I've been trying to catch the resident Cooper's Hawk (now can be confirmed) for a while, with no success. Today, while doing yard chores I heard some screaming & went to investigate & in one of my neighbor's driveways I found this hawk & its kill. Thought it was a squirrel since I had a hard time getting close & it was in a rather dark area in the shade under an oak tree. But this is some kind of bird with a longer slightly curved beak & very colorful - we now believe it to be Red-shafted Northern Flicker based on the colors; brown head/crown, gray face & chest, red mustache (so a male), red wing & tail lining & brown-barred back. This is a large prey, 11-14 inches, which I believe as it was almost as big as the Cooper's Hawk (male 15 inches & female 19 inches according to one of my books).

At this point the hawk felt I was too close & flew off to another neighbor's California Oak tree. Luckily landing in a spot where I could locate it & get semi decent shots. This shot is cropped about 40%, - I tried to go closer to the hawk & shot as I had a chance. So this is step by step maneuvering around trying to get a good spot.....