A Florida woman has a unique problem outside of her Sarasota business. A pair of nesting hawks is attacking anyone who walks through the front yard.
“Everybody, the minute you go in the walkway here, you get attacked,” business owner Odalys Hayes said.
Hayes called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to come investigate, only for the birds to attack an FWC officer who responded.
A man who cuts her grass was attacked, and her own son and husband have been attacked. She said her husband was wearing a helmet when one of the birds hit his head.
“He’s wearing a helmet, got attacked eight times on Wednesday, last Wednesday taking the garbage out,” Hayes said. “He almost lost balance and fell down.”
Hayes said her son was not wearing a helmet, and a bird’s talons injured his head.
“Oh, yeah, very bad, he was all cut up,” Hayes said.
The FWC, however, had advised Hayes that the hawks are a protected species, and she is limited in what actions she can take, at least at this time of year.
” I can’t do anything, at all, anything, period, when the nest is there,” Hayes said.
David Voykin works with Gulfshore Bird Away, and it’s his business to get rid of problem birds. But even he would be limited in what he can do with the hawks.
“Out where we are talking about, hawks are going to be hawks, and they are going to rule the land, and with the guidelines from the FWC, they are protected,” Voykin said.
Voykin suggested removing the nest after the fledglings are out and then putting up noisemakers and shiny objects to deter the birds from coming back.
“In the short term, something flashy that would give them a scare or a visual deterrent,” Voykin suggested. “And some people say hang wind chimes.”
In the meantime, Hayes is advising the customers of her business to be careful.
“We making sure that we tell them, you know, to park really close to the roof,” Hayes said.
