A Sparrowhawk dropped in for a visit today....

I get a considerable number of birds in my garden - house sparrows are numerous.  Today I became aware of a racket of bird alarm calls.

On looking out the window, I espied the cause - a sparrowhawk.  Initially I couldn't see where the sparrows were, but then I noticed them all hiding in this bush.

The Sprawk started on the right-hand side trying to find the sparrows....

then across the front..

to the left-hand side where it peered into the bush

another look before..

going back to the original side and trying to get into the bush from underneath.

It finally flew up onto the top of the bush but had to give up when it couldn't get in..... it's a rather prickly bush.

By then, I knew I had to chase it off and release the sparrows from the hiding place.

Off it went and eventually the sparrows shot out and flew away.

The End :)