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Keep an eye open, scary encounter

txdyna65

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Today I had something very scary happen. I live in the country on 10 acres and my front yard is a little over an acre and has a chain link fence. We have 3 small dachshunds and a larger beagle/basset and we let them out there all the time. They all sleep inside at night but that is their "safe" yard to get exercise and do their business.

Well today all of them were out walking around the yard doing whatever and I happened to be sitting on the front porch watching them and talking to Lucy (she was in the aviary I built for her)
I looked off in the distance and see 2 large hawks up high coming this way and didnt think alot about it but watched them out of curiosity. Then one of them put his wings back and was coming down fast. I look out in the yard and one of the little dachshunds was out in the clear part of the yard. I knew what was up and jumped up and started running that way waving my arms and yelling. The hawk made it to about 10' from my dog before he seen me turned up and away.

My dog was oblivious to what happened but it scared the s*** out of me.
So keep a watch on your babies, this could have turned out ugly.

Sorry so long
 

SandraK

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The house we live in is on a 1/4 acre in an unincorporated area i.e. no sidewalks, etc. We have alot of Coopers hawks lately and red tails waaay up high. We have a bay window on the east side of the house where I have a couple of perches, boings and a Wingdow. This afternoon a Coopers came flying in from the north and all the wild birds on feeders scattered like there'd been a storm. He landed in the large tree in front of the bay window and was looking around for the fool bird that hadn't taken a powder.

AND he spots Tikki, sitting on a perch inside the bay window oblivious to anything outdoors (all the tiels had scattered from the window views). So I grabbed my camera and took 3 pix of the Coopers. Just as I was getting ready for another photo the Coopers actually flew up to the bay window and was going for Tik until he saw me standing there, camera in hand. He had to have come as close as 3-4 inches from the window before he realized that Tikki was inside and a human was there.

Had I been outside with Tik on a harness he would've been gone without a chance which is why I won't take a bird out with a harness. I know your feeling, I've watched hawks circle over our old yard when we put the Guinea pigs outside for some fresh air and sun. They were always in their cage; I saw the hawks just as much as the piggies did - they'd always freeze.

Glad that you were watchful and your pups are safe.
 

Garet

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I had something similar happen with my yorkie and the giant ravens we have in our area. He was really small when he was a puppy, and we had left him outside for a bit, when the ravens thought he'd make a tasty snack. Thankfully, we noticed the birds out our window and put 2 and 2 together before they got him. They kept coming back for a while, but eventually stopped coming by when they realized it wasn't happening.

Sooooo glad your doggos are okay! I love predatory birbs, but they need to learn not to pick on our pets.
 

Birdbabe

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We have almost an acre here, but, don't have dogs, or kitties..my birds are never outside..but, I have seen the hawks checking out the bunnies, quail and pigeons..as well as Mr. Skunky, ...when he's out in the daytime..I love Mr. Skunky and hope he keeps his little butt hidden till dark.. but, then,,,there's the owls...
 

faislaq

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I am so glad y'all were lucky and the hawks turned away when they saw humans. That's why I didn't realize Pistachio was in danger when he was on me.

@txdyna65 It's still hard to believe that hawk kept going even though you ran out there like that and only changed his mind at the last minute.

And @SandraK was the glass window open? I've read about hawks squeezing through a tear in a screen even.

Had I been outside with Tik on a harness he would've been gone without a chance which is why I won't take a bird out with a harness.
Amen. I feel exactly this way about harnesses. I can't even watch outdoor flight videos on YouTube anymore; too scary for me. :(
 
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SandraK

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I am so glad y'all were lucky and the hawks turned away when they saw humans. That's why I didn't realize Pistachio was in danger when he was on me.

Amen. I feel exactly this way about harnesses. I can't even watch youtube videos anymore; too scary for me. :(
It would be bad enough to know that your bird had been snatched off your shoulder by a hawk but I cannot even think of what it would feel like to pull my bird's harness leash and find a portion of my fid's body in it. That would be a disaster.
 

faislaq

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It would be bad enough to know that your bird had been snatched off your shoulder by a hawk but I cannot even think of what it would feel like to pull my bird's harness leash and find a portion of my fid's body in it. That would be a disaster.
I never thought of it like that. I've always thought that if he'd've been in a harness then we would at least have him. But that might have been worse in a way.
 

SandraK

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I never thought of it like that. I've always thought that if he'd've been in a harness then we would at least have him. But that might have been worse in a way.
I'm sorry if I've upset you. While a harness and leash sound like a good idea to enable one to take a bird outside in the sun and fresh air the first thought that struck me was that if something snatched a fid who was restrained what would be left. A thought for nightmares. Better outdoors in a completely secured cage while I'm outside too.
 

melissasparrots

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Well, that would be unusual but some large female red tails can be gutsy like that. She still likely would have flown away had you walked over. People use dachshunds in falconry all the time although some hawks can't be trusted with little dogs flushing. I always just went outside with my under 10lb dogs just to be on the safe side. The only semi close call was a great horned owl with my yorkie.

Now the coopers hawk into the window is fairly classic. Coopers hawks are nuts.
 

