A male Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, above the Sierra de la Plata en route on its migration over the Straits of Gibraltar to Morocco.
Many British birders, myself included, probably think of Sparrowhawks as being sedentary. However, as well as being resident breeders in the UK, having around 31,000 pairs, they are also passage migrants as well as some of ‘our’ population being wintering visitors.
This updated animated view of the migration of Sparrowhawks shows a distinct buildup in southern Spain in September, even though there are relatively few birds in Iberia over the breeding period. It shows that in the last week of September, when this photo was taken, the numbers of Sparrowhawks crossing the Straits is at their peak. In the relatively short time when we were in the area, we saw at least twelve Sparrowhawks, with five together in the air at the same time.
However, these birds migrating into Africa are not British-born birds. This BTO report shows all ringing recoveries of birds ringed in the UK.
As far as the return migration in Spring goes, this scholarly article published in 2007 said:
“There has been a sharp increase in the numbers of Sparrowhawks crossing the Strait at Gibraltar in spring. The mean hourly passage rate has increased by 75% since the 1970s.”
Bioone.org
