Omaha woman puts out kiddie pool for hawks that moved into her yard

[Omaha Steve]

By Chris Peters / World-Herald staff writer

13 hrs ago

When a family of hawks returned to Barb Rimel’s Aksarben home this summer, she had a silly idea.

“I think it’s time to get a pool for them.”

The hawks had been splashing around in her greyhounds’ dog dish in the backyard for each of the last three years. She posted photos of the family of three hawks on her neighborhood association’s Facebook page and joked about a supersized bird bath. But then something strange happened.

In an act of neighborly and avian love, neighbor Bre Bachmann drove to Walmart, bought a small pink plastic pool and dropped it off at Rimel’s house near the midtown Hy-Vee.

FULL staoy: https://www.omaha.com/living/omaha-woman-puts-out-kiddie-pool-for-hawks-that-moved/article_810d8407-fdbd-59dc-bdce-b3c1bf69369f.html

[Nitram]

1. This so cool! I love hawks. Beautiful birds.

We have a couple of pairs of red-shouldered haws who live in your woods, but they don't come very close to us.

[Demovictory9]

2. ,

[virgogal]

3. I'm sure all the bunnies and kitties in the area are delighted to see this.

[GulfCoast66]

4. Hawks got to eat

Same as cats.

And it would really help our native song bird populations if hawks would take more feral cats.

[pazzyanne]

14. I have 2 feral cats that I have been feeding 2 and 3 years respectively.

They have become extended family. I am aware that they live dangerous lives, but I do my best to provide the best life possible for them within the parameters they allow me. They in return have reduced the mice that live on my property. 4 years ago my indoor cats killed 53 mice in my house over the winter. The feral cats have reduced the mice that take up residence in my house over the winter to 0, which I appreciate. By the way, in that same time frame, there have been 0 song bird remains found on my property. I have found 1 young robin carcass and the carcass of a woodpecker that has been living in the grove for the 8 years I have lived here. The woodpecker's family is still living here. I had a Northern Harrier that passed through my yard for two years, and a young bald eagle one summer. I don't feed birds during the summer when the feral cats are most active, but I do feed local birds during the winter. No bird bodies found or I would stop that as well.

[GulfCoast66]

22. I am not fanitical about the issue like some can be.

But I do love birds and we both seem to understand the dangers and hardships feral cats face.

We have very few in our neighborhood. Nothing like when I was a kid(45 years ago). But we also have coyotes which we did not have back then.

[Blue_true]

27. Don't coyotes eat cats and dogs? nt

[GulfCoast66]

29. Yep. Which is why we now have so few feral cats.

And no stray dogs although the city takes care of that as well.

[janx]

35. The same thing happened in my neighborhood.

We had a lot of feral cats until more than one coyote arrived.

[dameatball]

39. Yds. In a bun if they can.

[Sinistrous]

7. Do hawks ever eat squirrels?

If so, I will try to round up a couple of pair.

[d_r]

9. Yes I have seen it

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. Yes, they do.

One of my customers was out picking up squirrel tails one day. A hawk was eating the squirrels and leaving the tails.

[mnhtnbb]

16. They sure do. I was sitting at my desk on the 3rd floor in the Chapel Hill house

one day years ago when one flew by the window with a squirrel in its talons.

[Texin]

17. They sure will. Also, rabbits, small birds and (very) small dogs and cats.

A large adult hawk can swoop down and lift any dog or cat under about 7-8 pounds off the ground and fly it off. So, beware of the raptors if you have tiny pets. I happen to love raptors, the Red Tail hawks in particular here in Dallas, but I'm very wary if I spot one that's especially large. They're powerful birds. I've also seen the smaller Coopers hawks in the area as well. They're pretty small birds and usually hunt other birds, rather than small mammals, but I'm sure they'd snatch something they thought they could spirt off.

I also read about a guy in the area who was out walking his dachshund a couple of years ago in the evening, and an owl of all things, swooped down and lifted the dog (who was on leash) and the guy had to hold on like the devil to keep the dog from being snatched right out of his hands. These birds have tremendous strength in their talons and their wing spans and the their strength can be pretty stunning to see up close. The birds in the pool are basically youngsters yet, but they'll get large soon enough. And god forfend any hotshot neighbor from taking a shotgun to them - though these days, I would not be surprised, but sickened if it happens.

[Fritz Walter]

18. I, too, have hawks in my urban 'hood

If not for the fact that a kiddie pool would become a mosquito plantation in my backyard, I’d set one up tomorrow to support these beautiful birds.

However, in northeast Florida, mosquitoes will lay their eggs in a container of water no bigger than a tea cup, so this isn’t a viable option here.

I’d love to have hawks thin out the rodent population here because of the squirrels’ habit of decimating tomatoes and other home-grown veggies. For this reason — and despite their relative “cuteness” in comparison to their non-fluffy-tailed cousins (i.e. rats) — they’re still vermin.
For what it’s worth, I’ve ruled out warfarin and other rodenticides because of the food-chain impact on raptors and other natural predators.

[GulfCoast66]

24. You could do my grandfathers trick in his water trough...

Put in feeder goldfish. 10 for a dollar. Do not feed them they can survive on the algae and will scarf down any misquito larva in there. Works great in my rain barrels. I regularly check for larvae. Never any.

[Blue_true]

31. Won't the hawks eat those? nt

[janx]

33. A goldfish would be like a popcorn kernel to a hawk,

even a small hawk like a Cooper's or sharp-shinned. Probably not even worth the effort. I've seen hummingbirds alarmingly buzzing a red-tailed hawk, for instance. The hawk is not remotely interested.

