A keen photographer was perfectly placed as a dramatic scene unfolded before him.
Matthew Cornish, a budding nature photographer, was spending the weekend at home in Hellesdon when he looked out of the window just in time to spot a sparrowhawk swooping down to make his kill.
Matthew managed to capture the bird of prey in action (Image: Matthew Cornish)
He said: “There are a lot of pigeons in the area so we have been lucky to spot a fair few birds of prey looking for a meal.
“But I’ve never had a camera near me, I’ve heard a thud and spotted a bird of prey flying off with a pigeon – so this was very exciting.”
The sparrowhawk grabbed the pigeon and took it to the ground right outside Matthews' house, in Burnham Road.
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He has seen birds of prey in the area but never been able to photograph them in time (Image: Matthew Cornish)
He said: “I was more excited than the kids were, It was like I was a child.”
Matthew was pleased to finally get the chance to photograph the bird in all its glory and tick it off of his list.
“I knew I hadn’t photographed this type of bird before and I like to collect them like Pokemon," he added.
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The sparrowhawk flew off with it's kill shortly after trapping it (Image: Matthew Cornish)
“So adding a Sparrowhawk in the middle of a kill to my collection is really quite exciting.”
Female sparrowhawks are the larger of the species and can have a wingspan of up to 70cms, with around 30,000 breeding pairs in the UK annually.
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Neighbours watched in disbelief (Image: Matthew Cornish)
Matthew has in the past photographed buzzards, kestrels, red kites, herons and marsh harriers as well as egrets and barn owls.
He has even snapped a peregrine falcon, bittern and kingfisher so being able to add a sparrowhawk to the collection was a big deal for him.
Matthew said: “I try to take my camera everywhere I go, as in Norfolk you can always see something happening in nature, it’s just very rare to capture it like this.”
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