Anyone know what bird this is in my garden?

[butterandcream]

It sadly killed a smaller bird and at this point it was sat on it, or had it in its claws. We opened the back door and it flew away.
It was a large bird. Curious to know what breed?

I would guess sparrowhawk.

Sparrow hawk

Sparrowhawk?

Yup! Female sparrow hawk. Ruthless, but beautiful.

Yeah sparrowhawk.
We used to have feather explosion aites on our garden. It often just sat on a fence so we had staring contests. We had a juvenile

thanks all. Possibly not that large then ☺️ good to know in case she returns!
My cat stayed well clear!

We had a Red Falcon happily eat a pigeon in our back garden recently! Every other bird disappeared for several hours and after it left there was nothing but a few feathers left - impressive!

Duh - not a red falcon it was a peregrine (we get red kites too flying over)

We call them murder birdies in this house. One ate a black bird on the lawn and the cat was staying well out of it.

Looks like a female sparrow hawk.

Why is it "sad" that it killed the smaller bird? It's how it feeds to survive, it's nature. If I were you I wouldn't have interrupted it. Some birds of prey are at risk of being endangered

We had one about 18 inches from our patio doors eating a dead pigeon. You could see the mark on the glass where the hawk had chased the poor thing into the window to stun it. I have a photo but it's rather gory.

Yes they are always swooping over our garden. I came home to a clear imprint of one on our window. It must have flown straight at the window full wingspan. It survived as there was no sign of it.

Oh wow, they are beauties !!