How to Keep Hawks Away From Your Yard: Hazing and Other Humane Hacks
Run these raptors right outta town
Watching a hawk soar through the sky is a pretty majestic sight until one swoops down, targeting your small pet or those sweet sparrows you’ve been feeding for months. While these protected predators can benefit our ecosystem, that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to welcome them into your yard.
While hawks are protected birds and trapping or killing them is illegal, there’s usually no need to resort to drastic measures when considering how to keep hawks away from your yard. You can employ many safe, humane, and legal tactics.
1. Alter Bird Feeders
Sometimes, doing something different with your bird feeder can be enough to deter hawks. Try the following:
Remove: Temporarily take down your feeder for a week or two while you work on other strategies. Some birds may move to new hunting spots in the meantime.
Reposition: Move the feeder to a covered spot under a tree, deck, or awning so circling hawks can’t see it so easily.
Adapt: Add a cage shield to your DIY birdhouse plans, or buy one with this addition. Small birds can still access the seed, but hawks won’t be able to reach them when they are inside the cage.
2. Avoid Feeding Birds on the Ground
Don’t scatter seeds on your lawn to attract birds to your yard. This makes them an easy, slow-moving target in an open space. Ground feeding also offers an all-you-can-eat buffet for hawk-attracting rodents.
3. Alter Your Landscape
If your yard consists of a well-manicured lawn and uniform flower beds, now's the time to embrace the wilder side of landscaping. Plant trees, shrubs, and brush piles to provide natural cover for small birds. Position feeders close to these sheltered spots to allow them to beat a hasty retreat if a hawk is swooping.
4. Rid Your Yard of Rodents and Other Food Sources
Most small birds and mammals make meals for hawks. This includes rodents, snakes, frogs, bats, and lizards. Getting rid of mice or rat populations helps prevent the spread of rodent diseases and home damage and keeps hawks at bay. And, even though they are cute, you might also want to take steps to keep rabbits out of your garden and get rid of bats safely.
5. Remove Vantage Points
If a hawk is always perching on an overhanging branch in your yard, now’s the time to trim your tree. It’s also possible to use anti-perching devices, like sheet metal cones, on their favorite section of fence or roof edge. If you don’t want to switch from wood to wire fencing, you could use a wire fence topper to stop hawks from sitting comfortably on it.
6. Prevent Access to Your Bird Flocks
If you have free-range chickens or ducks, they will be a tempting target for a hungry hawk. Building a chicken coop that is secure and covered protects your flock from airborne predators. And, to keep foxes away, dig the fencing material at least 1.5 feet into the ground.
7. Protect Your Pets
It’s rare but not unheard of for hawks to attack small dogs and cats. If you have concerns, keep your cat indoors or give them access to the outdoors via an enclosure, like a catio. Feed small dogs indoors, and don’t leave them outside unsupervised.
8. Scare Tactics
Hawks might be fierce predators, but they aren’t immune to some good old-fashioned scare tactics—although these techniques aren’t so good if you still want small birds to visit.
If brazen hawks are increasingly circling low when your pets are out, hazing can help. Yelling, making yourself big, and even rattling some pots and pans every time they come close stops hawks from becoming habituated to humans and encourages them to find new hunting spots. Scare devices like scarecrows, reflective streamers, or a row of old shiny CDs can also be effective.
When Are Hawks in Your Yard a Problem?
Hawks are the most common birds of prey in North America, so sightings aren’t unusual. There are 19 different species, but you’re most likely to come across the red-tailed hawk, which is found throughout the country.
A hawk visiting your yard isn’t generally a cause for concern, as they tend to steer clear of people. You might be comfortable letting them visit, even if some birds on your feeder become targets. After all, it’s the circle of life and part of natural selection.
However, these attacks can be distressing, and sometimes hawks can become more than a nuisance when they target pet birds and small animals. This includes chickens, rabbits, and even itty bitty kitties or pint-sized pups.
And if they keep choosing your yard as a nesting site, a defensive hawk can be intimidating and even cause nasty cuts.
Signs of Hawks in Your Yard
If you’re a worried small pet owner, some common clues of a hawk's presence (other than them circling above your yard) include:
Pellets of compact cast (regurgitated) fur and feathers or remains of a bird or small animal.
Piles of feathers, especially underneath trees where the hawk may have plucked and eaten their catch. The feathers might be scattered in a circular pattern (called a fairy ring) or have v-shaped beak mark damage.
Large bird droppings beside the discarded feathers.
Owls also leave pellets but like to eat their meal whole rather than plucking the feathers, and they are nocturnal rather than day hunters.
What Attracts Hawks to Your Yard?
Hawks don’t want to be in your yard; They want food, shelter, and water, like all creatures. You attract hawks if your property offers all three. This is more likely if your home rests on a large acreage with the type of trees or open space certain hawk species like. For instance, sharp-shinned hawks prefer heavily forested areas, and red-tailed hawks like tall and mature trees for nesting. American kestrels enjoy open fields. If you have many rodents on your property, that could also attract hawks. On the plus side, you won’t have that rodent problem for long.
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
A combination of the strategies above is sometimes enough to keep hawks away. But if they are constantly targeting your pets or acting aggressively during nesting season, call in a professional bird removal service near you to ensure humane, legal, and licensed trapping. If trapping or nest removal isn’t an appropriate strategy, licensed professionals can offer advice on other tactics for how to get rid of hawks humanely.
Never try to remove a nest or trap or kill a hawk yourself. You could end up with a hefty fine or worse. These birds have federal protection under the Migratory Bird Act Treaty, and specific state laws and local ordinances are often in place.
How Much Does Hawk Removal Cost?
Bird removal costs anywhere from $100 to $2,000, with hawk removal falling at the higher end of that price range. Hawks are notoriously difficult to catch. They aren’t hard to find, as hawk nests are fairly obvious, but they build their nests pretty high up, and if it’s at the very top of a high tree, that could pose a problem. You’ll have better luck if a hawk roosts on your roof, like near the top of the chimney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hawk attacks on pets are rare, and they won’t target animals that outweigh them. Hawks typically weigh between one and three pounds. That means you don’t need to worry if you have a Labrador Retriever or French Bulldog. However, small cats and toy breed dogs, like Chihuahuas, are at risk. Pet attacks are more likely in winter when food is scarce or in the early summer when inexperienced young hawks are honing their hunting skills.
Some birds of prey, like owls, hunt at night. Hawks are diurnal and need good light to see their prey. You could see them circling anytime from dawn to dusk. Species like the common red-tailed hawk are most active in the early morning and late evening when their prey is also typically on the go.
Hawks might seem like fearless predators, but these smart birds do know what other animals to be cautious around. Hawks are naturally wary of humans and predators that see them or their eggs as a potential meal or threat. This list includes owls, crows, eagles, and even snakes or raccoons.