Hawks in the city!

[Wifezilla]

Ever seen a dog or cat catching a squirrel?

My cats are useless for squirrel control, but I have friends with pets that are quite good at killing those evil tree rats.​

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Need to get your fact right.

As hawks do NOT primarily kill birds!!!

Depend on what type of hawks. Some feed mainly on birds, other feed mainly on animals. Some bird of prey feed mainly on fish.


As far as free range birds, most state have fence laws.

 

[WalkingWolf]

I lost a 2 month old BBR cockerel to a hawk today. I went out to check on my birds and noticed one missing. I had just been out a few minutes earlier. Some of this is my fault I cleared last W/E a lot of wild grape vines from the trees as they weigh down the limbs. But they also make it hard for the hawk to fly in. Well on beating myself up I see the hawk stuck in a section I hadn't cleared and he had my bird. It was too late though he had crushed the skull, but it was almost a fight I guess I was lucky he got out of the brush before I got there, I was so hoping the BR was still alive.

Whatever your feelings are on hawks please be careful, my mother in law suffered a nasty gash to the head when attacked by a hawk in Florida. I have no idea why they attack people but sometimes they do. Wear a hat could save a trip to the emergency room.

 

[amazondoc]

Here we go again.

Some species of hawks -- for instance Cooper's Hawks -- catch a relatively high number of birds. Many species do not.

Here's a little reality check for those amongst us who insist on denying it --

Lots of pictures of hawks eating mice:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=...ficial&q=hawk mouse&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Lots of pictures of hawks eating squirrels:

http://images.google.com/images?q=h...channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=2

Lots of pictures of hawks killing rabbits:

http://images.google.com/images?q=h...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=2

and hawks killing snakes:

http://images.google.com/images?um=...n-US:official&q=hawk+snake&btnG=Search+Images

 

[redhen]

question...why exactly are hawks protected? i still dont understand why we can shoot peoples pet dogs, but not a nasty hawk...*i DO understand that they have to eat also* but, why do people bash dogs and other predators *skunks/coons/possoms..etc..* and love on the hawks!?..i dont get it...what is the differance?...

 

[amazondoc]

It's the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. That's a federal law that was enacted to protect nearly all native birds. Remember the passenger pigeon? The Carolina parakeet? Those are examples of what happens when we DON'T protect our native bird species.

Dogs are not native. Possums are not native in all areas. I don't remember whether coons are actually expanding their ranges, or not. Some of those species are protected in some areas, not in others -- depending on both political and environmental considerations, I'm sure. None of them are in any danger of going extinct.

It seems to some folks that predatory birds are overpopulated now. I don't know the exact numbers, but I think most of that is a misperception. Actually, many predatory bird populations fell drastically in the recent past due to such things as hunting, being shot by farmers, DDT, and so on. As I understand it, the supposed "overpopulation" now is really just those populations returning to their earlier levels.

 

[redhen]

well..i'm over populated....

 

[nnbreeder]

On the way to work I have counted as many as 20 hawks in the nine mile stretch. They come here to over winter.

I've seen them often take all types of rodents and one works the pastures in the front of the house daily but they don't dare come up near the house. We also have Mockingbirds that over winter here and they run off the hawks when they get too close.

Through the summer there will be three pairs of the Mockingbirds and up to four pairs of Scissortail Flycatchers nesting on the place. Legal hawk control at it's finest. They give the local cats fits too!

 

[GardeNerd]

Quote:
I'm so sorry for your loss. That must be heartbreaking.

I would love to free range when our birds they are old enough, but listening to stories like yours makes me think they will be in tractors a lot to get access to the yard. I spend a lot of time in the yard and I have seen a lot of birds taken by the predatory birds. Locally we have Coopers Hawks, Prairie Falcons, Red Tailed Hawks, Great Horned Owls, and American Kestrels. The one we see the most frequent is the Prairie Falcon. It sits on the power pole that goes through the yard regularly. Not to mention, I have to watch out for the racoons. Cities are no safer that the country for the chickens, just more confining.

However, I like to the predators still. It means the environment is not as toxic here as it used to be for them. Not as much DDT to harm the eggs.

I hope you have better luck with your other birds.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
Glad to know that, maybe my hawk problem will dwindle in the summer. I get a lot of mockingbirds here. I have seen them take on the squirrels but never hawks. We used to have a lot of crows, but for some reason they moved on.