In a flap as hawk pays shop visit
A Stirling shopkeeper was left in a flap after a pair of surprise guests paid a visit to his city centre store in 2017.
Saeed Khalily couldn’t believe what he was seeing when a sparrowhawk swooped into his Best One shop on the city’s Baker Street.
The raptor flew through the open door and knocked over a stack of Pot Noodles and made its way to the ice lollies before heading for the till.
The hawk, whose species are known to frequent city centres, was in hot pursuit of a pigeon which had earlier also entered the convenience store.
Mr Khalily, who captured the bizarre ordeal on CCTV, called in the help of his human customers before arming himself with a broom and blue shopping basket in a bid to rid his store of the birds.
In dramatic camera footage seen by the Observer, the 52-year-old shop boss can be seen ducking and diving as the bird flaps around above his head.
He told the Observer: “I was just sitting in the shop dealing with a customer when a pigeon flew in – and then this hawk followed it. I couldn’t believe it.
“The hawk knocked over all of the Pot Noodles and went towards the window. It was trying to get back outside. When it couldn’t get out it started flying around the shop and went down behind the freezer.
“I got some of the customers to help and we had to take the freezer away from the wall to help the bird out. I had the box and I was trying to catch it safely as we didn’t want it to injure itself.”
Mr Khalily explained that the sparrowhawk then headed to a window behind his till in a fresh bid to escape before eventually leaving via the front door – following the pigeon which had earlier left.
Puzzled by what he had seen he began surfing the internet in a bid to identify his feathered visitor – using a still image of the bird from his CCTV footage.
He added: “I was looking on Google and I think I found a few hawks which look quite similar. We have a lot of customers to the shop but I don’t often see any like this.”
After examining the footage the Observer’s Country View columnist at the time Keith Graham identified the bird as a sparrowhawk.
He said the species had moved into urban areas such as Stirling encouraged by the growing pigeon population.
Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces.
Their wingspan can be 60cm to 80cm.
Their diet is predominantly small birds while the larger female often preys on bigger birds such as pigeons.
Its hunting technique relies on its stealth and it usually watches from a perch before flying fast and low – using all available cover. They intend to catch their prey by complete surprise, but if they fail lengthy chases can ensue – although not often through convenience stores.
Driver shocks poppy ceremony
A dozy driver caused a stir when they left their car parked in front of Stirling’s war memorial on Remembrance Sunday back in 2013.
Police tried desperately to track down the owner of the white Citroen DS3 before hundreds of people arrived to honour Scotland’s war heroes.
But they were unable to find the motorist, whose car was surrounded by traffic cones as the service to honour the city’s fallen continued.
Former Argyll Frank Sutherland (77) from Bannockburn, commented: “While some people were just laughing at the audacity of it, others were offended by the fact someone would do that.
“But there was speculation that maybe it was a tourist who didn’t know about Remembrance Day.
“Certainly, if it was someone British then they showed a terrible lack of respect.”
A police spokesman said: “Stirling Council would have put up signs about temporary road closures in the area.
“We tried to assist by tracking down the registered keeper of the vehicle to get it moved but we were unable to do so in time.”
They added: “Since the vehicle wasn’t causing an obstruction there was no offence committed.”
Soldier laid to rest 100 years on
The body of a young Stirling-born soldier, believed to have fallen in battle during the First World War, was finally laid to rest with full military honours more than a century after his death in 2023.
Lance Serjeant Robert Brand, of the 9th (Glasgow Highland) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, was buried at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Messines Ridge Cemetery in Belgium.
He was laid to rest alongside two unknown soldiers from the same regiment.
Lance Serjeant Brand was just 24 when it is believed he was killed during the Battle of the Lys, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ypres, which was fought between April 7 and 29 ,1918.
The remains of all three soldiers were recovered by archaeologists working in Neuve Eglise as part of a project to extend a potato farm.