About North American Hawks

About North American Hawks. In the wild, the hawks of North America are some of nature's most efficient hunters. In captivity, they are used in the sport of falconry. North American hawks are among the most intelligent animals. They used to live only in the wild, but with the growth of the suburban neighborhoods taking over their natural habitat, the hawks' hunting ground shrunk. So they stayed in the area and are now seen in many settled neighborhoods.

Types

The hawks of North America come in many different types: black hawk, broad-winged hawk, Cooper's hawk, ferruginous hawk, gray hawk, Harris kawk, northern goshawk, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed tawk, short-tailed hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, sparrow hawk and the zone-tailed hawk.

Features

Hawks live in all areas of the United States and Southern Canada. They have sharp beaks, excellent eyesight and talons that are not only sharp, but have tremendous strength to enable them to grab onto and hold their prey. They will swoop down from up high and zero in on a rodent, snake or other small animal, grab it and carry it away. Their eyesight is so refined that they can spot dinner from above tree height. Smaller hawks also will eat insects.

Function

While they are considered pests by farmers who lose their chickens, rabbits and other small animals to a swooping hawk, they play an important roll in keeping down the rodent, snake and insect populations. Other birds are afraid of hawks; if one is in the area, other birds will stay away.

Prevention/Solution

If you want to keep hawks from stealing chickens or rabbits, or chase them away so that birds will come to your feeder again, you can just have a dog outside. Hawks do not like animals that are larger then they are. For a chicken coop, putting a net over the top can do the trick. As a matter of fact, you can buy nets for just this purpose. To keep them away from a feeder, put food out for them in a different location. Try bird seed and/or pieces of meat and fat

Warning

Do not harm a hawk. It is a federal offense and could lead to jail time and/ or a huge fine. Federal agents do keep track of the birds. Hawks can cause problems, but they do more good than harm and they are beautiful to look at and watch.