Pale Male

[Donna]

http://youtu.be/QBufBWOYhvY and look what he's eating.

Pale Male in the late summer and early fall seems to fall into a routine in the late afternoon.  Hunting near the Great Lawn, eating a meal, and then going to roost.  He's begun that pattern once again.

Urban Hawks

http://youtu.be/s1_WZOqQM20 The healthy fledgling

[jeanne]

Oh no!!!!  He never used to eat rats

[Donna]

Oh no!!!!  He never used to eat rats

Not good!

[jeanne]

I don't want him to get ill or die for a big change to happen.  I didn't see the link to the petition on the site

[Kris G.]

I don't want him to get ill or die for a big change to happen.  I didn't see the link to the petition on the site

The Pale Male site has been black for 2 days.   Here's the link to the petition:

http://www.change.org/petitions/new-york-state-department-of-environmental-conservation-stop-the-murder-of-our-red-tail-hawks-in-nyc

[Kris G.]

Pale Male's Baby Hawks Can't Come Home Until Rat Poison is Removed - DNAinfo.com New York

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120813/upper-west-side-morningside-heights/pale-males-baby-hawks-cant-come-home-until-rat-poison-removed.

[jeanne]

Thanks, Kris for both posts.  Sheesh.  This is just so sad. 

[NoraH]

And the boathouse taken care of by the Parks Dept. of all people still uses it  

About ten years ago I had a rat problem as many people did that year.  I didn't want to use rat poison because of my dogs and cat, but couldn't get them in traps and they were multiplying.  My feed store guy told me about E-Raze.  It's made by the company that uses the third category.  Their poisons contain zinc phosphide which produces a gas in the stomach and kills the rats.  Less danger to cats, dogs, and such because they can throw up, rats can't, and it's not a systemic poison.  What I'm wondering if something like this would pose a lower threat to the hawks than the anticoagulant types.  The way I understand it that is doesn't get/stay in the tissues of the rat.  ???  I will say I had quite the "herd" out there and within 24 hours not one.  I'm sure it killed some, some was probably taken to their home and killed more, but when the rats have a death problem the others will leave the area.  I was amazed.

I found this telling the three categories of poisons at http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/rodenticides/finalriskdecision.htm

Differences Among the Rodenticides - The ten rodenticide active ingredients covered by this action can be divided into three categories:

first-generation anticoagulants: warfarin, chlorophacinone, and diphacinone;
second-generation anticoagulants: brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difenacoum, and difethialone; and
non-anticoagulants: bromethalin, cholecalciferol and zinc phosphide.

The anticoagulants interfere with blood clotting, and death can result from excessive bleeding. Bromethalin is a nerve toxicant that causes respiratory distress. Cholecalciferol is vitamin D3, which in small dosages is needed for good health in most mammals, but in massive doses is toxic, especially to rodents. Zinc phosphide causes liberation of toxic phosphine gas in the stomach.

The second-generation anticoagulants are especially hazardous for several reasons. They are highly toxic, and they persist a long time in body tissues. The second-generation anticoagulants are designed to be toxic in a single feeding, but since time-to-death is several days, rodents can feed multiple times before death, leading to carcasses containing residues that may be many times the lethal dose. Predators or scavengers that feed on those poisoned rodents may consume enough to suffer harm.

The "rat/rodent killer" I got was through Motomco  http://www.motomco.com/p_products.htm

[Bonnie]

If they would just leave the rats alone and let the red tails eat them, that might solve their problem.  Plus, keeping the garbage area very neat and tidy helps a lot, too.  And yes, if two or three rats die, the others leave. 

[Kris G.]

I asked WINORR on FB if anyone could give a recent update about the babies and got this today:

 "PaleMale's 2 offspring are doing much better. The first one appears fully recovered and unscathed by the ordeal . The second one has still not completely regained all its abilities and acts neurologic ,slightly unbalanced occassionally. It hasn't returned to the sharp attentive bird its sibling is but we are hopeful in time it may. A plan or time for release has not been determined yet as it will take much consideration as to where and when they are fully capable if not retruned to their family for necessary training for the best chance for survival."

[MAK]

 

[Carol P.]

Thanks Kris!  This is good news.   

[Bonnie]

Maybe they will bring the juvies up to Croton.  There might be enough rats and mice to go around.  Plus, they would have two others the same age around.

[Kris G.]

More good news! Lincoln has posted pics of Pale Male and Zena in their nest yesterday so she has returned and is OK!   

[Annette]

More good news! Lincoln has posted pics of Pale Male and Zena in their nest yesterday so she has returned and is OK!