An Unexpected Sighting

I am lucky enough to have an area of woodland right next to my garden with a hawthorne hedge separating it from my garden. Consequently we have a great variety of small birds visiting our feeders which are hung from a silver birch tree about 6ft from the hedge. Yesterday I was sitting in my conservatory watching all of the visiting birds when, suddenly, about 20 wood pigeons stuck up from the trees and flew rapidly away. I guessed that there was some sort of predator in the area but could, initially, not see anything. There are a resident pair of sparrow hawks in the woods which regularly swoop through our garden and I have often seen kestrels circling overhead, However, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next. Cruising majestically over the tops of the trees came a huge bird which was clearly neither a sparrow hawk nor a Kestrel and, at first, I was completely bemused as to what it could be. Then, as it flew directly over the garden I could clearly see a distinctive forked tail which could only mean one thing. It must be a Red Kite. I watched spellbound as it lazily flew into the distance with barely a wing beat but, unfortunately, my camera was not quickly available so I was unable to get a photo. Nevertheless, I consider myself very fortunate to have seen such a wonderful bird and will now be looking out for any future visits.