I had our ducks out on Saturday and the neighborhood hawk did a flyover. It actually landed in some evergreens that were 60-65ft away. I didn't see him land, but my neighbor did. The ducks spotted him and the only way I know how to describe the noise they made, is a scream.
We ALL saw him fly away. He only shows up about once every 3 weeks. Still, we only have the ducks out when we're with them and someone always stays within 3-4 feet of them.
The female is already hyper vigilant but now they won't come out of their coop/run set up. If we can get them out, they go straight under it and hunker down. It makes me so sad! Their coop has a tarp over the roof and If I don't move it some during the day, they'd only be in shade.
My story is NOTHING compared to losing your ducks. Please don't think me dismissive of your loss. I just never realized how traumatizing simply feeling threatened could be for them. We only have a a pair of ducklings. (Which will likely change once the hubby sees why I've warned him about breeding season and a single duck for the drake. Separating them will drive him crazy) Ducks had never even been in my radar until my neighbor got some. I've lost my mind with how cute these guys are! It breaks my heart to see them so terrified. To add the trauma of losing a buddy?
I hope all quiets down for you, sooner rather than later.
The coop wasn't quite done in this pic, but you can still see what I mean. They don't want to leave their run and if the do, ANY bird sound and they're either under or back in the house. They're not the happy, chatty lawnmowers they were before.
