songbirds in the UK.  However, studies have shown that sparrowhawks have little impact on the number of birds in our gardens.

And so, I must learn to look beyond the distressing scenes of scattered feathers. Most of the time I won’t even be aware that a sparrowhawk has visited my garden.

Garden and songbirds live in the chain of life with the sparrowhawk and it has always been this way. When the small birds decline, the sparrowhawk suffers.  When small birds flourish, these incredible hawks can succeed in their own cycle of life.