# Hawks!



## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

DAMN HAWKS!!!!!!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

sometimes you just have to vent......Im with ya brother...or sista....which ever.


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

Is that hawk sitting on your loft again?


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2009)

yeah grrrrrrr!! I have them attacking the sides of my fly pens daily and I dont even let my birds out anymore


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## pigeon_racer (Jan 12, 2009)

*Young One*

maykuhn loft,

Today I had my old birds out and I had a Cooper hawk chasing them for about fortyfive minutes! He or she didn't get any, so I think it was a yearling on his way north. Still this is not the way I wanted to get some loft flying exercise on my birds to get ready for the season. Maybe it is, they are more cautious when flying now!

Ralph


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

LokotaLoft said:


> yeah grrrrrrr!! I have them attacking the sides of my fly pens daily and I dont even let my birds out anymore


I would wouldn't know what to do if I had a hawk doing that to my loft everyday.....


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

LOl! You would not last keeping pigeons here that is for sure! Dave


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## Pegasus (Feb 6, 2007)

LokotaLoft said:


> yeah grrrrrrr!! I have them attacking the sides of my fly pens daily and I dont even let my birds out anymore


They have a quota of 5 pigeons each day...Ferals or pur pets, they want to make their babies as healthy as they can be...(my assumptions)


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

I let 10 out today. As they were trapping, here comes the coops! It is now well after dark and I have 2 of the 10 in my loft. This happens every time I loft fly. I think my team is becoming afraid to come down to trap. What do you folks think?


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

My experience is once they learn about Hawks, they can not wait to TRAP!!! LOL! Dave


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

LUCKYT said:


> My experience is once they learn about Hawks, they can not wait to TRAP!!! LOL! Dave


Do you think im doing a sh*tty job of trap training? My birds will hurry through the trap when they are in the aviary, but as soon as they are out flying-----very hesitant.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

I am not saying you are doing a ----- job at training, but once my birds become hawk smart, i have to "encourage them to leave the loft, and when i call them in, you had better stand aside! LOL! Dave


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Maybe you should take a look at your landing board, maybe it is a perfect hawk "shooting Range" Dave


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

I think one of my problems is that I feed them too much!?


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Ahay! wee grasshopper! (sorry, always wanted to use that phrase) that could be part of it, i would still look at your landing area.(to exposed, to easy for the hawks, ect.) I am a total muck at keeping my birds hungry! As i have said, I LOVE to watch them eat! Dave


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

What someone needs to do is invent a robotic pigeon that you can fly around the yard. Hawk gets a hold of a robotic pigeon and appetite lost.HuH!

What ya think? 

I had that one hawk in my back yard and ran out there like a total maniac on crack. He hasn't been in my yard since (knock on wood).


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## Pegasus (Feb 6, 2007)

LUCKYT said:


> I LOVE to watch them eat!


Not to be eaten...I agree...

They are probably too fat to fly or maybe they don't have much energy to fly...


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

LUCKYT said:


> Ahay! wee grasshopper! (sorry, always wanted to use that phrase) that could be part of it, i would still look at your landing area.(to exposed, to easy for the hawks, ect.) I am a total muck at keeping my birds hungry! As i have said, I LOVE to watch them eat! Dave


I tell ya Dave, Between my wife of two years, my 15 month old son, and my pigeon hotel (as my wife calls it), my life is full of questions!


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## Fishsean1 (Feb 4, 2008)

*Damn Hawks*

Had a hawk on my fly pen. Scared the you know what out of my breeders!! My last OB trapped and within seconds he/she shows up!


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

Pegasus said:


> Not to be eaten...I agree...
> 
> They are probably too fat to fly or maybe they don't have much energy to fly...


My birds fly, fly and fly some more. I think that the pigeons and the hawks are conditioning each other in a negative way. The hawk knows not to attack until the pigeon is vulnerable (landing). The pigeon learns this, and doesnt want to trap. I have a feeling that Ill get the rest back in the morning. This has happened before.


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## Kal-El (Oct 10, 2008)

I had first hawk encounter today! I let my hens along with the young birds out. Nothing happened. But, when I let the cocks out, a hawk pulled a surprise attack and chased one of my AU birds from last year. After the hawk failed to nab my bird, I found my bird on the fence and he was scared to death! I simply just picked him up from the fence with my hands. 

I hate hawks!!!


