We have had a pair of Cooper's Hawks nesting in our neighborhood for the past two years. I like watching the hawks, and don't want to harm them in any way, but they have completely driven off (or eaten!) all our songbirds.

Two weeks ago, we had scores of sparrows, chickadees, and juncos, as well as 3 pairs of cardinals at our feeder. There were so many birds that they were waiting on the railing adjacent to the feeder for their turn -- and we have a large feeder -- 12 cup capacity with at least a dozen feeding ports. We were refilling the feeder every day or every other day. Five days ago, the songbirds just disappeared overnight -- went from frequent refilling of feeder to no activity at all for last four days. This morning, we saw the Coopers Hawks for the first time this season, although they may have been in the area for a time. I can't believe they could have devoured all the songbirds, but they've surely intimidated them to the point where the seed level in our feeder has remained unchanged for four days.

I was surprised when the hawks first showed up, as I really didn't think they'd nest in town. (We live in residential neighborhood of medium-sized lots in a relatively small town.) Our neighborhood has the usual amount of "commotion" that goes on in a neighborhood with young families, working couples, and retirees -- vehicle noise of frequent comings and goings, usual noise made by kids and pets (mostly dogs), and seasonal power equipment (mowers, snowblowers). While we don't live in an unusually noisy area, it's by no means quiet either, and the noise level doesn't seem to deter the hawks one bit. Last summer, I noticed that I didn't see or hear the hawks for a few days when a flight of crows stopped in our area for a day or two. We also have at least one owl (not sure what kind, but I suspect great horned owl by its calls), which we were hearing nightly for most of the winter, although I haven't heard the nightly hoots for a few days.

Although I have no great love for crows, I'd like to see a few more around, as they seem to keep the hawks at bay. What else can we do to encourage the hawks to "move along" and leave our songbirds alone? As I said, I have no desire to harm the hawks in any way; I'd just like to see them relocate.

For over ten years there have been Cooper hawks back in the woods. Never went back to see the nest, since I want them to be undisturbed. The crows disagree. Certainly not the same pair. They are here, all Winter. I see how they affect the birds at the feeder, as they sit on my roof or a tree, or cruise over and all the birds dive into the evergreens by the feeder. But it all goes along fine, year after year. No lack of birds and always hawks. The noisy time is when they leave the nest, as they still think they should be fed and follow and harass the parents for weeks.

Two weeks ago, we had scores of sparrows, chickadees, and juncos, as well as 3 pairs of cardinals at our feeder. There were so many birds that they were waiting on the railing adjacent to the feeder for their turn -- and we have a large feeder -- 12 cup capacity with at least a dozen feeding ports. .... What else can we do to encourage the hawks to "move along" and leave our songbirds alone?

Stop feeding the birds ... it's like setting up a hunting stand for the hawks.

Instead, landscape your yard to provide food and shelter for birds in a natural manner.

I live in a suburb and have noticed in recent years an increase in raptors (especially Coopers) which I am very happy to see. I planted some sycamores a few years ago which I hope will eventually get tall enough to be attractive to nesting raptors.

Hedgerows are great bird shelters from raptors. I have run a soaker hose through the one in front, suspending it in the branches. When it turn it on it becomes a noisy bird spa. They can bathe in safety from raptors. Plants that produce berries are great natural bird magnets. Common sunflower plants are great natural bird feeders. If you have parts of your yard where you leave the leaf litter alone, it will provide hunting for the birds as many supplement their diets with the insects that hide under them. Yards that are a little on the wild side are more bird friendly.

I have had occasional visits from Cooper's and Redshoulders. And I know it was some big owl that perched on my truck in the night and left a pressie running all down the back window. I have sometimes found piles of pigeon feathers, which the raptors are more than welcome to.

One of my favorite sights is a ghostly Barn Owl fluttering by.

We get an occasional Cooper's, Redshoulder and red tailed hawks. We know when one is in the area because there isn't a single song bird in sight. I keep my feeders under a very thick low growing tree. The hawks tend to sit up very high and when the smaller birds are sheltered they have a better chance at survival when the hawks come around. In the winter time when the trees are bare thats another story. The Redshoulder hawks prefer fish and have been known to try and fish in our small pond so I have to put a net over the top of the pond once the trees drop their leaves or the Redshoulder hawks will eat all of our fish. If you get a lot of hawks in your area I recommend putting feeders in sheltered areas such as what I do with putting them under low full trees. It's really helped in our case. It also helped when our neighbor finally cut down her dead pine tree. The hawks loved to sit way up top and watch the smaller critters below. Now that they've lost their perch we have fewer hawks sightings.

I had a video of a redshoulder hawk trying to get through the thin sheet of ice on the top of our pond and sent it to the people at hawk mountain here in PA. They ID'ed it for me and told me that they prefer to be around areas with a lot of water and like fish. Since we live along the Delaware river and have a marsh a couple of blocks away that would explain them showing up in our yard trying to fish in our pond. He's also been sighted at the water fountain across the street. Guess he saw running water and thought "FOOD!!!" lol