On Wednesday, August 14, one of the Tompkins Square hawk fledglings was picked up by Urban Park Rangers and taken to Wild Bird Fund. At the time, the hawk had been on the ground in the skateboard area of the park and was unable to fly. Staff at WBF are treating the hawk for rodenticide poisoning and a possible collision (which could have been caused by disorientation due to poisoning). The hawk is apparently improving, but still requires treatment.
Rodenticide poisoning is always my primary concern for all of our urban hawks. Tompkins Square does not use rodenticide (they use dry ice to control rats), but poison can be found all over the neighborhood and city. The hawks get sick and die after eating rats that have ingested the poison. Hawks are not the only victims - any predator that consumes poisoned rats is affected. After losing raptors, owls, mountain lions, bobcats, and other wildlife to rodenticide, California is taking steps to ban certain types of poison.
According to the linked article (in California),
"Unintended poisoning harms people too. There were more than 3,000 cases of anticoagulant rodenticide poisonings involving people in 2022, including at least 2,200 involving children younger than 6."
This is not just a wildlife issue, but also a public health issue. The non-toxic dry ice program in Tompkins has worked really well to control rats in the park. Every month, NYC offers free training on rat prevention (Rat Academy) which I highly recommend. It's geared towards building maintenance staff, supers, and garden organizers, but is open to everyone. The key is rat prevention - taking care of our garbage problem will take care of the rat problem.
Raptors Are The Solution (R.A.T.S.) is a great resource for learning more about rodenticide poisoning and how to take action.
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