How sparrowhawks catch garden birds - Life in the Air: Episode 2 Preview - BBC One 

That gate maneuver was almost supernatural.

4 years and I still enjoy this. It's like watching someone doing parkour in the winds.

I am frankly more impressed by the video, the shots the low-speed angles and the detail that the editor was able to capture. Great job

Absolutely awesome!! Had never seen a bird of prey flying so close to the ground!!

Last week I was privileged to see this happen in my garden. A Sparrow Hawk caught a Nuthatch that was feeding on our hanging nuts. It was blazingly fast, puff of feathers and all over.

I saw a Coopers hawk fly across the street just above moving traffic, drop to about the level of the car door handle, slot in between parked cars and the moving head on traffic, and at the last moment, fly just over the hood of a parked car towards the sidewalk where some sparrows were feeding on seeds. 1. He used the cars as cover. 2. He could not see the birds feeding yet knew they were there as they were fleeting up and down to avoid predators. 3. He had to time it just right. 5. He might have known exactly which car to fly over once he decided to break cover. I've also seen one bank in mid air at greater than 90 degree angle and hit a Norway rat. Similar to throwing a Frisbee at a steep angle and watching it work it's way right back to you.

It's a bird eat bird world out there son.

The Sparrow Hawk is definitely an amazing little raptor with superb hunting skills.

It's a truly miracle of flight this bird .Excellent hunter with magnificent skills

That incredible footage looks like it took weeks to create. Also the sparrow hawk hugs the ground on approach, like a fighter jet does to stay beneath the radar.

Best footage of bird in flight I have ever seen. Only the BBC has the people with experience to do this. Bravo. My cockatiel couldn’t take his eyes of it he seemed nervous. Thank you 😊.

Incredible how the camera crew knew exactly the path the hawk would take. 😎

This video is about sparrowhawks hunting technique and how he catches the pray, not about him feeding. If you want to see it eating the pray search for a different video showing it, alternatively use your imagination, don't think there's something outstanding about it. In my opinion very well made, informative and captivating footage, delivering what was promised in the title.

I filmed one of these in my garden today! It had caught a pigeon and was feasting. I wish I could share the footage with you all, the markings and strength of this birds legs were amazing.

the flight is so damn smooth (especially when it overcome obstacles), I had chills watching it.

Sparrowhawks are so adorable and deadly! Awwwww!

they have been nesting in my backyard for several years now. a few years ago i was having problems with squirrels eating my peas and one morning i say some fur and a few guts as all that remained of a squirrel in the back of my garden. i have not had any more problems out of the furry little critters since then even though there are plenty behind my house. i also saw one of these hawks carrying a squirrel just up the road one day. i am driving down the road and see this low flying hawk about hood high cross the road in front of me. in its clutches was a squirrel dangling from it claws.

We have a similar smallish hawk called a coopers hawk. It also comes in hot and grabs birds around our place. It always startles me a smidge.

I love them. Perfect things.

Cannot make my mind up how much of this is genuine, part through two vertical trees looks like goshawk footage seen many times.

Well done on this one! A behind the scenes is in order. I'm wondering how many cameras were used to capture all of the angles. This is an amazing production.

"The Last thing a Garden bird might see, is this!!" The picture of the Sparrow Hawk was scary asf!! 🤣

Must have taken a long time to get those different story telling shots... Bravo !👏🏻

Excellent photography and the narrator nailed it.

1:25 I see my game is up. Somebody discovered that my front gate is actually a time machine.

Breathtaking and well staged. Too many coincidences. Very enlightening. So many angles. Its amazing.

Give Cameraman a raise Clearly the best camera shot I've seen so far in a bird video So impressive

Now this footage is great work by the BBC.

Kudos to BBC team, imagining how much u struggle to capture this moment. Hats off wonderful

Fantastic work, much appreciated and highly inspirational, thanks, Paul

These things chase the sparrows i feed in my back yard, it's crazy to hear them fly by suddenly as the birds have no idea it's coming for them. Really good hunters.

0:55 this hawk looks like a fighter jet XD

Should win an award for filming

i cant believe how many birds flew through the gate!

One word - EPIC. Both, the shooting of the footage and the sparrow hawk. Hats off!!

All birds are amazing.

What an amazing piece of footage, really exciting and informative, I was out for my daily exercise yesterday and saw a very fast glimpse of two blackbirds flying past me,then another slightly larger bird,yes a male sparrowhawk chasing them,so fast ,I didn't see the outcome but isn't nature fascinating?

Every nature video should be this quility

the birds' actions as stunning as the camerawork. Incredible....

apsoluutely breathtaking camera work. That is absulutely stuning to watch that bird fly that low for so long

This was Top gun: Maverick. Nothing man-made could do this, not by a long shot. Sports drones are great, but this just another level.

The approach of this hawk is like the final mission in Top Gun: Maverick. Hug the terrain, then pop up in the last second for a lighting strike.