[Blue_true]

34. Thanks. nt

[GulfCoast66]

38. I do not think fish are on their menu.

Now a fish hawk(osprey) might. But cannot see them diving in my rain barrels.

Little green herons and white herons are another story. They do sometimes eat my goldfish.

But like I said...10 for a dollar at the pet store.

You should look at turning your yard into a certified wildlife habitat thru the National Wildlife Federation.

You have to meet some criteria but get a tricky plague to display in your garden. Check out their website.

[Blue_true]

30. Stop by a farm store that sells natural products.

There are smallish ones in every large city. You should be able to find natural pesticides that will drive away the mosquitos and not hurt the birds if they bathe in or drink the water.

[cwydro]

37. You can get a really cheap solar water bubbler to put in the pool.

Keeps the water moving enough to deter mosquitos.

I use them in my bird baths and the pool I have for geese.

[dameatball]

15. Sad to say, I rescued bunnies a couple years ago, but I think nature took it's course....:(

Maybe what we all need to appreciate is that there is a food chain. Each level is beautiful in its own way. Sometimes sad, often brutal, sometimes regal.

Nature's food chain is certainly not as ugly as the one we humans have improvised. It is now the 21st Century AD. I am not sure how many years that relates to humanoid development. Our means of maintaining control have changed.

I will leave it at that, because I am starting to think maybe we f'd up. AI says hello though.

[GaYellowDawg]

23. Hmm.

Nature's food chain is certainly not as ugly as the one we humans have improvised

Not sure I'd agree with that. I've seen too many predators feeding on their prey while it was still alive. It doesn't get much uglier than that.

[dameatball]

40. In part you are correct. I was referrring to sheer numbers. And maybe I am still of base for certain

species.

[GulfCoast66]

26. Can't agree about nature not being as ugly as us

We are the only species that intentionally inflicts pain. But we are also the only species that Shows concern for suffering.

Many, many predators begin feeding long before their prey is dead or unconscious. It’s just the way they evolved.

Now I am wondering when in our evolutionary history we developed the ability to have empathy?

[Blue_true]

32. I was thinking about predators in nature last night.

Last edited Sat Jul 14, 2018, 07:38 PM - Edit history (1)

And comparing them to people. Predators kill only when they are hungry or to feed their young, any other time they don't harm anything.

[GulfCoast66]

36. That's not really true either.

The more intelligent predators do kill for fun. Or so it seems. Killer whales, sea lions and cats will kill just to kill.

There are many videos of sea lions killing penguin after penguin long after their appetites are sated.

And cats are notorious for killing all types of animals and just leaving the lay.

There may well be a good evolutionary reason. Or not. They may get innate satisfaction out of successfully taking prey.

I am now curious about why?

[dameatball]

41. Good question about empathy.

[GulfCoast66]

42. Something to do with group dynamics?

A family group that truly cares for each other beyond physical needs has a better chance of long term survival. Of course then question arises, is empathy just a evolutionary insurance policy to insure physical needs being fulfilled.

Sorry, I can get geeky about these things. I guarantee someone on DU has studied these questions and has an answer.

[Niagara]

5. K & R !! n/t

[Solly Mack]

6. I put a kiddie pool out for my dogs and the birds took it over.

K&R

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Ah. Not inflatable. I thought there was going to be a punchline! Sweet all the same. . . . nt

[GulfCoast66]

28. That was my thought when I read the title!

[csziggy]

11. Oh - nice! I know hawks love a shallow water source

I have one small, short water trough for my horses - about 1' deep, 2' wide, and 3' long. Our red shoulder hawks love to splash around in it. Now the bushes have grown up so I can't see it, but I suspect they still use it.

We also have a large trough that is the same length and width but twice as deep. One year we had to rescue a young red shoulder that had gotten stuck in it. The water level was low or he would have drowned, but he couldn't spread his wings enough to fly out and he couldn't get up on the sides.

We got him out, wrapped him in a towel and put him in the cat carrier. A local wildlife rescue group picked him up and kept him about a week to make sure he was OK. He didn't have any injuries, was just tired and cold from being wet. They brought him back and released him. That was cool, watching him take off and enjoy his freedom!

I might have to find a kiddie pool to put in the yard for the hawks. I could also put some rocks on one side to make a shallower area for the smaller birds - or put it at an angle on our slope to achieve the same thing!

[Bayard]

12. Have to like someone

Who loves hawks and Greyhounds.....

[Rebl2]

13. Just this

morning my husband and I watched a hawk take a bath in a really large bird bath we have. A couple of weeks ago was the first time we had ever seen one bathe.

[Honeycombe8]

19. That's great! Cute pool, too. nt

[royable]

20. Just two days ago someone posted on DU about their infant nephew drowning

in a small garden pond installed in the back yard. Please be careful with plastic pools for the birds, or kids, to keep them fenced off from children.

[link:https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181098940|

Not to detract from how neat it is to see hawks enjoying themselves in your back yard...

[Omaha Steve]

44. Thank you

I missed the op.

OS

[blaze]

21. I saw a juvenile coopers hawk in my bird bath once

I scrambled to grab my camera but only got a shot of him on the nearby fence. (Hazy because it was taken thru my front door screen)

[catbyte]

43. Gorgeous!

Thanks for sharing.

[malaise]

25. Beautiful

Thanks.