Talon contest winner...?

Now that autumn is well under way and there's frost on the roof every morning there has been an influx of small birds into the garden - various tits, goldfinches, greenfinches and the like. So this afternoon I cleaned the bird tables and feeders and bought some wild bird food, in preparation for the winter garden bird season. 

It turns out that I wasn't the only one anticipating the arrivals on the bird table.....

This beautiful visitor from higher up the food chain appeared on the garden fence.

I've never really had a good look at a sparrowhawk's talons before, but take a look at that amazing extended middle toe. 

When I was at school I had a chemistry master who had an index finger like that, which he used to single out hapless pupils that he fired questions at....