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Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage Handbook
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HAWKS & OWLSGoshawk (Accipiter gentilis)

Scott E. Hygnstrom

Extension Wildlife Damage Specialist
Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0819

Scott R. Craven

Extension Wildlife Specialist
Department of Wildlife Ecology
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Madison, WI 53706

Fig. 1. Raptors, representative of those that may
cause damage by preying on poultry and other
birds, pets, and other animals: (a) the goshawkRed-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
(Accipiter gentilis), (b) red-tailed hawk (Buteo
jamaicensis), and (c) great horned owl (Bubo
virginianus).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

HAWKS

OWLS

Damage Prevention and Control Methods

ExclusionGreat horned owl (Bubo virginianus)

Livestock confinement is the most effective control method, but it must be practical and economical.

Confine free-roaming fowl in enclosures covered with netting or woven wire.

Condition poultry and fowl to move into coops or houses by feeding and watering them indoors at dusk. House them at night to protect them from owls.

Habitat Modification

Eliminate perch sites near areas of potential damage by removing large, isolated trees and snags.

Install utility lines underground and remove telephone poles near poultry-rearing sites.
 
Cap poles with sheet metal cones, Nixalite®, Cat Claws®, or inverted spikes.

Frightening

Use scarecrows and pyrotechnics.

Erect electric pole shockers when hawks or owls are observed around areas of potential damage.

Repellents

None are registered.

Toxicants

None are registered.

Trapping

State and federal permits are required to trap and relocate hawks and owls. If possible, experienced bird banders or trappers should do the trapping.

Landowners, however, can safely trap hawks and owls if they follow instructions and are careful when handling the birds.

Shooting

State and federal permits are required to shoot hawks and owls. They may be issued only when there is a serious public health or depredation problem and when nonlethal control methods fail or are impractical.

Editors

Scott E. Hygnstrom; Robert M. Timm; Gary E. Larson

Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage Logo 1994

PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF WILDLIFE DAMAGE — 1994

Cooperative Extension Division Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Nebraska -Lincoln

United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Animal Damage Control

Great Plains Agricultural Council Wildlife Committee