Fun with a hawk and an adrenaline junky squirrel

[Bill W]

Nice action shots BK....but you need a longer lens to correct your issues for this type of shooting....what Joel explained technically.
Your backyard looks like a wonderful outdoor studio for wildlife shooting....if you managed the land beyond the fence and added a few feeders, I think you could start your own lazy man photography zone; i.e. just set up your equipment and wait for the subjects to come to you.

Bird ID; IDing whether it's a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned hawk is very difficult without identifying many field markings; e.g. size, legs, tail shape, etc., and then add the differences between juvenile and adult birds. I simply call these birds Shoopers until I can gather as many ID markings as I can.....the only field marking I can definitely see in your pix....I went to Flickr and enlarged your shots.....is the lack of the distinct white stripe at the base of its tail feathers. Cooper's have this marking, while the Sharp-shinned is faint to non-existent. But w/out a few more field markings, I'll just call your bird a Shoopers.

I have a Cooper's and a Sharp-shinned visiting my "outdoor studio" frequently and I take as many shots for field markings to try to correctly identify which bird it is. Here's a link to my Flickr acc't w/a Sharpie id and why I've ID'd it as a Sharpie.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwwake.../in/datetaken/

BTW....like your fence....we have the same one to keep the dogs in the backyard.