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Population trends and threats
Habitat and food availability remain the main limiting and controlling factors of sparrowhawk numbers.
Several factors contributed to a decline in sparrowhawk numbers in the past. Deforestation over thousands of years, because of man's need for firewood and agriculture, reduced the amount of suitable habitat.
The development of efficient guns and their use in game preservation resulted in indiscriminate killing of birds of prey from the 1840s until they were first given legal protection in 1961.
Sparrowhawks survived this, although their numbers were significantly reduced. Other species fared less well and this illegal killing caused the UK-wide or regional extinction of several other birds of prey species.
Although DDT residues are still found in sparrowhawks, pesticide contamination no longer depresses the population. Illegal killing is also much reduced following the legal protection given to sparrowhawks. Lack of suitable habitat and food availability are probably the main factors limiting sparrowhawk numbers today.
Last modified: 15 June 2010