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## lQQl (Dec 30, 2008)

.....I do not know if is me but it seems that this hawk problem is getting worse.....I started loft flying my birds about 6 weeks ago and I got atacked everyday at least twice....I managed to save at least 10 birds just by being there armed with compressed air horns that seemed to work wonders by distracting the hawk.....The hawk would go for my birds as they landed with me only 3 ft away.....It got so bad the birds would not even wanna go out of the loft and fly.....so I had to start basketing them 6 at a time and release them right there in my yard......that really seemd to also work since the 6birds were a lot less confused when landing as opposed to letting all 24 of my racers out at a time.....so I really think letting a few birds out at a time in the middle of the hawk season saved me a lot of birds.....I noticed the hawks are atracted by a big flock of pigeons a lot more than when only a few birds are in the air......of course that was time consuming but worth it since I did not loose any racers....wahat do you guys think?......I did , however loose , a couple of young ones that got snatched right through the cage wire....I did hear of story like this before but it never happen to me........it was unreal......on the flip side after being chase for so long my birds were flying like crazy.....sometimes for two hours......and you should have seen them dive down and trap!!!....and I do not know if I should thank Mr Cooper or not....he sure saved my a lot of gas and it educated my birds.......but I now he will get me back since I have not let my young ones out yet......hopefully he will move on by then......moral of the story compressed air horns, only a few birds flying at a time and simply being there saved me a lot of birds......anybody tried that?.......Silviu Constantin


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## Big T (Mar 25, 2008)

I have a pair that waits for my birds. Yesterday I saw the male off in the woods just watching the loft. My birds pointed him out for me. I have not found their nest yet but I am watching. My hawks seem to come out around ten in the morning to hunt. Because my neighborhood is wooded there are a lot of squirrels and chipmunks for them to feed on so by six in the afternoon the hawks seem to leave my birds alone. Releasing the old birds first seems to help because they are smarter and can out fly the hawks. If nothing get after them or them seem calm then ten minutes later I release the young birds. If the hawks show up I am armed with bottle rockets, and an air rifle that I pump three times to scare off the hawk. I cannot nor will not kill one. So far it has worked, the only time lately that a hawk caught a young was when I was not around. I was in the back yard and the young bird flew into the front. But my next plan is to come up with some idea for my young to build wing strength in safety before mister hawk can get to them. I am also planning on setting up some kind of wall on the sides of the landing board to give my birds some limited safety for trapping. (Anybody got any ideas?)

Basicly, since hawks are a part of having pigeons and I will not kill one because of my moral and legal issues. I am trying to learn and observe my enemy. So I can best protect my birds. (Anybody got any more ideas?)


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## Kal-El (Oct 10, 2008)

Let's face it guys and gals, as long as we continue to have pigeons, hawks will always be our "eternal enemies".


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

maykuhn loft said:


> My birds fly, fly and fly some more. I think that the pigeons and the hawks are conditioning each other in a negative way. The hawk knows not to attack until the pigeon is vulnerable (landing). The pigeon learns this, and doesnt want to trap. I have a feeling that Ill get the rest back in the morning. This has happened before.


I stand right in front of my loft when the birds are called in, to detour a hawk, so far non had tried to get them while trapping, oh I carry a large stick too, just in case.


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Don`t feel sorry for them...Don`t let them out if you feed them...The safest way is for them to get out and fly,land,trap and eat....If you feed twice a day,and you let them ou twice a day,only give them 25% of their daily meal after the morning fly..Then after the evening fly,feed the 75% left of their daily ration...That way,they are allways well fed,but allways hungry when out flying...I have a new location where my lofts are now...It`s 2 miles away from last years place...I let the OB`s out for the last 2 weeks,so that they learn the new area/home,so I can fly OB`s starting May3rd...Well Mr redtail got one dropper,and 3 racing pigeons..2 hens that I didn`t fly as YB`s last year,because I was keeping them for stock,and one young 2008 cock that had 2 VG combine positions,including 5th overall from 250 miles....So I have to keep them in untill April comes around,and I can start road training them...It`s safer that way..They come in from training,and trap right away...I can`t have them free lofting,since the redtail knows there`s pigeons around,and he just waits untill I let them out...Being they are out of shape,from being locked up since Oct 2008,it`s an easy catch for him....Alamo


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## Kal-El (Oct 10, 2008)

The thing that is funny but really gets me ticked off is that the hawk KNOWS that I see it. BUT, it casually glides in a different direction. Then all of a sudden, BAM! Out of nowhere it shows up on my bird's tail feathers like flies on flypaper! Those darn hawks are pretty slick, somewhat!


