First, the hawks flying around aren't after anyone's dog. They want to eat mice, voles, or small birds. It's not a concern. The bird under bush didn't "go there to die." It went there for protection, and because it could no longer fly. Hawks dont'go to someplace to die. They try to stay alive as safely as they can. When you can't fly, you have few alternatives to go to except under a protective bush (if you're a hawk). Most hawks die in their first year. Only one out of five (on average) is able to make it through the first winter. That's normal. Nature produces a lot more hawk offspring than can possible survive. Only the best do, and this specimen, sadly, was one that didn't make it. If the birds seen flying "around the neighborhood" are dashing through the trees, you have Cooper's hawks, searching for a feeder-drawn dickey bird for lunch. If the birds are large and circling above, they are probably red-tails.

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)

Looks like a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk. The diagnostic pale "crescent" toward the wing tip shows pretty clearly here, plus all of the other field marks (especially the tail) don't indicate otherwise. Naming your location would allow me to confirm this ID.

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!