This morning while slowly waking up with a cup of coffee on my balcony I observed a medium sized raptor with a kill fly over my garden in the direction of the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens. I was beyond excited as the only raptors I have previously seen from my garden are Spotted Eagle Owls and Yellow billed Kites. Luckily I had my camera close by for a few snaps. I initially thought it might be a Gabar Goshawk but on closer inspection of the photographs it is almost certainly an Ovambo Sparrowhawk with what looks like a Red-faced mousebird in its talons. I guess this is not completely unexpected as Ovambo Sparrowhawks are regularly sighted in Golden Harvest, which is about 10km from where i stay and have occasionally been spotted in Delta Park - still it is fantastic to have these spectacular birds right on my doorstep and i will be keeping a close eye on the sky for the next few weeks. Here are the rest of the photographs:
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