HAWKS!!Public enemy number 1?

[Tintola]

Is anyone else having trouble with hawks? I have a particularly evasive one around at the moment who is able to avoid all my attempts to "discourage" it. They cannot get the birds, but terrorise them to the point of them scalping themselves, especially the pigeons and doves, as they fly upwards in their attempts to escape, or killing themselves by building up petrifying speed and hitting the aviary walls. The only damage that this particular one has caused so far is to cause a pair of Brush Bronzewing pigeons to abandon a nest with 2 eggs about to hatch ($100 worth each). I normally catch them with a cat trap baited with a dead dove, that I have kept in the freezer for just such an occasion, or with raw meat. Once caught, I cut off about one quarter of it's tail (done at night by torchlight) before relocating and releasing it a long distance away, so that I can tell if it is the same one if it returns. Over the years I have tried everything from padded rabbit traps, to the above method, most have worked, but I was just wondering does anyone else have any other other solution to the the hawk problem apart from firing a couple of warning shots (into it's head)?

[Mickp]

Other than some well placed lead the only thing I have found that scares off a hawk is a larger bird.
Any wedge tails looking for a new home in your area?

[arthur]

Go to the site for electronic mousetraps

They have a movement activated water jet gadget

Don't know if it would serve the purpose, but might work for hawks in the daylight and cats at night

[Tintola]

Thanks Arthur,
Worth a look at the water jet thingy. I have seen a hawk on top of one of my aviaries perching on one of the electric hotwires and just spasming with the pulses, not being the slightest bit concerned with the pain that most creatures (cows for instance) would feel. They don't seem to feel pain when focused on a kill.

[desertbirds]

Not sure if these hawks are landing on your aviary to scare the birds but at the park they string fishing line acorss the top of the aviary ( say a foot above the wire) to stop predatory birds and others from landing on the wire.

[jusdeb]

Yep usually get the brown ones now lucky me we have a larger grey type coming into the trees in the yard .

[Pete Sara]

mate I have been having trouble in this side with them as well. had one hanging around for two days sitting on top of the bleeding heart cage, kept chacing him off. the bugger kept coming back, so I waited in the sniper hide with me sling shot loaded with chook pellets. the poor bugger copped a face and B@M full and thats when to magpies took over and havn't seen it since...pete

[Nrg800]

I have Miner's doing the same....

[djb78]

Sorry to hear about the hawk, never had a problem since not having pigeons but got a rather nasty siler eye that keeps attacking the wire, bit of perspect stop him in his tracks.

[jusdeb]

The reason we have the hawks now is mostly I guess the high numbers of mice last autumn and also because the owners of the local silos and storage sheds encourage them to hang around as a way to keep pigeons out .