About the Author

As a boy in a Derbyshire village, Ian Newton discovered his first Sparrowhawk nest and so began a continuing fascination with this relatively common but often elusive bird of prey. Many years later as a scientist with the Nature Conservancy Council he embarked on a 14-year study of the species in two areas of SW Scotland, attempting each year to trap and ring all Sparrowhawks present and to find all of their nests. As a result many individuals were closely studied throughout their lives.