Dead Hawk

Got out of my car today at my mother's house in Richardson about 4:00 pm. As I stepped up on the curb a hawk came tumbling down and hit near my feet. DOA. What kind of hawk and what could have killed it? No power lines nearby. Just a big oak. Poisoned rat maybe?

That's the best kind of hawk.

Sparrow Hawk?

Colors of a Prairie Falcon but seems a little small for one.

a young Coppers hawk

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/spp_...8&width=875

Too bad. I like having them around. They keep the squirrels thinned out around my house.

Yep, very fun to watch those guys. Hate to see that.

We have a pair of Harris hawks that raise their young near our house....they hunt ring-neck dove and tree rats from our backyard feeders.....very kool to watch.....I love raptors second only to snakes.....

Harris hawks are really cool. I hunted with a cast of 3 out in Abilene at the yearly falconry meet years ago. Very incredible birds is an understatement. Very laid back bird around people.

I can spend hours watching them chase field mice.

Harrow Hawk. Bad bird flu going around. Do not touch it!

Sad to see, love those birds.

You gonna send it to the taxidermist?

Another vote for Cooper Hawk. We have one around here and it takes no chit from anything, watched it take on 3 crows and run them off. Also saw it rob a Blue Jays nest and they chased him off.

Dove eating fools too.

"Bad bird flu..do not touch"

Uh oh.

Tasted like chicken.

I love dead hawks almost as much as I love dead yotes.

Just a word of caution, it is illegal to possess any part (bird, feathers, feet, etc.) of a raptor (of any kind). Covered under the Migratory Bird act.

I have been fascinated by raptors since I was a small child. A few suggestions, first call TPWD tell them you found a dead Cooper hawk. Put the bird out of reach of children, pets ect. then wash your hands and arms with as strong of a detergent that you have available. Beautiful hawk it is a shame but you need to take some precautions.

It's a juvenile and either a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned hawk.

That would get him and the Taxi thrown in jail.

I got to ask. There are a couple of comments here about a dead hawk being a good thing. I consider myself to have an open mind. What do you not like about Hawks? I absolutely love raptors - love to watch them. Just curious what you have against them. It surely can't be a love of mice, rats, squirrels, and bunnies? Do you suspect them of playing a part in the quail decline and if so, is their evidence of that as opposed to fire ants, hogs, etc.? Just curious.

Some people don't because they eat dove & quail, personally I like them

I enjoy watching hawks on my place and believe they are pretty beneficial for varmint control - and viewing. My wife jokes that one has become my best friend. When I am on tractor, he stays real close watching. He knows I'm going to expose lots of rats, mice, and snakes, and is constantly swooping around me looking for dinner.

No way to tell if same hawk, but while in the blind on Saturday evening, I was watching rats come out of the prickly pear and grab corn, when all of the sudden one of my hawks buddies swooped down and caught a huge rat. Bingo! He perched on a mesquite branch about 20' away from my blind a started chowing down. Pretty entertaining.

I love seeing those things pick up rats and snakes...so cool to watch. We had one of those rare swallow-tailed kites flying around ours and the neighborhood behind us for awhile. We tried to find where it was nesting because they had a monitoring program on it for tpwd and we were going to call once we spotted a nest. Could never find its nest. Now we havnt seen one in good while.

Welcome to the outdoors and Nature.

More than likely, it offended Hillary.