Harris Hawk in Flight
By William Leroy
I live in the Rio Verde Foothills and we are blessed to enjoy a very connected, supportive community. Most locals still wave when you drive by and we are quick to jump and help a neighbor in trouble, whether it is a lost horse, dog or grading the neighborhood road after a rain.
On Super bowl Sunday the power in our neighborhood flickered on and off for about three or four seconds. Obviously, our local bulletin board was immediately filled with folks asking questions about the outage and wondering what might have caused it. After a few minutes, one of our neighbors advised that he had observed a hawk hitting the power pole in the front of his property and wondered if that might have been the cause of the outage. As a Wild At Heart volunteer, I was immediately concerned for the hawks welfare and, if necessary, I wanted to ensure that the hawk was disposed of with respect, and as a federally protected species.
I contacted the folks in question and the next day I drove over to meet them and retrieve the hawk’s body for examination and burial. Upon examination, I observed that hawk in question was an adult Harris Hawk and that he had indeed been killed by electrocution. The tail feathers were almost completely burned off. I also discovered something else which was equally tragic. The hawk exhibited early signs of poisoning (blood in the feathers).
I am not sure how many folks understand that just about all rat or rodent poisons contain agents like warfarin that prevents blood from clotting. The poison does not kill the affected rat or rodent immediately. The rodent eats the poison but is killed slowly over a day or so. In the meantime hawks and / or owls will pick them up and feed. Then the hawk or owl will eventually die as well, due to internal bleeding. The hawk’s feathers are hollow and filled with blood, and the poison bursts the blood vessels, which causes them to hemorrhage out of their feathers. The hawk will also slowly go blind, because of the retinal hemorrhages caused by the anticoagulant agent in the poison.
In the case of this poor Harris Hawk, the most likely scenario is that the hawk ate an affected rodent, and was in the last stages of poisoning. With the poison slowly killing the hawk from the inside out, and with its eyesight and coordination affected, he landed in the wrong spot on the power pole and was electrocuted.
Folks need to read the labels before putting the rodent poison out for random wildlife consumption. Did you know that these products also present a significant health threat to all other wildlife, humans, domestic dogs, and cats? Secondary poisoning has been documented in such top predators as mountain lions and bobcats.
The bottom-line is this: There is no safe rat poison! Do not take the word of pest control operators – do your own research by looking up the Material Data Sheets for the active ingredient in any pesticide or rodenticide that a pest control company recommends! Commercial rodenticides contain an anti-coagulant rodenticide called brodifacoum (broh-dif’-a-coom) that causes secondary poisoning when raptors consume rodents that have been poisoned.
In studies in both California and New York, brodifacoum was found to account for 80 percent of the secondary poisonings by rodenticides, even though it accounted for only 20 percent of sales. Brodifacoum is found in the following commonly used products: D-con, Talon, and Havoc. It is extremely dangerous to birds through secondary exposure. It can harm pets as well if they consume a poisoned rodent. It is marketed as a “single feed” rodenticide, but the rodent takes several days to die and during that time it can continue feeding on the poison, so that is extremely toxic if eaten by a predator. The poison causes thirst which causes the rodent to go outdoors in search of water and this is when it is likely to get preyed on by raptors or cats. Brodifacoum and other commonly used rodenticides are currently under review by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to concerns about harmful effects on wildlife and the accidental poisonings of pets and children. There is NO safe rat poison that can be used around pets. Rodenticides are designed to kill. Treat any statement that products can be “safely” used with caution.
If you truly do value our unique Arizona wildlife, and in particular our eagles, hawks, flcons and owls, then please take the time to educate yourself about these products and find alternative methods to address your particular rodent issues.
About Wild At Heart
Wild At Heart is an all-volunteer organization which is dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Arizona’s native wildlife. At Wild At Heart we: Rescue, rehabilitate, and release birds of prey which have been injured or orphaned. Relocate displaced burrowing owls. Manage species recovery programs. Manage habitat enhancement projects. Provide educational presentations. Each year, Wild At Heart rescues and cares for approximately 400 owls, hawks, and falcons, and some years, as many as 600 raptors have been cared for in the facility. Every single dollar donated goes towards the rescue, rehabilitation, care and release of our amazing Arizona Birds of Prey. Wild At Heart is an all-volunteer non-profit 501(c) 3 organization. Support for Wild At Heart comes from generous members of the community who are concerned about our ever-decreasing wildlife habitats.
Please send your tax-deductible donations to “Wild At Heart” at the following address: Wild At Heart, 31840 N. 45th Street, Cave Creek, Arizona. 85331. For additional information regarding how you can support Wild At Heart please go to: http://www.wildatheartowls.org/ Visit Website
Recent Comments