Weary Bank raptor query

[Steve H]

I was walking near the river at Weary Bank when I saw a Buzzard soaring around pursued by some swallows. A few moments later a Sparrow Hawk flew across and then a larger raptor midway between the size of the Buzzard & Sparrow Hawk flew at the Buzzard. It was a similar shape to the sparrowhawk but much larger with rounded wings and a fairly long tail with a similar soaring flight to the Buzzard -it was hard to make out any markings & I didn't hear any call, any suggestions?

[steve ly]

The 2 choices I would go for are
Goshawk
or femail Spawk.
Steve.

[Steve H]

thanks a lot Steve thats very helpful - As I've never knowingly seen a goshawk in the wild, so im not confident in my identification although looking through the field guide its the best fit.  I'll just take a philosophical line and say I enjoyed the spectacle of the goshawk/female sparrowhawk tackling this buzzard immensely and keep my eyes peeled when I go back at the week end