Red-tailed hawk found ill in Montgomery County dies

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A red-tailed hawk that was found sick by police in Montgomery County has died from what is believed to be rodenticide poisoning. The bird's caretakers say everyday products many of us use to eradicate pests are hurting the food chain.

“Every patient that comes into our care has been negatively impacted by humans in some way or another,” said Sydney Glisan, assistant director of wildlife rehabilitation at the Schuylkill Center Wildlife Clinic . She and director Stephanie Stundon cared for the young red-tailed hawk, which died within days of being brought to the nonprofit in distress in late September.

“He was very thin, dehydrated,” said Stundon. “He wasn’t really sure where he was in the world. That's an easy way to say it.”

The hawk was found in Kenealy Nature Park in Gladwyne. He had eaten rodents containing a toxic level of blood thinners, an ingredient used in commonly available pest control products.

“You would think that your poison would just immediately kill the mouse,” said Glisan. “It does not. They will continue on, They will keep having babies and then get caught by a bird or other predator."

If you need to get rid of rodents, the nonprofit recommends sealing up entry points to the building and using snap traps over poison or glue traps.
While the clinic couldn’t save the hawk, it has been able to save many other animals, including an adult great horned owl that was hit by a car. She was returned to the wild, though she suffered severe ocular trauma.