> they have annoying screeches, almost like a squeaky straw

The majestic call you hear in ads with bald eagles is actually that of the red-tailed hawk.

Red tailed hawks are also unbelievably obnoxious. I had one nest in my yard a couple years back and they drove me nuts.

Years ago I made friends with a red tailed hawk. He was sitting in a tree watching me while I was washing my car. On a lark I sprayed him with my hose. I figured I was being slightly obnoxious, but he actually liked it. For the rest of that summer, he'd show up occasionally when I was outside and wait for his shower. Never saw him again after that year though.

I have no idea where these people live where they're getting food sntached by rogue bald eagles but here in Virginia these damn red-tailed hawks are thugs. I have to throw a frisbee for my over zealous eighty pound doberman and these hawks try to swoop in to snatch her toy. Happens in the spring\early summer. She barked at one last year and it literally shat on her from the tree's. And what I find strange is these hawks are in groups when they do this. Never seen any other raptor species gang up like these hawks.

Wow, your population sounds so different from ours. We have them here (rural southern Ontario) and they're stupidly shy. I've seen them hover around our neighbour's chicken yard, but they never catch anything. And they roost up in some tall trees at the back of my property. But if I even go out my backdoor with a telephoto lens to try to get a picture from like 300ft away, they're gone as soon as they can a single noise from me.

Could be juveniles, perhaps recently fledged and still hanging out together, and learning to hunt properly.

Apparently the slang term for them among wildlife rehabbers is "freedom pigeons".

They are big beautiful animals. But they are also lazy dumpster-diving scavengers.

I love the sound, and we live with it pretty much every day as they roost in our fir trees while hunting. We’re up on a hill about a mile from the Willamette River and they seem to be able to see when snacks appear (no idea really, but they fly with purpose in that direction).

The really scary birds are the occasional Falcons that move so fast and so low I’m both startled and confused when they buzz the yard.

They remind me of a badly played "Cuica" instrument, hah - maybe my siblings traumatized me with squeaky straws in lids or something, but I find eagle screeches to be obnoxious.

And now the true reason for the plastic straw ban emerges.

Them not being sociable makes them kind of more mysterious and therefore kind of more majestic as well.

It doesn't surprise me that they're smart. It feels like the insult "bird brain" is decidedly a pretty bad insult, because birds aren't stupid.

Can confirm, my chickens are far smarter than my dog.