10th September – early October

Early autumn is a short but highly active season for Sparrowhawk photography, lasting only around one month from mid-September to mid-October. This period is marked by autumn colours and constant movement around the feeding site. Both adult and young Sparrowhawks are often present, creating lively and unpredictable situations that are especially rewarding to photograph. Sparrowhawks appear do playful-looking interactions with Eurasian Jays, adding an unexpected and highly entertaining element to the hide sessions.

The same hide is also used for Golden Eagle photography, offering excellent opportunities to work with both species during a single session. The local breeding pair regularly visits the site and may also bring a juvenile bird in autumn, allowing photographers to capture interaction between adult and young Eagles alongside fast-moving Sparrowhawks.

Have a look at images taken from these hides at our Flickr gallery for Golden Eagle hides.

Our Sparrowhawk photography sessions take place from the same professionally positioned hides used for Golden Eagle photography. The hides are located at the edge of a rocky opening within a pine forest, offering open sightlines and excellent visibility. This setting creates ideal conditions for photographing fast-moving Sparrowhawks at close range, often close to eye level, with plenty of space to follow sudden approaches and rapid changes in direction.

The open terrain and gently sloping foreground allow Sparrowhawks to be photographed in flight, during landings, and while interacting with other birds. Natural front and side light, combined with long distances towards the forest background, help separate the subject clearly and highlight autumn colours.

Please note that Sparrowhawk photography is booked under the Golden Eagle hide product, as both species are photographed from the same hide setup.

Premium hides for Sparrowhawk photography

The Premium hides offer increased comfort and improved visibility during longer sessions. Large windows make it easier to track the rapid movements of Sparrowhawks as they approach the feeding site, helping photographers react quickly and anticipate behaviour. This is particularly important when photographing a fast-moving species with unpredictable flight paths.

Inside the hides, photographers have a stable working setup with adjustable camera shelves, allowing fine control of shooting height. Each photographer has two shooting openings, and the hides can be comfortably heated with gas heaters.

The shared entryway provides full standing height, offering space to move, stretch, and prepare equipment, and includes a spacious dry toilet. Smaller forest birds are fed in front of the hides, often attracting additional activity during Sparrowhawk sessions. Built in 2023, the Premium setup consists of three two-person hides with a common entryway.

Economy hides for Sparrowhawk photography

The Economy hides provide a simple and functional setup for Sparrowhawk photography. These hides are lower, with smaller windows and fixed camera shelf height. Each photographer has two shooting openings, and bean bags can be used for additional camera support.

The hides can be heated with gas heaters. A dry toilet is available in the shared entryway, although there is no standing height. There are no fixed feeders in front of the Economy hides. The Economy setup includes two hides for two and three photographers with a shared entryway.

Both the Premium and Economy hides are located at the same site and offer similar distances and photographic opportunities for Sparrowhawks, using the same feeding area and open forest setting as for Golden Eagles.

For a closer look at the differences between the Premium and Economy hides, you can watch our video on Youtube:

Sparrowhawks are relatively small and very fast birds, and they can be photographed using a wide range of focal lengths. The distance to the Sparrowhawks typically varies between approximately 5 and 50 metres, depending on the situation and the type of images you wish to capture. Sparrowhawks may perch very close to the hides, sometimes only a few metres away, which is ideal for headshots and portraits. However, action shots can be more challenging when the activity happens very close to the hides.

Lenses in the 300–600 mm range work particularly well for flight photography, while longer focal lengths are well suited for portraits and detailed images. For action shots involving two Sparrowhawks, or Sparrowhawk interactions with Eurasian Jays, focal lengths around 150–300 mm are often ideal. As Sparrowhawks are extremely fast flyers and action situations develop quickly, a fast shutter speed is required to freeze movement (minimum 1/1600 s). Fast lenses with a wide aperture are therefore recommended for Sparrowhawk photography (for example, 300 mm f/2.8 or 400 mm f/2.8).

Sparrowhawks are generally not very shy, especially when several individuals are present. They focus on each other and often ignore lens movement. However, as Golden Eagles also visit the same site, changing lenses during the hide session is not allowed. Instructions for successful Golden Eagle photography are provided before the hide session. When a Golden Eagle lands in nearby trees, all Sparrowhawk photography must stop and all lens movement must be completely frozen.

Please bring your own tripod head. Cameras are attached either to sliding mounts in the Premium hides or to metal ground pods on wooden shelves in the Economy hides, both using a standard 3/8” mounting screw. Tripods cannot be used inside the hides.