The United States Postal Service (USPS) in early July suspended mail service in parts of Austin’s Travis Heights neighborhood after a series of disruptive attacks from nesting hawks, according to Axios Austin.
Residents of the central Texas neighborhood must pick up their mail at a local post office until it’s safe for mail carriers to deliver, USPS spokesperson Becky Hernandez told Axios. The USPS reportedly suspended service for an unknown number of weeks.
“It is illegal to destroy a nest that has eggs or chicks in it or if the fledglings are still dependent on the nest for survival,” Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Blake Hendon told Axios. (RELATED: Couple Rescues Bald Eagles That Crashed Into Each Other, Free Fell Into River In Maine)
First reported by @axios Austin, USPS has temporarily halted mail delivery in this South Austin neighborhood because of an aggressive hawk.
This is one of the stranger stories I’ve covered…
More at 5 & 6 tonight on @fox7austin pic.twitter.com/7Q333yi5LF— Carissa Lehmkuhl (@CarissaonFOX7) July 10, 2023
Hawk attacks are common in the neighborhood, which saw mail service suspended in 2022, resident Eric Klein told Axios. Klein, who can see hawks’ nests from his home, said he now carries an umbrella with him when he leaves the house. “When you live right by the nest, it’s different,” Klein told the outlet. “Everybody else just sees it flying around and thinks they’re pretty.”
Residents have to keep a keen eye out for the territorial birds, which are allegedly disrupting everyday activity in the neighborhood. “Imagine walking out of your house and knowing that you’re going to get punched in the back of the head by an animal with large talons,” resident Alfred Del Barrio told FOX7 Austin.
Del Barrio said he’s been able to avoid attacks by keeping an eye out for the birds’ shadows and ducking under cars and awnings, but his brother has apparently not been as lucky. “My brother was on a run, and he thought I punched him in the back of the head, which I haven’t done in 15 years,” Del Barrior told FOX7.
The birds have been a particular nuisance to construction workers, Del Barrio added. “The construction guys … get divebombs on their hardhats, so you just hear a thump on the hardhats on the construction workers.”