They may not yet outnumber its population of pet cats and dogs, but sightings of sparrowhawks are on the rise in Jesmond and surrounding areas. These small, fast-flying, birds of prey are usually found on farm and woodland, but sparrowhawks have been moving into cities and towns, attracted by the abundance of prey and relatively safe nesting opportunities.

Conservationist Niki Rust says she first spotted a sparrowhawk family in Jesmond Vale this summer. “I heard the chick calling for its parents,” she said. “They make a specific call when they are hungry.”

Since then, Rust says she has kept an eye on the sky when she walks her dog in the Vale and says she has often come across the adult sparrowhawks doing male-female display flights. She has also seen them chasing pigeons or being mobbed by carrion crows.

And this Wednesday afternoon (November 25^th) she saw the female fly past her house. “It’s so lovely seeing them outside my office window,” says Rust, who has found their nest, but is keeping its location a secret. “They will likely come back next year and we don’t want to disturb them,” she said.

In September, in the back garden of his home on the La Sagesse development, Gary Langley spotted a sparrowhawk enjoying a meal. “The pigeon was in two parts, and the sparrowhawk came back to finish the carcass the following day,” said Langley.

Newcastle University lecturer Lucy Hatt says she saw a sparrowhawk on her neighbour’s apple tree earlier this month. Carolyn Horrocks says she saw one in a tree in her garden on Grosvenor Road and retired teacher Colleen Hindle, who lives on Starbeck Avenue, had a sparrowhawk visit the birdbath in her garden and chase a goldfinch. Hindle says it was the first time she had ever seen a sparrowhawk.

Bob Garside, who restores Aston Martin cars in Durham, hasn’t sighted a sparrowhawk but found a piece of its work in Jesmond Old Cemetery last week, on 15th November. “I found the freshly killed corpse of a pigeon surrounded by feathers,” he said.

Fiona Clarke, chair of Jesmond Community Orchard, says she has found a pigeon corpse in St Andrew’s Cemetery, at the other end of Jesmond. “I think I saw the sparrowhawk briefly at a distance as it flew off at speed,” she said.

Jesmond resident Sarah Hall told JesmondLocal she believes several sparrowhawks live in the Dene, a theory confirmed by Michael Hancock, who works as a ranger in the park. Hancock has uploaded footage of sparrowhawks in the Dene in 2012 to his Youtube channel.

Sparrowhawks are not the only uncommon urban creatures currently living in Jesmond, with quieter streets caused by the coronavirus pandemic giving birds and animals confidence to go deeper into cities and stay for longer. Garside says two tawny owl chicks, a fox and many long-tailed tits have been sighted in Jesmond Old Cemetery, while rabbits, foxes, hedgehogs are regular visitors of the feeder in his garden.

Rust, who is working on a large scale rewilding and sustainable agriculture initiative that spans the North Pennines and Yorkshire Dales, says there are several owl species in Jesmond Vale too. “Given that we have deer, hedgehogs, owls and sparrowhawks in the area, it proves that nature can thrive when given a chance. We are so lucky to have such beautiful and biodiverse parks in and around Jesmond,” said Rust.

After Garside posted his photos on Facebook, other sparrowhawk witnesses shared their experiences.

Jackie Greenwood, a genetics research nurse in Rowlands Gill, says a sparrowhawk “flew down like a bullet” into her garden. “Immediately the sparrows and tits dived into the bushes and went totally silent,” she said. “The sparrowhawk was just sitting there on the arm of the garden seat. Then I realised it was going to ambush the birds when they returned to the feeder. Not only was it sneaky but I thought showed great intelligence.”

And Eddie Bennett, who lives in Denton Burn, witnessed a kill in his garden. “The sparrowhawk just stood on the still live wood pigeon and plucked the feathers out,” he said. “It wasn’t very nice viewing.”