I think I've mentioned before that I live in a heavily wooded area. Today when I let my dog out, my neighbor was at the fence motioning at me. She told me she wanted to give me a heads up and proceeded to tell me that she had seen 3 hawks in my yard early this morning. She said she saw them circling the area above our houses the past few days.Now there are three of us whose yards meet, separated by fences. We all have dogs.....small dogs. I have a rat terrier, she has a toy poodle and the other neighbor has a yorkie that's about as big as a minute. The neighbors on the other side of me have a really big dog, so they have nothing to worry about.
I've never seen these birds in this area before and I've lived here for 36 years. Maybe they've figured out that we have an abundance of squirrels here. As long as its squirrel on their menu and not dog, I won't worry.....but I am of the mind that a hungry hawk wouldn't stop to think about it, he'd just swoop, grab and fly. Like a fast-food drive-through. Makes me shutter to think of it......ewww
Does anyone know anything about hawks? My dog and her dog weigh about the same....16 lbs....but the yorkie is just a tiny little thing. I wonder if there is something I can put in my yard to frighten them? If anyone has any ideas, please share. Boy oh boy.....its always something, isn't it? As it is I have to make sure she's not outside for any length of time after dark because of the raccoons.
8 comments:
Oh dear...I don't know a thing about hawks but I think that may be a bit heavy for them to carry off though I can't swear to it. My dogs only weigh 7lbs each so luckily I don't live there or they would be the entree. I hope your little dog will be ok.
Maybe they're just scoping out the area and will move on in a few days. Fingers crossed. xxx
Well, Val, I don't know anything either about hawks other than my son in Bellingham says that they CAN swiftly and calmly try to lift small dogs....From the looks of this "formidable feathered fiend", he is determined to find SOMETHING! Maybe he will just stick to smaller birds?...Or mice, should he be so lucky...
Hang in, and maybe a loud (one) firecracker will give him a hint!
Gal, good photo!
Near as I can see, you're entertaining a Cooper's Hawk (quite falconlike, fast, agile, can strike a snake before it even knows it's been spotted.
And that's actually what it eats, as well as squirrel (small) and chipmunks and the Nature's Snackfood of carnivores, the vol;e, mice, rats, and if hungry enough, will fly into a tree and scurry top to bottom searching for unguarded nests with tender lil ....
OK....
But no way will it go for your dog.
The bird is lacking anything to size it with, but the Coopers get about 16" in length, tailtip to beak.
The slowest non-predator around these parts is a dove.
Every once and a while you probably see what appears to be an exploded dove? No meat...just feathers scattered about?
Hawk.
but...pretty sure not to worry about your dog. Likely it would be a hawk dinner should it try. Terriers are a bit more than some folks realize.
We have a huge neighborhood red shouldered hawk and a huge owl. I watched the hawk grab a mockingbird while it's mate shrieked nearby. Friends watched a hawk grab a barred rock chicken and take it into the trees. I felt so sad, but it is the way of life. I had planned to have some bantam hens when we first moved here, but realized quickly that I would not be able to take my eyes off them to let them out. I worry about the cat and the huge owl when we are sitting out at night, but my husband says they can't lift anything that size of our fatty girl Emma. I would be afraid of the Yorkie too, even though Val...but then I worry like you do too.
XO
Sue
I have eagles near my property and I've seen them arrive home with a duck, which weighs just about the size of my Lucy, so be very careful. I have a friend who lost her beloved chickens to Hawks. They can do a lot of damage very quickly. I thought this was bad enough but recently saw a coyote on our property too. Soooo.... everyone is staying inside unless they are on a leash. With me. Good luck. I love rat terriers, btw. Beautiful dogs.
careful of those hawks then1 then! thank God for vigilant neighbors!
i worry about this sort of thing too especially when the days become short and it is nearly impossible to let my doggie out during the day light hours only. he is a medium sized dog so i am concerned about racoons and possibly coyotes.
as far as the hawk...how about something which sparkles or reflects? i noticed in our area the hawk hunts in the open areas and seems to avoid the yards with metal fencing. i assume there might be something about the way the fencing looks...(well, mine is rusty so it can't be that reflective)...just a thought.
i just did a search on the internet and one article says hawks are afraid of owls. so one theory is to put a fake owl in your yard.
Post a Comment