If you’ve ever witnessed a hawk hunting prey, whether in person or on video, you know that its powerful talons and sharp beak are a force to be reckoned with. But what if you were to become the prey? In this article, we’ll talk about what to do if a hawk attacks you and what circumstances might prompt this attack in the first place.
What You'll Learn Today
Why Would a Hawk Attack a Human?
Firstly, it’s important to understand that, though hawk attacks on humans do occasionally happen, they don’t happen as often as you might think.
For one thing, most hawks tend to avoid humans. They rarely get close enough to be seen, much less to attack.
What’s more, humans are rarely able to get this close to hawks because hawks are so elusive. They tend to build their nests and stake out their territories far from the areas most frequented by humans.
That said, more and more hawks are being forced closer to urban areas, and so in some regions, hawks and humans are having to learn how to coexist. This can lead to some serious tension when territories overlap.
Hawks try to avoid humans, but they will not hesitate to attack if you broach their territory. They can be especially aggressive if you get too close to their nest during nesting season, as they are highly protective of their eggs and young.
If you ever get close enough to see a hawk’s nest, it’s best to keep your distance. These nests are usually in locations you couldn’t get close to, but anytime you come across a large nest and are close enough to inspect it, you are probably too close and should leave the area.
Check out this video for an example of what can happen if you get too close to a hawk’s nest:
The good news is that hawk attacks are rare and are almost never deadly. They can cause injuries of course, as seen in the video, and these injuries should be treated medically to prevent complications such as infection, but the injuries themselves are not lethal to humans.
Can You Kill a Hawk if it Attacks You?
This is a tricky subject, but the short answer is no.
Hawks are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MTBA), which has been in effect since 1918. Under this act, you can’t hunt, kill, shoot, poison, or even capture a hawk without receiving federal permission.
Some states also have separate laws protecting hawks, so even if you were to get federal permission, you would also have to get permission from the state as well.
Of course, during an active hawk attack, there’s no opportunity to go about getting this special permission.
If you accidentally kill a hawk that is attacking you, there is always a chance that it may be seen as an act of self-defense. That said, you may still be subject to fines.
The fines for violating the MBTA range from $5,000 to $15,000 and can include up to 6 months in prison. While the strictest penalties probably won’t apply in cases of self-defense, it’s still best to avoid killing or injuring the hawk if possible.
Which begs the question:
How Do You Stop a Hawk from Attacking You?
Obviously, the best way to avoid any trouble with hawks is to avoid getting attacked in the first place. But how do you do that?
Let’s take a look at some tips for preventing a hawk attack, as well as how to stop an attack in progress.
- Avoid hawk territory: If you spot a hawk’s nest in the wild, leave immediately and get to a safe distance at least half a mile away. If the hawk’s nest is in a tree in your yard, avoiding the territory may be a little more challenging, which leads us to our next tip:
- Discourage hawks from your yard: Set up wild animal deterrents, use smell repellents, remove mice or rat colonies, take down bird feeders, and do anything you can think of to make your yard unsuitable for hawks. If they don’t have a continual supply of prey and are frequently scared off by the deterrents, they may leave your property on their own.
- Never turn your back: Hawks attack by sneaking up on their prey when its back is turned. If you are dealing with an aggressive hawk that is threatening to attack, the best thing you can do is to face it the entire time; do not turn away and run, and don’t turn your back on it until it has backed down and flown away.
- Wave your arms and be loud: Hawks don’t care for loud noises or aggressive movements. Shouting and waving your arms is a good way to intimidate a threatening hawk and convince it to back down.
- Duck: Hawks tend to attack by dive-bombing. If you see an attack coming, you may not have time to do anything but duck your head and move out of the line of fire.
- Carry an umbrella: In areas where hawk attacks are frequent, residents are sometimes encouraged to walk with an opened umbrella. The umbrella can not only protect your head in the case of a hawk attack, but it may discourage hawks from attacking in the first place.
What are Hawks Afraid Of?
Whether trying to scare hawks out of your yard for good or prevent an acute attack, it helps to know what scares them. Luckily, hawks are somewhat easier to scare off than some larger birds of prey.
Some common things they’re scared of include:
- Loud noises: As noted above, shouting at hawks may help discourage them from attacking. Most hawks are easily spooked by a variety of loud noises.
- Threatening motions: Waving your arms can deter an active attack, while something as simple as setting up a flag may encourage hawks to leave your yard. Any sudden or unexpected movements can help to scare away hawks.
