Hawks Attack Humans in West University

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http://abc13.com/1405907/
video

By Miya Shay
Tuesday, June 28, 2016 07:02PM
WEST UNIVERSITY, TX (KTRK) -- Allyson Cunius never thought she'd be wearing a bike helmet in her tranquil West University backyard, but a pair of broad-wing hawks have left her no other choice.

"We have an attack hawk living in our backyard. It's attacking our families, the neighbors and our pool guy," said Cunius, who has spent a lot time figuring out how to deal with the hawk issue.

Last week, just as the pool guy was finishing up work in her backyard, one of the hawks attacked him. A few hours later, Cunius' husband went outside with a baseball bat. For some reason, he thought a bat would deter the hawk. No such luck. He was attacked too, and it was also caught on video.

"We've gotten a lot of advice," said Cunius, who quickly heard from neighbors in the same predicament.

Around the corner at Allison Laird's house, she's put up netting over her backyard. The same pair of hawks attacked her husband twice in one day. The second time, it left a clear V shaped mark on his scalp.

"It's like funny not funny, because my husband got scratched on the head," said Laird, who added that her kids are fascinated. "The story, sounds like a party joke. It sounds like it's made up."

Except it's all too real.

Initially, Laird called 911, which sent Houston Animal Control. Then, she called a professional falconer. The experts told her the same thing: It's breeding season, and the hawks are protecting their young.

That means until the baby hawks grow up a bit and can be on their own, the pair of mom and dad hawks will continue to protect their young. For the West University neighbors, that means keeping those bike helmets close by.

"It's making for great cocktail conversation, but I'm ready for the hawk to calm down, and its babies to leave so we can enjoy our backyard," added Cunius.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 8 • Views: 2,445 • Replies: 18

Where I live, seagulls regularly send people to the hospital with cut heads and faces during breeding season.

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I have mockingbirds to contend with. One year, a few blue jays.

1 Reply

I've always suspected that Alfred Hitchcock was a prophet. Now I'm sure of it.

1 Reply

@Glennn,

Glennn wrote:

I've always suspected that Alfred Hitchcock was a prophet. Now I'm sure of it.

You could be right.
ABC 13 Houston
14 mins ·
‪#‎Breaking‬ -- The pilot of a small Cessna aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Tomball after a bird crashed through the windshield and hit him in the face.

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@edgarblythe,

Mockingbirds are legendary, but still, they are not quite like hawks.

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I never suspected hawks of being like that. When I lived in Tomball proper, there was a nest in the far back of the property. When I went down to have a look a couple of times, they showed distress and actually moved someplace else, almost right away.

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

OT, but I once passed a hawk perched in a small tree while I was on a bicycle. It was okay with my presence - till I stopped for a better look. Around here, the red tail hawks don't live in trees, so he was probably hunting, but too lazy to fly.

1 Reply

@roger,

I hear Trump commented on this. "These hawks, they're killers, rapists, drug dealers and I assume some are good birds."

1 Reply

@engineer,

They're good birds, but you don't need to watch them catching and eating lunch.

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I had finches to contend with, lucky woman. We did have a blue heron sit at my tiny pool; no photo, but startling and wonderful. Down the street at some poor woman's house, night herons gathered and **** a lot.

Back then, I made pools out of concrete - buy one fancy or plane concrete vessel. I don't remember the measurements of my concrete pot, but I'll guess, 36" wide at the top, tapering down; 36 inches tall.

Drill a hole for a drain, add stopper.

Add water, by varied means, but a bucket is ok.

add some foliage, water hyacinths are ok, at least in California, but need routine clean out, as they can be voracious.

Add fish - me, I added gambusa, oft called mosquito fish. I got those via the city of LA.

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I had finches to contend with, lucky woman. We did have a blue heron sit at our tiny pool; no photo, but startling and wonderful. Down the street at some poor woman's house, night herons gathered and **** a lot.

Back then, I made pools out of concrete - buy one fancy or plane concrete vessel. I don't remember the measurements of my concrete pot, but I'll guess, 36" wide at the top, tapering down; 36 inches tall.

Drill a hole for a drain just above the bottom, add stopper.
Close the original bottom outlet.

Add water, by varied means, but a bucket is ok.

add some foliage, water hyacinths are ok, at least in California, but need routine clean out, as they can be voracious.

Add fish - me, I added gambusa, called mosquito fish. I got those via the city of LA.

I drained the pond (pull plug) off and on, but not all at once.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

We used to see hummingbirds in our yard, but haven't for several years now. I wonder why?

Search Results
Image result for hummingbirds in northern california
Allen's Hummingbird. A close relative of the Rufous Hummingbird, Allen's has a more limited range, nesting mostly in California. This is one of the two common nesting hummingbirds in northern California gardens (Anna's is the other).
Allen's Hummingbird | Audubon Field Guide
www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/allens-hummingbirdNational Audubon Society

1 Reply

The apartments I worked for has dozens of hummingbirds.

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@cicerone imposter,

In California I had humming birds often, but that was my zone of interest as a plant designer, etcetera.

I'm not there in CA now, birds being really good to see once in a while.

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Right now, I see mockingbirds and the occasional robin. Sometimes I hear woodpeckers in a tree across the street. Birds don't generally hang about, with an active dog like Rocky to contend with.

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@edgarblythe,

I see the odd quail, the few doves, the very unoften road runner, say, once a year.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

when I ear my Phillies cap (its red), the hummers just strafe me like Im a moving mandevilla bud ready to open and spill nectar. You can hear em way bfore you see em.

Mockinbirds know enough not to attack me so they attack the barn cats, (we have 3 now and they are all foodies but have to cross the "no cat zone" between the barn and the house. Theres a couple of big trees and that's mockinbird territory.
There are two nesting pairs of mockinbirds and I have no idea how many hummingbirds, But we will see four or five hummers all fighting like its a major intraspecies war.

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I've been dive bombed by hawks. They never got close enough to hurt me or anything, but I got the message and left the area. 'Round here it's the maggies you have to look out for. Magpies or Crows/Ravens can be vicious for about a week when the little ones are fledglings.

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Hawks Attack Humans in West University

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