Working from home has its benefits. A glance out of the kitchen window one grey Thursday recently brought rich dividends. There in the cherry plum tree was a bird. Usually it would be a pigeon, a robin, a great tit or goldfinch. This was larger and was clearly eating something it had pinned to a branch. It was a sight I’ve never seen before – almost a bucketlist scenario in fact, a sparrowhawk in my garden. I’ve had the odd sparrowhawk encounter in my pocket of south-east London before – soaring over Cator park, racing down Perry Vale, zipping low through Mayow Park and most vividly nearly taking my ear off while chasing sparrows in Bell Green. Yes, Bell Green, that hitherto unnoticed wildlife haven. I’ve seen one try to eat a pigeon at Beckenham Cricket Club while out running. It was chased away by crows and the pigeon flew off unimpressed by its brief ordeal.

But this was new to me. A sparrowhawk having lunch (a poor little long-tailed tit I believe) for about 10 minutes, unhindered, just a few feet from me. I had to take photos through the kitchen window so as not to disturb him (it was def a male) so the quality isn’t great but beggars can’t be choosers. I’m still rather excited by the whole thing truth be told.