Sparrowhawk attacks my lovely doos..newbie

[Jillus]

I am a new member and don't even know if I am posting on the right forum! I don't have racing pigeons I just have two lovely white garden fantails who live in a beautiful dovecote on my garden so please don't shoot me down if I am breaching etiquette or anything. I had four fantails but over the past month two have been taken  and today I saw the culprit as a sparrowhawk grabbed one in front of the window, luckily I sprinted to the door and was able to cause enough commotion to get it to drop my lovely Lily. However I guess it will be back. Is there anything at all I can do or am I destined to lose my last two as well. Many thanks in advance for any advice.

[Peckedhen]

Hello Jillus and a warm welcome to the site. You are not breaching any etiquette, I too have garden fantails in a dovecote.

 

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you are having with the Sparrowhawk.  Sadly, until the hawk is relocated, it will continue to return for a meal.  

 

I have sent you a pm.  Look at the top of the screen one the right and click on pms.

[Steve0]

Do you have a shotgun?

[Jillus]

No, no shotgun but the bird is so fast I doubt it would ever stay still long enough anyway, I did once see it perching in a tree 6 feet from the cote but only had my voice to scare it away!

[sammy]

pm dovescot he comes  from fife and keeps a lot of fantails he will tell you how he deals with it

[kirky]

might be safer to keep the birds in a garden shed for the winter, as the hawk will be back.

[pjc]

I would keep them in for a while until problem has found another food source!

 

Phil

[Guest]

pm dovescot he comes  from fife and keeps a lot of fantails he will tell you how he deals with it

 

He hangs up a photo of rembrant2coo it scares them away (evil)

[sammy]

 

He hangs up a photo of rembrant2coo it scares them away (evil)

 

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[kev01293]

i agree with kirky and phil  keep your birds locked in over the winter or the hawk will be back now he knows where to find a meal  ive had problems with hawks myself and know how persistant they can be     sorry to hear about your other birds but at the moment the best thing to do is keep them in       kev

[ChrisMaidment08]

put fishing line in flight path he wont come back ;)

[Jillus]

Trouble is with the dove cote, there is no way I could catch them to put them in a shed even if I had one. I do have a dove sitting on eggs in the cote so could trap her I suppose if I had somewhere to put her. I don't suppose any eggs will hatch this late anyway will they? This is the second lot, the chicks died in the first eggs when nearly ready to hatch, that was two weeks ago. Is it usual for them to lay so late when it is so cold. Sorry for all the questions

[Peckedhen]

They will continue to lay all through the winter, though not as frequently as when the weather is warmer.  So long as they sit the eggs and they are fertile, they should hatch.

 

The way to catch the birds is to go out after dusk when they are both in the cote - they won't fly in the dark so you can just lift them out. If you don't have a shed, you might consider keeping them in a large rabbit cage.

 

Another thought, if you used a homing cage or net when you first got them, you could use that to contain them in the dovecote.

[grizzal]

jillus why say sorry for asking questions,this is the best site to ask,someone will always anwser :)

sorry about your other fantails.

[Jillus]

This might sound a silly question but if they are in a large shed or a homing cage affair they would be unable to fly other than flap a bit, would that be OK, I think I have just about managed to persuade my husband to built a winter refuge this weekend but am worried about the loss of liberty after they have enjoyed flying free since I got them back in June ........though probably better than the loss of them totally.

[Peckedhen]

They would be fine in a shed - many racing and fancy pigeons live permanently in a loft. They can flap around a bit and, will probably breed you some babies. OK they might miss their freedom but, far better that than become a meal for a hawk.

[grizzal]

it will not harm them being closed up for the winter and as mentioned before hopfully the hawk will

look some where else for its dinner :)

[THE FIFER]

hang some cd discs around the dovescot

[Guest TAMMY_1]

 

He hangs up a photo of rembrant2coo it scares them away (evil)

 

And one of you would be even better (bunny)(bunny)(bunny)

[The Navigator]

Trouble is why should we have to put up with keeping your birds in when these poxy things are allowed to do what they want without any hiccups or member support from the RPRA or other bodies.

[ChrisMaidment08]

as a member of hawk site i must give my unbaised view to see sparrow hawk hopping through gardens at full speed is a fantastic sight the way they ambush prey as they do this is a sight of buety but if it comes through every day as they do on same line hight then if you put cat gut in lines across garden you get fantasticshower of feathers and the best sight of all ???????

[blaz]

feed the seagulls i do seagulls will chase sparrow hawks and i have raceing pigeons sea gulls let birds know when hawks about

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OLDYELLOW]

i love the relocation method  i have one that needs relocating im feeding the wild birds so i can see this gracefull bird with my zoom lense

[jimmy white]

I am a new member and don't even know if I am posting on the right forum! I don't have racing pigeons I just have two lovely white garden fantails who live in a beautiful dovecote on my garden so please don't shoot me down if I am breaching etiquette or anything. I had four fantails but over the past month two have been taken  and today I saw the culprit as a sparrowhawk grabbed one in front of the window, luckily I sprinted to the door and was able to cause enough commotion to get it to drop my lovely Lily. However I guess it will be back. Is there anything at all I can do or am I destined to lose my last two as well. Many thanks in advance for any advice.

 

yes your on the right forum , and very sorry to here of your misfortune with a sparrow hawk attack,,unfortunately  these attacks are becoming more regular to all pigeon enthusiasts , i suppose the best bet is to keep them in and buld an aviary,,for at least a little excercise,, many fanciers have come up with many ideas,, the sparrow hawks  natural enemy is the eagle owl,, you can buy imitation ones at any garden centre, i have found this works only to a very uncertain limit,, even changing it about,, but the hawk still seems to get to know this,, we have a friend  on the forum "tammy" who had a disc of the eagle owl sound , this maybe worth a try ,, even putting old discs on a line , with the silver shining may help , some time ago fanciers even tried transfers  of  eagle owl " eyes" on the birds wings , many things have been tried ,off course its illegal to shoot these birds,, the racing pigeon fanciers also have the problem of the perigrine ,[these catch them in the air]  as all these types of birds have now multiplied so much in the last few years ,, there is a thread on" racing pigeons " postings ,,on" sticky"about raptors , it  doesnt make for good veiwing but never the less the truth  ,, i can only advise you use your own methods ! [off course legal ones] but im afraid this is one big problem with pigeon fanciers to-day ,, wish you luck and also a warning,,this hawk will be back once it has killed once ??

[DOVEScot]

hang some cd discs around the dovescot

 

Yer no hanging any discs around me. I'm heavy enough :'( :'( :'(

 

Sorry to hear about your birds, hawks are a problem with dove cotea birds as you cannot lock them up and break the cycle. An aviary is a good idea. If you want a homing box I have some here that you can have till you get something bigger set up

Some other suggestions

Putting an plastic eagle owl up and keep moving about

Hang old Cd's up as they do not like the reflection

If you see the hawk then use a mirror to direct the suns reflection 0onto it (not the best idea in Fife