This picture was taken by a friend in her backyard in North Texas. I am not good at hawk id's, they can be so tricky for me. She gave me permission to post it here and see if we could get a definitive answer. We have had guesses, but no one to say for sure what it was.

Thanks!!

I really have no idea so this is also a guess. Maybe a Peregrine Falcon?

Thanks Zach, but nope, not anywhere near us right now (that I know of) and the markings are wrong for that. (won't I feel silly if I am wrong)

Nice photos, peeked at the gallery.

Possibly a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk? Range extends into E Texas. Drought could of moved it.

Thanks, I will tell her you said so.
Juv. Broad Winged sounds possible... It is just so hard to tell. I will have her listen to that one. She thinks she will know when she hears it. It seems to have been making a lot of racket in the yard for a few days now.

Well, she had someone on the Cornell facebook page tell her "Its a juvenile Mississipi Kite, if you look at the yellow nares and shape of the eyes w/eye shadow, definitely kite, they are brown their first year, then turn grey and white, beautiful birds, and their call is distinctive"
Doesn't look like it to me, but I am the first to admit I am terrible at ID's.

I think this is a Accipiter gentilis schvedowi

grts

I think we have decided it is a Immature Broad-winged Hawk. (Thank you Allen!!) She says that is the exact sound she has been hearing, a high pitched whistle. Looking at pictures, that is the closet I have seen to what her picture shows. She even got a shot of it in the birdbath!! Quite amazing, I may have to go hang out at her house!

you may well be right, very similar to each other

grts

I think you should look at a juv coopers hawk -- the yellow does not look real and the chest marks go with a coppers more than broad wing , it for sure is not a kite there is no string

Thanks Jeff, our local bird expert finally got a look at all her pictures and confirmed it as a Juvenile BWH. The sound alone did it for Laurie. When she heard it, she knew that was what she had heard for three days.
I wonder if her WB may be off a bit. The problem, there were so many variations of everything and with it being a juvenile, it seemed to be that much harder. It was driving us crazy trying to figure it out. It usually isn't that hard.
But I agree... I am not expert, but I couldn't see a kite at all! ... and like you said, no string. :)