# Hawk attack Help



## lmorales4 (Jul 8, 2010)

So to day i had my first hawk attack it was a small hawk maybe just slightly bigger than one of my adult homers. Does anyone know what kind of hawk it is ? I live in GA what kind of hawks do we have around here? My birds just took off and started routing do you guys think they will be back? also one of my thief pouters was with them and he looked like she got scraped but got away do you guys think shes ok? Im kinda worried


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## garacari (Apr 26, 2010)

Could be a merlin or some kind of kite. Did you get a look at it??

EDIT: Just checked my Sibley's. In Georgia, most likely a Mississippi Kite or Broad-winged Hawk.


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## drifter (Oct 7, 2009)

I'm thinking Sparrow Hawk but I don't know if a Sparrow Hawk would attack something as large as a pigeon.


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## becege (Mar 12, 2003)

*Hawk Attack*

It was probably a coopers hawk. Sparrow hawks are too small. Fly your birds late in the day. Hawks feed before noon as a rule. They are not out hunting around 5 p.m. Have not lost a bird in the last two years since I switched to late flying of my Oriental Rollers.


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## jeff houghton (Jul 17, 2010)

if Sparrow hawks in the uk are the same as the ones in your area then they are more than big enough to take a pigeon .They are responsible for taking more pigeons than any other raptor ive ever known around here.Yes we see the peregrines here quite often but sparrowhawks are seen and take pigeons on a regular basis.The female is much bigger but the male is more than capable.


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## Flapdoodle (Nov 8, 2009)

jeff houghton said:


> if Sparrow hawks in the uk are the same as the ones in your area then they are more than big enough to take a pigeon .They are responsible for taking more pigeons than any other raptor ive ever known around here.Yes we see the peregrines here quite often but sparrowhawks are seen and take pigeons on a regular basis.The female is much bigger but the male is more than capable.


Your sparrow hawk in the UK is like our coopers hawk in the US. The bird we call sparrow hawk is actually a falcon called American Kestrel. It eats grasshoppers, mice, no way would get a pigeon. In fact coopers hawks have been known to eat kestrels.


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## jeff houghton (Jul 17, 2010)

I see so its a different bird altogether.Probably the size of a kestrel is it ?Thanks for the info.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

becege said:


> It was probably a coopers hawk. Sparrow hawks are too small. Fly your birds late in the day. Hawks feed before noon as a rule. They are not out hunting around 5 p.m. Have not lost a bird in the last two years since I switched to late flying of my Oriental Rollers.


If they haven't gotten anything they ARE still hunting. I know someone who was hit twice, both a while after 5 pm. Your chances may be better then, but it isn't a sure thing, so you still need to be careful.


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## jeff houghton (Jul 17, 2010)

Also pending on time of year i should imagine.Babies in the nest overtime required.


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## Flapdoodle (Nov 8, 2009)

lmorales4 said:


> So to day i had my first hawk attack it was a small hawk maybe just slightly bigger than one of my adult homers. Does anyone know what kind of hawk it is ? I live in GA what kind of hawks do we have around here? My birds just took off and started routing do you guys think they will be back? also one of my thief pouters was with them and he looked like she got scraped but got away do you guys think shes ok? Im kinda worried


Homers and a male coopers are pretty close to the same size, cooper is maybe a little bigger but not much. Female coopers are little bigger then males. I had a cooper hit a bird off the loft. It went right to the ground. No chance of it flying away with a pigeon. I ran up to it and came with in ten feet, it raised its wings and hissed at me. It was no larger then the pigeon. 

As far as your pouter hope he is all right.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

jeff houghton said:


> Also pending on time of year i should imagine.Babies in the nest overtime required.


I imagine that would make a difference, but this was just recently. Fall and winter when songbirds migrate, and there is less food is not a good time either.


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## lmorales4 (Jul 8, 2010)

well my pouter came back and i found her trying to get back in the loft shes nice and safe now i think ill call her lucky from now on, all my other birds came back too but like 4 hours later, and super thirsty. I think i wont fly them for a while and then only after 5 or 6 to see if it helps any


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## jeff houghton (Jul 17, 2010)

Glad they all came back.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Glad you got them back home safely.


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## aslan1 (Jul 22, 2010)

becege said:


> It was probably a coopers hawk. Sparrow hawks are too small. Fly your birds late in the day. Hawks feed before noon as a rule. They are not out hunting around 5 p.m. Have not lost a bird in the last two years since I switched to late flying of my Oriental Rollers.


