What kind of hawk is this? pic heavy

Mama Hen Chris

Songster
9 Years
Aug 24, 2010
1,789
138
221
Peoria, AZ
I happened to be in the chicken coop checking the egg boxes and my 2 Shih Tzu's were barking a ferocious bark that I have never heard from them. I looked out the coop door and thought maybe the neighbor was looking over the fence. ( 3 gals were singing the egg song) I saw no neighbors, but the dogs would not stop. I walked to the patio and tried to send the dogs in the house and they would not go. In the corner of my eye I saw why they were barking. There was a hawk 3 feet away from me and the dogs!!!! It was sitting on our fence between the house and the pool. OMG!!!!!! It was soaking wet. I thought maybe it had fallen in the pool and jumped on the fence to dry. What I think really happened was that the bird was on the dogs pool ramp and it took a nice cool bath and jumped on the fence to dry off.

I ran in the house and got the dogs in (locked their doggie door) and grabbed my camera. Left the dogs in the house and took pics. The "girls" were still squawking but they were safe out of site under their "patio" in their run. They have a covered run as well and hardwire cloth. Am glad I got DH to change out the chicken wire. I do not let them free range in the yard without my supervision. Good thing!

Here I am now trying to get this bird to fly away. I threw my sandals at it, hitting it and it just gave me the stink eye. I hit it with the broom...still stink eye. This bird was not going anywhere! I stayed outside by my gals and watched this bird to make sure it did not see my gals. Apparently my gals knew it was there...they would not hush. Finally after an hour and trying again to shoo it away , it flew off.

I put more shade cloth on the sides of the run so nothing can see in. Since it is 100+ here, half my gals hang out in their A/C coop and the other half hang out under their patio with a mist system.

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Possibly red tailed hawk... I can't see tail... but face is more hawklike than eagle or kestral or falcon.... I am just looking at google images... Can't say for sure but definetly a chicken eater.
 
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Looks to me like you've got a juvenile cooper's hawk. Beautiful pictures! Nice to see someone who's first instinct isn't SSS, especially with birds of prey- but I'm partial to hawks, eagles, and falcons though.
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Those are lovely photographs.

As fearless as the hawk was, I suspect it might have been captive raised. Take how expensive hawks are to feed and take the way that people are abandoning their pets because of job loss, and I think it is very possible that someone simply turned their trained hawk loose to fend for itself.
 

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