- Deterrents: Simple wildlife deterrents, such as scarecrows and fake owls, can send the hawks hurrying away from your yard. If you want to remove hawks from your property or prevent them from coming in the first place, using a wildlife deterrent is one of the best things you can do.
Conclusion
Hawk attacks on humans are rare, but they do happen from time to time. If you’re attacked by a hawk, don’t turn and run; instead, face the hawk, make loud noises, and wave your arms in an attempt to scare it off. Here is our comparison of falcon vs hawk, in terms of their strengths.
Being attacked by a hawk or eagle can be a scary experience for everyone. Thank you for sharing the tips.
I live 10 miles out of a city and have never seen raccoons, Fox, Buzzards or Hawks until the last few years. There is so much building going on in our wooded areas I believe that is why we have been seeing them. Today I was outside with 1 of my cats and this hawk kept diving down at us. At first, I thought the hawk was after my cat. She’s an adult and a good size. I don’t think he could have swooped her up. All of a sudden he started swooping down at me. I was kind of shocked. I liked the suggestion you made to put an umbrella over my head. THANKYOU.
We have a small hawk in our neighborhood I have seen it attacking small birds .. we usually have a lot of squirrels and rabbits running thru our yards! I came home from grocery shopping to find my whit cat dead on the carport.. I instantly thought of the hawk on e it swooped down in front of my neighbors truck ! Another time it was sitting on the electrical line took off went to a tree in the cotten field then back to the electrical pole top right above me! I hav noticed the lil wrens that my neighbor has in gourds on a pole are missing as well as 3 squirrels and 2 parent rabbits along with about 4 baby rabbits!! We live in a town!! Since my 13 yr old white blue eyed cat died my older cat has start d staying inside ..unless I go out with him.. He siits between the garbage cans even if I’m out with him.. this makes me very I’ll!! They are domesticated and my babies!! I can’t understand why the hawks are reguarded higher than my babies?? Why? I love all animals and birds .. I love watching. Them and one had his bushy tail missing.. I am a nature freak..but this seems a violent act.. I searched and found that it’s is unlawful to threaten or kill a hawk so I’m not going to go against our laws.. but why can’t someone come to remove the hawk to another location?? I mean all lives matter to me.. will it leave the area after it eats all the cute wildlife?? Sincerely..a concerned nature lover.
By myself m a nature loving person., But regardless of what they call a law, if anyone or anything attacks myself, my family, which includes my animals since I have been a rescue shelter for cats for 33 years, I will kill it immediately. And then bury it. The animal kennel area inside has an enclosure which allows them to go outside to an entirely caged in area sides and top. I have two Hawks in the area that continue to land on it and try to get through the wire to the animals. If it continues there will be two less Hawks
Why don’t you make a scarecrow with some fake owls . When the Hawks go away, you can put it inside and put it out for Halloween or if they come back very sorry about your cat. I’m pretty sure we got rid of hawks. Every time they threatened an animal, we would be overrun by rodents, which most people dislike, especially in their home. PS Catios are very popular and easy to make.
I totally agree with you…I think we should be able to kill the hawk if it threatens our way of life and our pets or nature that comes in our yards as far as other little birds that we have feeders up in out yards for. It’s our property and lives and we should be able to defend it however we need too.
The MBTA seems to be anti-human. Can it be amended to provide some rights to kill a bird if it is attacking you? If the act can be changed, what specific steps should folks take to get some protections for humans? We’re not anti hawk, we are pro human. Self defense should be inserted in into the law as a human right.
Absolutely, you are so right! Yesterday a friend of ours was attacked from behind, while sitting on a balcony in the City. It was a huge falcon, the bird was not harmed but my friend has wounds that required a trip to the E.R.
I was looking online to see if my friend needs tetnas shot or special antibiotics in addition to stitches when I came across this site.
I am appalled that had the bird been harmed in addition to the unmotivated attack, his wounds, and a costly trip to the ER apparently he could have had to pay a fine and/or faced possibile jail time. They need to fix this law, it’s ridiculous.
I totally agree….we should have more rights that’s a given more than the stupid bird.
Yup. Yup
We have Cooper’s hawks who are nesting on our property. There is no way to completely avoid the area. As they’ve been nesting for the last few weeks, we have had no problems. The male has become aggressive in the last few days, actually touching my head. I was bent over taking a photo of a flower. I had my back to him. It hurt but he immediately flew off. He did not break the skin. I love having them here. We’ve always had them around and enjoyed them. Are we in danger? I hate the thought of having the nest removed but I also don’t want to get hurt. My husband wore a hard hat outside yesterday.
