It isn’t hard, unless your yard is huge. And if they’re, like, sitting on a fence, you might just have to get close. The BB pinging off the fence may be enough to make them wary.
Another thing to think of is… what is along that trajectory if you miss and it doesn’t just bounce off the fence? Don’t want to be breaking windows.
Somewhere, I have a BB pistol that my grandfather used to use to chase of cats that were doing stinkies in his bushes or flowerbeds. (and possibly pissing on his basement windows) It was spring loaded pin propelled, not an air gun, so it didn’t have much power, so it was just enough to annoy the cats and drive them away, not pierce the skin. That would work, too.
I have a 10’ soundwall in my backyard. The fences on either side are 8’. If I miss, it might go over the soundwall and hit a car…
Sounds like you won’t need it for the hawk, thanks to the owl. 
It would work on the opossum, too, and you wouldn’t need to worry about going over the wall/fence, but catching him in the act is a whole other problem. I wonder if there is something you could sprinkle around the plants that the critter wouldn’t like the smell of… like maybe cinnamon?
I might try cinnamon along the areas of fence that I think it’s crawling under. I fear that’s a urban legend, though. I’ll try it anyway because not only has it eaten all of my big ripe tomatoes, it’s probably also scaring my quail.
I did a quick Google search. Apparently, they mix cinnamon in with poison baits, to mask the scent, so I doubt cinnamon would work. But mothballs might!
Another site said to mix Cayenne pepper with Tabasco sauce, water and detergent, and spray the mix on trashcans or whatever they’re getting into. Would detergent hurt the plants?
If I were to put down a deterrent it has to be cat safe, and I’ll put it along my fence where they’re getting in to the yard, not just around the garden beds. That way the garden and my quail are safe. Raccoons, skunks, and 'possums will all eat quail given the opportunity. Apparently everything likes to eat quail.
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This just attracts possums who like spicey food.
Admittedly, that’s one reason you’re raising them!
I wonder if motion-activated lights or similar would be helpful at all?
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They’re probably not cajun possums. 
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Good one!!
This is my wife’s favorite Cajun possum, though:
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“Let the good 'possums roll” 
Planted a couple of cherry tomatos and a new chilli (seeds). All of my existing chilli and tomato plants died due to the winter and dry spring.
This time I plan to take a tomato plant in to work and have fresh cherry tomatos for lunch. And maybe a chilli plant as well. Will have to see where I can put it where it can’t be molested by other people.
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As for housesitting, we do housesit other people’s, never had any complaints. Plants get watered, animals fed etc.
Welcome to our world where all your hard work growing plants and other veggies are rewarded by the sight of birds or chickens eating it all
We plan to put geodesic domes up to protect the plants etc, been saving up some money for our first dome project.
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My poor quail hen. She didn’t give me an egg last night, but tonight she gave me one the size of a small chicken egg!
Planted cherry tomato seedlings out into the garden this morning.
This time round we’ll plant a lot of these since the tomatoes do grow well in our soil. Last year we had three or four, and they were not enough.
We want to stop using tomatoes from the shop/market, because every time we eat these ($wife and myself) our hands are sore almost like gout.
Other times that we eat our own, we don’t experience these symptoms. And ours do taste sweeter and better.
Edit : matchstick was there to act as marker for chilli seeds which did not sprout at all.
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Seedlings dieded 
Planted them out too soon.
Have prepared a new batch, but will let them grow for a longer time before I plant these out.
You can always start them inside and then transplant when the weather is better and they’re stronger.