(a) the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), (b) red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), and (c) great horned owl (Bubo virginianus).

The raptors most often implicated in predation problems with livestock (primarily poultry and game farm fowl) are goshawks, red-tailed hawks, and great-horned owls (Hygnstrom and Craven 1994). Unlike mammalian predators, raptors usually kill only one bird per day. Raptor kills usually have bloody puncture wounds in the back and breast. Owls often remove the head. Raptors generally pluck birds, leaving piles of feathers. Plucked feathers with small amounts of tissue clinging to their bases were pulled from a cold bird that had probably died from other causes and was simply scavenged by the raptor. If the base of a plucked feather is smooth and clean, the bird was plucked soon after dying. Because raptors have large territories and are not numerous in any one area, the removal of one or two individuals will generally solve a problem.

Summary of Damage Prevention and Control Methods

Exclusion

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 and Relocating

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.