Way to close buddy, i have a problem....

Fellow winged predators are always welcomed in my backyard… We have lots of Red Tail Hawks which fly up on high. One evening I see this hawk flying under the canopy, darting about… It was flying alot like Starling fly. I looked it up and it was a Red Shoulder Hawk, which specialize in hunting under the canopy… I have a soft spot for predators, being one myself…

Don’t think that’s a cooper. Looks like a “red shoulder.” We have similar in my neighborhood. No fear of humans at all. Looking for food. Palmetto bugs, rats and whatever gotta eat.

Cool wildlife. Just make sure your shots clear through so he doesn’t eat a pellet

We have all kinds of raptors here, from the little kestrels up to great horned owls and bald eagles. All are welcome - and protected by law!

As mentioned above, the hawk in your post is little danger to your fish, chipmunks and mice had better keep out of sight though.

Hawk are skittish and hard to get pictures of, owls are more laid back and easier.

I'm fortunate to have a Barred Owl on my property. They are territorial home-bodies that are fairly easy to befriend. "Fred", the owl in the picture, will often follow me when I'm out for a walkabout. Nice to see.

Put a Owl next to the pond"

I have Bald Eagle pair and many many Turkey Vultures here . nice to watch both , the vultures soar on the wind currents above the lake .

shambozzie said:

My shooting buddy Otis like em dead. He show up when the steel starts ringing. Looking for dead sparrows and starlings.

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I like it, you got em trained

coastal drifter said:

I like it, you got em trained

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I like Otis" nice guy to have around"

Sharp shinned Hawks are generally SMALLER than Coopers (not much bigger than a blue Jay or mourning dove). They have a squared off tail compared to a Cooper's more rounded off tail. On the fly they're pretty hard to tell apart but the tail will tell the tale . We've had BOTH nest in the trees behind our place (though NOT at the same time). LOVE watching raptors & high flying soaring birds of any kind.

The backyard is cool, Otis even more so. I wonder if in SC, the floating 'gator head would keep predators away? Beneficial? Be Well, Brothers, B.

Yea no worries about that one getting after your fish. Mice or birds maybe

I’m gonna say what may be obvious. That bird don’t look like he likes you either!

My M8 lost quite a few expensive Koi to cats, and as the cats owners would not do something about it, my friend had to resort to drastic measures.
I am no expert but i dont think that guy will go for the fish, the ones that do here are large birds like Heron and so on.

Thats a red shouldered hawk. No threat to your fish.

When I arrived at my mountain cabin 3 weeks ago, this Spurvehauk (Sparrow Hawk in English?) was lying in the driveway outside the front door. The unusual thing was that the entrails had been eaten by another animal or bird. I suspect a fight between rivals, and that a crow had taken care of it later.

I was target shooting in my back yard when feathers started raining down around me, I knew a raptor had taken another bird but the feathers falling looked liked a raptors....this peregrine falcon had taken a coopers hawk! The hawk must have been busy feeding on something to not be aware of the peregrine! First peregrine I have ever laid eyes on, she was larger and much thicker and beefier than the coopers. Coopers hawks feathers....could hear the peregrine crunching away on it. Was almost directly above where I was. I used my Zeiss binos to watch it eat and to identify the other raptor.