Do Redtailed Hawks Effect Ducks/Geese??

[NewburgFarmboy]

I have a redtail hawk livin on/around the farm, and I was wondering if they would affect ducks or geese coming to my farm ponds?

[Drake691]

not as much as you might think. they do take a few birds but nothing to get worried about. they also control some of the pests around.

[mrussell]

Often wondered that. I know that the marsh I hunt a lot is loaded with bald eagles. I'd think if any bird of prey was going to make them nervous, that one would. Doesn't seem to bother them though. On the other hand I know a falconer who uses his birds on waterfowl....so, they must eat em. I've got a bunch of redtails and owls on my property and not many ducks on the ponds. Good question!

[BlackMouth]

Im not sure about hawks, but I know eagles do.

Ive seen bald eagles pick off woodies on a smaller size lake, and by that same lake Ive seen them in the trees eating a teal. I also saw a big golden pick off a speckle belly in mid air in Misouri. Watch the whole thing, and when that eagle was a few hundred yards from the flock in the field they started ****ting bricks. They lifted off and the eagle flew right into the flock and grabbed one that was a little slow getting airborne. Then proceeded to eat it in front of us pretty cool.

[mrussell]

Im not sure about hawks, but I know eagles do.

Ive seen bald eagles pick off woodies on a smaller size lake, and by that same lake Ive seen them in the trees eating a teal. I also saw a big golden pick off a speckle belly in mid air in Misouri. Watch the whole thing, and when that eagle was a few hundred yards from the flock in the field they started ****ting bricks. They lifted off and the eagle flew right into the flock and grabbed one that was a little slow getting airborne. Then proceeded to eat it in front of us pretty cool.

I'dve paid to see that!!! Imagine if you couldve video'd it. Awesome.

[tim k]

I think there too many hawks in our area....now foxes here just out of hand.....thanks "fur is murder clan"...you almost have to go to the zoo to see a pheasant around here....too bad lancaster co pa was well know in the 70's for pheasants..

[BigR]

I think there too many hawks in our area....now foxes here just out of hand.....thanks "fur is murder clan"...you almost have to go to the zoo to see a pheasant around here....too bad lancaster co pa was well know in the 70's for pheasants..

Foxes were here about 2,000 years before pheasants were brought over from China.......so are they really to blame? Farming practices have been the demise of the pheasant, not so much the wiley coyote, hawks, and scavengers....


The area I work at is home to 40,000 ducks and 10,000 + geese in the fall and one of the largest stop over sights for migrating hawks and various other birds of prey....so if they have an effect on them as far as a presence or absence, our area isn't seeing it. This was the same in Missouri...you would see a group of mallards tornadoing flooded corn and see a Marsh Hawk bombing in the middle of it, he grabs one, flies up in the tree, and eats it...the other mallards simply tornado down. Maybe there is a shift in food availability, cover, etc. that is leading to them to not choose your place over the next stop?

[jrode237]

As far as Red-tails are concerned, ducks are not preferred prey items. That said, if the situation arises birds of prey tend to be very oppurtunistic feeders and wreckless in their pursuit, (i.e bound to put on a good show). Last week in the alfafa and oats fields where our spread was we actually witnessed a Merlin (small falcon) try to grab my mojo... twice! It actually went for the full-size hen over the baby mojo that was losing it's battery charge. Awesome site indeed. Also had a Cooper's or large sharp-shinned hawk land on the back of one of our goose shells earlier this year.

[Ryan Skinner]

Foxes were here about 2,000 years before pheasants were brought over from China.......so are they really to blame? Farming practices have been the demise of the pheasant, not so much the wiley coyote, hawks, and scavengers....


The area I work at is home to 40,000 ducks and 10,000 + geese in the fall and one of the largest stop over sights for migrating hawks and various other birds of prey....so if they have an effect on them as far as a presence or absence, our area isn't seeing it. This was the same in Missouri...you would see a group of mallards tornadoing flooded corn and see a Marsh Hawk bombing in the middle of it, he grabs one, flies up in the tree, and eats it...the other mallards simply tornado down. Maybe there is a shift in food availability, cover, etc. that is leading to them to not choose your place over the next stop?