OMG. Love hawks though sorry for the little tweeter♥️

what amazes me about all birds of prey is the pounding they give their bodies and wings in the course of doing their job. we look at their wings as being fragile and think they should be protected at all costs. I have seen these birds crash into bushes and such at high speed to catch their prey. incredibly built machines...

Cinematic, unreal, much respect

Incredibly shot

It was painstaking work to get this footage but we were very happy with the results in the end. One of the best shoots i've been involved in I think.

My dude knew he was filmed, that was a straight up flex

They always look furious.

We just saw this wonderful creature in action in our garden today.

insightful and wonderfully shot

There is a Sparrow Hawk which regularly visits my rear garden. It generally takes out Wood Pigeons. On at least two occasions, I've had a loud thud against either my kitchen window, or patio door. It's MO is to grab a pigeon in flight and smash it into the glass to stun it. The hawk then finishes it off and eats it on the patio. Usually, I just find a pile of feathers. One morning last summer, I was leaving for work at 0730 hrs, as I opened my front door, I saw a bird flash past up the side drive of my house. When I stepped out on to the drive and looked up towards the garage, the hawk was sitting on the top of my next door neighbours garden gate. We eyeballed each other for 30 seconds before the hawk shot off again. Quite magnificent.

Beautiful, but I don't know how you can say it's all over in seconds....I get a sparrow hawk in my garden a couple of times a year...the "catch of the bird" may be over with in seconds but most of the time the prey is still alive and actually often goes through quite a trauma until it's end...amazing yes but not always nice to watch but best to leave well alone, undisturbed and let nature take its course.

that was photography at its phenomenal best!!!!!!!!

Now this is the kind of high quality production i don't mind my TV licence fee going on.

"It's all over in seconds" My sex life in a nutshell.

Seen them in action in woods in the midlands , they reminded me fighter planes , swerving and angling round obstacles at speed.

Stunning photography!

Stunning videography.

I'm here because this just happened to me in my garden in my new home. Traumatised but nature infront of my eyes is just amazing.

Wow!!! The photography is amazing!

BBC’s cameramen are truly the finest

Brilliant. I adore BBC. Extraordinary camera 🎥 people.

Wow, This bird is better than any drone, and this is great footage.

These guys are REALLY good at catching birds too. My family are big bird feeders and live in the country and every time I see one of these it's holding something dead, and they're not that uncommon.

I think this video is one of the most detailed documentary about a bird so far.

The fact that they won't show the kill just shows how sensitive and out of touch people are with the real world.

They should do a program on how they made this very impressive video work.

Superb athlete that sparrow hawk . And is it even possible to film him better? You nailed it

Wow! Amazing footage! I've finally just managed to photograph one of these which was perched in a tree near my garden.

The agile strategist 😍

Knowledge time & quality production hallmarks of the BBC - well done !

Beautiful video of a beautiful (but deadly) bird of prey.

We had one go past us today down the allotment. It was like superman

City centres need more of these to combat the pigeon pest issue.

Pretty cool sparrowhawk, but those garden birds were cute as hell.

was one out my back today got a little sparrow, was amazing to see. never seen one before.

Wow, those cameras did an incredible job. We were just flying side by side with the hawk, watching every single detail.

Just saw one in my back garden in Edinburgh, dad has one in the Scottish borders that waits at his bird feeders. Sneaky birds! 😂 Beautiful too ❤

unbelievable camera, great art!

I have a female and male Sparrowhawk visiting my garden. They tend to pick off the black collared doves as they're slowe. The worst occasion was when the male decided to take on a Magpie, the screaming from the Magpie was horrendous, the other Magpies were pecking at the Sparrowhawk to get him to release his claw from the Magpie;s chest. Sadly after 30 mins nobody could take the screaming so we had to prise the Sparrowhawk off with a broom handle. We felt bad but this would have gone for hours. Sparrowhawks are magnificent birds and will wait in my Lilac tree for ages, the garden goes deathly silent as the garden birds are hiding, it reminds of the film Quiet Place! 😂

Looks like CGI

BBC make such great video..

Extraordinary footage. Never seen anything quite like it.

can this so called sparrow hawk snatch Donald Trump ??

That's a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Nature is truly truly wonderful more nimble than an F15 👍

Astonishing photography!

This bird seems different from american or old world kestrels. A little larger and more falcon-like. I guess 'sparrowhawk' is a regional term. Great video. Thrilling and beautiful. Thank you.

Beautifully captured

Beautifully filmed

Look at these precious modern dinosaurs

Predators are everywhere. Even the air is not spared .

These Drones are becoming extremely lifelike !

Sparrow is being hacked by the sattelites 😂

a sweet kiss from me on the sparrowhawk's cute beak

I love birds of prey but I also love those chubby little song birds... sign

What a perfect design

Wonderful director, & editor,

the Sparrowhawk is my Wizarding world Patronus, so here I am learning about it and I gotta say... I'm pretty happy with it lol