People living near ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱/John Dean Provincial Park in North Saanich have noticed some unusual behaviour by a family of Cooper’s hawks nesting near their homes: They’ve been seen swooping down on small dogs.
Ariel Allen said her mother was in her yard with her 16-pound dachshund when two Cooper’s hawks swooped towards her. One landed within two feet of her while she was standing beside the small dog.
The day before, one of the hawks had flown into the glass door of her house while the same dog was leaning against it, Allen said.
Shortly before the incidents, her mother’s neighbour was in his yard with his small dog when a Cooper’s hawk swooped down on the two of them.
“My mum’s quite worried. She’s looking into different hawk deterrents,” Allen said, including buying a coyote vest for the dog.
The vest has spikes to protect the animal from a coyote attack. Allen said she has also read that reflective items can deter hawks, so she created a homemade reflective jacket by sewing CDs onto a dog jacket.
Allen said residents first noticed the hawks last spring, when there were only two, and now there are four. Their nest isn’t visible but it’s believed to be in a stand of trees close to her mother’s house.
Gillian Radcliffe, director of research at The Raptors in Duncan, said she doesn’t think the residents need to be too concerned about the behaviour of the Cooper’s hawks, one of the smaller hawks.
Adult females weigh about 500 grams, while the males weigh about 300 grams, and they can’t carry more than their own weight, so even a small dog is well out of their reach, Radcliffe said. It’s unlikely the bird would attack on the ground either, she said.
Radcliffe said the four hawks are likely a family unit with a breeding pair and two juveniles.
The swooping hawks are probably juveniles that are learning to hunt, she said, and they could be flying toward the dogs before they realize the animal is too big for them.
It’s also possible the parents are feeling stressed that people are near their nest and the swooping behaviour is protective, she said.
Residents should keep small dogs close to them for now, she said, and the hawks will likely move on soon.
“This problem should disappear in a week or two when they get more experience and start actually catching things — they’ll stop looking at their dogs,” she said.
Cooper’s hawks are “fierce little raptors” that can turn quickly in the air, Radcliffe said. They mostly hunt small birds, like sparrows and finches, and eat some small mammals, such as squirrels and rodents.
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