Hawk

Bunny2746

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Dec 5, 2016
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Panhandlle of Florida
How bold are Hawks when it comes to snatching a turtle out of the enclosure up next to the house? The new one we built is quite large and doesn’t have a cover but lots of plants and wind chimes hanging. Anyone have any thoughts on this. Here is a picture of one hawk always hanging out in the neighborhood. Yesterday I watched it grab a snake and take it up to a tree, very concerned about my box turtles.

0D3F5B6F-5D35-4DE6-A08A-B777DFF932D2.jpeg
 

Maro2Bear

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Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Even some gardening mesh.

One item to look at - https://express.google.com/u/0/prod...aUW5IlMAiFm40RwHfavWWXNNVLMUtneMaAof9EALw_wcB

The one good thing is that there is plenty of other prey in Florida for that hawk. Turtles arent part of their normal diet, a bit hard to swoop in, latch on, and fly to a perch with a one pound boxie. Mouse, snake, small birds, frogs, yes. A hard shelled “rock” with little exposed meat, not so much.
 

ZEROPILOT

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That mesh really does deter birds of prey.
I've used it outdoors here in Florida to keep from pond fish getting plucked.
A Heron is the only bird that could get around the mesh. But a Heron might not be a bird that most people would find in their yard.
 

TammyJ

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I would not trust the hawk! Though he is a real beauty, isn't he?
I would cover the turtle enclosure with wire mesh or "chicken"wire - as long as it does not block out the sun!
 

Scott350

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Mar 24, 2019
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Fort Myers Florida
There are some netting options. I have a small area for my dogs. I used batting cage nets. They come in all sizes. When I was searching a few years ago they offer lighter netting called bird netting. Might be a good option.
 

Maro2Bear

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Thanks all for your ideas we ended up going with the netting to keep birds away from plants. Here is a picture, Tom and Scrapper are so happy crawling all over their new home.

Nice job. The bird netting is easy to install, doesnt detract from the enclosure. Looks great.
 

wccmog10

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May 6, 2018
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Georgia
Do you have the netting secured in some way? While I do not think a hawk would go for your box turtles, if he did he could crash through the netting potentially getting very tangled and not be able to fly away. Your turtles would ultimately be safe, but you would come home to a tangled hawk in your turtle pen. That netting does work well for small birds, they just sort of bounce off of it (I’ve used to for blueberry bushes). But a large bird might be to much force if the netting is not secured well. If the hawk crashed into the netting he could force it to collapse on himself. With this type of netting you also need to be careful of snakes. They can get tangled in the netting. When they try to go through the netting their scales get caught, and they cannot get free. They ultimately panic and get tangled worse and usually die, unless you happen to find them in time. I am not saying that any of this would happen, just want you to be aware and mitigate any unwanted risks to the wildlife, while still protecting your boxies.

PS it looks like a juvenile red tailed hawk in the photo.
 
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