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Permalink Reply by Jim on May 29, 2012 at 10:53am

Well, I would not want to prevent any hawk from getting onto my property as they provide so much benefit (control of field mice, gophers, snakes, other birds), but you can try to attract brewer's blackbirds/red-winged blackbirds depending on your location. Blackbirds push out red-tailed hawks for example, but if there is a food source the hawk spotting, usually the hawk will come back. Blue Jays also will on occasion push out hawks, but many times they just surround perching hawks and scream until the hawk leaves.

I also find that if your hawk is a cooper's hawk for example, blackbirds will not try to push them out...they will run since the cooper's will go for the blackbird.

To attract blackbirds put out suets for the females (a male is usually always with), and put out black sunflower seeds in either feeders or ground feed. For Blue Jays, peanuts are great as are black sunflower seeds.

Hawks can control other hawks as well.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Paro on May 29, 2012 at 10:40pm

I have no idea about birds to chase the hawks away but our solution to hawks killing our poults and pullets was to make sure there is always things hanging on the clotheslines - we use the line & pully system for hanging clothes and the back poles are in the middle of the poultry yard so we have a few old towels we keep handy right by the bench where the basket of laundry sits to hang out and take in and when a load is taken in a couple towels get hung on the line and run out. the towels break the bird's concentration enough he can't swoop & grab. We also have a half dozen 6 inch shiny & glittery christmas balls we bought and have hung a various points around the poultry yard that seems to help scare the birds of prey away.  Eagles and Owls will land if need be if the prey is too big to just grab & go (we've had this happen twice once with a Great Horned Owl & once with a Golden Eagle) but the towels hanging on the line are just enough that they don't feel they have the room to land now.

Our big battle right now isn't with the birds of prey it's with a raccoon and/or fisher. We've got 2 Hav-A-Hart traps set one in the poultry yard and one out behind my garden near the woods and a rat trap screwed to the fence where what ever the critter is is coming over into the poultry yard. The hope is that if the Hav-A-Hart traps don't get it the rat trap will snap a foot and make it think twice before it trys for a dinner of chicken or duck again (we've lost one of each over a couple months when they hid instead of going in the coop to be shut in for the night)

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Permalink Reply by Kings Crest Farms on June 21, 2012 at 9:51pm

Most small birds that chase hawks and crows ar doing so during nesting. To attract birds putt up housing and feed. I have heard that martins are easy, but Ihavecrabsgotc never tried... Plus it depends on what spices of birds are native to your area.

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Permalink Reply by Little Seed Farm on June 24, 2012 at 9:54pm

Eastern Kingbirds chase away our hawks. I agree that it's kind of a catch-22. I used to see them flying away with snakes and field mice all the time. Now I see them perched on the trees every week or two, but rarely flying over our fields like they used to. 

I am not sure how to attract them, but I agree with the comment above that it's usually during nesting. We have lots of small nests around with baby birds in them. The nests are in the barn rafters and pine trees mostly. The birds are cute, but they must look mighty tasty to those hawks.

Could try some LGDs. Our Pyrs bark at hawks. They say Maremma's are the best for aerial predation, but our Maremma hasn't yet shown that trait, so I can't speak from experience...

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Permalink Reply by Quinn on June 25, 2012 at 8:44am

I've heard that adding a couple of geese (including a gander) to your flock will work to deter hawks. We've only had two hawk attacks over the years both of which were thankfully unsuccessful so I haven't felt compelled to try geese out.

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