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## [MN]eXist^_^ (Feb 13, 2009)

Hawk chases a bird. Leave the birds in for a week. Dont let them out. Use a Hawk Trap. Birds are to expensive to be playing around. I had one go through my drop trap last year, NO KIDDDING oMG freaked me OUt Something BIG and BROWN flying and hitting the Walls going nuts in there scared the ++++ out of my birds and Me. Shut the door and looked throught the window CoopHAWK oMG. Opened the door let him out and all my birds followed it. My birds slept on the tree for like a week LOL.


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

MN-Exist,why didn`t you catch the hawk in your loft,and have him relocated about 50 miles or more from your loft ??? It`s been done many times...Alamo


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## wilded (Mar 13, 2009)

[MN]eXist^_^ said:


> Hawk chases a bird. Leave the birds in for a week. Dont let them out. Use a Hawk Trap. Birds are to expensive to be playing around. I had one go through my drop trap last year, NO KIDDDING oMG freaked me OUt Something BIG and BROWN flying and hitting the Walls going nuts in there scared the ++++ out of my birds and Me. Shut the door and looked throught the window CoopHAWK oMG. Opened the door let him out and all my birds followed it. My birds slept on the tree for like a week LOL.


Guys I would never use a hawk trap without a permit. In fact I would not even have a hawk trap on my property without the proper license and permits. The penalties are too great as they are protected by State and Federal law. A licensed falconer can only trap a hawk with State and Federal permits and at certain times of the year.


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## pattersonk2002 (Jun 1, 2008)

*hawks*

I have been watching this guy stalking my bird feeder for some time now but I have never seen him succeed, I have been afraid to let any of my birds out because I know he is not far away. As always I count on my crow friends to let me know if he is around, yesterday I was watching my crows walking around the back and just said to myself they should be nesting in the pines again soon. later in the evening I went to the pines and sure enough they are rebuilding there nest's.
That was well and fine untill while I was walking back I was SHOCKED to find, maybe I should not say this, I will spare the details and pictures, one of my little crow friends laying lifeless on the ground, I am 100% sure it was a hawk of some sort and if I could give you details you would agree.
I am not sure if I am going to be flying any birds soon after this, it's just to close and if the crows did not see it coming I am sure I would loose birds >Kevin


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Oh........that's too bad about the poor crow. I'd be leary to fly them too. Hawks are terrible this year. If it was a hawk, why didn't he take the crow after killing it? You think the others chased him away?


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I had my young birds out this morning and saw 4 hawks. I had 5 birds that didn't want to trap. One hawk flew right over the top of the birds while they were sitting on top of the loft. He kept going and they just sat there and watched. Eventually I got them all inside without incident. WHEW!


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## pattersonk2002 (Jun 1, 2008)

*hawk*



Jay3 said:


> Oh........that's too bad about the poor crow. I'd be leary to fly them too. Hawks are terrible this year. If it was a hawk, why didn't he take the crow after killing it? You think the others chased him away?


Oh he took the crow alright, lets just say he was very meticulous and only took his meal, you would not like the pic


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

pattersonk2002 said:


> Oh he took the crow alright, lets just say he was very meticulous and only took his meal, you would not like the pic


OH! I've already seen that. Thanks. Sorry.


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## Big T (Mar 25, 2008)

I found my hawks' nest up the road in my neighborhood about 200 yards away. So far they have taken five of my young birds. If I let them out for about ten minutes just before sunset I'm OK with my bottle rockets but any other time and someone gets chased. I have one cock that is healing from his attack. He flew into the garage to excape but he is wounded in the chest and back, lost some blood but no lung or wing was hurt and he is back setting on his first eggs with his mate and holding his own protecting his nest.


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## Birdman79 (Aug 9, 2007)

I let my yb's out on my loft a couple of days ago, a cooper shows up and is like 10 feet away from my loft,i screamed at it and luckily my birds didn't scatter,and it took off.Today,my neighbor lost 4 birds to the same pair of cooper's that terrorize the area.Later on evening time i put my yb's on the roof again the cooper didn't show up. Neighbor's buddies were over and said that this is the worst case of cooper attacks they seen in their 20 plus years flying birds.It sucks for me cause iam sitting on 10 ybs that should be out loft flying,but have to postpone it till the attacks become less frequent.