Hawks kill alot of pheasants and quail. There are alot of farmers in my area that have been putting out habitat for pheasants and we have alot of crp ground. They have released many birds, but they dont last. We watch hawks kill quail as fast as they are released.

[BUBBA DUCK]

Do not know about the hawks. But I know eagles do on the river here. Seen a eagle try to get a cripple before we could get in the boat. Here if ducks are sitting late in the season. An eagle will straf them and I think look for cripples. I know the ducks get nervous and get up. The cripples are easy lunch!! Later BUBBA DUCK

[hotshott2289]

The loss of habitat is a bunch of crap.. pheasants still have the same if not more cover they have always had around us.. i think its way to many hawks, coons, and other critters, plus the fact that each year there are fewer and fewer yet its still the same limit and same length season

[BigR]

The loss of habitat is a bunch of crap.. pheasants still have the same if not more cover they have always had around us.. i think its way to many hawks, coons, and other critters, plus the fact that each year there are fewer and fewer yet its still the same limit and same length season

You better start a campaign to notify PF that they are way off course, because they are spending a ton of money in your state that speaks differently...


Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

Ready to "Reload Iowa"


Iowa PF State Council kicks off campaign with $100,000 donation

Des Moines , Iowa – February 19, 2009 – Iowa Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) announce an ambitious new campaign to restore the state's pheasant and quail populations. "Reload Iowa " adopts an aggressive strategy for establishing and improving 1 million acres of wildlife habitat, increasing the number of upland hunters and increasing hunting-related revenue to local communities.

In the early 1970s, Iowa hunters harvested 1.9 million pheasants and 1.1 million quail, which compares with an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 pheasants this past year and 54,000 quail last year. The decline is due to long-term changes in agricultural practices and most recently the loss of over 280,000 acres from the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Recent harsh winters and spring flooding have exacerbated the loss of habitat. "Reload Iowa" is a campaign outlining a three-year statewide plan to improve available wildlife habitat; establish new, high quality nesting cover and brood-rearing habitat; expand wildlife habitat delivery systems and offer increased habitat education and training for landowners. The goal of "Reload Iowa" is to raise $11.5 million to establish and improve 1 million acres of wildlife habitat on private and public land in the state. Not only will these habitat improvements benefit wildlife, they will provide additional benefits such as improving water quality, preventing soil erosion and sequestering carbon which is important in offsetting greenhouse gasses.

The $11.5 million will be raised by the organization's 105 Iowa PF/QF chapters and through individual and corporate gifts. Approximately $8.5 million will be allocated to establishing 50 wildlife habitat specialist positions, and a $3 million landowner stewardship fund will provide incentives for landowners to establish nesting and brood-rearing habitat. The wildlife habitat specialists will complement the efforts of the Iowa Department of Natural Resource's 10 existing private land biologists.

"We want to make conservation easy and profitable for landowners," said John Linquist, PF/QF Regional Representative in western Iowa , "We've found that many landowners are simply not aware of the conservation programs that are available. These wildlife habitat specialists will act as one-stop-shops for any landowner looking to improve their property for pheasant, quail and other wildlife." To help put these specialists on the ground as soon as possible, the Iowa PF State Council has made a $100,000 commitment to the "Reload Iowa" campaign, and the first specialists are slated to being work in March.

By improving upland bird habitat and thus improving upland bird populations, the "Reload Iowa" campaign also looks to increase the number of upland bird hunters. Since the early 1970s, the number of Iowa pheasant hunters declined from about 300,000 per year to 100,000 this past fall. "Certainly, the more people we have hunting, the more people we'll have who care about conserving wildlife and carrying on this grand tradition," said Tom Fuller, PF/QF Regional Representative in Eastern Iowa, "But in these trying times, we cannot lose sight of the fact that upland hunting in Iowa has a $200 million annual impact on this state's economy." To get involved or learn more about "Reload Iowa," please visit www.IowaPF.org (http://www.iowapf.org/).

