I'm not sure either with no photo to go on, but I'm willing to play psychic birder and say Cooper's Hawk (at the risk of being hideously wrong). -O- (somewhat joking but meaning no offence)

You had it right the first time! It is an Osprey. The facial markings are unique to this species. A White-tailed Kite is significantly smaller than an Osprey (15 in versus 23 in) and, whereas it has black around its eyes, does not have this heavy dark line over the eye and down the neck (as the Osprey has). Also, that long neck is Osprey (WTKI has a short stubby neck). The all dark wings leading down to a dark tail also differ from the WTKI. And look at the size of that bill! That is for eating fish (and the WTKI has a smaller hooked bill for insects and small mammals). I also see the Osprey's characteristic yellow iris here (WTKI has red). The slight markings on the chest of this Osprey indicate it may be a juvenile. That may be what looked different about it. Glad to have a raptor question to answer! It's been slow around here!

ok, i have waited this long because i couldn't narrow it down. my first love at a raptor dates back to kindergarten- the bald eagle. actually it is pretty "ironic": i can remember asking my mom for a quarter to "help save the bald eagles" i don't know if it was the teacher, or if it was the school, but i remember i needed to take it to class. so, here i was 30 years later, fighting development of plum island as a preserve for their winter and nesting sight. i am proof that educating children and raising their awareness works! now, on the other extreme, i just love the kestrel. this is strange for me because i am a "bigger the better" kind of person- irish wolfhound definitely preferred over a small dg, give me a horse- make it a "heavy horse" there is just something about the spirit of the bird being bigger than its size. i really think they have taht warrior spirit despite that apparant fragility i have heard of when kept captive. although i have never had experience with them. owl are just too tough to decide between. again, the raptors seem to win me over despite size- oh, that screech owl's song! a am partial to barn owls simply because ot the endangered/threatened status. i have never seen one! the great horned does win over the barred, but that doesn't make the barred any less "endearing." i do like the turkey vulture, too. so that about sums it up (love red tails in flight calls, they are always saying something) i ahven't gone in to many species. mostly i am trying to stick to the ones of my area. but, the harpy eagle, now there is a magnificent bird! anyone see jeff corwin with the harpy on his arm? it kept pecking his head. i say pecking because with that kind of strenght it was more like a love tap!

I found this post after I had posted on the "pets" forum the following: "We have a pup, 2 1/2 months old, weighs 8 lbs. We live in the middle of woods in a very rural area. She loves being outside and is gradually exploring further and further from the front porch. We have all kinds of wildlife here, but my main concern are the owls and hawks. Are they a danger to an 8 pound pup? I can't seem to find a definite answer online about this, varying opinions everywhere. We have barred owls and great horned owls, which are pretty big. We also have red-tailed hawks. At what size do we not worry anymore about the pup? We also have seen racoons, foxes, bobcat, and have been told we have coyotes, but I've never seen one. I'm not as concerned about those because they pretty much stay away from the house. Our property is big but is fenced with field fence all around." All the answers on that were "be concerned". I'm seeing both sides to this here. So I guess to be safe I'd better keep a close watch until she gets to be around 15 pounds, which should be in about 6 more weeks.