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## Fishsean1 (Feb 4, 2008)

The Hawks are driving me CRAZY!! Let my old bird team out yesterday. They were routing great till the cooper showed up. As of tonight I am still down 1 cock and 2 hens. Hopefully they will move on soon.


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## Kal-El (Oct 10, 2008)

Sometimes, I leave my left over french fries from McDonald's for the crows. I toss the extra fries onto the roof of my house and in no time, 4 to 6 crows loiter around. I then let my young birds out and they're not afraid of the crows.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

I saw a hawk circling at my place either today or yesterday so I didn't release my birds. The hawk was scouting for food I believe. These hawks are less aggressive now unlike during winter. They are not that persistent and go chase.


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

I saw a hawk chasing a flock of ferals this morning right over my neighborhood. I hope this hawk doesn't stick around to bother my YB's when they are ready to take to the sky.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

g0ldenb0y55 said:


> I saw a hawk chasing a flock of ferals this morning right over my neighborhood. I hope this hawk doesn't stick around to bother my YB's when they are ready to take to the sky.


Quit hoping and start praying.......................when he sees those race birds.........his taste in meals will go to another level........it's like eating steak instead of hamburgers........


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

Lovebirds said:


> Quit hoping and start praying.......................when he sees those race birds.........his taste in meals will go to another level........it's like eating steak instead of hamburgers........


Yeah....there's no doubt this guy will be issue for me....


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## ohiogsp (Feb 24, 2006)

I let my first round out yesterday and wouldn't ya know a cooper got one. Not a hawk in sight today so I let them out again and one wouldn't come in tonight so 1 for 1. At this rate I will be out of birds in no time.


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## Big T (Mar 25, 2008)

Damn Hawks! I have a hawk nest about 200 yards away. The bottle rockets, air horn, BB gun, keep the hawks away from me but if the birds fly around the house to the other side they get hit. I guess I won't be flying this summer. Hawks=5 Big T=0 one Tie, but he is hurt and healing. I'm done, Hawks won!!!!


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

I think we should breed a pigeon that has the balls like the crows. If not, maybe a pigeon that is as big as crows with big beak and sharp talons and fights back. Who will be the first?!


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## pigeon_racer (Jan 12, 2009)

*Hawks?*

Hey guys,

Just a thought here, I know that every year all of us lose birds to hawks. It bothers us when we wee it happen, reasonable enough. Now lets switch to training and racing. We all lose birds when doing these activities. I've has birds come home without a feather left on their breasts because of wires and fences. I had a hen that we called "Frakenhen", because it took 47 stitches to sew up the three corner tear from the end of her keel and down both legs. Now we don't advocate cutting down all the wires along our trainig routes, but they are another thing that we cope with in this sport besides hawks. It's just that we get to see the hawks around our homes more than we used too. Is it because we are now more observant because of our interest in the sport, or do you honestly think that there has been an explosion over the last few years in hawk numbers. I have liked the replies that have focused on how to avoid them without actually hurting any of them. The best is to find out from your fish and game bioligists when the prime feeding times are for the hawks that bother you most and avoid having your birds out during these times. Always make sure you have complete control on your trapping so that they don't stay out and provide targets for any longer than necessary. I love to watch my birds fly as much as anybody, but if I don't accept that I'm going to lose them, then maybe I should find a different hobby.

Ralph


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Pigeon racer, i agree 100%. it is a part of the game, and you can cut your loses to a min. One thing i read of People doing here, is when they are hit by the hawks, is to lock up their Birds for a week. BIG mistake, (unless it is during migration season). IF your birds are not in top shape to fly, they stand little chance against hawks. If you lock them up for a week, it will only hurt their ability to be in top form to out fly the hawks.
The reason it seems there are more Hawks than ten or twenty years ago, is because there are! Remember DDT? In 8th grade we moved to 3 acres up against about 600 Acres of forest Preserve. Hawks we hardly ever seen, ecept for Redtails. I kept pigeons, and poultry NEVER had a hawk hit them...(late 60's Since then birds of Prey have recovered to NORMAL levels. 
Heck even eagles were not seen in my part of the State, we had to drive HOURS to see even one, now they are seen 20 minutes from my Sub. Home.
I love my Pigeons... BUT i am tickled to death to see them around! Shows me we CAN correct our stupid mistakes..... Dave


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## Big T (Mar 25, 2008)

