The mockingbirds or the state / county wildlife agency....

Just kidding!!!

:-)

What an excellent idea!

I have a tent that we no longer use for camping that could easily be adapted. I imagine I could even make or obtain a variety of camo netting to adapt it to time of year and location for shooting.

Thank you!

One more, he was so cute....

He opened up the entry to squirrel size and moved in. When we sat on the porch swing in the evening and he wanted to go to bed he would chatter at us from the tree next to the swing.

Very bossy if you ask me.....

Thank you for all of your suggestions!

The newly relocated owl is now swinging with the breeze.

I thought about getting a plastic eagle, but I have really enjoyed watching the hawk family grow and do not want to lose the advantage of watching nature in it's most natural state (as sad as it was to know one of the neighborhood squirrels paid a price).

LOL to those that suggest loosing the lens cap! That just makes sense and I should have thought of it.

As others suggested, I think I need to up my game and my skills. I would have given anything to capture the mockingbirds chasing the hawk out of the neighborhood last week. One mockingbird performed a fly-by and then called in the troops and it was "game on!". Yesterday I saw one of them chasing a hawk down our street. Another took off from the bamboo stand toward me heading for the back yard. It looked like one of those "angry bird" animations.

I just need to be faster at capturing the images.

Here are a couple of pictures from MANY years ago of one of our squirrels.

The Mockingbirds are holding their own.... they just have not been able to convince the hawks that they should not come back yet.

All of the usual residents are still hanging in the yard; they just don't feel as comfortable as they used to feel while looking for worms, termites, flies, etc.. All of that stuff that you really look forward to enjoying on a Saturday night!

We just relocated the resident owl to a new location. Thanks again!

When the first young hawk appeared, I did some research and I am fairly confident that they are Coopers.

I would never think to harass or harm them.

I am trying to adjust my formerly (lazy) easy access to a "Snow White and the forest creatures" type of shooting in my backyard to a "Shrek and Donkey" are scaring off my subjects captures.

Thank you for the suggestion. We have a huge plastic owl that we hung on our deck swing (to keep the blackbirds away). The other morning as I was getting ready to work, I looked out the back door and the hawk was sitting on the top portion of the deck swing support. He was sitting directly above where we hung the owl.

Of course I raced for the camera to catch that (ironic) shot as they were about the same size!

Once again, lens cap off....

He's gone.

I will take your suggestion to move the plastic fellow about. I imagine they have decided he is not a threat. :-)

Thanks!

No, not yet. It appears the Mockingbirds are giving the hawks a run for the money. I have seen them run them out of our yard, the bamboo stand, down the street.... they are quite vigilant guards.

In this particular area, unless we had a wounded raptor, I do not think we would get much of a response.

Welcome from a fellow newbie!

We are blessed to have a yard filled with tons of activity. Jays, Cardinals, Hummingbirds, Barn Swallows, Turtles, Frogs in the pond, Foxes, Raccoons, a few squirrels that are "honey baked hams" ..... you get the idea.

A couple of years ago a young hawk began visiting occasionally. We were not unhappy about this because across the street stands a significant grove of bamboo. The owners of the property actually have the Memphis Zoo thin it once in a while for the Pandas. So far so good, right? The problem was a significant (scary) number of blackbirds living in the bamboo. Cordova is a hot, humid area and bird droppings have been a significant cause of respiratory problems in the past.

Mr. Hawk shows up and the numbers decrease. He took care of a decade old problem.

Now he's gone off and found some girl hawk and they have a couple of young hawks and they are terrorizing the neighborhood.

The wildlife in their previous sanctuary is about as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs (or, more accurately a bunch of potential hawk food in our back yard). They have a reason to be nervous. We found a deceased squirrel on our roof one morning and it was a couple of weeks later at dinner with our neighbors that we were told she saw the hawk take the squirrel, she just didn't know where.

As a result of the hawk family, all of the regulars are skittish as they can be except for the mockingbirds that are like a bunch of F-5's after an F-16.

My regular subjects are hiding and every time the hawk lands in the back yard, as soon as I grab the camera he has taken wing before I can get the lens cap off.

I know, it's nature. I was spoiled and used to be able to get really good shots on a regular basis and now I need to change my strategy.

Any suggestions?

Thank you all! There is a wealth of information here from those that don't mind sharing from their experiences.

Lovely captures! I enjoy your hummingbird photos. They are very inspiring. I just put some fresh "nectar" in the feeder, hoping for a few visitors soon.

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

Thank you again Mike!