It looks like we've got some flying predators casing the joint!

The tree I spotted them in is pretty much at the center of this pic. You can see, of course, from this image just how close they are to our ladies.

Because of the sun, I couldn't get a good look at their coloring, but they are very large birds.

This is the only flight pic I was able to snap.

I've seen hawks on the farm before but never perched so closely to the hens.

While hawks are protected, I think we would be within our rights to hunt these predators since they are so close to our chickens that we use in money-making production, but I suppose we'll have to check with authorities to be sure.

Considering these birds' proximity to our layers, I think I'd better put that at the top of my to-do list.