A visitor comes to supper.

[Sheather]

I had just put out a tray of fresh veggies in the aviary for the kids, when this friendly big guy drops in and starts walking around the outside trying to find the way in - just wanting the salad bar I'm sure. When he realized he was locked out he went onto the roof and sat there looking glum. I considered opening the door and letting him in thinking maybe he's just another poor lost pet like the budgie that came around a few weeks ago, but decided against it because who knows how long he's been on the loose - Wouldn't want him to bring in mites or something.

[Babs _Owner]

Sheather

Oh boy!!! He wanted DINNER, thats for sure!!

[Stuart whiting]

Sheather

Quick where's me catapult !!!

[Madcat]

Oooo from this angle looks like the birds that are in my neighborhood. Brown hawks.

[Stuart whiting]

Oooo from this angle looks like the birds that are in my neighborhood. Brown hawks.

I'm quite certain apon closer inspection of enlarging the pic that it's a honey buzzard

Got a fair amount of common and few honey buzzards around me here in Kent, England,

I live very close to England's largest river estuary which is miles apon miles of marshes, I see these fairly regularly when I'm right out on the estuary system when I'm sea bass fishing, another one of my speciality's as I'm very well know for this in my neck of the woods

[Icearstorm]

If the bird is in the US I'd say it's either a Cooper's Hawk or a Red-tailed Buzzard... I'm leaning toward the latter; it seems to have the large body and brown head of an adult Buteo buzzard rather than that of a young Accipiter (true hawk), though I can't tell from the photo. If it has a long tail, it's an Accipiter, but if it has a shorter tail and longish wings, it's a buzzard (but not a vulture). Accipiters are more dangerous to small birds due to their high maneuverability and fast flight that results from their short, rounded wings and long tails. Buteos probably won't scare your smaller birds too much, since they tend to stick more to squirrels and rats.
Sorry for my excessive terminology; I've studied raptors extensively and am rather obsessed with them : )

[Sheather]

This is a sharp-shinned hawk.

[Stuart whiting]

Sheather

Just studied it better now mate,

The sharp shinned hawk is identical to our European common sparrow hawk,

Also got loads of these here where I am, there becoming quite localised through various towns and villages here,

It makes perfect sence that this is sitting on top of yer avairy being a sparrow hawk / sharp shinned hawk as I used to continuesly get a pair sit on me aviaries when I lived in me other house

Here in England the hawks favourite times are when the baby sparrows and blue tits just literally fledge from the nest and are then very vulnerable

[Icearstorm]

It looks a bit big-headed for a sharpie... Cooper's look almost exactly the same, apart from their larger, blocky heads, curved tails, and generally larger size (though a small male Cooper's will be about the same size as a large female sharp-shin). I've never seen Sharp-shinned Hawks more than a few feet away from cover, but have seen Cooper's Hawks hanging out on lampposts and roofs. And then there's that extremely rare possibility that this is a juvenile goshawk. They usually have bold white lines above their eye ridges (superciliary stripes), are extremely secretive, and live exclusively in colder environments (with the exception of escaped falconry birds)... This one doesn't seem to fit any of those criteria.
The dark eye is really throwing me off... It could be a trick of the light, but if not, this is almost definitely a buzzard (though we also call them hawks in the US). Most raptors' eyes darken with age and change into an adult plumage on their second year, but the true hawks only keep their brown plumage for their first year before molting into plumage with a reddish underside and slate blue uperside. By the time that their eyes would turn dark, they would probably be at least two or three- and therefore in adult plumage. Buzzards, on the other hand, tend to stay brown, though red-tailed hawks gain a red tail on their second year.
Of course, seeing the overall structure is important. I can't exactly tell from the photo, but if you get a chance to see it again you may be able to identify it.
Long tail + mid-length wings= true hawk/ shortwing/Accipiter
Short tail + relatively long wings= buzzard/broadwing/Buteo

[Sheather]

Icearstorm, I see these birds on a nearly daily basis - it is a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk, Accipiter striatus. They have very squared tails, not rounded ones. He had bright golden eyes in good lighting but my camera isn't the best and this was taken through a window.

[Icearstorm]

Now that I can see it up close, I definitely agree with you! It will be interesting to see the bird once it's an adult with those pretty reddish feathers... Though I'm not sure your birds would agree

[Stuart whiting]

Sheather

Yep...now you've put this other pic up it clearly shows that the bird is very similar and almost identical to our sparrow hawk,

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if there from the same family

[Icearstorm]

Yes, they are both from the family Accipitridae in the genus Accipiter; I imagine they could hybridize if they met in the wild, but that's probably pretty hard with an ocean in the way

[Stuart whiting]

Icearstorm

Yep quite agree with yer, very true

The English Channel, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean I suppose sought of gets in the way

[w.l.]

In any case, I hope for you that it won't become a regular visitor.
The mere presence of such predators can be very stressful to birds in an aviary even if it can't actually catch any of them.