Could Have Been The Best Day Ever - 4.3.15

The day started off like any other but at around 2pm whilst in VR cemetery a loud glip glip call alerted me to a Crossbill as it headed over the NE corner. Sadly it didn't feel like the cemetery was appealing enough to stick around.

But it went a bit mad about 45 minutes later at the council yard in Oxhey Park. I'd just put a mower away and was walking back to the van at the far east end of the yard when I heard alarm calls from the local birds. Expecting to see one of the Sparrowhawks that bred in the woods last year I was amazed to see what shape wise resembled an overweight Hobby. If it was May and not March that's what I would have told myself but this bird looked like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was Hobby size but very pale underneath apart from a black wedge on the wing tips/primaries. The tail was short and the wings were almost permanently pointed backwards at the carpal joint. It then moved east but suddenly stopped and hung in the air like a Kestrel for a couple of seconds but at no point did it flap its wings. It the carried on east and was lost behind the trees. All in all I viewed the bird for perhaps 10 seconds and annoyingly I never saw the upperwing. Although I've never seen one in the wild the only possible species it could be based on the plumage, structure and behaviour is a BLACK-WINGED KITE but then I have to bare in mind it's early March, it's Hertfordshire and it'd be a 1st for Britain!! There's also the escape factor to include. Make up you're own mind with this one as I don't know what to make of it all!