I'd say it was highly probable, Carol.
We used to have one visit quite regularly, they're fantastic birds.
Sad to lose a garden bird I know, but birds of prey have to eat just the same as everything else.
It never put the birds off of eating from my hanging or ground feeders though, far from it. I've had the sparrowhawk eating its kill at the back end of the garden and the other birds back on the feeders at the same time.
I'm guessing that once the sparrowhawk has caught their prey the other birds know they're safe for a while.
We always knew the sparrowhawk was about even if we couldn't see it, the garden would fall almost silent as the birds stopped their twittering. Most of the smaller birds would take cover in the shrubs but the collared doves and the wood pigeoons would 'freeze' on the spot.
Saddest one for me was losing a goldfinch, sparrowhawk took it straight off the feeder in front of me.
But that's Mother Nature, you have to accept her harsher side along with her beauty.
Yep, it's happened to us too, the first day we had in this house we were sitting having a coffee, and the sparrowhawk came and took one of the parents of a spotted woodpecker
I put a wing in the food bin the other day, gawd!!!!
he's a cheeky so and so though, he sits on the fence and won't be scared off, he stares you right in the eye, it's a bit disconcerting!! he's even driven a bird into the kitchen window to knock it out before now.
