What type of hawk is this?

Sfraker

Songster
5 Years
Feb 17, 2014
560
73
151
Western NC
I finally got a decent picture of the hawk that is in my area. Once in a while it lands on the duck pen fence and watches the ducks. Happily I have netting over the pen so it can't get in. I see it almost daily but it never holds still long enough to get a picture or a good look at it.


 
Just checked my backyard birders handbook. Red tailed hawks have just that, a red tail, chestnut brown. I would say that it is either a coopers hawk (chicken hawk) or maybe a broadwing hawk. They both have the white bar across the tail. It looks a little big to be a sharp shinned hawk. Plus, they have a slightly longer tail and are about the size of a mocking bird. Either one of the two will go after your chickens or small fowl. We have a coopers hawk that flies overhead once in a while and it will chase down our hens until they run into adequate cover.
 
I was afraid it was a Cooper's hawk. Hopefully my ducks are too big for it. One time I saw it on the ground with my Guineas charging at it until it flew off.
 
I am near Charlotte NC if that helps at all. I know we have red shouldered, red tailed and coopers hawks around.
 

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