Beware of Hawks...This ever happend to you

[Adam S. Daugherty]

Got a chance to go out yesterday evening after work for a short hunt.  All settled in on edge of thicket with a perfect wind.  Listening to a flock of birds regroup after I had busted them from my entrance to the stand when all of the sudden a chicken hawk swarmed in front of me about 10 yards away.  Cool I thought and admired how silently they sway through the woods when I caught something out of the corner of my eye and wammm!!  another hawk flew right into my boots.  Scared the dickens out of me, bought dropped bow, and warped me a good time or two as it retreated.  Now I have had avian critters perch next to me in the same tree or close by limb, or come close where I thought they were going to hit me but this is a first for me.  I was about 18 feet up in a 18 inch DBH beech tree, with limbs all behind me and it cleared out in front of me.  Well hidden from stuff from ground level, but should have stuck out like a sore thumb to a hawk.  Anyone else ever have this happen?  Glad I had a harness on also.  One of these birds glide into a mans head, i think would have a good chance of knocking him out.  Anyways thought I would share this experience.

[doowop]

Twice. Ain't fun.

[Goshawkin]

I had a liitle kestrel come for my face when I was in a tree stand on the edge of a field.He must have seen my eyes moving and thought it was food.  
I was squirrel hunting with my buddy and his redtailed hawk one day. It was my first time out with that bird.She was up in a tree and staring at me with "the look". Launched off the tree and headed right for my face.I ducked and turned and caught her right on my shoulder.She was leaning out and trying to look at my face. He called her to the glove and put her back up and she hunted for squirrels and never gave me another look.We figured she thought my beard was a squirrel.Good incentive to dye the gray out of it!

[Bill Carlsen]

Lots of times with owls swooping at my face when I used to wear glasses. Never got hit, however. I once had to fight off a Saw-et owl that seemed intent on tearing my face off. He even landed on a branch about 5 feet away, got his breath and gave it one last try. I suppose the noise and movement of my swatting at him with my bow is why I didn't see any other game that evening. I bet it's happened at least 1/2 dozen times...hard to convince me camo doesn't work.

[NO SIGHTS]

I dont hunt from trees, for when predator calling it is wise to keep your alert sense.

I have been bombed by owls and hawks. I have also lost a rabbit decoy to a red-tail. Kinda funny watching it fly away.

[Steve Clandinin]

Two hawks and an Owl,scared the Bejesus out of me,Tried to land on my head,Took my hat off all three times.

[eagleone]

I've been dive bombed by owls a few times.  One of them
tried (unsuccessfully) to remove my knit hat, left some nice
scratches on my bald head!  I don't like owls anymore

[SheltonCreeker]

Had an owl come across the woods at my face once. I rolled at the last second and it flared off once it realized I wasn't the food it thought I was. Scared me pretty good. Owls have some big ole talons that I don't think would look good digging in my eye balls. I'm with Bill hard to say camo don't work.

[Feather Flinger]

I had a young owl try to take my hat off. Then he landed in a tree just out of reach and stared at me. It was kind of funny.

[Adam S. Daugherty]

Funny thing is I wasn't wearing any camo.  Tree had plenty of natural cover and I had on a pair of green carhart britches and a brownish gray carhart type shirt jacket.  Quiver fletched with yeller feathers.  No face mask no hat or nothing.  I think it was in flight to catch up with the earlier bird and must have had it interest on it.  Wasn't coming in for the catch, i probably scared it more than it scared me.  I have had owls and hawks catch squirrels, chimpmunks, etc right near me before, and that was pretty neat.  I was hunting a field edge one morning and a cotton tail rabbit was about 10 yards in front of me picking on clover and a great horned owl perched on a limb eye level in the tree I was hung in then dropped in on the rabbit right in front of me.  It was amazing the silence at which it all took place.

Camo definately works.  If you doubt its effectiveness spend some time trying to fool public land gobblers without wearing it.

[gregg dudley]

I had a bald eagle come over me so low on Monday that I heard him before I saw him.  He wasn't after me and I'm glad of it!  He wasn't five yards over my head when he passed over.  Sounded like a jet!

[gregg dudley]

Another time I was hunting out of a homemade ladder stand that was sixteen feet tall.  There was an eight inch pine that was topped off right at eye level to me about eight feet to the side of my stand.  I heard a noise in the predawn and turned to see a big owl flare as he landed on that "stump".  I jumped so much that I have  no idea how I managed to stay in that tree!