I heard that Oriental Rollers are the best at evading hawk attacks. How many pigeons did you lose?


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## lmorales4 (Jul 8, 2010)

I didnt lose any they all came back safely


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

today a huge hawk attacked my birds 3 times, birds came back 2 hours later, they were youngers, and i tough, omg, they r gone, but they all came back, every time he attacked, birds were like 15 feet form me, them i clapped my hands, and he got distracted or scare, but like 25 came in inside the loft like real fast, man i can tell they were scare. iam switching to evenings release.


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## aslan1 (Jul 22, 2010)

lmorales4 said:


> I didnt lose any they all came back safely


I am very glad for you. Fly your birds at different time to confuse the basterd hawk.


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

I didn t release this morning, they were wanting out, they have a short memory, but i dont, iam still scare of the hawk from yesterday, i did got all my breeders transfered to my new loft, they seem happier, is roomy, with lots of air circulation, but iam not putting any nest in till next year, kind of late, now ill be working on my perches.

ps morales, wass happening with the hawk, have u seem him around today?, I did nt see the hawk at all this morning, but i bet u he s around, i wonder what he was, he was real big, like the size of 2 homers toguether?


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## avian (Sep 6, 2010)

shoot it down when it is resting on a tree or somewhere else


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

lmorales4----Sent you a P/M


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## lmorales4 (Jul 8, 2010)

that sounds like a great idea but ive managed to avoid jail time so far in my life im not gonna try my luck now, sorry its illegal in america to shoot hawks. I havent been home today so i havent seen the hawk but ill hold off on letting them out until sunday afternoon and ill let you know how it goes, good luck with your birds cuban lofts.


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

Some body should start feeding the hawks too in the locality  So that the hawks concentrate in that area and are tummy full and lazy to fly after the pigeons 

Feed them rodents, two birds with one stone


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

thats right, they will lock u up for good for shooting a hawk, but, u can use a slingshoot with some marbles, is quiter, lol, i will not release till the weekend, and i will have my slingshoot ready, dont have 2 many neighbors, si iam in good shape, if i were in the country, i would use a shootgun, a bazuka, anything,  good luck to u.


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## lmorales4 (Jul 8, 2010)

un tirapiedra no esta mala la idea, los use mucho cuando era nino aver si todavia tengo punteria


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## aslan1 (Jul 22, 2010)

cubanlofts said:


> thats right, they will lock u up for good for shooting a hawk, but, u can use a slingshoot with some marbles, is quiter, lol, i will not release till the weekend, and i will have my slingshoot ready, dont have 2 many neighbors, si iam in good shape, if i were in the country, i would use a shootgun, a bazuka, anything,  good luck to u.


I think it's not a good idea to shoot hawks. Unworthy birds get eaten, it’s natural selection at work. Just fly your birds as much as you can so they can be ready for everything.


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

aslan1 said:


> I think it's not a good idea to shoot hawks. Unworthy birds get eaten, it’s natural selection at work. Just fly your birds as much as you can so they can be ready for everything.


unworthy my butt, my birds are a priority over any hawk, they can go eat ferals, theres plenty in my town, i assure u, i will kill any hawk that gets 2 close to my birds, theyr young, so if they get eaten, they wont be able to prove nothing, why dont u let ur kids loose on an african jungle with lions, to see if they r worthy, it wont matter that they r young, they need to prove their worthiness.
not to be rude, or hurt your feelings, but there are circumstances to everything.
ps: U have no idea how much time, effort and money it takes me to keep my birds top notch, i go the extra mile, hell if iam gonna let a hawk grab a baby if it s within my power, older birds, if they r stupid enough to let a hawk eat them, thats another story. but iam flying younger birds, and it makes me feel good, that the hawk didnt even got close to 1, so i guess, yes, they were fast for him.


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## Guest (Sep 18, 2010)

there is no way to out wit the hawks but the more you are out there with your birds the better chance they have against them they have while they are out there ... I too agree unworthy has nothing to do with it ,hawks will always try to eat them and smetimes they will get lucky in taking one


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

*Some Words Of Caution ..*

Please refrain from posting about any potentially lethal methods of deterring hawks. Hawks are protected under state and federal laws in the U.S. and in many other countries. The penalties for harming them are substantial. 

