Flaco and birds of prey in NYC

I've always loved birds but will admit that it has definitely become more of an interest since turning 40 (see my post on that here). Today, I want to write specifically about birds of prey in living in New York City.

If you're like me, you might be surprised to learn that owls and hawks live in the city that never sleeps but, they do. I decided to include this blog in my Earth Week series as it is important that we understand the innerworkings of our ecosystem and that we aren't just killing one animal we view as a "pest," we're actually putting other animals at risk. Animals we describe as majestic, those we may even feel lucky to see while wandering the streets of NY. Keep reading to see what I mean.

The Instagram post below this paragraph is about a Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco. Flaco died after a window collision, he was likely disoriented and suffering from effects from consuming prey who had eaten rodenticide.

This is Boho, she was a red-tailed hawk who also died because she ate prey who had consumed rodenticide.

Maybe in this moment you're feeling sad for Flaco and Boho but are concerned about the rat population in NYC or other large cities. Maybe, it seems like that's just the breaks, we can't have rats just overrunning the cities, right?!

Through the Wild Bird Funds' post about Boho, I found the organization RATS (Raptors are the Solution) whose focus is educating the masses about the dangers of rodenticides and the impact it has not just on birds of prey but our ecosystems as a whole. Poisons passing through the food chain cannot be a positive outcome for anyone.

There has to be a better way.