CLOSED: Hawk - gorgeous pics

This hawk is stalking my chickens. It divebombed my chickens a month ago. Now, whenever the chickens are in the garden, I supervise them. And a hawk often shows up and sits in the canopy and watches us. I took these gorgeous pictures of it when it was sitting in a neighbor's front yard. It was amazingly unafraid of me and was calling back and forth with another hawk in a nearby tree. I live in the East Bay just minutes from Oakland, Calif.

What is this bird?
http://www.members.aol.com/iwog/hawk1.jpg
http://www.members.aol.com/iwog/hawk2.jpg

Red-shouldered Hawk.

Best to put up some sort of netting roof over your chicken feeding area.

Resin

Looks like the California version of an immature Red-shouldered Hawk.

Here's what an immature Red-shouldered looks like in Florida-ours are lots paler here, both juvies and adults. These guys usually go after mammals and snakes-wild birds are too quick for them...but chickens, especially small/young ones might not be as challenging.

Dang!...was hoping it was Tea-time in the UK and Resin wouldn't see this one.

I forgot to mention that our Red-shouldered Hawks have no heads....must be a sub-species.

Not tea time here yet! That's in 10 minutes from now. ;-)

Another person on a different board told me that it might be a female Northern Harrier? I've never even heard of a Northern Harrier.

Our Northern Harrier used to be called a Marsh Hawk.

Here's one (from Cornell)...note the owl-like facial disk:

Good work with your ID! After looking at a lot of pictures, I think you are right...it's a red-shouldered hawk! I am amazed at how sneakily it turns up in the neighbor's yard to watch my flock. Sometimes the only way I know it is there is because the robins start sounding off! The California Scrub jays are much better at chasing it off than the robins. Until my hawk-proof chicken run is built next month, I continue to supervise the chickens. More often then not, the hawk shows up and alights in the neighbor's yard and sits. It patiently sits for longer than I thought it would...it is waiting for an opportunity I suppose. If it's hungry I wonder why it just doesn't pick up and leave because I am always supervise the chickens. Or are the chickens irrestistible "eye candy" for the hawk?