I know and realize how much harm the hawks can do to our beloved pigeons, but we cannot sanction illegal activity here on the board, so be careful what you say.

Also, if you never saw the news coverage of the roller fanciers that got "stung" by wildlife officials, I suggest you read about it. You should be able to find the posts here on Pigeon-Talk with links to the news articles.

Terry


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

TAWhatley said:


> Please refrain from posting about any potentially lethal methods of deterring hawks. Hawks are protected under state and federal laws in the U.S. and in many other countries. The penalties for harming them are substantial.
> 
> I know and realize how much harm the hawks can do to our beloved pigeons, but we cannot sanction illegal activity here on the board, so be careful what you say.
> 
> ...


well, hawks have to eat, and i have to do what i have to do, i wouldnt shoot one, but i will scare the heck of them, at least.i have a metal plank that will make a noise from hell, enough to scare a bull, all i havbe to do is hit it with my hammer, is loud, and i assure u, it will scare anything, sounds like a big boooommmm


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

besides, is not illegal if u dont get caught, those idiots were putting details of what they did, i havent done anything, but what i do in the privacy of my home is private.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

cubanlofts said:


> besides, is not illegal if u dont get caught, those idiots were putting details of what they did, i havent done anything, *but what i do in the privacy of my home is private.*





Not if you talk about it, it isn't.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

cubanlofts,

I know how frustrated you are. I have lots of experience with hawks especially I get attack at least once or twice a week. In the end you will realize that hawks do need to survive and need to eat and at the same time they will try to hunt the weak, young, old, dumb birds. In my experience, I ended up with hawk aware, hawk smart birds that probably developed their survival instincts more. On a bigger picture I am now beginning to understand that these BOP are actually helping you "cull" those birds that don't have survival instincts. You will end up with better birds.

I must admit that I am still angry with the hawk that took my most favorite bird (the one in my avatar). But you have to see the bigger picture in all of this.

You may ask why is it that those hawks are not hitting those ferals? Simple. Those ferals evolve to be hawk smart. Those that don't died. And natural selection helps evolve the right species for the environment. Obviously hawks still hit those ferals and feral pigeons seem to be the major food source for falcon. But that is a different story.


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## aslan1 (Jul 22, 2010)

cubanlofts said:


> unworthy my butt, my birds are a priority over any hawk, they can go eat ferals, theres plenty in my town, i assure u, i will kill any hawk that gets 2 close to my birds, theyr young, so if they get eaten, they wont be able to prove nothing, why dont u let ur kids loose on an african jungle with lions, to see if they r worthy, it wont matter that they r young, they need to prove their worthiness.
> not to be rude, or hurt your feelings, but there are circumstances to everything.
> ps: U have no idea how much time, effort and money it takes me to keep my birds top notch, i go the extra mile, hell if iam gonna let a hawk grab a baby if it s within my power, older birds, if they r stupid enough to let a hawk eat them, thats another story. but iam flying younger birds, and it makes me feel good, that the hawk didnt even got close to 1, so i guess, yes, they were fast for him.


I meant the old birds, not the young ones. I have 4 young rollers that i am flying right now and if a hawk even tries to catch one I am gonna do something really bad to him.


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

yeah, no problem, that darm hawk stills around, he s a big 1, he s just waiting, he s a smart fellow, and yes, talking about ferals, i saved 2 of them , and they fly within my loft, do u know that their instincts are much fasters than any other of my birds, i raised them from babies, but boy, they r much much faster, i was wondering if i could race them? wouldnt that be funny if i win a race with a feral?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Some people are under the assumption that ferals do not have homing abilities, but a friend brought her birds to another state 120 miles away. A year and a half later, that other person is allowing them to fly on her property and they come back to the loft at dusk to roost. Well, one of the feral pigeons found it's way back to the original keeper. He just showed up one day. So he homed 120 miles to get back home.


