Speaking of predator kills in the United Kingdom, especially in your back garden, is not commonly heard of. Coming from a country like India, it is common to be part of a predator kill in the wild.  Having this similar experience in your back garden in the United Kingdom is something which is a rarity but, if experienced, always stays in your mind.

One such experience that comes to mind is a predator hunting its prey. We lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 2001 - 2009 in a house that has a beautiful back garden. Living there, I have tried my level best to attract many woodland bird species to our back garden. On regular occasions I left slices of bread on the lawn for the wood-pigeon and thrush species to feed on. Mostly it was the common magpie that always used to steal the bread leaving nothing for the pigeons or thrushes.

I returned back late one evening and as I was tired I sat in the back lounge when all of a sudden I heard a massive alarm call and a loud bang on the French doors leading to our garden. As I removed the curtains, I was shocked to see one of the rarest kills of a Eurasian Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter Nisus) on a Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus).

The Sparrow Hawk was smaller than the pigeon but the strength it carried ripped apart all the feathers of the Wood Pigeon till it had suffocated it’s prey ready to feed on it.

I am attaching a video that I recorded of this event. It’s all about the predator and balancing its prey species. The Eurasian Sparrow Hawk is said to be one of the major predators for the smaller woodland bird species. Only 10% of its hunting attacks are successful and I found myself a very lucky person witnessing an amazing site of its natural world.