# De-hawking our yard?



## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

I hope you have a get out of jail free card if you shoot a hawk.


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

I am sure one hawk will be replaced by another. The black bear solved my bird geese pest issue . I can only leave them out from Jan 1 to Mar 1 while the Bears hibernate. So the summer Hawks get the squirrels and chipmunks. Good riddance . Not sure there is much of a solution to the Hawks. Maybe a tray feeder with a roof? Won't protect the bird while flying to from the feeder but might give it a chance while eating


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Hawks and owls are federally protected

http://birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders/a/protectbackyardhawks.htm


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## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

I suggest you stop feeding the birds. You are in the hawk's natural habitat. They are there to stay. My brother-in-law has hawks around his property and has to keep a close eye on his Pugs.


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## PoleCat (Sep 2, 2009)

Bird feeders as you have seen are not good for the birds. Once you start feeding them you upset natural balances. There is no good solution.

There are unlimited bad ideas however and this happens to be my forte.

Nix the .22 as the bullet may travel through neighbors after it misses the hawk. Go 12 gauge shot gun with #9 shot. You can't miss and stray shot will not be such a hazard to your neighbors.

Place decoy cement doves out in the open. When the hawk busts his dentures on them the real doves can escape.

Put PCP in your bird feeders. When the hawk comes in the drug crazed doves will kick the stuffing out of it.

I have more but you will have to buy the book.


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

Just got see the PCP show. 😀


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## Techguy922 (Apr 20, 2015)

Any deterrants will likely scare away the wanted birds, but it can simply be a process of trial and error. How about one of those whirligig birds with rotating wings that you stick in the ground or a decoy of the same species?


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

You may need to relocate your feeder. My feeder attracts all sorts of song birds, but it is close to an apple tree, so the birds stage from the tree, dart over to get the seeds, then go back to the tree. I have lots of hawks in my area, but I have never seen one go for the birds around the feeder. I always figured the apple tree deterred the hawks, since they would have to dive through thick foliage.


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

Hawks and owls have to dive on their prey, they can't just loiter like a hummingbird and grab it. Once they grab the bird they have to have a glide path away from the feeder. Put the feeder where they don't have a shot at it. If it was in a corner for instance, I don't think the hawks would have a way to strike it.


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## JD367 (Apr 6, 2015)

Go to the feed store and get a plastic crow,and mount it in plain sight. Hawks,and owls are their enemy,and will shy away.
For our garden,I use a mechanical owl,on a post.It's motion activated,and the crows avoid it.


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## tiger1964 (Jan 14, 2015)

chrisn said:


> http://birding.about.com/od/birdfeeders/a/protectbackyardhawks.htm


Interesting and I read "_Remove Hawk Vantage Points: Hawks will often stake out suitable hunting grounds and wait for unwary prey to approach. To make your backyard less inviting, remove dead branches that a hawk may perch on, or choose a type of fencing they will not be comfortable with, such as thin wires that can be difficult for larger birds to grasp._" They do tend to hang out in a pine tree nearby that does not look to hot anyway, maybe I'll just have it taken down ($$$).



Jim F said:


> I suggest you stop feeding the birds. You are in the hawk's natural habitat.


:icon_rolleyes: Maybe you even meant that seriously. Perhaps you even run a campaign for makers of birdseed and feeders to cease and desist. NOT useful input. :no:



Daniel Holzman said:


> You may need to relocate your feeder. My feeder attracts all sorts of song birds, but it is close to an apple tree, so the birds stage from the tree, dart over to get the seeds, then go back to the tree.


In my case a 30'+ holly tree, it seems to work for most of the birds.



JD367 said:


> Go to the feed store and get a plastic crow,and mount it in plain sight. Hawks,and owls are their enemy,and will shy away.


 Hey, OK, worth a try although we seem to have plenty of real crows around.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

My 80 yo sister-in-law said she chased a hawk away from her feeders with a broom and it didn't come back.

I wonder if you could put a couple of lattice panels on poles over your feeders so the hawks couldn't swoop down? Would the songbirds go under for seed? Or make a wire roof?

I have same problem on occasion, but the blue jays scream and sound an alarm. I have a lot of 6' shrubs near the feeders cardinals use for cover.

Edit:
I just did quick google "how to keep hawks away from bird feeders". One suggestion is to take feeders down for 2-4 weeks and the hawk may move on. It was suggested to have feeders within 10' of shelter, like bushes, or to hang feeders under the edge of awnings. The last idea, which was impossible for me, is rid your yard of moles which attract hawks.


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

They need to eat. If you want to see how much a predatory bird eats, look at the live eagle cam in Pa
google Pa Game Commission Eagle Cam

There must be ten trout in the nest, the polished off two squirrels , a rabbit and a skunk. Duck was on the menu last friday


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## PoleCat (Sep 2, 2009)

Startingover said:


> My 80 yo sister-in-law said she chased a hawk away from her feeders with a broom and it didn't come back.
> 
> I wonder if you could put a couple of lattice panels on poles over your feeders so the hawks couldn't swoop down? Would the songbirds go under for seed? Or make a wire roof?
> 
> ...


That is absolutely brilliant. The lattice I mean. This allows access to the feeder but interferes with the blitzkrieg style attack that hawks and cats rely on the catch birds.


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## tiger1964 (Jan 14, 2015)

I bookmarked a plastic crow at Amazon, but I read in the reviews they also keep smaller birds away -- rather defeats the point of it all.



Startingover said:


> I wonder if you could put a couple of lattice panels on poles over your feeders so the hawks couldn't swoop down? Would the songbirds go under for seed? Or make a wire roof?


Good point, I see pluses and minuses. The feeders are on cruciform crossbars atop an, eh, 8' pole. Some larger birds like the cardinals and doves to stay up there and additional protection might help. However, they are up there to watch the smaller bird in the haven feeder, where they cannot go, to see what drops to the ground so they can get at it. I cannot protect them on the ground.

Last year I thought of an R/C copter and perhaps chase the hawk away, but there's a video online that suggests hawk > quadcopter.


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## PoleCat (Sep 2, 2009)

tiger1964 said:


> I bookmarked a plastic crow at Amazon, but I read in the reviews they also keep smaller birds away -- rather defeats the point of it all.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you can find an offense method that will not also terrify the desired birds you must share.


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## Davejss (May 14, 2012)

You want some birds to eat, so you give them seeds. But you don't want the hawks to eat too? What do you have against hawks?


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## tiger1964 (Jan 14, 2015)

Davejss said:


> You want some birds to eat, so you give them seeds. But you don't want the hawks to eat too? What do you have against hawks?


So you missed or chose to ignore "_OK, predatory birds eating their prey is "in the natural order of things", but that's stating the obvious. But I don't think I should have to watch it._" :shutup:

So that makes two users going on my Ignore list from this topic alone.


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## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

tiger1964 said:


> :icon_rolleyes: Maybe you even meant that seriously. Perhaps you even run a campaign for makers of birdseed and feeders to cease and desist. NOT useful input. :no:


Hey, I only offered a suggestion on how I would handle the situation. Sorry you haven't figured this problem out for yourself after 3-4 years. I'll be sure not to offer any more advice. If you continue to be the guy who gives snarky replies to offered advice, I'll wager that others will follow suit. Good luck with your hawk problem. Tschüss!


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

tiger1964 said:


> So you missed or chose to ignore "_OK, predatory birds eating their prey is "in the natural order of things", but that's stating the obvious. But I don't think I should have to watch it._" :shutup:
> 
> So that makes two users going on my Ignore list from this topic alone.



I go for being #3. Close your blinds.


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