Aussie Finch Forum

I have a hawk thats been around for a few weeks now.The problem is he thinks I am on his team.Every morning without doubt I go out to feed the birds,I go down the lane way he goes down the front.He has learnt that if I am in the lane way the birds are at the front,with the young ones on the wire.I open the aviary door the birds fly to the front he goes to the front the birds fly into the lane way.I seem to be spending more time catching birds then feeding them.It is really starting to get annoying . I can see this bird having a short life span if this keeps up.

Amazing how smart the predators are.

Could be a young inexperienced hunter to be doing something so futile.
Can you hang some shade cloth over the spot when the young ones hang until the hawk gets out of the habit and goes away.

Relocation ... is it an option ?
For the hawke not for you

thats one smart birds you have thier gomer

I've also had a young hawk practicing in my backyard for the last couple of weeks but he has a parent watching nearby and luckily now has managed to flush some doves so is not as interested in my aviary. Have had these hawks around for years and this is the first young we've seen so actually pretty exited (we live 7 minutes from Perth CBD).

He is still there every morning and night.I thought by now he would have relised he is wasting his time.

Redwing you get osprey nesting 5 minutes form your house....even bigger still...pete

jusdeb wrote:Relocation ... is it an option ?
For the hawke not for you

just returned from holidays to find that the juvenile goshawk (most likely suspect) that was harassing my birds before i left had relocated the heads of two finches in my holding aviary .

My holding aviary has been targeted by a number of predatory birds at times. Owls at night, young hawks by day. Only ever young birds, older ones have learnt not to bother. While my breeding aviaries are full of brush, which the birds shelter in when a predator comes over, the holding aviary is relatively bare. I've now added a second layer of mesh, the nylon type, about 20cm from the aviary mesh, which stops any predators from actually coming in contact with birds in the aviary, hence all birds keep their legs, wings and heads