Hawks are avian predators that play an important role in natural ecosystems by managing populations of small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Raptors, including species like the Red-tailed Hawk and Cooper’s Hawk, are protected throughout the United States under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918. This federal legislation makes it illegal to pursue, hunt, take, capture, or kill any hawk, its eggs, or its nest without a special permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Assessing the potential risk they pose to human activity and domestic animals requires understanding their natural behavior and hunting range. The assessment distinguishes between a hawk’s natural predatory instincts and its defensive territorial behaviors.
Assessing the Risk to People
The risk hawks pose to humans is extremely low, as they do not view people as prey due to our size. Conflicts are almost exclusively defensive reactions triggered by a perceived threat to a nest or fledglings. This aggressive behavior is highly situational and occurs primarily during the spring and early summer nesting season. Even a large Red-tailed Hawk weighs only around three and a half pounds, limiting the physical danger they present.
A hawk’s defensive display involves loud alarm calls and sharp, fast swoops intended to frighten the intruder away. These birds often approach silently from behind and above the head, attempting to startle rather than injure. Physical contact is rare, and injuries are usually limited to superficial scratches from a talon raking across the scalp during a close pass. Avoiding the immediate area around a hawk nest during this temporary period eliminates nearly all risk.
Identifying the Primary Predatory Species
Risk to domestic animals varies significantly depending on the specific hawk species present, which are categorized into two main hunting groups. The Accipiters, such as the Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and Northern Goshawk, have short, rounded wings and long tails. This body type allows them to be agile flyers, maneuvering rapidly through dense trees and brush to ambush smaller, faster prey. Accipiters primarily target other birds, making them the most significant threat to backyard poultry and small caged fowl.
The second group, the Buteos, includes the common Red-tailed Hawk and the Red-shouldered Hawk, which are known for their broader wings and soaring flight patterns. These species are generally larger and prefer to hunt from elevated perches, scanning open areas for prey. While Buteos primarily feed on rodents, rabbits, and other small mammals, they are opportunistic and will take larger poultry or very small domestic pets if the chance arises. For example, the Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized raptor, weighing between 1.1 and 1.9 pounds, and its preferred diet of voles, chipmunks, and reptiles sets the approximate upper limit for the size of prey it can carry. Other raptors, like Ospreys and Northern Harriers, focus their diets on fish or waterfowl, posing little to no threat to common backyard animals.
Practical Measures for Protecting Domestic Animals
The most effective method for protecting domestic animals involves creating physical barriers and modifying the environment to discourage hawk hunting behavior. For poultry, a covered run is the most reliable deterrent against aerial attacks, as hawks primarily strike from above. Covering the entire enclosure with strong, tightly stretched netting or hardware cloth prevents a hawk from diving or getting tangled. Using brightly colored netting can also be beneficial because hawks are more likely to see and avoid the barrier.
Poultry owners should also focus on eliminating potential hunting advantages for the raptors. Hawks often survey an area from a high vantage point, so removing isolated trees, tall fence posts, or other perching sites within 90 meters (about 100 yards) of the coop can reduce the risk. Providing low-to-the-ground cover, such as dense bushes, tarps, or artificial shelters, gives chickens a place to instantly hide when a shadow passes overhead. Chickens should be trained to enter their coop or covered run at dusk, as they are vulnerable to nocturnal predators, and free-ranging should be supervised or eliminated entirely.
Management practices also include using reflective and auditory deterrents. These must be used consistently to remain effective.
Using Deterrents
- Hanging reflective objects like old CDs, Mylar tape, or pie pans near the run creates unpredictable flashes of light that hawks dislike.
- Since hawks can quickly habituate to static items, these visual deterrents should be moved every few days to maintain the element of surprise.
- Roosters can provide a layer of defense by acting as vigilant guards who issue loud warning calls, prompting the flock to take cover.
Protecting pets, particularly small dogs and cats, requires direct supervision, as the risk is proportional to the animal’s size. Toy breeds, puppies, kittens, and very small animals that resemble the hawk’s natural prey are the most vulnerable. Owners of these small pets should always supervise them when they are outdoors, especially during the hawks’ peak hunting hours of dawn and dusk. Using an enclosed patio or a fully covered, secure outdoor structure, sometimes called a “catio,” provides a safe space without exposure to aerial threats.