Luckyt, that may be true but my hawk has learned my bell. The last three times I rang it for feeding, (morning and night). My pigeons stopped eating because the hawk flew into a nearby tree looking for his snack. I am also trying to build my flock and cannot afford to loose one or two a week. My hawks live too close.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Big T, than do not use the bell! let them stay out until they get hungry enough to come in! They will.... The only way they can survive the hawks is to get strong on the wing, and have experience with the hawks. Switch to a visual signal, a flag, or a piece of Cardboard with a big X on it. Let them out at different times.. Big T, remember, they are hawks, no were near as SMART as a pigeon. Hawks, eagles, all Raptors work on instinct, BUT your pigeons can think and reason.
Why do you think Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey as our national symbol, instead of the Eagle? Because Raptors work on instinct, not REAL thinking. I wish you could see a young Coopers learning to hunt.... DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. Dave


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## Big T (Mar 25, 2008)

I have been watching this pair as they hunt; this is how they catch squirrels. One will fly in high circles and screams the other sits in a tree and waits. A squirrel caught out will hide behind a branch from the screaming hawk. The other hawk attacks from behind. The two hawks will also tear up squirrel nests. One jumps on top of the nest and might catch the squirrel as he runs out but if he misses the other hawk attacks. I’m not sure how they are attacking my pigeons because they always hit them from the other side of the house from me. If I’m in the front the hawks attack by the loft, if I am next to the loft they attack in the front of the house. I never see them attack, I just catch them on the ground with my bird and they fly off with the bird before I can do anything. These two are hunting in pairs to catch squirrels so I’m sure they are doing the same to my birds. This last bird they hurt was older and faster. He was one of six, now five, birds I thought could out fly them.

My problem is the hawks live within eyesight of my loft, and my wooded area is full of squirrels so they hunt around my loft everyday. Even if I do not let my birds out, my woods are still a food source so they do not go away. The bottle rockets, horn and BB gun keep them away from me. If my birds stay with me they are OK, but the second one gets out of my site. The hawks try to get them.

My plan for this year is to take advantage of my hawks and observe them, study them, and learn what I can. I found their nest, so now I observe, read, talk to the experts and learn. Next week I am putting a strobe light out to see how they react, I was told because of their eyesight this affects them. I’ll let you know how it works.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Good points all. What kind of Hawks are they? Dave


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## Big T (Mar 25, 2008)

LUCKYT said:


> Good points all. What kind of Hawks are they? Dave


MEAN DAMN HAWKS!!!! they look like coopers.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Well, Cooper's are tough! That is about all i have to worry about after the goshawks Migrate through. As you said, learn all you can about them, study them, you can, and your Pigeons can learn to keep out of their TALONS.
I have had a cooper's Nest about 150-200 feet in front of my lofts for the last 3 years. last year they raised 4 young. I have a phone video of them sitting on the back fence behind my house. You are on the right track.. study and experiment, you can have Pigeons and have the hawks have only a small impact... Dave







Male Cooper's (in my yard.....)


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

LUCKYT said:


> Well, Cooper's are tough! That is about all i have to worry about after the goshawks Migrate through. As you said, learn all you can about them, study them, you can, and your Pigeons can learn to keep out of their TALONS.
> I have had a cooper's Nest about 150-200 feet in front of my lofts for the last 3 years. last year they raised 4 young. I have a phone video of them sitting on the back fence behind my house. You are on the right track.. study and experiment, you can have Pigeons and have the hawks have only a small impact... Dave
> 
> 
> ...


Nice shot of him


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

Big T said:


> I have been watching this pair as they hunt; this is how they catch squirrels. One will fly in high circles and screams the other sits in a tree and waits. A squirrel caught out will hide behind a branch from the screaming hawk. The other hawk attacks from behind. The two hawks will also tear up squirrel nests. One jumps on top of the nest and might catch the squirrel as he runs out but if he misses the other hawk attacks. I’m not sure how they are attacking my pigeons because they always hit them from the other side of the house from me. If I’m in the front the hawks attack by the loft, if I am next to the loft they attack in the front of the house. I never see them attack, I just catch them on the ground with my bird and they fly off with the bird before I can do anything. These two are hunting in pairs to catch squirrels so I’m sure they are doing the same to my birds. This last bird they hurt was older and faster. He was one of six, now five, birds I thought could out fly them.
> 
> My problem is the hawks live within eyesight of my loft, and my wooded area is full of squirrels so they hunt around my loft everyday. Even if I do not let my birds out, my woods are still a food source so they do not go away. The bottle rockets, horn and BB gun keep them away from me. If my birds stay with me they are OK, but the second one gets out of my site. The hawks try to get them.
> 
> My plan for this year is to take advantage of my hawks and observe them, study them, and learn what I can. I found their nest, so now I observe, read, talk to the experts and learn. Next week I am putting a strobe light out to see how they react, I was told because of their eyesight this affects them. I’ll let you know how it works.



