Anyone know something about hawks?

[cali]

the eye thing is freaky. It might work, but it might scare the crap out of your duck too, and that would suck

Also, you may think I'm weird, but animals showing up in your life are sometimes there for a reason. Something you need to do, or stop doing... I checked Hawks:

Hawk - Messenger. Hawk teaches us to be observant and to pay attention to what we may overlook. This could mean a talent we don't use, a blessing for which we haven't expressed gratitude, or a message from Spirit.

Numbers also mean something, but I don't have a clue as to what.

[Yardgnome]

MollyRose-
I used to work with birds of prey, so I do now a little about hawks. Like someone else posted they are protected federally so whatever you do you don't want to do anything that will harm them because you can get fined heavily.
There really is not a whole lot you can do to Chase them away. Like someone said a little cage with a roof for the duck would be a good idea. Hawks can kill birds the size of a duck, even if the duck does look bigger compared to the bird. 4 hawks is a lot to have in the yard at once, 2 most likely will move on and a lot of hawks do migrate south in the winter so you might lose the other two in a couple of months. You can hope that something like a great horned owl will move into their nest, but that is still a danger to the duck.
I guess the best bet is to try and find some sort of covered cage for the duck. Good luck, if you have any questions or if you can ID the hawk let me know and I might be able to help a little more!

[hepcat]

I feel like such a city slicker. I've never even heard of keeping a duck as a pet, and here's Stargazer with her grandpa's hawk/snake story, Feifur with the pie tins...

Nothing useful to add, just sayin'.

[pinkieparrot]

I see those big beachball faces everywhere because I live around a lot of wineries. It seems they work there, but they scare the crap out of me!

[MollyRose]

Thanks for all the great ideas. I called our local zoo today and the bird expert there said pretty much the same stuff that many of you did.

I'm pretty sure they are "Cooper's Hawks", and it's most likely that it's parents and two adolescents who they are teaching to hunt. The zoo guy also suggested the "angry eyes" (good find Veejer!) or putting netting over the duck area. Unfortunately the duck area is about half an acre. He said it was unlikely, although possible that the hawks would go after the duck.

Cali - I have many, MANY strange bird experiences to tell you about. Including three this week (including the hawks). Lots of birds flying into our windows, sitting on our screens watching us a lot, letting us pet them then flying away... LOTS. When I moved in with my current husband, a bird would fly into our bedroom window every morning, but only when I was there. When we moved to a different bedroom in the house, it then happened only in that room. Native American culture says that when a bird flies into your window it's someone who has died trying to tell you something. Considering that both my husband and I were widowed in our twenties, two years before we met it definitely makes us wonder.

Here's a couple of pictures of Marti (and Ralph - her best friend), and one of a Cooper's Hawk. Isn't this thread educational?

[hepcat]

I love those pictures of Marti and Ralph! It seems like no matter what else the hawks mean in your life, you have an affinity with animals, MollyRose.

[gaby]

I don't know who to ask, so I thought maybe someone on the FORT would have a suggestion. We have lots of experts around here!

Does anyone know how to "discourage" hawks from staying around?

I have the same issue! We live out in the country... and have numerous hawks ( the red feather ones ) who live nearby, in a tree line area.

They hunt for food in our back pasture. Its a daily thing to see those birds swooping down and snagging field rats and take off flying with them hanging from their claws. (Got to love the country life.)

But one day I saw one of those hawks with a HEN in its claws. From that day forward I refer to those hawks as the "Chicken Hawks"....

Not that I am trying to disturb the PETA people... but I would be very leery of those hawks looking at your duck. Maybe you should buy yourself a few rats to entertain them with instead!

[veejer]

Nice pictures, MR!!! I hope you are able to protect Marti.

[Yardgnome]

MR-awesome picture of the hawk.
Do you feed birds from a bird feeder in your area? If you do coopers hawks are notorious for feeding off birds that stop by the bird feeder. It's kind of like easy hunting for them. This could also be another reason they are hanging around.

[roseskid]

Wow, this site is amazing. I have loved reading everyone's posts, especially loved the hawk trying to feed grandpa by dropping dead animals on or near him. I have had several Coopers hawks hang around my house over the hears, but fortunately have large dogs, so have never had to worry about trying to discourage them. I do have neighbors who have put the plastic owls on top of their homes, though, and I can tell you they only work for so long. Eventually the birds realize they are not real, and then they are no longer effective. You might also try calling your local animal shelter. Ours actually has a woman who's called the 'bird lady' and she is quite knowledgeable about all kinds of birds. I found a dead owl (not a mark of trauma on him ) in my front yard a year ago, called the animal shelter to see if they cared, and they were very interested. They actually came out and got him so they could do an autopsy on him, saying they track the deaths and sightings of all kinds of birds. Because of this, I'm thinking maybe they might have some good tips for you for fending them off your pet duck. When I was a kid, my sister and I had a pet duck we named Donald (of course). He was a crack-up. Good luck and please keep us posted. Just saw the post above mine.....I have feeders in our yard that attract orioles, blue jays, etc., and they are right....I have seen an occasional hawk pick a bird right off the feeder .