Hi, Hopefully, I can download some photos. These hawks showed up a few months ago and they’re larger than the ones we had before. I’m not sure of the species, maybe broad winged or sharp shinned hawks. At first, they just flew over our back yard and now keep getting closer. I found one in the backyard about a week ago. This morning, here the two right outside our backdoor, one about 8 feet away and the other about 10 ft. We have 3 dogs and I won’t worry about the 2 larger dogs. The small one is a 8-lb Chihuahua with only about 4-5 teeth - no way he can put up a good defense. I’m looking for ideas to get them out of our backyard and I don’t want to hurt them. Have you tried anything that worked or possibly didn’t work? I don’t want our dog to end up being bird food - LOL. Thanks in advance.
No ideas, but there was a coyote vest posted on the forum awhile back that may help avert hawk attacks…
We have everything including giant bald eagles. Mostly our big German shepherd keeps the raptors at bay from terrorizing our chicken flock. They don’t come close.
I’ve also read that hanging up something very reflective like old CDs will repel them. They even make robotic, shiny owls that will make a big noise if they get close. I have no idea if those things work.
how big is your yard? If it’s just a small area, you can put up some camouflage netting.
They do tend to attack at dusk and dawn, and I don’t like the fact that they were so close to your porch. I would probably not leave the little guy unattended.
Just wanted to point out that hawks are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and it is illegal to kill or harm them. I have heard that this also incudes scaring them to make them go away.
I seriously doubt the USDA or FWS is going to come after anyone trying to shoo a raptor off of their porch. The biggies in those laws is going out and disrupting their nests or shooting them.
IME, the Redtails common here don’t wait for the sun to rise or set.
My hens & rooster no longer free-range since the day I came up my driveway around 4P & had one sitting there & chowing on the hen he’d just killed.
To keep hawks from taking chickens from my fenced, but not roofed henyard, I crisscrossed baling twine across the top to form a grid.
Read somewhere hawks see this as solid.
In almost 15yrs, I’ve never had a hawk in the henyard.
Redtails are good-sized birds.
A juvenile once landed right outside my coop door & it was a good 2’ tall.
ETA:
Hi Janet,
I agree with you. I’m not going to jump up and down waving my arms while yelling. I’ll be happy putting something reflective in my yard so they naturally stay away.
Either of those two species of hawk are less than 2 pounds themselves, and aren’t going after anything larger than a mouse. Even a red tail is not a concern for pets.
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the great response and one gorgeous photo of a hawk. I followed your suggestions and used a shepherd’s hook and put CDs on both side (attached to each other in a line) so they could blow in the breeze. No hawks in the yard since then. They’re still flying all over the property though and I like watching them and collecting feathers. Here are 2 photos I managed to upload. One is a patio set we’re giving away and the hawk flew from the chair to the garage across the drive. The other hawk stayed on the patio handrail. I haven’t seen any red in their tails. Can you identify? Thanks!
Hawks will go for and kill wild rabbits, groundhogs, possums, rats, ducks, chickens, and cats. My neighbors even claim that a hawk killed a few of their lambs one year. They are a risk to pets if the pets are small.
As a kid I watched a bird of prey try to make off with the family cat. It happened so fast I can’t say with confidence what kind of BOP it was, but it was during broad daylight so it wasn’t likely an owl. I’m very lucky I was outside when it happened - the BOP swooped down and practically flipped the cat right off the ground. Their MO is to stun their prey and eat them while stunned, if they can’t just carry it off. If they can, they absolutely will.
About five years ago a very resourceful young sharp-shinned hawk flew into the barn and ate one of my wood ducks right there on the floor. I still wonder how she gained enough speed to stun the duck given the confines of the barn - or if she just landed on and pinned the duck and ate her. The duck was about the same size as the hawk, too.
I would take no chance. While it is illegal to harm birds of prey, I am not above throwing rocks at the tree they are in and clapping aggressively to ward them off of our farm. I have not heard that it is illegal to ward them off, but yes, they are protected under several federal and state laws and cannot be hunted or killed.
One thing I have noticed about red tails in particular, they are chickens when it comes to confrontation. But when they are adolescents, they can be very bold. I had one hanging around last summer. I would never hit any animal with a thrown stone, but I wanted to make it abundantly clear he was not welcome here before he got bigger, found a mate, and started eyeballing the kids (baby goats).
Incidentally, if the hubby happens to have a drone, BOPs really don’t like them and will clear the area fast. Both my SO and my father enjoy flying drones and little airplanes - nothing clears the farm quicker than when the two of them start flying those things. 
@Dressage59 Those look immature, but not sure of subspecies. What color are their beaks and legs? They sort of look like our adolescent sharp shinned hawks, but it’s hard to tell. SSHs have banded tails and yellow beaks and feet. BTW – careful about collecting the feathers, as it is illegal to do so in the US unless you are of native descent. I was guilty of picking up feathers before I knew better too, as they make great cat toys once sanitized. Now I just collect our turkey feathers instead.
Possibly a cooper hawk?
Cooper’s Hawk Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
There’s a pair of hawks hanging around my condo development now. I have a small 7 lb. chihuahua mix that is always on a leash with me. Will they dare come after her when she’s with me? And how far away is too far to be safe? She’s on a 6 ft. leash but I usually have her closer to me. One was eyeballing her from a tree so I carried her until we were out of sight. They’re gorgeous but so intimidating.
Hi Beowulf, I can’t tell the color of the beak or legs. From another photo, they looks grayish. Thanks for letting me know about not keeping feathers. I had forgotten; a really large beautiful owl was hit by a car at the end of our old house. I called Animal Control/Wildlife and they said I couldn’t have a feather - so I didn’t. I had heard, don’t know whether it’s true, that if the prey is too heavy to lift, that hawks will eat it there as the talons have already done significant damage.
These two are always flying together. For example, one will be on the west side of the yard and the other on the north. When one flies, the other will be right behind it. When I look at a particular photo, the hawk turns around to look at me and then I remember it’s a video. In that split second, it’s a little eerie. I love all the wildlife here; besides the hawks, we have dragon flies, snakes, hummingbirds, etc. It’s pretty awesome. Next year, I’m going to plant a native butterfly garden.
Thanks for the stories. I enjoyed them.
That’s great that you’re carrying here. Our Chi is 8 lbs. Good luck!
I re-watched a video and it definitely looks like they are Cooper’s Hawks per the Cornel website. When one of the hawks turned his head, the top of his head was flat. So far, I haven’t seen the hawks near our yard after putting up the CDs; they’re working! . Thanks everyone for all the great help!