Since 1985, Iowa 's 103 Pheasants Forever and two Quail Forever chapters have raised and spent $33,439,806 on the organization's wildlife habitat mission. Chapters have planted 500,495 acres of nesting cover, 219,845 acres of food plots, 10,380,955 shrubs and trees for winter cover, and improved 56,062 CRP acres. Additionally, Iowa PF has restored 17,494 acres of wetlands and contributed to 602 land acquisitions that permanently protect 73,694 acres of public wildlife habitat.

Pheasants Forever's National Pheasant Fest - the nation's largest event for upland hunters, landowners, sport dog owners and wildlife habitat conservationists – is coming to Des Moines , Iowa , February 26, 27 & 28 in 2010. The Fest combines a national consumer show, habitat seminar series, and family event complete with puppies, tractors, shotguns, and art. For more information and updates on National Pheasant Fest 2010, log onto www.PheasantFest.org (http://www.pheasantfest.org/).

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. PF/QF has more than 130,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.

[hotshott2289]

i guess i wouldn't know i dont live here or anything... Honestly I can say where I am located used to be one of the better parts of the state.. you couldn't get a hotel room all season long. Now no one hunts here hardly past the second or third weekend, its not loss of habitat, its these past few winters, wet springs and lots of flooding, HAWKS, and nest destroying animals, we have switch grass fields that you could sit by deer hunting and loose track of how many birds you saw but i honestly dont know the real answer, just my opinion on whats going on, also to blame loss of habitat is an easy cop out.

[BigR]

I'll agree to disagree...but
Google CRP/WRP...Here's another iron to throw in the fire... Do you realize other than agent Orange and DDT, herbicide didn't exist 30 years ago in the "hay day" of pheasant hunting? What about Pesticides, lets just ignore those too, because gee, pheasants eat as many insects as anything else. I used to think it was nearly impossible to shoot a pheasant in the wild here in Michigan that wasn't a "ranch", but I was proved completely wrong when I hunted a farm that contained CRP buffer strips, we flushed 100 birds in one evening, all in the buffer strips, all on this farm..which jumping 100 birds in Michigan could be compared to jumping 100,000 in South Dakota.



Back to the original thing, thats really interesting what the earlier poster said about quail getting popped, I saw an American Kestrel (the really small hawk) dive bomb straight into a Quail Covey headquarters before, which anyone familiar with those knows how thick those are...he swung through the CQH, the quail flushed, he flew back out of it and nailed a quail on the wing over a soybean field and took it to the ground, it was incredible!

This is an incredible video...Peregrine's are Mother Nature's F-16's..its a neat video of one popping a teal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UcTEa4jgfI

[hotshott2289]

maybe pesticides do have something to do with it, but our turkey population has exploded these lst couple of years and they eat just as many insects, i know more habitat definitely will not hurt, but all I'm saying is that it seems like we have always had the same amount... This isn't a hawk story but it was pretty sweet, saturday night in the deer stand i saw a coyote kill a coon and start eating it, i always thought coyotes didn't really bother with coons, but it was pretty sweet.

[BigR]

This isn't a hawk story but it was pretty sweet, saturday night in the deer stand i saw a coyote kill a coon and start eating it, i always thought coyotes didn't really bother with coons, but it was pretty sweet.

That's awesome man, that would really be a sight to see! Was the coon aware of the coyote and running from it? Or did the coyote stalk up on it and pounce it?

[NewburgFarmboy]

tim k is right. In the 70's PA was full of pheasants and deer. Now if you want to see a pheasant you have to take your little brother on the youth hunt in the game lands. :rolleyes: And you can see the deer laying along side the road on your way there. :(

[hotshott2289]

the coon had no idea he was just walking in a clover field and the coyote charged out of the draw and it was on

[corybdesign]

maybe pesticides do have something to do with it, but our turkey population has exploded these lst couple of years and they eat just as many insects, i know more habitat definitely will not hurt, but all I'm saying is that it seems like we have always had the same amount...

Seems like you kind of answered your own question, turkeys are taking over at least a portion of the pheasant habitat/food supply and the amount of habitat and food isnt increasing. there is whats called "carrying capacity", only so many animals can survive on a given piece of property. pheasants are being squeezed out it seems.