Portland Oregon, Urban Hawks??

[Fer]

I just went out to check on Lovely and Meatball and there was this hawk-like bird sitting on their coop! Should I be worried? I didn't think there were any predatory birds in the city of Portland. My chickens are bigger than this bird and I'm hoping it was just checking out the compost pile or blackberries. Has anyone in Portland Oregon had this problem?

Thank you,
Jennifer

 

[aran]

hey jennifer...sorry im nowhere near oregon...im in rochester NY. Just thought i would share what i saw today...a freakin HUGE hawk circling over my coop! I live on 5.5 acres on the outskirts of suburbia and we have plenty of hawks around here so i have a netting covering the whole run/coop. Still after seeing this hawk today clearly checking out my birds we picked up some more materials to strengthen the netting on the top of the coop/run.

 

[rosyposyosy]

be worried. hawks are in portland. when i went on tour de coops there was this one coop that had been wired like crazy to keep the hawks out.

 

[Fer]

Thanks for the heads up, I was a little worried I might have been over reacting. Now that I think about it, it was definitely a hawk of some sort. I guess I'll only let them run around the yard when I'm gardening or hanging out with them, bummer, they were so happy running around the back alley!

How was tour de coop, I didn't get to go on it yet. I definitely need to go on it and get some more ideas to make my coop safe.

 

[truckerswife]

Over in Vancouver (WA not BC) we have plenty of hawks....I am sure you got them across the river too.

 

[rosyposyosy]

it was alright - the coops werent THAT great.. it was a lot more exciting seeing all the different breeds

 

[harv681]

I live in New Orleans and we have red tail hawks circling my neighborhood. One of the huge creatures swooped at my babies yesterday and pulled up only because I screamed and waved my arms like a maniac!

 

[Wolfpacker]

See the thread I posted last Friday about an urban hawk in my neighborhood and how he dive-bombed my chickens, less than five feet from me, on TWO different ocassions.

 

[DuckLady]

There are lots of Cooper's Hawks around here as well as Redtailed.

 

[Fer]

I think it was a Cooper's Hawk. I was talking to a neighbor who says they have a Cooper's Hawk that hangs out in their bird bath down the street.

This was the description I got off the internet:

"Captures birds from low, stealthy approach-flight or after a short chase. Uses cover, including man-made structures, to conceal approach. In open areas may drop on prey from high flight. Captures birds at bird feeders."

I guess this means no more free ranging it with out direct supervision.

Thanks for all of your input.