Omg! Another hawk encounter!!!!

carol5208

Chameleon Enthusiast
As many of you may remember my encounter with the Hawk awhile back and I literally swatted the bird out of the air from snatching up my cham. Well after that incident I decided no more outside without a cage and now I have the big beautiful outdoor cage for Romeo. So I put him out there about 1/2 hour ago and was walking through my patio to check and OMG there is a HUGE, I mean HUGE Hawk sitting on top of the cage and bouncing up and down trying to get Romeo! Hindsight I shoulda grabbed my camera but first instinct was to just yell and run towards the cage which I did and at first he just turned and looked at me and then took off and sat up on the wire above. Poor Romeo was totally freaked as you can imagaine but was down towards the middle of the cage all puffed up and displaying some awesome colors I might add!!! Just wanted to remind everyone that our chams our viewed as prey and to keep your eye on them at all times!!! They can be gone in a heartbeat!!!!
 
Omg!

:eek: I would have freaked out ... Glad he is safe and sound ... aside of being some what freaked out.
 
My first reaction would have been to grab my shot gun. lol. Seriuosly there has to be some law, especially in Florida they have some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, about nuisance birds and them attacking your pets.

MK
 
someone yesterday started a thread about wanting to let his chammy freerange outside in his backyard. I hope he reads this threads and takes what happened to you into consideration. But as far as shooting a hawk goes, I would look into your local wildlife conservation laws as to the consequences, if any, of shooting a bird of prey in your state.
 
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Maybe you could use some kind of sounds to keep the hawk way! Near me there's a State lake that plays noises on a speaker that sound like fireworks and guns to geese away.
 
My first reaction would have been to grab my shot gun. lol. Seriuosly there has to be some law, especially in Florida they have some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, about nuisance birds and them attacking your pets.

MK

I find it very amusing when people label a certain animal as a "nuisance". I wonder what animals consider us as...

Maybe home depot has some sort of poison for large birds so you don't even need to get your shotgun.
 
Ive had crows and blue jays sit up high in a pine tree in my front yard of my condo and watch Sherlock. He always seems to see em first before I do. He will turn dark and move towards the center of the huge ficus I keep out there. I always know when one is close by because he usually stays out on the top of the tree on the end of the highest branches when all is clear.

I never let my chams out unless their caged or Im standing within a few feet. ;)
 
I would never consider shooting a hawk! I mean they have to eat and they are doing just what comes natural to them and that is find prey to survive. I am now just a little more paranoid even with the cage. It is made out of a thick sturdy chicken wire, but not saying a hawks beak could not rip that to shreds if it wanted. If it was a regular screen, he would have probably had it torn open. I just wanted to post this to make everyone aware, who is not, about the dangers of birds.
 
I've had one similar incident years ago. I pulled into my parking spot at home one day after work, and I could see into my backyard and there was a Red-Tailed Hawk sitting on a post that some of my outdoor cages would hang from. I snuck through my laundry room and slowly opened the back door that led outside and I hadn't opened it an inch and he bolted. To this day, it baffles me as to how these birds can spot a chameleon in a heavily foilaged cage-from the air or high vantage point at that. I sometimes have to struggle to find mine in the cage and sometimes when I finally spot it, it is literally 3-4 inches from my face.
 
good thing camo has a big sister( my 130lb rottweiler ) to protect him, no damm birds coming after him LoL
 
Wow Carol, that's crazy! I'm glad you were able to save poor Romeo, and good thing he didn't die of a heart attack! :eek: It's been a while since we've seen Romeo pics, maybe you should post some while he's got his "freaked out" colors on?

As for shooting the hawk, I'm with you on this one Carol. I would never do that, and like you said, the hawk is just doing what hawks do. Better idea might be to put one of those fake owls used to keep birds away, that might keep the hawk away too.
 
On a serious note, please dont harm the hawk Carol, it may be a female searching for food for its young, either way it too must eat. You could try hanging some empty soda cans above the cage. These might be enough to see it off.
How lucky you are to see raptors in your yard, your area must be wildlife friendly.
I did see a true owl a few nights ago, a rather rare sight in my neighbourhood, and I must say, a thrill. :)
 
Ya,I don't like the shotgun idea either. I would use my .45:D.....Ok just kidding as I couldnt kill anything but a fish for food and a dang cricket if I can't catch it loose in my house:eek:
 
A .45 for a cricket? How big these crickets in Indiana? :D

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On a serious note, please dont harm the hawk Carol, it may be a female searching for food for its young, either way it too must eat. You could try hanging some empty soda cans above the cage. These might be enough to see it off.
How lucky you are to see raptors in your yard, your area must be wildlife friendly.
I did see a true owl a few nights ago, a rather rare sight in my neighbourhood, and I must say, a thrill. :)

jo, as stated before(maybe you skipped over my post) I am an animal lover of all kinds and never would harm the hawk. Like i said, and agree with you that they are just doing what they are supposed to be doing and that is looking for food to survive. My neighborhood is not rural by anymeans, but there are some wooded areas close by and the sky is just full of hawks everyday. We also get some armadillos, possums and raccoons in our yards from time to time too, but that population seems to be dwindling with all the road kill around. It is sad!!!
 
Oops, yeah thats likely, been up sleepless all night, nearly 7am here, quite tired now,
probly skipped a few :)
Glad to hear it, Crikey Id love to see wild armadillo's!
Those guys are incredible and rather odd creatures (US answer to the platypus maybe :))
 
Oops, yeah thats likely, been up sleepless all night, nearly 7am here, quite tired now,
probly skipped a few :)
Glad to hear it, Crikey Id love to see wild armadillo's!
Those guys are incredible and rather odd creatures (US answer to the platypus maybe :))

Jojackson,
If you ever make it to Brevard County Florida our Zoo has a petting area where you can sit down and play with armadillos =) ... my son loves it.
 
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