Bird Watching: hawk scares all birds away, what to do?, 0 by mnshutterbug

mnshutterbug wrote:
I realize this is an ancient thread, but it's this thread that enabled me to find this interesting and knowledgable community. I've been at my current residence for 1 1/2 years and finally get birds to my backyard. However, this happened last year at about the same time. The birds just vanish. I went out to my back porch yesterday and scanned the trees in my yard and sure enough, there was a Sharp-shinned Hawk sitting there. I did plant a couple rows of bushes in the spring but it's going to take at least another year or more for them to provide much cover. After reading the last couple posts, I'm kindof wondering if a couple crow decoys would help deter the hawks.

I did get a shot of a Cooper's in my yard early in the spring, just after he'd nailed a Grackle