The aftermath.

Not for its photography merit but a diary entry. (No need to comment) A few days ago I captured the Sparrow hawk feasting on his catch . This morning I looked out onto the back lawn to find it strewn with so many feathers. I assume the culprit was the Sparrow hawk, and the victim one of the Wood-pigeons that frequent my garden! Such an upsetting and sorry sight!
PS just looked out later this morning I find the little sparrows busily gathering up the downy feathers , no doubt to line their nests ! Isn't nature full of ups and downs! "The circle of life!! "

[Carole Sandford]

Wow! What a mess! Nature can be really quite brutal….
We were always quite glad when the sparrow hawk that we had visiting, actually missed its target !

[FBailey]

Such I shame but guess they have to eat too - I eat meat!

[Dawn]

Oh dear the circle of life

[Dione Giorgio]

I does look a very sorry sight especially the way the pigeon ended up but such is life.

[Diana]

Oh what a mess he made!

[Renee Salamon]

Oh nooooo

[Babs]

Life is cruel sometimes isn't it but I guess the sparrow hawk can't just nip down to the supermarket when he wants to eat meat the way we can. At least the sparrows are cashing in and they will have a nice warm nest for their babies

[Joanne Diochon]

I think we all of us, people, animals, butterflies etc. have to accept that we have a brief time here as “ourselves” and can only hope that it is a good time and that, when we go, we leave something of value. This poor pigeon has provided meat for the hawk (and maybe it’s babies) and feathers for the sparrow’s nests.

[Beryl Lloyd]

@gardencat How nicely you have looked and evaluated the situation - so true , thank you!

[Pam]

How upsetting that must have been to see!

[mittens (Marilyn)]

Oh my goodness, that is so sad to see.

[gloria jones]

Oh my...That is nature.

[Margaret Brown]

Sad but yes nature and the circle of life

[Pat Knowles]

Oh nature can be so cruel but out of adversity comes good……the little sparrows babies will have a cosy nest!

[Judith Johnson]

Oh dear, what a sad tale of life. We had a sparrow hawk in our garden recently which is most unusual. I did get a very poor shot of it, but not worth posting.

[KoalaGardens🐨]

amazing amount of feathers - but the sparrow hawk will keep the small bird populations healthy so it's a harsh balance

[Heather]

A great story-telling shot, though, Beryl. Fascinating to read your narrative and people's comments here. I hope the sparrow hawk doesn't come back, but I guess it will go somewhere.

[Pyrrhula]

The cats of our neighboors do this job very often. You can cat`s out of nature but you can`t get nature out of the cat.

[Phil Howcroft]

oh dear what a sad story beryl

[Maggiemae]

I'm glad you didn't see the capture! I like @pyrrhula 's comment!

[wendy frost]

Sad to see as always but that's life and survival of the fittest. Nice to remember the baby birds will have a warm and cosy nest.

[haskar]

That is nature... Great story.

[KWind]

Oh no!!

[Shutterbug]

I’m glad you didn’t have to see the attack, just the aftermath. Nice to think about soft nesting material.

[*lynn]

Sad story-telling capture, but it's nature's way. I didn't like seeing bird feathers in our yard today --probably the work of one of our cats.

[Ann H. LeFevre]

I know how that feels. I remember watching a Red Shoulder Hawk pick off a Goldfinch at my birdfeeder one day- got teary-eyed over that one. But even more so was watching another Red Shoulder pick off a squirrel from the neighbor's driveway and then perching atop their shed until it was completely dead. I did take pictures, but it was gut-wrenching. But nature is meant to work that way, in spite of our desire for everything to live life to its fullest. Good diary shot!