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We live next to a pond with several ducks, pigeons, squirrels and other small animals. Recently we've seen a hawk hunting from our trees and today he took a pigeon. I couldn't care less about the pigeon, but we know the hawk(s) are taking ducklings and my wife is ready to wage war! I explained that hawks are protected so she went to the bathroom and washed off her war paint.

I need a way to scare off the hawks without bothering the ducks. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Chas.

In my old property management days, we paid a few companies who used large, low intensity lasers (think a laser sight/laser pointer with a beam the diameter of a golf ball). Shine the laser at the bird, it flies away, returns, paint it again, repeat until bird no longer returns. Sometimes took multiple "treatments" over course of a few days. Not sure if a standard laser pointer would work, but might be worth a try. The trick apparently was to hit the bird's field of vision and disorient it.

Hawks and turtles have to eat too. It's the way of nature.

From what little I read they are protected and even harrasing them can get you in trouble. So with that in mind here is a little tune for the moment the old timers should enjoy.
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Baretta.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is hard for them right now too. We had a pair of rough legged hawks that would fish for crawfish in the front yard when the wet spot was wet... been a while. The Red Tails take a chicken occasionally. They also get the snakes, rats etc that come to cause trouble though, so it is a "fee" so to speak.

I believe the previous is correct, that even harassing them is a problem. Good luck!

ETA - Found a report that shiny mylar balloons will deter them, they will stay inflated for quite a while, and can be refilled.

If nothing else ends up working for you, try calling someone in your area that is into falconry. There are always people looking to capture their first bird, or maybe looking for another to hunt with. That way you, the falconer and the bird win.

I'm always curious about these situations. What makes the ducklings more precious than anything else at the pond? Is it our human notion about the cuteness of the ducklings? For perhaps millions of years, ducks have dealt with hawks. Smart ducks live, dumb ones don't. Why would we want to engage in upending a natural ecosystem that has existed for so long?

I'm not trying to come off as a tree hugger here, just as somebody who is more of a conservationist. What is the "problem" we are fixing?

lkd wrote:I'm always curious about these situations. What makes the ducklings more precious than anything else at the pond? Is it our human notion about the cuteness of the ducklings? For perhaps millions of years, ducks have dealt with hawks. Smart ducks live, dumb ones don't. Why would we want to engage in upending a natural ecosystem that has existed for so long?

I'm not trying to come off as a tree hugger here, just as somebody who is more of a conservationist. What is the "problem" we are fixing?

It is annoying the wife. That really upsets an eco-system.

Purplehood wrote:

lkd wrote:I'm always curious about these situations. What makes the ducklings more precious than anything else at the pond? Is it our human notion about the cuteness of the ducklings? For perhaps millions of years, ducks have dealt with hawks. Smart ducks live, dumb ones don't. Why would we want to engage in upending a natural ecosystem that has existed for so long?

I'm not trying to come off as a tree hugger here, just as somebody who is more of a conservationist. What is the "problem" we are fixing?

It is annoying the wife. That really upsets an eco-system.

Maybe we should put more effort into getting the wife to like hawks more than ducklings? Might be cheaper

Could you get more pigeons for the hawk? A bird feeder in the area could get some tasty grackles for the hawk to eat.

A safe predator is a full predator.

7075-T7 wrote:Could you get more pigeons for the hawk? A bird feeder in the area could get some tasty grackles for the hawk to eat.

Now THERE is a solution! Grackles: The fire ant of the avian world

Purplehood wrote:

lkd wrote:I'm always curious about these situations. What makes the ducklings more precious than anything else at the pond? Is it our human notion about the cuteness of the ducklings? For perhaps millions of years, ducks have dealt with hawks. Smart ducks live, dumb ones don't. Why would we want to engage in upending a natural ecosystem that has existed for so long?

I'm not trying to come off as a tree hugger here, just as somebody who is more of a conservationist. What is the "problem" we are fixing?

It is annoying the wife. That really upsets an eco-system.

BINGO!!

I'm not a huge fan of owls due to my little baby duckling "Freda"* (when I was in 3rd grade) getting swallowed whole and then finding the bill/bones/feathers barfed up later....at least we think it was an owl...man, I was a sad/mad little kid!

*originally named "Fred" but then we found out that "he" was a "she" LOL

At the risk of sounding nerdy, I have a friend who is a birdwatcher.

He suggests building an enclosure for the ducks made of chicken wire or other suitable material with an opening on the water side just large enough for the ducks to swim under. While this won't completely eliminate the possibility of the hawk making a meal out of the ducklings, it would reduce the possibility.

Shoot, Shovel & Shutup!