Predator recovers from house break-in

A man has helped nurse a bird of prey back to health after it crashed through his window.

David McLean was sitting in his sun porch when a sparrowhawk smashed through the glass and landed on the floor of a house he was renovating on the Ross of Mull, the south-western peninsula of the Hebridean island.

After getting advice from the RSPB Scotland’s office in Mull, Mr McLean placed the injured bird on a towel in an old dog cage which he kept in his cottage, covered by a blanket.

The next day the sparrowhawk had recovered sufficiently to be released outside. It flew off as soon as the door of the cage was opened.

Mr McLean said he was shocked when the bird interrupted his peaceful afternoon on a recent Sunday.

He said: “At first I thought I was under attack and cowered on the floor. But then I spotted it: a sparrowhawk, lying dazed and confused not far from my head. It had presumably missed its target on the bird table and went right through my window.

“The next morning my new house guest was flapping about, clearly on the mend. I carried the cage outside, told it sternly that it was welcome to call again but could it knock next time, and I opened the cage door.