The only ones that are really dangerous are the northern goshawks. Most won’t come at you except during breeding/nesting season. I stay in a building that has a large parking lot and yard that is encircled by a ravine. We have five species of hawks with mated pairs here. They have scared off most of the other larger birds and have been eating a lot of songbirds. I took my feeders down. Love the hawks and the birds. Wish you could really have both. You can’t.
I was attacked by a falcon today.
Twice? I wish I would have known not to run away the first time.
I was attacked by a falcon while walking around my work building today, about an hour ago. I saw this huge a** bird flew over me and I was like that’s a big bird, it’s beautiful, then looked back at my phone and kept walking. This mf… Circles back and swoops down at me so I duck and keep going and it keeps coming at me and pulls my hair with it’s devil talons. I just scream and run and it follows me all the way to the building until I run inside. Whoo-buddy, let me tell ya, I am not walking outside without an umbrella ever again. I still feel it in my hair. Barf.
I have 2 hawks nesting in a pine tree they have attacked me 3 times hitting my head like a 2 x4 and have drawn blood all 3 times and tonite tried to get one of my cats. I am fearful if these birds and just want them to go away. What can I do ?
Try using a fake owl, scarecrow, and/or a flag as mentioned in the deterrents section above, and be careful!
Hi. How large of a flag? I have birds and squirrels that come feed right by my patio in the backyard. There are woods back there as well. There are deer and tons of beautiful wildlife yet a huge I believe red tail hawk is scaring and killing daily. I have tried loud noises- owl sounds ( from my cell phone) I live in an apartment complex so I am limited. The neighbors must think I am nuts! I want to try a flag. I am confused where to put it and how big. Thank you for helping!! Grateful- Liz
Use scarecrow sprinkler to protect your pets.
You can get it on amazon.
I have Swainson Hawks that nest in a tree at my front entrance. It’s difficult to even get to my car, I have to always carry and umbrella or a rake whenever im outside. Papa Hawk is very protective and he constantly attacks. As much as I feel honoured they nest here, it ruins the entire summer. I have to constantly watch to see where he is and be ready. You are right in facing them, but it doesn’t stop them from coming in on you. Its actually quite frightening to see him diving in at me. Id be okay if he just attacked when i was in the front. But he will attack me anywhere on the acreage. Sometimes it seems like a game he’s playing. He’s brazen enough to even come when I’m on a riding mower. Its not easy to do yard work with one hand an eyes to the sky. I wish there was a way for them to be a little more accepting of me after 5 years. Id rather be friends than foes.
My friend has been attacked several times. It dives down and draws blood every time. She usually wears a hard hat but if she ever forgets he gets her! He has a nest in a big tree in her yard. They come back every year. It’s awful. I wish somehow they could relocate them.
I too was attacked today from the back. Felt like a bat hit me in the head also and cut me. I’ve always had nests around me but have been targeted 4 times in the last few days.
I’m reading this because my cooper hawk pair have slammed me in the back of my head three times. I have an acre and their nest is in the far right corner. They were ok with me in the yard until the babies were born. Now I can’t even be in the front yard. Still love having them.
A hawk attacked me from behind—I didn’t see it coming. It hit so suddenly and with such great force that it cracked 0ne of my molars in half! This will cost me thousands of dollars. Non-violence is a philosophy I live by but really? You could get fined for defending yourself if you saw the hawk coming toward you with clear intent to harm you? This is not the time to turn the other cheek!
Love reading all of these comments. We have had a pair of hawks nesting in the huge elm tree across the street. The “babies” are now flying all over the place and we now have 2 more that have joined them. They’re hunting and catching stuff but this morning I went out to water the garden and one of the smaller ones started screaming at me and acting aggressively so I yelled at it but that seemed to make it angrier. Guess tomorrow morning I will definitely have the umbrella with me. Thank you everyone for all this info.
I was attacked today on a river trail. Beautiful and scary
I live in the forest in So Hamilton mass and I have a “Friendly” hawk that attackc me at least twice a day. A week ago he whacked me and drew his talons across my scalp drawing a lot of blood. It was the only time I left my big Stetson hat in the house.
