Missing Birds

The first thing I noticed was the absence of the yellowhammers from their usual haunts. There has also been a significant reduction in the number of greenfinches around and other finches, such as linnet.
Then I saw a male sparrowhawk hedge hopping through the gardens. The next day a female hawk briefly hovered overhead as I sat in my garden. These hawks must have young for them both to be hunting at the same time. This seems somewhat early as they usually try to time their hatching with the emergence from the nest of young prey.
The birds of prey appear to be doing well, but the hedgerow birds are sadly diminished as a consequence.