05/31/2026
Plentiful Around Our Area... 👍
I’m not your enemy. I’m one of the reasons rodent populations stay under control.
Every week, hawks like me hunt mice, rats, voles, and other small mammals that damage crops, invade buildings, chew through garden roots, and spread disease. A single bird of prey can remove hundreds of rodents in a year simply by doing what evolution designed it to do.
Red-tailed Hawks are not hunting out of cruelty. Hunting is survival.
The same sharp eyesight and powerful talons that worry some backyard chicken owners are also protecting fields, farms, and neighborhoods from exploding rodent populations. We also consume grasshoppers and other agricultural pests that can damage plants and crops during warmer months.
Healthy predator populations create balance. Without hawks, owls, foxes, snakes, and other natural hunters, rodent numbers can increase rapidly and overwhelm ecosystems.
Conflicts usually happen when domestic animals are left exposed without protection. Covered chicken runs, secure fencing, and supervised free-ranging reduce risk while still allowing predators and people to coexist safely.
Predators are not signs of a broken ecosystem.
In many cases, they are signs the ecosystem is still functioning.
The hawk circling overhead is not searching for trouble.
It’s doing one of the oldest jobs in nature — keeping populations in balance.