I used to carry on a whistling with the hawk ….he would whistle, then I would. This could carry on until one of us just got tired of it. We would do this everyday, until he
started flying within a few feet of my head. (Then, I stopped whistling!) It was fun, for a while.
Today, he did his fly-by twice, and the third time he gave me a good bump.
So, tomorrow I will go and buy a fake owl and a flag for my deck. Let’s hope. Penn
I was attacked by a hawk last week while I was riding my bicycle early morning in rural New Mexico. It swooped within inches of my head and face numerous times. Ignorantly, I tried to ride faster, which only caused my crash to be more painful on the hawk’s 7th pass. It was so close to my face, with talons open, that I pulled the brakes with full force and flew over the handlebars. The hawk then perched itself in a large dead tree, stared at me, and seemed to be waiting for round two. My hands, elbows, knees, and chest were all bloodied and bruised. Today is the first day in almost a week that I can even use the computer. I’ve run over 83,000 miles in my life and I was biking due to a hamstring injury. I’ve been confronted by dogs, wild boar, wild horses, huge rattlesnakes, bears, elk, skunks, and an alligator in South Carolina. But the only thing to knock me to the ground was a hawk.
I was attacked by a hawk before I knew they were nesting in a tree in my yard. Two weeks later, I was attacked for a second time, both drawing blood from head. I bought a helmet and will not go out in my yard without it. Today, it attacked my wife; fortunately, it was
bloodless.. From now on, she will carry an umbrella when outside. It may be another six
weeks before the “family” departs. I am in my eighties and spend countless hours
maintaining my property. Those MFB are ruining my summer.
Here at my home here in Modesto California, while I was having my morning Coffee I noticed two small chicks and then the name of the bird. I knew exactly what it was,2 small Hawks they looked like they was beaten up pretty bad. So the next thing I thought about was to see if I could help. I put on some gloves and put on a make shift split for both and gave them big chunks of stewing meat that I had went to Brian’s Market and started to purchase but after I told the Butcher what I was doing he gave me bigger scraps of meat and told me that if I was willing to feed them O’Brians would supply the meat. He then asked where is the Mother, I told him that I have not seen her. He said be careful because they are known to attack if they think you’re bothering their young. After getting home I went out where the chicks were and started feeding the injured Birds. And I noticed yes to my side was a very large Hawk and she was talking to them and as if she was telling me Thank You! So I continued on feeding them. Even though I started trembling, she even came up to me and like reassured me that it was okay. That was when I guess I had a Epileptic seizure. But you know when I came too r regained to conscious state of mine the mother was at my side and the chicks had cuddled close to me. They was like making a sound like I’ve never heard of before. And I guess I made friends for life because every year after that the Mother and one of her adult now children see’s me once in awhile.
i was attacked by a redtail today at the golf practice range. i knew the nest was there from last year, and i thought i had my eye on it. all of a sudden i got hit in the back if the head like ali hit me! the force knocked my tight fitting glasses and cap off, and a cut on the back of the ear. Never saw it coming. k couldn’t believe the force. btw, the course name is Diamondhawk..
There was a Cooper Hawk in the tree in my yard. I threw a small rock towards her and she flew away. She is afraid. She comes to my area to attack the birds and I will not have it. I don’t care who protects them. Two miles north, there is a lake, reservoir and the American River. She can eat her meals there. I have a Megaphone and used it to stop a Starling from becoming her lunch. I was told it is against California Law to harass hawks and if I used my Megaphone one more time the police would come. The Megaphone is collecting dust.
This is a tough subject to take hold of. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Let the hawk go about her business and eat all the singing birds, tiny and cute they are. They sing out their hearts and sound beautiful. How could I turn my back and let something like that happen? Maybe you, not I.
I suppose everyone has their own opinion on the subject. I wonder if I could rent a “Golden Eagle” for a couple of days? A Golden Eagle would not eat little birds, their too big and too noble. A Cooper Hawk? Yes, I believe so, (That was a joke).
Bye Folks.
bear spray?
If you are ever attacked by a hawk, do not panic. First, try to remain calm and assess the situation. If you are in a populated area, try to get as far away from the hawk as possible. If you are in
I agree with these comments. There is a hawk nest in park across street from my home. Those hawks have become more aggressive in recent years. When they land in my back yard, they will not be dissuaded by loud noise or anything I can do. I looked online for petitions asking that laws protect people from raptor attacks and found nothing. This article basically says to stay indoors six months of the year. https://www.fws.gov/story/2021-09/raptor-rapport