Eric Klein has positioned himself as a vigilante of sorts in his Austin, Texas neighborhood. He caught an attack on camera, and he’s actively plotting methods to keep himself and his neighbors safe.
But Klein isn’t fighting a person. His ire is drawn by a group of swift, winged perpetrators who have made their homes in the trees high above his. If Batman gets his name from his fear of bats, Klein is South Austin’s Hawkman.
The hawks’ presence briefly halted mail delivery in parts of the neighborhood and has caused residents to fear leaving their homes. Multiple people have been attacked by the birds, which use their talons to scratch the heads, necks and backs of those running down the street, mowing their lawns or walking to their cars.
On several occasions, those attacks have drawn blood.
“They’re majestic, beautiful animals, but like, it sucks,” said Alfredo Del Barrio, who lives in the house behind the hawks’ tree. “We can’t even walk out to an Uber. I run out to Ubers with my arms covering my head.”
The hawks have inhabited trees in the neighborhood for at least three years, residents told the Austin American-Statesman. They’ve been seen from early March through mid-July, tending to their nests and feeding their hatchlings. No one has positively identified the species, though some have guessed they are red-shouldered or broad-winged hawks.
The birds’ territorial behavior is likely a result of efforts to protect their young, said Jessica Alderson, urban wildlife technical guidance program leader at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. They usually choose to nest in environments in which they feel comfortable raising their fledglings without potential threats, but that’s not always the case. Nests built near residential areas are common, Alderson said, and the hawks are reacting to humans the way they would to any predator.
Residents believe the hawks have left their nests in the neighborhood for the year, but their absence has done little to mitigate the effects of their attacks.
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Hawk attacks pause mail delivery, force residents to adapt
In early July, Axios Austin reported the U.S. Postal Service had temporarily paused mail delivery services on Milam Place and Kenwood Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood of Travis Heights due to hawk attacks. Homeowners were instructed to pick up their mail at the South Congress Post Office until the issue was resolved.
Klein said the mail carrier who delivers to his house approached him personally to tell him of the stoppage. The carrier continued to deliver mail as long as he could, Klein said, but paused his route when the hawk started attacking him head-on.
A spokesperson for the postal service wrote in an email that mail carriers have resumed delivery on a day-to-day basis “where and when it is safe to do so.”
Klein, who caught himself being attacked on camera, said he and his neighbors have experienced something akin to post traumatic stress disorder because of the hawks.
“PTSD isn’t the official (diagnosis) because that’s a real thing that affects people in serious ways, but there are a lot of us who get hit by this bird and now we see a shadow or hear a bird and we jump,” Klein said. “It’s a really big deal. I’m standing in my driveway with an umbrella, and I’ve had neighbors walk by and laugh. I kind of think to myself, ‘Yeah, I get it. I would laugh too, but you haven’t been cut open by this guy.'”
Klein said he’s heard of at least six people who were attacked. He and his neighbors have taken to using umbrellas and colorful streamers to deter the birds. Del Barrio said he believes the hawks don’t attack people walking in groups or with dogs.
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Residents face few options for hawk removal, relocation
While the birds are living in Travis Heights, residents don’t have many avenues to get rid of them, Alderson said. Hawks, no matter the species, are protected by Texas and federal laws, which make it illegal to catch, kill, injure, pursue or possess them. Their nests are protected if they’re actively being used.
Once hawks raise their young and teach them to fly and hunt on their own, they tend to disburse throughout their environments, Alderson said, which gives residents a brief window of opportunity to act when the hawks are away. Unused nests are able to be removed, but they must be disposed of properly in the trash.
“I would pay $10,000 just to get those birds in a sanctuary,” Del Barrio laughed. “And that’s because it hasn’t hit me. If it hit me, you could run that dollar amount up.”
There are other methods to dissuade the birds from returning, Alderson said. Hawks don’t typically reuse nests year after year, but they usually return to the same area. If homeowners trim tree canopies and thin out overlapping branches, hawks are less likely to make their nests in those areas.
Alderson recommended residents who want to eradicate the hawks hang reflective tape or streamers in trees to act as visual deterrents. Brush piles and bird feeders may attract rodents on which hawks feed, so removing those elements may encourage the birds to build their nests elsewhere.
That may not be best for the ecosystem, though.
“I know it can be frustrating for individuals if they’re dealing with these (attacks),” Alderson said. “But it is really important to realize that hawks play a critical role in our ecosystem. They’re great rodent control, and so they do a great job of keeping those populations in check for us, especially in our urban environments.”
Instead of attempting to deter the hawks, Alderson suggested preparing for their presence, which Klein intends to do.
Next April, Klein plans on making signs and hanging them around Travis Heights to warn his neighbors and postal carriers of the hawks’ potential return. He said he wants to include a QR code for people to scan if they’re attacked so he can determine the frequency and location of the attacks.
“I know it’s happening, but none of us report it regularly … I just think maybe we need more accurate information,” he said. “I look at it like, ‘OK, how can we all work together to improve this?'”