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

there s a feral pigeon, he lives like a block away in someones house.that birds has a band, and he s huge, he is black with white wings, is the most beutiful bird i ve ever seem in my life, somebody lost him i bet, theres like 25 birds there, and i bet some of those baby s are his, cause they r huge, i wonder is he is a king or something, now those birds are feral, but they look pretty healthy, they get toguether with my birds sometimes to fly, and they can keep up just fine, i have 1 coming from there like 2 weeks ago, and he never left, he s a small blue with white wings, cute as a bottom.

now, those birds i will be feeding on the winter, i already talk to the guy who owns the house, and he said that would be k, cause he dont care about them or nothing. but in my town here, we have to have 0ver 5000 ferals, they get toguether on the morning, and they go eat on this big field next to the fair grounds, is cool to see.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

cubanlofts said:


> there s a feral pigeon, he lives like a block away in someones house.that birds has a band, and he s huge, he is black with white wings, is the most beutiful bird i ve ever seem in my life, somebody lost him i bet, theres like 25 birds there, and i bet some of those baby s are his, cause they r huge, i wonder is he is a king or something, now those birds are feral, but they look pretty healthy, they get toguether with my birds sometimes to fly, and they can keep up just fine, i have 1 coming from there like 2 weeks ago, and he never left, he s a small blue with white wings, cute as a bottom.
> 
> now, those birds i will be feeding on the winter, i already talk to the guy who owns the house, and he said that would be k, cause he dont care about them or nothing. but in my town here, we have to have 0ver 5000 ferals, they get toguether on the morning, and they go eat on this big field next to the fair grounds, is cool to see.



He may well be a King Pigeon. Can you get a picture of him?


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

i have tried, but he s a sneaky 1. i have tried to catch him before, traps, u name it, nets at night, nothing.


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

i flow my birds this evening, real nice, no hawks around, but i had my hammer ready and my metal plate to make some noise just in case, but no signs of him at all, they did good, and they trap even better after a little while, didnt want to push it too much, so i just flown them for 15 minutes.


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## aslan1 (Jul 22, 2010)

I have a question. This BOP already attacked my pigeons like 5 times but he doenst fly after them. He flies very low about 10-15 feet and treis to get my pigeons when they are landing or relaxing on the roof of my house. His color is gray. Does anyone know what kind of BOP it might be?


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

there r many kinds, i would nt be able to say without a picture, but do what i just did, get a geese decoy on the roof, the y r afraid of them, be sure u move it around a little, they dont go after them on the air, cause they cant keep up, but they will attack from above, u can see the hawk flying real high in the sky, and them u know is time to trap, thats why u never feed and release, cause if the hawk comes and u call, and they r full, them u r in trouble, just babbling here, sorry


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## cubanlofts (Sep 3, 2010)

Jay3 said:


> He may well be a King Pigeon. Can you get a picture of him?


jay, last nite, i caught one of this feral pigeons, that i said, they may be from this big pigeon, it has white wings, but is a blue one, it has to be his, cause he s big, have to post some pictures soon, cause i rescued quite a few recently. .
btw, i was looking at this pigeon, and he s married to a blue hen, so i know is his, he look s like a king and she has to be a homer, cause of her nostrils, this pigeon looks like a big homer, very healthy 2, nevertheless this morning i started treatment for everything, just in case, hawk seems to have moved away to greener pastures


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

aslan1 said:


> I have a question. This BOP already attacked my pigeons like 5 times but he doenst fly after them. He flies very low about 10-15 feet and treis to get my pigeons when they are landing or relaxing on the roof of my house. His color is gray. Does anyone know what kind of BOP it might be?


Grey with black spots ? May be a cooper hawk !!!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

aslan1 said:


> I have a question. This BOP already attacked my pigeons like 5 times but he doenst fly after them. He flies very low about 10-15 feet and treis to get my pigeons when they are landing or relaxing on the roof of my house. His color is gray. Does anyone know what kind of BOP it might be?


whatever kind it is..it will kill your pigeons..so I would keep the birds locked up for a spell...a week or two..and try again..


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## aslan1 (Jul 22, 2010)

sreeshs said:


> Grey with black spots ? May be a cooper hawk !!!


No it doesnt have any black spots. Its dark grey.


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## aslan1 (Jul 22, 2010)

cubanlofts said:


> there r many kinds, i would nt be able to say without a picture, but do what i just did, get a geese decoy on the roof, the y r afraid of them, be sure u move it around a little, they dont go after them on the air, cause they cant keep up, but they will attack from above, u can see the hawk flying real high in the sky, and them u know is time to trap, thats why u never feed and release, cause if the hawk comes and u call, and they r full, them u r in trouble, just babbling here, sorry


This one doesnt attack from above. He is fast and he flies really low. My pigeons are so scared of him whenver they see him they start flying so high you can only see dots in the sky.


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