LIVING WITH RED-SHOULDERED HAWK NEIGHBORS
 Most suburban residents lucky enough to have Red-shoulders as neighbors
enjoy watching the progression of the nesting season, from courtship to
fledging. Landowners can promote Red-shouldered Hawks by retaining large
trees that may serve as nest sites, leaving natural vegetation in fields
and around ponds to promote rodent prey populations, and refraining from
using lawn chemicals which can enter aquatic ecosystems and reduce
aquatic prey populations.
Rarely, landowners encounter problems with resident Red-shouldered
Hawks. Although most Red-shouldered Hawks in our area are very tolerant
of humans and our vehicles, noises, and activities, hawks nesting very
close to houses sometimes become territorial toward humans, as they
would toward other hawks, particularly when people increase their
outdoor activities in springtime. These hawks may stoop (dive) at
people, sometimes striking them, attempting to scare them away from the
nest area. If this occurs, landowners can prevent injury by avoiding the
nest area, or shielding their heads using something such an umbrella or
hard hat. These behaviors seem to occur only during the nestling period,
and most landowners find they can adapt to the hawks for the 6-week
period. However, this aggressive territoriality is very rare.
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