Hawk troubles

[DianaC]

One day a hawk, I think it was a redtailed hawk, dive bombed my Rhode Island reds. I chased it away and all 9 chickens are safe, but now I'm worried because I let them run out in the yard and I don't dare leave them alone. Ever since, the hawk seems to be casing the joint and there are frequent flyovers. Should I be worried?

Here are a couple of pictures of the evil bird:

 

[KLH2010]

I'm no help--sorry--but those are great pictures!

 

[dacjohns]

Yes, you should be worried. If your birds are full grown you don't have to worry as much.

Hawks are not evil.

I'm not sure that it is a red-tailed hawk. Not that it matters. I would need to see photos of it in flight and hear its call. Your pictures are great but the angles and color changes from the lighting make it hard for me to ID.

 

[Beekissed]

Beautiful bird and great pics!!!! Definitely not a red-tailed, though! Isn't he just beautiful?

 

[amazondoc]

Not a red tail. Beautiful pics, though!

Uhhhhhhh, maybe a Cooper's? Hmph, it's been too long since I seriously tried to ID hawks. But redtails usually have a mostly white breast, with a necklace/bar across the chest. --- edited to say no, I'm an idiot, that's not a Cooper's either. Hmmmmmm....

This is a red tail. Let's see if this works -- sorry if the pic comes out too big!

 

[DianaC]

How does Red-shouldered hawk sound? I've done a bit of researching on the net and the pictures seem to match pretty well. I'm in California near Oakland.

 

[maco5]

sure looks like a cooper's hawk to me!
their main diet is pigeons and doves, but would take a chicken if possible!

 

[dixygirl]

Quote:
You should be very worried. One of these with a red tail , ate one of my African Gray parrots, right in front of my face!!!

The are VERY DANGEROUS predators.

 

[Beekissed]

Immature Cooper's Hawk?

 

[amazondoc]

No, the Cooper's have vertical stripes more than that checkering effect. Look here:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/accipiterIDtable.htm

And here are pics of red-shouldered:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-shouldered_Hawk_dtl.html

I think it's something more like a Merlin. Dang, I wish I wasn't so out of practice with these guys! Unfortunately, I won't have time to really look for possibilities until after the weekend. Oh well!