Eastern NC black bird

[MrsKroo]

I’m new to raising chickens. I live in a community, neighbors are next to me. Not a lot of land in each lot.
Anyways, I am raising two buff Orpingtons and now that the weather is changing I’m seeing a lot of a type of black bird flying over our backyard.
My husband says it’s a hawk.
My chickens run away into the coop when they see it.
I’m not certain it’s a hawk.
It’s the size of a hawk , but it’s all black like a crow and I don’t think it has a beak like a hawk.
It flies either alone or with one more bird.
Anyone in this area knows what bird this is?
Should I be concerned it’s a bird of prey?
Thank you for your willingness to share your knowledge.
I have learned and continue to learn a lot from this site.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

It's likely a Black Vulture. They're harmless to your birds. Most likely something died nearby and they're just soaring around for a snack.

 

[MrsKroo]

It's likely a Black Vulture. They're harmless to your birds. Most likely something died nearby and they're just soaring around for a snack.

Thank you. I’ll take a closer look.
My chickens fly hide in the run whenever they see this bird, I was convinced it was as dangerous.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Thank you. I’ll take a closer look.
My chickens fly hide in the run whenever they see this bird, I was convinced it was as dangerous.

Never hurts to keep an eye out! In the event it isn't a vulture, you'll definitely want to keep an eye on your girls. I hope everything works out!

 

[cmom]

Probably a Black Vulture. We have them around here and so far they haven't bothered my birds but my birds have nice large covered pens. I don't free range anymore due to losses from predators in the past. Good luck...