It sounds like, red-tails are attacking the squirrels while the coopers hawks sneeks in from behind. Coopers hawks are the stalking,cat-like birds of prey. This is the reason the redtail was nick-named the "chicken hawk". The farmer would notice some noise in the yard. Chicken gone. He looks up and blames it on the redtail soaring up high. While the coopers dines back in the trees.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

I think cooper's hawk is what they call chicken hawk from what I've read. The reason is that they are the most lethal compared to redtails. But then again this article said all three are applicable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenhawk_(bird))


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## ohiogsp (Feb 24, 2006)

Funny, I seen a large rooster fight with a cooper that grabbed ahold of him. I heard a bunch of noise and looked out back on a job I was working at and the cooper and rooster were toe to toe. When the cooper seen me he took off and teh rooster was chasing him making all kinds of clucking noises. I am not saying the cooper wasn't going to win but from what I saw he had his hands full.


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Harriers is the "New" excepted name for the chicken hawk. Cooper's have been known to nest near Poultry farms and never take a bird. Maykuhn, you are 100% correct in your statement. i see red Tails about every day, and only have seen them try to hit my Pigeons, once or Twice, and Fail... Dave


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## Fishsean1 (Feb 4, 2008)

I am SOOO tired of the hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Evertime I let my old birds out they get chased. Had one bird hit about an hour ago. He was able to get away with me yelling at the hawk. He is pretty cut up though. I have changed the times I let the birds out, Kept them in for a week. Last Thur. they were chased. Well good luck to all who are flying. Here is a picture of the bird.


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## Kal-El (Oct 10, 2008)

I'd knock one of those hawks silly if it ever gets near me!!!


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

LOl! Good luck catching one... Dave


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Sorry about that bird. Everytime I see those pictures, my memories of my past encounters and the smell of blood triggers on me. You have a deadly predators there. Time to get a smart, fast birds.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

I think the hawk threat is starting to clear up for me. All the trees are turning green, and I havent had an attack in 2 weeks.


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Changing the times you let the birds out is good...Finding the TIMES that the hawks are hunting in your area is another way to help your birds out...Here where my lofts are,it was 10am,untill we had the time change...So now it`s about 11am....If Mr Red Tail is around in the afternoon,it`s between 1pm to 2pm...He`s not allways around in the afternoon...Probally because he hasn`t made a kill yet....Once I have my YB`s old enough to fly,I`ll let them out real early,and real late in the afternoon...Hopefully,they will be OK....Would like to catch the Red Tail,and have him relocated to Ohio or Florida,or California,or Utah,or Georgia,or Japan,or China,or just SOME PLACE ELSE !!!!!...Alamo


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Alamo said:


> Changing the times you let the birds out is good...Finding the TIMES that the hawks are hunting in your area is another way to help your birds out...Here where my lofts are,it was 10am,untill we had the time change...So now it`s about 11am....If Mr Red Tail is around in the afternoon,it`s between 1pm to 2pm...He`s not allways around in the afternoon...Probally because he hasn`t made a kill yet....Once I have my YB`s old enough to fly,I`ll let them out real early,and real late in the afternoon...Hopefully,they will be OK....Would like to catch the Red Tail,and have him relocated to Ohio or Florida,or California,or Utah,or Georgia,or Japan,or China,or just SOME PLACE ELSE !!!!!...Alamo


WHEW! I'm sure glad you left VA out of that mix..........LOL


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Alamo,

We already have too much BOP here! Don't send those here.  We have too much already especially California is one of those places where they tried to breed and release those.

That is one of the reason why I don't believe relocating helps much. Here is my logic. If they relocate my resident hawks, then someone will probably be the receiving end. It is just transferring my problem to someone else's.

I am glad to hear though that condor is being breed here in San Diego. They almost got extinct! http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-condor.html

Just imagine that in 1982 only 23 birds remained in the wild!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

RodSD said:


> Alamo,
> 
> We already have too much BOP here! Don't send those here.  We have too much already especially California is one of those places where they tried to breed and release those.
> 
> ...



