hawks and safety

Question
I recently had a pet bird grabbed by a hawk when I was outside.  I was only outside briefly and it happened in an instant.  I am happy to say that my small bird actually counterattacked and he is safe and well today.  However, my question is, when you live in an area where there is the threat of hawks, what can one do to protect their smaller animals that might be prey to a predator like a hawk?  I no longer take my birds outside unless I am going to the vet or to have them groomed, and then I have a small travel cage for them.  However, having talked to neighbors and others I have found that small dogs and some small outdoor animals have been attacked as well.  Not that this is epidemic here, but I am just thinking what some good precautions might be be advisable when you have small outdoor pets or otherwise and you want to keep them safe.

Answer
-- A protected area with a screen or wire fencing acting as an awning will protect your birds while they're outside; however, to protect them from other predators like dogs and cats, you need to add sides.   What we're talking about is a sort of 'walk in aviary' structure.  They are pretty easy to make - and free blueprints and ideas are all over the net (look for 'outdoor aviary')

--- Keep in mind that as fast as that raptor grabbed your bird, dogs and cats that have previously been 'passive', friendly or (the one I hear most) "Not at ALL interested" - can suddenly, for some reason unknown to us, just as suddenly become interested.

I have heard from people who lost birds to elderly dogs and cats that lived with and "loved" the bird from when they were babies.  Or dogs and cats that "protected" the bird, "thought it was their puppy/kitten".... I have heard them all.  And not one single excuse brings the bird back from the dead.  So I beg all bird owners, err on the side of caution.  Remember that all of these animals are driven by instincts that are billions of years old.  MUCH older than the human race is (so what do we know?)

--- As for the neighborhood dogs and cats I'm afraid that the only thing that works is keeping them inside or in a similarly protected area as the birds; and when it comes to dogs, always, always on leash.   Hawks can't lift the human on the other end of that leash.

Nature does what it's supposed to do.  We have to exercise caution based on that.  We can't change the nature of the beast.