Image: Accipiter cirrocephalus - Collared Sparrowhawk

Description: Accipiter cirrocephalus: Old Gluepot, Birdlife Australia Gluepot Reserve, South Australia. www.gluepot.org This one looked like it was a regular and hung out often at the Old Gluepot water point. It was a real treat to be rewarded by sitting still and being patient enough to watch it gradually come closer. It probably takes advantage of smaller birds coming to the water. Though it went hungry there this day. He was the only action there! Probably due to all the rain, there were puddles and other places for the birds to drink and bathe. It returned this day and then we saw it again here the next day as well. My first encounter was at camp. I was sitting in the van, and it (this same one maybe, it wasn't far from where this one was taken) flew down into a branch at eye level only a couple of metres away, and we eyeballed each other for what seemed like ages, before he flew off to a tree nearby and looked back at me. We both had to recover from the shock, I think. I was able to get a photo from there but not a very good one because of the light. I am so glad I had this second encounter.
Title: Accipiter cirrocephalus - Collared Sparrowhawk
Credit: Accipiter cirrocephalus / Collared Sparrowhawk
Author: sunphlo from South Australia
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes