r/Ornithology • u/dougquaid28 • 19h ago

Question Will a hawk attack me if I hand feed birds?

Hi! It’s easy to hand feed titmice and chickadees in Central Park, but should I be worried about the red-tailed hawks and Cooper’s hawks that hunt in the area? Will one of them swoop down and attack my hand? Sorry if this sounds too paranoid but I do worry sometimes. Thanks in advance!

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u/1SmartBlueJay 19h ago

Nah- I wouldn’t worry about that at all. They are very wary birds, but they won’t attack you deliberately. However, they may attack one of your feathered friends when it flies away from your hand.

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u/dougquaid28 18h ago

I figured! Thank you!

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u/1SmartBlueJay 18h ago

Of course! Enjoy the time with your feathered friends! I do hope no hawks catch any of them though! 🙂

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u/dougquaid28 18h ago

Hawks here tend to eat squirrels, mice, and mourning doves. I’m not sure if they can catch titmice and chickadees but I could be wrong!

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u/1SmartBlueJay 18h ago

Oh- Sharp-Shinned Hawks are a songbirds worst enemy. They specifically target smaller/medium sized birds, and since they’re much smaller than most other birds of prey, they’re way faster and a hell of a lot more agile. On multiple occasions I have seen chickadees, nuthatches, and juncos snatched right off of our feeders by them. They come in like a bullet! And then a poof of feathers, and it’s all over.

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u/1SmartBlueJay 18h ago

Cooper’s hawks are also big songbird eaters. They tend to target doves/robins more though, sometimes rabbits and small squirrels. But they also won’t pass up an opportunity for a chickadee snack either…

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u/dougquaid28 18h ago

I didn’t know. That explains why hawks often hang out by the bird feeders in Central Park!

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u/1SmartBlueJay 18h ago

Certainly! When you feed the birds, you feed ALL the birds!