Male sparrowhawk on nest? Unlikely?

The bird walk on Tooting Common early this morning was rather too cold and damp, so We peeled off after two hours and went back to Bedford Wood to take another look at the sparrowhawk nest, this time it looked very much like the male was on it, but the information I have read suggests this is unlikely, who knows? It certainly looked like him up there, though whether there are eggs in the nest yet is another question, we saw the male and female earlier in a maginifcient tussle with a group of magpies, well away from the nest, the view of the male sideways on was particularly magnificent, he is a handsome, rufous bird, and looked much longer through my Carl Zeiss birthday binoculars. I've just read that they don't mate with the same male, contrary to anthropomorphic anecdote, the female  goes off after they've reared the young successfully, while he stays behind, the following season she will pick the best mate.

Below, this is Streatham Wood.

We saw the pair in Bedford Wood mating on the 5th of April. If the gestation period is 32-35 days and that mating was successful, then sparrowhawk birthday(s) should be between the 8th & the 11 th of  May. the RSPB says this:
"Three to six eggs are laid at two-day intervals during May. Incubation lasts for 32-35 days and the eggs hatch in succession over two or more days, so that the chicks are different sizes. The female helps the chicks to break out of their shell. They are covered in pure white short down, and their eyes are already partly open when they hatch. " (RSPB.org)
Earlier we saw a female sparrowhawk being mobbed by a crow near Dr Johnson Avenue, then , another view of a sparrowhawk, female I am sure, by the whiter underwings, diving onto a pigeon, I'm wondering if it was the same female who took the catch back to the male, then we saw the magpies fighting them for it back in Bedford Wood, all very exciting. We saw greenfinches, heard a willow warbler, saw a female black cap. There was speculation that three long eared owls were seen before in the cafe wood - this sounds improbable, but you never know I guess! What a sight that would be.
It looked like we saw the male on the nest, but both sexes have bars on their tail feathers and white spots on their backs, so it's hard to say, I thought it looked like the male.
Re the idea of a male sitting on the nest, the RSPB book does not rule out the male taking part although most of the nest work is done by the female, the RSPB site states:
"  The female has sole care of the eggs and young, while the males' role (from egg-laying through to fledging) is to provide all food required by the female and the chicks. The female will hunt as the chicks get older, but only if the male is unable to catch adequate food by himself." (RSPB.org)  I'm sure we are going to see the chicks quite clearly in another 12 or so days. 



RSPB.org on sparrowhawks: