While I admit a nesting pair of hawks attacking everyone would be miserable, a hawk isn’t going to kill you and isn’t likely to cause you serious injury. My mother worked for the World Bird Sanctuary for many years working with birds of prey. She received some bites and scratches during that time, which were painful, but far from life threatening. I understand that seeing a predator near by is frightening, but there are other options. My neighbors have two large Martin houses which are filled with Purple Martins. I have seen Cooper hawks, Red-tailed hawks, and Great Horned owls, all chased off by a flock of Martins. A friend who lives down my street keeps a large rooster to protect his poultry. Many others keep livestock dogs or fence their birds. Some on here have suggested shooting bottle rockets in the area when hawks are around. Maybe we could try such things rather than advocating the killing of federally protected species.
