HELP!! Hawk has taken up residence in our feeder area

HELP!!! I know that we as bird lovers appreciate & care for all winged guys and don't condone killing any of them. I'm getting very frustrated with a hawk that has found us....Again this morning I had to watch the resident hawk take another of our little fellas. You may notice that we haven't had any pics on the Daily Pic thread...that's because the birds aren't coming to the feeder due to the constant prescence of the hawk...he actually sits on top of the feeder and rests there....is there anything you can suggest to discourage the hawk but will not frighten the birds we were enjoying so much? He's beautiful but our bird feeder is turning into a hawk feeder. Thank you for any suggestions.....Deb

Bob just got a pic of him...

Looks to be a Coopers Hawk.

Hey Depsi,

Do you have somewhere for the birds to go for cover? Maybe if you have a christmas tree, put it near the feeder or some other bush or thicket. If the hawk is thwarted too many times by the birds flying to cover, then he'll give up.

Good luck!

Yes, it can be a bad idea to have a feeder so out in the open. I've had a few Hawks around recently after my smaller birds, but the feeders are right at the edge of my shrubbery, and the small birds dive into the branches for safety whenever the Hawks come down. I have not seen a successful attack yet. PS - It looks like you live in a beautiful area, by the way.

This message was edited Jan 6, 2008 9:20 PM

We realize we have put these guys right out in the open, unfortunatly it's the lay of the land here. we are right out on a bench inbetween wooded areas. We have two discarded trees on either side of the fence...seems we are going to have to figure out something else...Hopefully our trees & bushes that are planted in the fenced feeder area will spring up this summer..Thank you for your guidance. We really do appreciate it...pic is of our feeding area before the Christmas trees were propped up against the deer fencing....Deb

Oh, dear, not good news to have the hawk sitting right on top of the feeder! Looks pretty intimidating, even to me!

Maybe you can get an owl to take up residence to scare away the hawk?!

Good luck with this situation....

Pelletory had mentioned an owl, also...glad to hear from you, Tabasco. If we put up one of those plastic guys would he frighten the little fella's????? Deb

He might; I was wondering that after I mentioned it to you.

We will be getting one immediately. That is way too hard for Bob & I to watch happen as it is...we're not shelling out for seed to make a bully fat.....Thanks again.....Deb

It may not be a permanent solution Deb; just letting you know.

One of the things I'm thinking of is cutting pines from other parts of our property and propping them around the enclosure...it would make it harder for the hawk to see the little fellas to begin with and then would be a screen to hide in...Thanks again, Pelle, for your wisdom....Deb

That may be a help temporarily. Nice of you to try and feed the birds when you have to protect the food from deer. That will be a bird haven someday when the trees and shrubs get bigger. I have seen other advice that feeders should be in the open so they can't be "snuck up" on, but I tend to think cover is better. Good luck....maybe he will move on.

This message was edited Jan 7, 2008 7:07 AM

Deb, I don't know that there are any "permanent" solutions.

As hard as it is to see, the Hawk is just doing his job usually getting the weak and sick.

Hopefully in Spring they'll move to other areas.

We have a Cooper's Hawk that sits near our feeders either on the fence or in a tree. He usually hangs around an hour or so, then flies off. He's been coming twice a week since I started feeding the birds a year ago. Fortunately we have lots of bushes nearby for the little birds. I've only seen him catch something and eat once--it was a small rodent. I'm sure he gets the birds too.

In the last few weeks we've also had a peregrine falcon stop by--another chilling effect on the bird feeding. I haven't tried to do anything to discourage the predator birds. They don't stay long and there is lots of wildlife around here for them to eat.