Predator in our yard this AM pix (can you ID this?)

[Omaha Steve]

Taken 10 mins ago. Not great pix. Got these 2 to focus and it was gone.

OS

[doc03]

1. Looks like a Bluejay to me. They are mean to other

smaller birds. Doesn't look like it has curved bill like a hawk.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Cooper's Hawk, maybe?

[doc03]

3. In the top picture it looks like it has a pointy bill. On second

look I believe you are right what looked like point on his beak is a bud on the branch.

[Quackers]

4. Yes.

I concur.

[HassleCat]

8. Definitely

A very common hawk in cities. Feeds on smaller birds. Very acrobatic flyer.

[Bayard]

12. Yes

Looks like it.

[hatrack]

20. I think you have a picture of a merlin there . .

My guess is that Steve's bird is a sharp-shinned, but it's hard to tell from the photographs.

[Omaha Steve]

21. We have had sharp-shinned in the yard before

Makes sense.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. Peregrine Falcon, perhaps?

Size & Shape
Peregrine Falcons are the largest falcon over most of the continent, with long, pointed wings and a long tail. Be sure to look at shape as well as size—long primary feathers give the Peregrine a long-winged shape. As with most raptors, males are smaller than females, so Peregrines can overlap with large female Merlins or small male Gyrfalcons.

Color Pattern
Adults are blue-gray above with barred underparts and a dark head with thick sideburns. Juveniles are heavily marked, with vertical streaks instead of horizontal bars on the breast. Despite considerable age-related and geographic variation, an overall steely, barred look remains.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/id

[surrealAmerican]

9. This would be my guess too.

Then again, I've never seen the cooper's hawk mentioned earlier in this thread.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. You probably wouldn't find a peregrine in Omaha in the winter.

In any event they are more likely to be found on cliffs or tall buildings. I'm voting for Cooper's hawk.

See the range map for the peregrine, here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/id and the Cooper's hawk, here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory

[unblock]

6. it's a tree. i wouldn't be too worried.

[patricia92243]

7. lol!!!

[11 Bravo]

14. Thanks for reminding me of one of the reasons I love DU.

We're funny!

[unblock]

15. ... looking, as mrs. unblock likes to remind me

[Lucinda]

16. You have clearly not watched LOTR!

[unblock]

17. or harry potter? ;) note that i didn't say *not* to be worried ;)

[Lucinda]

19. LOL - I forgot about The Whomping Willow (sp) - which is odd

because I used to own a Ford Anglia!

[Greybnk48]

11. Looks kind of like a goshawk. n/t

[2naSalit]

13. Sharp-Shinned?

Looks like one of those, widely distributed about the continent and hunt bird feeders. They look a lot like Cooper's but no feathers on legs, and this one looks too small for a Cooper's.

[jberryhill]

18. Looks like Oak