Do you think this can deter vicious attacking hawks & falcons.?

Question

I have cooper hawks & perigrines attacking my birds every other day. Do you think any of these ideas that some people told me, would work to scare the hawk & peregrines away? Have any other ideas that won't cost too much or too hard to set up?

1. Attract alot of crows by leaving a handful of dry dog food out in the yard or around the neighborhood. (Crows constantly watch, harrass, & give away the hawks hiding location making it uncomfortable for the hawk to study up a strategy to ambush your birds.)

2. Decoy owls or Toy owls.
(Hawks & Owls do not get along. Move the decoy owl once every 2 weeks just a few yards.) But decoy owls only works on inexperienced hawks or falcons. The hawks that has had past experiences with toy owls will know it, like crows using scarecrows as perch.

3. Glueing or nail 2 cd's onto a board and draw a beak underneath it to make it look like huge wide scary eyes laring.
( Hawks hates being seen or looked at. Anyone who has a staring problem wants to fight or is going to attack.)

4. Mirrors & mirror balls.
( This only works in the begginning of the migration when hawks migrates back & hurries to claim hunting territory or land. He see's his own reflection & thinks he is intruding on the resident hawk's already occupied land, & will fly off to avoid fighting & risk fatal injury.)

5. Be out there.
( Hawks are shy of humans )

6. illegally trap & release.
( This is only done when the resident Hawk continues to be a pest, even with all the deterents put out in the yard, after you've studied his favorite attacking direction or ambushing strategies & have faced all the mirrors, cd's, & toy owls towards that direction. Trap the hawk but make sure it's the resident hawk & not an intruder hawk, imprison him for 2 days, spray him with water because raptors hates getting wet, shout at him, bang the cage with the toy owl, show him the 2 cd's & poke him with a soft point stick. After 2 days release him, wet. It's a bad idea to kill because a new hawk will take over the unocuppied land & now you will have study or learn another new predator's character.)

Will any of this work. Has anyone tried it? Any new ideas?

Answer 1

Exactly WHY are your birds outside to be attacked by wild birds in the first place? Do NOT trap wild native hawks..this is highly illegal and you can be fined and/or go to jail. Sounds like YOU are the cause of the problem by not keeping your birds in a safe place. Your mirror suggestion makes NO sense as Cooper's Hawks are not even true migrants and can be found in almost every state in the US year round. These birds are not "vicious", just doing what comes naturally to them...eating. If you are offering a free meal, or course they are going to take it.

Answer 2

Birds of prey spot their targets from above same as the Herons see water to go for fish, try to cover the top of your aviary so they can't see them from above.

Even as i did with a fish pond in the garden, grow a grape vine over the top or use translucent corrugated sheets as a cover which still lets in some natural daylight.

I am afraid this is the best I can do apart from a gun and that would be illegal

Answer 3

There is nothing I know that will deter raptors in a legal way.

All of the Plastic Owls, Bright baubles, ect are to keep non raptors away, and will not work for raptors( birds of prey).

In fact, to interfere with them in any way other than fencing and netting will be illegal! It is a Federal crime to harrass, impede or harm any raptor!



You might try calling your State fish and game department. Some states will send a person out to try to deal with the raptors.



You also might do a search for your State Falconry group. Some of these falconers are allowed to come and trap hawks, falcons, and other birds of prey for use in their sport! If you can locate any of those falconers( a generic term for people who hunt with raptors of any type ) they might be very happy to come and relieve you of these pests free of charge!!



Good luck!!

Answer 4

at my facility we keep radio's on near the aviaries so the Hawks think people are around but it is not fool proof by any means but it does seem to help some. Good luck!

Answer 5

Eagle

Answer 6

These are many ideas but I would not put my trust in any of them. I would put a light weight net over my fenced yard.