Advice on Hawks?

Question

We have 5 Hawks in the garden, eating cardinals,squirrels, and any other little bird they can get, These Hawks are extremely bold and yesterday six of our friends were outside with us sitting down and the Hawks do not seem to be concerned and still fly down and attack.

Is there anything we can do? I want no harm to them but it's been 2 months and is very distressing.

Answer 1

You do not need to do anything because Hawks are hunters.

They are just doing, what they have been doing for so many years. It is not that they do it on purpose. They have to hunt to feed.

Try avoiding looking when they are hunting.

Ignore them.

They are bold because they have got used to your presence and also when it comes to hunting they tend to be bold.

But if it is really bothering you that much just shoo them away or make a loud sound whenever you see them, they will get the message and will start avoiding you.

Answer 2

Quit attracting the animals to your yard. Generally this type of situation will occur where people put out feeders and the birds are drawn regularly to a location and often let down their guard where they are vulnerable to a host of predators.  If you're not putting out food, then leave it alone and enjoy the show. Hawks are predators and eat birds and small mammals - it's what they do. You should be grateful to see a beautiful bird so close up doing what it should be doing - earning it's living.

Answer 3

And the problem is????

They don't seem to be attacking you, they are mearly hunting their typical prey.  What part is distressing you?  The fact you have hawks in your neighborhood or that they hunt?  

If you want to protect what's in your garden, then put up shading of some sort (it can be a tarp or maybe some bamboo blinds).  A hawk cannot attack what is on the ground if they cannot see it, and hawks must do a swooping kill, so animals can escape into the shade of your cover is you care to provide it.  

However, anything you do except learn to live with watching hawks hunt will effect them detrimentally in some way.  If you truley mean no harm to the hawks, then get used to watching a hawks natural behavior.

Answer 4

Hawks and Falcons are some of the most wonderful birds on our planet.  If it were not for them, we would be overrun with birds, mice, rats, insects, snakes, lizards, bats, frogs, rabbits, squirrels, etc, etc..  They are extremely beneficial to the environment and help keep our planet healthy.

Hawks are very intelligent birds.  They have super-terrific eye-sight and can see a "mouse" on the ground from 1,000' in the air.  Did you know that the fastest animal on earth is a Peregrine Falcon which dives at 250 MPH?

Falconry is the sport of kings, and hawks and falcons have been trained by man and used for hunting as far back as medieval times.

Assuming you live in the USA, the only Bird of Prey capable of taking down another bird is either a Coopers Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon, or a Prairie Falcon.  These birds usually do not feed on squirrels or other rodents.  Rodents are usually fed upon by Red-Tailed Hawks, Kestrels, and others.

Birds of Prey are brave animals and can become quit bold if not threatened.  Count  yourself lucky that you can watch their behavior so closely.

These birds help keep maintain our planets health.  Remember, predators only kill and feed on animals that are sick, injured, unhealthy, or weaker than others.  It is a fact, that survival of the fittest keeps animal populations strong and healthy.

Answer 5

There are two non-harmful approaches for dealing with wildlife nuisances - scare them away or remove the incentives that cause them to hang around.   Neither is very easy to do.   Firecrackers or loud noises are sometimes effective at scaring birds, but they can get accustomed to the noise.  An airsoft rifle (toy gun) that shoots plastic pellets might work if you are a good enough shot to actually hit the hawk.  

Removing places where the hawks perch might help.  Hanging netting (like the mesh fabrics at nurseries or a couple of volleyball nets) on poles, trees, or shrubs near the garden might make it too difficult for the hawks to catch anything, but if the hawks can't readily see the nets, they can get tangled in them.  

Otherwise, you may  just have to let nature take its course. Some people would really enjoy the opportunity to see a hawk catch its prey - its not something that everyone gets a chance to very often.