Hawks are wary of larger birds of prey like eagles and great horned owls, groups of aggressively mobbing crows or songbirds, and large dogs that patrol open ground. If you’re asking because you want to keep hawks away from your yard or flock, several of these natural fears can be used to your advantage, though federal law strictly limits what you’re allowed to do.
Crows and Mobbing Birds
The most visible thing hawks fear in everyday life is a mob of angry crows. When crows spot a hawk, they sound the alarm by screaming and diving at the predator repeatedly. They keep up the harassment until the hawk gives up and leaves the area. Red-tailed hawks, because they’re large and hunt during the day, are constant targets for this behavior.
Crows aren’t the only birds that do this. Blue jays, mockingbirds, and kingbirds all mob hawks aggressively. The strategy works on two levels: the direct harassment is irritating and physically risky for the hawk, and the noise alerts every potential prey animal in the area that a predator is nearby. Once a hawk’s cover is blown, its chances of a successful ambush drop to nearly zero, so it simply moves on.
Owls and Larger Raptors
Hawks avoid great horned owls, which are powerful enough to kill a hawk on a nest at night. Eagles also outclass most hawk species in size and strength, and hawks will abandon hunting grounds when a bald or golden eagle moves in. This fear of larger raptors is one reason owl decoys are sold as deterrents, though their real-world effectiveness fades quickly once hawks realize the “owl” never moves or changes position.
Guard Animals That Deter Hawks
If you keep chickens or other small animals outdoors, certain guard animals genuinely make hawks think twice. Large dogs, especially livestock guardian breeds like Great Pyrenees, are effective because they patrol open ground and will chase a hawk that swoops low. Even non-guardian breeds can learn to react to hawks overhead. Some owners train their dogs with a specific command to chase off circling raptors.
Guinea fowl are another surprisingly effective deterrent. They watch the sky constantly and produce a loud, distinctive alarm call when they spot a raptor. Chickens that free-range alongside guinea fowl learn to take cover immediately when that alarm sounds. Geese serve a similar role, alerting dogs and other animals to aerial threats. Roosters also keep watch while hens forage and have a specific call that tells the flock to hide.
The common thread here is noise, movement, and unpredictability. Hawks are ambush hunters that rely on surprise. Any animal that consistently detects them early and raises a commotion makes an area far less attractive to hunt in.
Physical Barriers and Cover
For backyard flocks, the most reliable protection isn’t scaring hawks but blocking their access entirely. Overhead netting stretched across a chicken run stops aerial attacks, though it needs to be the heavy-duty kind. Lightweight bird netting from a garden store won’t hold up. Hawks, especially Cooper’s hawks, will crash straight through flimsy material. One poultry keeper discovered a Cooper’s hawk had landed on wide-slat fencing and physically crawled through the gaps to reach chickens on the roost.
A sturdy setup uses support posts with coated wire or cable strung across the top, then heavy bird netting or welded wire panels laid over the frame. One approach that works well for larger runs is building a center post or tower to keep the netting from sagging, with cables running from the center out to the perimeter supports. Runs built with lumber frames and hog panels on top eliminate aerial predator concerns entirely.
If fully covering a large area isn’t practical, providing ground-level cover gives chickens places to dive under when a hawk appears. Wooden pallets raised on cinder blocks, small lean-to structures, or dense shrubs planted near foraging areas all work. Hawks won’t dive into tight spaces where they can’t spread their wings to fly out.
What Doesn’t Work Well
Stationary owl decoys lose effectiveness within days. Hawks are intelligent and quickly learn that an object that never moves isn’t alive. Wind-activated decoys with rotating heads last slightly longer, but most hawks eventually habituate to those as well. Reflective tape, hanging CDs, and similar visual deterrents follow the same pattern: brief initial avoidance, then the hawk ignores them.
The most effective deterrent strategies combine multiple approaches. A guard dog plus overhead cover plus guinea fowl creates an environment where hawks face real threats from the ground, can’t attack from above, and lose the element of surprise every time.
Legal Protections for Hawks
Every hawk species in the United States is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which prohibits hunting, capturing, killing, or otherwise harming listed species by any means. Penalties can reach $15,000 per bird. The law has historically been enforced under strict liability, meaning you can be held responsible for killing a hawk whether you intended to or not. Permits for lethal removal exist but are rarely granted for backyard predation issues. Your legal options are limited to non-harmful deterrence: guard animals, physical barriers, noise, and visual deterrents.