The fields beside my house and my bird feeders keeps hawks around all year long, but even more so when the northern invaders come here for the winter. Had a sharp-shinned hawk try to take a white winged dove off my feeder yesterday, but he was not fast enough to catch the dove. Very exciting…

A few years back I was filling the feeders one morning and a dead bird landed on my shoulder, I looked up and there was a red shouldered hawk sittin’ about 5′ directly overhead, what a sight!

Congrats on the chemically free wetlands, you have an eden in the making there.. just glad you don’t have to watch for cottonmouths.

I usually have ducks move in on my projects and try to raise some chicks… they usually start with maybe 10 chicks. The hawks always get’em all, I’ve never seen one survive to adulthood.

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What I really love is the owls. The way they glide cloaked in silence is amazing. The owls don’t do day hunting so the chickens are safe from them.

Maintaining pesticide free wetlands and tall trees gives one a real advantage on bird watching. The fish, frogs, insects, lizards and rodents make this place irresistible to them.

The chickens sadly will have to learn to live in large cages. This way the hawks will go back to hunting rodents.

Bob

This is one of those rare issues we see differently…. I like hawks, like to watch’em hunt. Haven’t made up my mind about chickens yet tho…..

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