[Sharpend60]

I once was sitting on a ridge line, watching 3 bucks come up the hill towards me. I was out in the open wearing a leafy suit. I was looking for bears, had no dear tag... It was an easy shot on those deer btw.

About 30 yards away I saw my brother frantically waving, as I looked over I saw a Peregrine Falcon fly 8 inches from my face. Apparently It thought I was a bush and tried to perch on my head. My bro said it came once, tried to land, hovering inches over my head and was coming in  second time when I saw his waving.

I tell ya what 3d camo works wonders.

[JO_EZ]

Those are some cool bird stories.
I had a red tailed hawk fly past me from behind close enough to grab a wing, if I knew he was coming. He glided out and landed in a scrub oak just a little ways from two bucks, which were passing through about 80 yards away as the sun set behind them. That was almost 30 years ago, but I'll never forget it.

[Bladepeek]

While in Germany, I was walking back to the car from a tree stand when I saw a rabbit coming straight at my down the lane. I don't think he ever saw me as he went between my legs, trying to get away from the owl that was hot on his heels. The owl flared a bit and just cleared my shoulder and they both disappeared around a curve in the lane. I ran back, but no sign of either of them. Sure was exciting for a second!

[Duker]

Walking to my deer stand before light,my fedora type hat was hit by a owl and knocked off my head.Since then I always walked to my stand holding my bow straight up.  

[buckeye_hunter]

I had a hawk, not sure what kind, come straight for the uncamouflaged eye area on my face once. That was the only part of my body without camo that day.

I was sitting there watching him in a tree out in the middle of the field. When he hopped off the branch and took flight I though it was pretty cool. As he flew my way, I was thinking he would fly right past and I would get a good look at him. I didn't realize I was his intended target!

I had to wave him off at about 4 feet or he would have slammed right into my face. It completely threw me off guard. I just kept watching him thinking he would go right past me. As he got closer I kept telling myself "No way, he isn't coming for me." I kept saying that until it was apparent that he was going to tag me. I waved my arms and he hung a sharp left. I could have smacked him out of the air. Cool experience!

[DeCurry]

While sitting at the base of a tree, had a young hawk perch on a limb in a nearby tree and take notice of me in my ASAT camo; he just kept staring and bobbing his head, trying to make sense of me.  At one point, he took flight and came right at me, turning on his side and flying right past my face within 5 feet or so with one wingtip pointed at the sky and the other at the ground, his eyes locked on mine.  He zipped around my tree and right back to his perch.  He did this 3 or 4 times before finally leaving.  It's one of my most favorite memories of nature.

My last hunt two weeks ago, I'm sitting in my ground blind on the edge of a field and these squirrels are moving around in the trees directly behind me.  I turned around to watch them a bit.  Just as I turn around to check the field, an owl was coming in straight at me, saw my movement, pulled up and banked away about 10 feet from my face.  I almost needed a change of shorts.

Another time in a ground blind between some short cedar trees, I had some small animals all around the cedar trees in my area.  Suddenly every hair on my neck stood up and I heard this "whoooosh" sound.  A hawk flew just arm's length over my head, gliding straight into the base of a large cedar tree in front of me.  It was like someone fired a gun in a night club: jack rabbits, cotton tails, birds, squirrels, you name it -- they all came running out of there going every direction.  It was eerie, awesome and hilarious all at the same time.

I frequently have an issue while wearing my ASAT leafy suit with buzzards coming low to the ground and trying to check me out any time I'm out in the open.  Have had a number of close encounters with them, but thankfully just swatting the air with a free hand or my bow gets them to go away; I think they're just curious to see what in the world I am.

[7 Lakes]

Had a single goose down feather tied to my bow's top limb with a piece of thread to keep the breeze in mind.  One morning just as the sun was ready to rise, this huge white owl swept down and grabbed the tip of my bow ( I think he was trying to land).  He flapped his wings several times in my face and tried to fly away with my bow.  I wish I had seen it happen to someone else but I never want another owl in my face.

[misfire]

It was an afternoon hunt, sitting in my tree stand thinking to myself how quiet it was. There was'nt a stitch of wind. All of a sudden right directly in front of me maybe thirty yards out there materialized a Redtailed hawk, wings stretched out, on a direct path to my head. I remember pushing my back against the tree wondering how much this was going to hurt. Maybe about ten yards before impact he decended hitting the ground behind me. I turned to see him mantaling over something. He gave me one of those sideways glances and took off. That's when I saw the tail of the little field mouse clutched in his talons.