Thanks for sharing that. That was a very interesting article. Amazing birds really.


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

Fishsean1 said:


> I am SOOO tired of the hawks!!!!!!!!!!!!! Evertime I let my old birds out they get chased. Had one bird hit about an hour ago. He was able to get away with me yelling at the hawk. He is pretty cut up though. I have changed the times I let the birds out, Kept them in for a week. Last Thur. they were chased. Well good luck to all who are flying. Here is a picture of the bird.


That is horrible....sorry about the bird.


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## Fishsean1 (Feb 4, 2008)

Hey Thanks. The bird is doing fine. He is only worried about driving his hen now and its only been 5 days since his encounter with the Hawk. This is a picture of him, You can see a little blood on the white flights. Does anybody know of a way to get that blood off? This is me when I saw the hawk with my bird!!!


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Don't worry about that blood stain for now. Let the bird heals first. Then just give the usual bath. That is what I did on mine. I let it heal first for weeks, then I give the usual bath of water with borax. 

So the bird got hit on the wing? Mine got hit on the wing and chest area below the crop. My other birds just got hit on the tail areas and partly on the wings.


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## Fishsean1 (Feb 4, 2008)

Yeah He got hit on the wing and body under his right wing. Hawk had him with both feet so he's got multiple talon lesions. I was going to wait to give him a bath. It is amazing how fast these birds heal.


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

Glad to SEE that your bird is doing well! I have a cock that looks exactly like him.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

As long as an infection doesn't set in and it doesn't sound like it will after 5 days, just let the pigeon be a pigeon. I had one hit a couple of years ago and it opened up her crop. Hubby sewed it up and she was out flying less than a week later. They don't sit around and moan and groan like we do. They go on with thier lives and just deal with it.


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## alb23m (Nov 30, 2008)

Close to a month ago, a hawk attcked both my rollers (pair) and got his hen. He escaped came back and after that, the cock has been very alert and scared out of his mind. He doesnt let anything get near him or he will wingslap attack you or fly in your face. He is still scared even tho it happened a long time ago. Nothing can calm him down. He has chosen a new mate since then and sitting on eggs now.


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## pigeon_racer (Jan 12, 2009)

alb23m,

Well hopefully his new love and some time will help him out!

Ralph


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

alb23m said:


> Close to a month ago, a hawk attcked both my rollers (pair) and got his hen. He escaped came back and after that, the cock has been very alert and scared out of his mind. He doesnt let anything get near him or he will wingslap attack you or fly in your face. He is still scared even tho it happened a long time ago. Nothing can calm him down. He has chosen a new mate since then and sitting on eggs now.


That's sad. Maybe time will help. Poor thing.


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## Guest (Apr 4, 2009)

yeah time is all you got but I think once his babys hatch maybe his mind and crazy will be distracted from the way he is acting now and he will settle down somewhat


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

I would have to say-- My hawk threat is over! I have 8 young birds just learning the out! Not one attack!


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

I fly stealthy now. After I call in my birds, the hawks come. What I did is to time the hawk's presence and fly my bird before that. For example, my hawk roost around evening (5 or 6 pm). I must fly my bird before then. I also notice recently that some hawk passes by around 3 pm at my place. So I have an avenue between 3-5 pm. Hopefully the hawk wont figure me out and I must thank those crows that frequent my place at the moment.


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## Guest (Apr 4, 2009)

I had a dam cooper hawk hit me in the head today while I was feeding my birds , thats the second time in 2 years that that has happened to me ,what do I look like a wackadoodle


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## pigeon_racer (Jan 12, 2009)

LakotaLoft,

Do you make sure all the pigeon feathers and down are out of your hair when you leave the loft? The guy that hit you is probably nearsighted hawk!

Ralph


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

LokotaLoft,

LOL! You may be in fact look like a wackadoodle. Are you one of those in your signature pic ? Who really knows! Maybe the hawk is attracted to you. It doesn't seem to leave your place. Or maybe the hawk has pigeon fetish. LOL!


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

LokotaLoft said:


> I had a dam cooper hawk hit me in the head today while I was feeding my birds , thats the second time in 2 years that that has happened to me ,what do I look like a wackadoodle


Too funny! But sad at the same time...That darn hawk has grown comfertable around you. I would hate to have to deal with that pest all the time. How do you deal with it? 

Henry


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