What bird of prey?

[TheLemon]

In my garden yesterday plucking a small bird!

We are in the SE but it was too small for a red kite. It had a speckled chest and a white patch on its back. I took photos and a video but I don't think I can upload the video. It sort of had feathered trousers.

Normally we only get starlings and goldfinches so this is very exciting.

Sparrowhawk! How exciting 😁

A sparrow hawk was my first thought but it didn't have the same head shape.

I wondered about merlin or hobby or maybe a goshawk.

I'm unsure of the scale but it looks too small to me to be a sparrowhawk and the colouring doesn't seem bold enough. And if it's too small for a sparrowhawk it's certainly not a goshawk. Potentially a female or juvenile merlin, but they are quite rare.

Yes it's hard to see scale in the photo. The bird feeder on the fence helps a bit.

I'd say it was about 10-12 inches high.

Also the feet were bright yellow.

Sparrow hawk is the most likely - but your photo isn't good enough for an ID. That's just what they do. Males are much smaller than females.

Red kites mainly eat carrion.

Check the RSPB website as it shows where each bird lives and describes their habits. This page might be useful: www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/sparrowhawk/

Says that Sparrow hawks are ideally suited to hunting in gardens. The others are not.

If it is in a garden then most likely to be Sparrowhawk. Red Kites are scavengers and unlikely to fly low enough to navigate built up areas and it isn't the right colour anyway. Sparrowhawks regularly seen in our village chasing pigeons through gardens.

It looks like a Peregrine Falcon.

Female sparrow hawk, we had one in the back garden last week, terrorising the starlings.

Yes, I think a female sparrowhawk has it! Thanks all!