birds of prey

[hawkhater]

does anyone know of any ways to scare a hawk out of your nieborhood?????

i just found out about this web site
i found my pij in sept
he changed my life
since thean ive seen him get chased by the hawk three times already
lukkaly hes perty fast but it terrifies me every day

im sure alot of you have the same problem

[Trees Gray]

Hello Hawkhater and Welcome to Pigeons.com

If this hawk is persistantly chasing your pigeon, you need to take action.

The hawk knows there is food at your house, so he will continue to stop by, and "try his luck"

Is your bird by itself, and does he have free flight all the time? If you answer yes to both these questions, your taking a big chance letting him out.

I know of no way to discourage a hawk from visiting my place, it is a fact of life, if your pigeons go outside.But you must be more cautious.

You can restrict their flight to the early hours of the day when hawks are still asleep.Make sure he does not eat until he comes in, that way he will return sooner and come inside quicker.
You should stay out with them in case a hawk shows up so you can chase it away.
The birds should be tought to go in immediately when they land, as they are like sitting ducks if you don't.
Also, if a hawk frequents your place regularly, keep him in for a few days, that may help. He might lose interest, and go somewher else to seek food.

Treesa

[hawkhater]

thank you treesa for the good info I havent
let him out for a while because of the holidays and the hawk I actually found another strey pij today right outside my home he/she? was jist sitting there walking around a defenatly a sitting duck.
I took it in got it a cage and it seems to be doing fine.

im not to sure about your early morning plan because there were two bad incedents at sunrise in november(2 unlucky birds I think one was a dove) right outside my house. I might be the cause of this whole problem because ever since i got my pij Ive been feeding all the other birds it seems as though all the birds are on to me.

I'll keep my eye out for the hawks
i guess it cant hurt to be a little more precaustious.

[Trees Gray]

Hi there,

Thank you for feeding our feral flock.Yes, the pigeons are definitely drawing the attention of the hawks, but at the same time you are being kind in feeding our ferals.

The only suggestion I can make is to stay outside with them while they are eating, until meal time is over.They are very vunerable while eating on the ground. As far as your "pet pigeon," be sure to restrict his flying time, as suggested earlier.

In regards to the "new" stray pigeon, this bird may be ill if he was just walking around. Be sure to keep him in a seperate cage from your "pet", just incase he is sick.

Others here, who feed ferals from their homes, maybe able to suggest other ideas for keeping predators away.
Treesa

[ddpowell]

Yes, stay outside with them while eating. Get a garden hose with a sprayer on it, in case you witness a hawk diving down or trying to grab one. A man told me this worked pretty good. Change the feeding times too. The hawks are smart and know when to come. You should change the feeding times and sometimes skip a day as hard as that may be. I had the same problem.

[hawkhater]

havent seen the hawks in a while

thanks for all the great advise

[teply]

Sometimes you just have to let Nature take it's course. I have hawks constantly attacking my birds but have lost very few. If your birds are being attacked by coopers you're prabably ok because most pigeons can out manever coopers. Now if it's sharp shined hawks that's a different story. They are small , fast and deadly. Once a pigeon is hit by a cooper he's pretty much done but if it's a small sharp shin there's a good chance he'll survive if you can chase the hawk away before he dives in for the final kill. I love hawks as much as I like my pigeons , I just wish I could get them to the peace table.

------------------
teply

[Rock Dove]

Can the presence of a human being nearby discourage a hawk?

I wonder if a hawk is bold enough to attack when the pigeon's feeder/owner is very close to them. Perhaps can pigeons even be trained to see their owner as a "defender". Can they?

PS. I still don't think even the bravest hawk (barely a few pounds) can take on a human person (120 lbs or more).

[Trees Gray]

I have seen a red streak flying down right next to my husband and son, trying to attack the pigeons in the aviary. My husband and son never would have been able to respond quickly enough, thank God the pigeons were all sitting on the inside of the aviary. My son said they could feel the wind but never saw him coming! He was bold and I guess when they are desperate they will attack.

When a hawk thinks it has a clear shot of a bird, they will make an attempt. Although I thought their eyesight was better than that. As he scooped his tallons down on the aviary he must have realized then that the birds were under the wire. His eyesight must be bad.

They usually get quite discouraged when we do see them coming and we after them with a broom. Once you get their mind off their plan they pretty much leave. We try to let them know they are gonna have a lot to deal with if they ever come back. Even if they did get one of our birds (hasn't happened yet) we will go after him and get the bird away from him( even if the bird is dead) so he will be discouraged in the future.

Anyway, that is what we have experienced, so far. Treesa

Yes, hawks won't pay you any mind if they are after their prey. But there are things you can do to distract them. My favorite "smart" thing my pigeons would do, to avoid an attack was to fly towards a fenceline really low and then all of a sudden drop to the ground right before the fence. The hawk would go flying over dumbfounded. It was really cool to watch. There were many times that I witnessed all mine scramble and the hawk was on their tail, and they were able to get away.
I'd wait for them all to fly into the coop and then shut the door. Gave me a heart attack, but many times they were able to avoid it. It's when they are "sitting ducks", where they are not aware that a hawk may be around and they are just standing on the coop, or walking around,that they can sometimes get taken. Good luck.

I too love Hawks..they are awesome birds..I just don't want them messing with MY birds or the ones I feed.

Oh, I wanted to add,that Jedd's Pigeon Supply sells a mirror type globe that you can place around or on your coop. When the hawk flies towards it, he sees a reflection of himself and because they are territorial, will think there is another hawk in that area and will leave. I am going to order one. Will let you know how it works.