Is there a loophole where shooting hawks is legal?

[ChocolateMouse]

So, contrary to popular belief harassing and chasing away hawks IS 100% LEGAL. ANY method that can't harm the hawk is OK! This includes noisemakers, harmless projectiles, drones, shooting up little bottle rockets that don't hit the hawk, air cannons, etc. If they aren't actively nesting on your property, harassing them away is TOTALLY LEGAL and even REQUIRED before you can apply for a federal permit to take a bird of prey, endangered or not.

There are also public programs for reimbursement if you're losing a lot of money on it. You can look into them.

You can also attempt relocation with a permit. But they're ALSO going to point out right on the application that shooting a hawk is NOT a long-term solution and ask what changes you're going to make to prevent it from happening all over again next year when a new set of birds move in. So keep that in mind.

The link for applying for a permit was posted in the thread earlier so I won't repost it. But otherwise, no, it's not legal to take a hawk and is an expensive mistake to make if you get caught.

 

[Jrios58]

So, contrary to popular belief harassing and chasing away hawks IS 100% LEGAL. ANY method that can't harm the hawk is OK! This includes noisemakers, harmless projectiles, drones, shooting up little bottle rockets that don't hit the hawk, air cannons, etc. If they aren't actively nesting on your property, harassing them away is TOTALLY LEGAL and even REQUIRED before you can apply for a federal permit to take a bird of prey, endangered or not.

There are also public programs for reimbursement if you're losing a lot of money on it. You can look into them.

You can also attempt relocation with a permit. But they're ALSO going to point out right on the application that shooting a hawk is NOT a long-term solution and ask what changes you're going to make to prevent it from happening all over again next year when a new set of birds move in. So keep that in mind.

The link for applying for a permit was posted in the thread earlier so I won't repost it. But otherwise, no, it's not legal to take a hawk and is an expensive mistake to make if you get caught.

We had a small kitten that was tempting a large red tailed hawk. I flew a kite, tied the string to a bench in front of the house. It annoyed the hawk and he quit coming around. This also works on barn swallows. We had 9 pairs trying to nest in our front porch once.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

We hang CDs and make hiding spots and our roo does a good job but they get bold in the late fall early winter. We shoo them off with the dogs, who they can see coming from 100' away. Recently one tried to take a chicken in the middle of the day while we were outside and we threw some small sticks at it to shoo it away. They're almost always juveniles and yearlings who get in over their head and are looking for an easy meal so even if we killed them they'd be back again next year....
One time one got stuck in a chicken tractor we had and got trampled by the cornish crosses. We had to carry it bodily out of the lawn because it wouldn't fly off after its experience in the mud. We got used to them and learned to manage it, but that's for chickens, not pigeons.

 

[spunky-chicken]

I've been considering getting some decoy owls or crows but I don't know how long it would take them to figure it out.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It helps to rotate them regularly.

 

[docteurshepherd]

Lots of folks will have different answers on this. I saw one thread where a guy actually contacted some official, I forget who, maybe from the department of natural resources or a wildlife officer. Anyways, the advice he was given was yes, go ahead.

My stance on it is "SSS" as they say.. Shoot, shovel, shut up. Again, lots will disagree with this. Personal opinion.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

PROOOOBABLY a bad idea to publicly encourage someone to commit a federal crime.

There are even bounties out on people for such things.
https://www.humanesociety.org/news/...oting-protected-red-tailed-hawk-massachusetts

 

[21hens-incharge]

Aaaaand OP asked about LEGAL ways to deal with hawks.

 

[docteurshepherd]

PROOOOBABLY a bad idea to publicly encourage someone to commit a federal crime.

There are even bounties out on people for such things.
https://www.humanesociety.org/news/...oting-protected-red-tailed-hawk-massachusetts

Never encouraged, don't twist words.

 

[DogAndCat36]

Well, you could put some meat on your head and wait till it tried to attack you for it. Then it is considered attacking a human and the government will move aside laws like that.

Jokes aside you can contact your local wildlife rehab to relocate the hawk or get a license to kill it.
There are also other ways to keep hawks out of your lawn by feeding the local crows. A murder of crows can bully a hawk and compete for the hawk's food. A northern herring here was bullied out of the land by the crows who would try to steal his food and attack him. You can attract crows by giving them feed. I would not use this tactic though because I do not think that this isn't exactly a guaranteed idea. Just food for thought.