SandraK

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Well, that would be unusual but some large female red tails can be gutsy like that. She still likely would have flown away had you walked over. People use dachshunds in falconry all the time although some hawks can't be trusted with little dogs flushing. I always just went outside with my under 10lb dogs just to be on the safe side. The only semi close call was a great horned owl with my yorkie.

Now the coopers hawk into the window is fairly classic. Coopers hawks are nuts.
They've been comfortable enough to perch on the back deck railings before and I have pix of them but this one was very close to the bay window. What worried me the most was that Tikki was totally oblivious until all the tiels scattered like dry leaves in a wind while screaming alert calls. I've watched a Coopers chasing down a rock pigeon which was smart enough to fly straight towards a store window and at the very last minute veer away. Threw the Coopers off and I had to admire the tactic because it was pretty close for both of them.

I will say that even the staff @ Wild Birds Unlimited had said that this winter seems to have been one in which the hawks in general have been pretty active.
 

melissasparrots

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Had I been outside with Tik on a harness he would've been gone without a chance which is why I won't take a bird out with a harness. I know your feeling, I've watched hawks circle over our old yard when we put the Guinea pigs outside for some fresh air and sun. They were always in their cage; I saw the hawks just as much as the piggies did - they'd always freeze.
Glad that you were watchful and your pups are safe.
I take big birds out in a harness and don't worry about it too much. I live in cooper's hawk central. Little birds always have to be enclosed though. I'm not super worried about a coopers hawk being brave enough to snatch one off my shoulder. However, I did have a cooper's hawk try to snatch my american kestrel when we were doing some backyard creance training. The kestrel was less than 6 feet away from me, the coopers crashed out of the neighbor's tree, missed the kestrel and hit the ground hard. Only then did he see me and take off. Cooper's hawks tend to be attack first, think about it later. Which gets them a lot of collision injuries. I love cooper's hawks. Someday I will fly one.
 

SandraK

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A week or so ago, all the back yard feeders were full of diners then all of a sudden they vanished. Usually sign of a hawk waiting to dine. Even the squirrels were frozen, some pretending to be part of the deck railing supports and almost no-one moving. On the seed cylinder out in the open, was either a hairy or downy woodpecker who was lucky enough to be on the opposite side of the seed cylinder that the hawk was facing. That poor bird was literally standing up against the cylinder, beak up and perfectly still for at least 10 minutes. Took some photos and then decided I'd walk out on the deck to see what was hanging around. Beautiful red tail flew off (from the same tree that the Cooper was in on my post about Tikki the sun) and all I heard was a "mirp" and the woodpecker had vanished. Have to find those pix and post.
 

Animallover03

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While I love taking Grumbles outside, and he really enjoys it, this is something that scares me very much. I live in an area with tons of hawks, eagles, and owls. I have seen a hawk (I think red tailed) catch a few birds in my yard even. An owl lives in the silos across the street from my house and often flies down to the trees in my yard. Sometimes I wish Grumbles was a big bird for this reason.
 

SandraK

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While I love taking Grumbles outside, and he really enjoys it, this is something that scares me very much. I live in an area with tons of hawks, eagles, and owls. I have seen a hawk (I think red tailed) catch a few birds in my yard even. An owl lives in the silos across the street from my house and often flies down to the trees in my yard. Sometimes I wish Grumbles was a big bird for this reason.
The upside on the owls is that they go after the skunks. I need alot more owls in my area and less hawks.
 

faislaq

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I'm sorry if I've upset you. While a harness and leash sound like a good idea to enable one to take a bird outside in the sun and fresh air the first thought that struck me was that if something snatched a fid who was restrained what would be left. A thought for nightmares. Better outdoors in a completely secured cage while I'm outside too.
You haven't upset me. I agree. "Dead bird on a string" is what I think of harnesses. It might not be a popular view here, but I will never lose another that way. And when we are finally able to build our aviary, it will be double-walled/screened with a larger gauge or even a lattice over whatever mesh we use.
 

Clueless

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The first large bird conference I went to (in Texas), I heard a horrifying story.

Basically their pet bird was in their car, they ran into the store for a quick moment. A hawk went into their car through the open sunroof. Bad thing to return to.
 

faislaq

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The first large bird conference I went to (in Texas), I heard a horrifying story.

Basically their pet bird was in their car, they ran into the store for a quick moment. A hawk went into their car through the open sunroof. Bad thing to return to.
But a good warning to the rest of us. One more situation you would never think of. I am very sorry that it happened, but grateful that they tell the story.
 

Clueless

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But a good warning to the rest of us. One more situation you would never think of. I am very sorry that it happened, but grateful that they tell the story.
I was stunned to hear it at the time. I think it was a vet that repeated it to the crowd. The family had to live with the horror left in their vehicle. I can't remember if the hawk was still in there when they returned.....
 

greys4u

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I had a lot of bird feeders when I lived in the country and I will never forget the day I went to put seed in the feeder and a chickadee was waiting for me. When I got to the feeder I heard and a whoosh and a loud sound from the bird. Yep, the hawk got him and he was so close to me I could count his feathers.
 
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