Hawks, Falcons, and a trip to the Wildlife Rehabilitator

Well this weekend we had a stay at home weekend due to the break down of the car.  Good news is we got it back yesterday.  The problem was a bad battery so the cost wasn't too outrageous.

Monday evening I saw a small "hawk" appear on our fence.  I had Ryan get me my camera and proceeded to try and take some pictures.  They were coming out crap since the light was low and my hands are shaky.

What is that?  Bird?  Dog?  I can't tell crap from this picture.

Then the bird jumped down off the fence and glided into the bushes at the back of the yard. It spotted the chickens in the pen and charged (on the ground ) at the pen and bounced off the chicken wire. Next he hopped on the plastic loveseat. It then hopped on top of the pen and tried going at them from that angle but just ended up flailing around on the wire top.   He hopped up on the old box I keep my chicken pen maintenance tools in.  I crept up to the pen really slowly.  He just stood there and let me.  I made it all the way up to the pen and thought "Maybe I can steady the camera on the pen and still get a good shot."

He just stood there and let me take pictures.  And stood there and stood there.

 Now at this point I guess I had been there long enough without going beserk that he decided I was potential lunch.  He hopped from the box to the top of the chicken house.  He then jumped down and soundly grabbed at my upper arm.  He didn't hurt me but he did get caught on my sleeve.  I bent down to rest him on the ground and loosed him from my shirt.  He was free but still did not fly away.  I started to leave but he followed/chased me back to the house;where, my son upon seeing the thing following me, locked the bird (AND ME) out of the house.

This thing is actively trying to get in the house.

The bird was resolute on staying on that patio.  Eventually I made it back into the house but the bird just stayed on that patio and watched us;  until it decided to put its head under it's wing and go to sleep.  We then made the decision to call someone if he wasn't gone by morning.

The next morning (Tuesday) there was no bird on our patio but I did find him just over the neighbors fence asleep.  Later I came out to check the laundry I had on the line and found him in our yard again.   He was sitting on a little statue. Once again he wasn't flying away from me.  My gut was saying that this isn't good. I called a wildlife rehabilitator that I found on the Texas Parks and Wildlife page.    Long story short...the bird made it safely to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator recommended by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

I had guessed that the bird was a Cooper's Hawk but she said it was a merlin.  I still think I am right though.  

This is a picture of a Merlin from Cornell University's Orinthology Lab.

Note the eyes are black not orangish red.

And this is a picture of a Cooper's Hawk from the same Lab.

Distinctly reddish irises.

Another possiblity is a Sharp Shined Hawk but I think that the tail was rounder like the Cooper's Hawk and his feet were much more substantial.

Sharp Shinned Hawk

You can see in the pictures that the bird from my yard definitely does not match the Merlin.  Also the bird from my yard does not have the white eyebrow of the Sharp Shinned Hawk.

Whatever he is, he's beautiful.  I hope he is ok and he can be released back into the wild.  I'm just a little bummed that he won't be around to look at though.