Bird of Prey ID please?

Yeah on further reflection I doubt it's an osprey, he wasn't fluffy enough or big enough. Haven't seen many sparrowhawks that match those markings though, what did you think of it being a young Goshawk?

I don't see them often enough to be an expert but I always assume an easy answer unless there's good enough evidence to suggest it's something rarer. For me, there's not enough in the photo to say Goshawk, despite the face markings, but that's just my opinion.

Some Sparrowhawks especially females can have a noticeable eye stripe. It looks too small for a Goshawk and they would be a very rare visitor to a garden I'd have thought.

Just to add my twopennyworth for perspective, I read a book last year called 'Looking for the Goshawk' by Conor Mark Jameson (RSPB). He was helping a chap in Berlin to catch, collect data and ring Goshawks.

An adult female Sparrowhawk weighs around 330 gr. Adult female Goshawk in Berlin weighed in at 1330 gr.

Big difference.

Nev.