My friends think that I'm mad, but I'm pretty sure I saw an Osprey the other day. Could anyway confirm what I observed is an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) or, at least, Osprey-ish?

It was early evening and I was walking our dogs near a Pendinas reservoir in north Wales, UK. I saw a couple of buzzards (common buzzards, Buteo buteo) hovering on the horizon above some trees. I was watching the buzzards when I noticed a third larger bird. Wing span easily half the width of the buzzards again, so roughly 1 1/2 times larger than the buzzards.

I observed all three birds for some time though binoculars. Though they were quite some distance away so I couldn't quite get a really clear view.

At first I thought it was simply another (larger) buzzard but its wings seemed different, rather then a splayed finger wing tips of the other two birds, its wings seemed much longer and distinctly more pointed and downwards pointing at the tips.

It roosted in a tree on the other side of the lake. It was very distinctively a Raptor (which ruled out my other though of some kind of sea bird). Again, I viewed it though my binoculars. It appeared dark brown and had a distinctive white patch on its chest. Again, quite some distance so hard to get a really clear view.

I went home and checked my bird book. The only bird I could find that matched the description of the size and the distinctive wing pattern was an Osprey. There are half a dozen nesting pairs further up the coast from me but they are not common by any stretch.

Based on me description do you think I could I of confused this bird with another? Or does the Osprey seem the most likely?