Rat Poison Kills More Than Rats

Two turkey vultures were circling overhead this morning riding the thermals of warm air rising over the valley. 

Every fall, turkey vultures migrate through Southern California on their way to wintering and breeding grounds to the south. You would think that passing through the Los Angeles area would be safe, but a silent threat is in our streets and neighborhoods, a threat to predators and especially carrion eaters: rat poison.

Just the other day a friend snapped this photo of a young turkey vulture on the ground in her backyard. It is unusual for a turkey vulture to land on the ground in a confined space. Getting off the ground is not easy for these large birds. 

When the young vulture didn't leave and seemed like it needed help, she contacted the Ojai Raptor Center - a nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates birds of prey. The rescue people came out, contained the young bird and promised to keep my friend informed on the bird's status.

Before the end of the day, she found out that the young vulture died due to rat poison in it system.

A rat had taken poison bait from one of those black, green, or beige bait boxes that are all over town. There is one at the drive-through Starbucks at my corner. They're in the parking structure at the mall. Sometimes they are around people's homes. Twice now, I've seen dead poisoned rats in the drive through at Starbucks; their toxic bodies laying there to be found by another animal. When a rat takes toxic bait, it doesn't die in the box. It wanders out into the world, a poison-laced meal for the animals we need to keep rodents in control. 

red-tailed hawk, photo courtesy of Brad Tanas

From coyotes to mountain lions, red-tailed hawks and great horned owls, to turkey vultures and pets, rat poison kills much more than rats. Let's stop this. Let's find another way to deal with rodent populations. Rat poison doesn't stop rats, it indiscriminately kills other animals.

Turkey Vultures Migrate Too

Not all migratory birds are beautiful songbirds, like warblers and orioles, or dynamic shore birds like sandpipers and ducks.

Turkey vultures are migratory birds too. We are just seeing the tail end of the groups that fly through Southern California headed north and east for the summer. The west end of the San Fernando Valley provides numerous stop-over sites for these under appreciated birds as they return from southern wintering grounds as far away as South America.

Though the turkey vulture has a large wingspan–68 - 72 inches–most only weigh between 3-6 lbs. Their light weight body and wide wings enable them to travel great distances without flapping a wing. Turkey vultures can soar great distances riding the thermals in the air currents 3-4,000 feet above the ground. The upturned "V" shape of the wings acts like a kite and it is a clue that the bird you are watching is a turkey vulture and not a hawk. Hawks tend of hold their wings more flat.

While turkey vultures are masterful at soaring, taking off can be a challenge, especially from the ground. (Or if their wings are wet from rain or heavy dew. See video of turkey vulture drying its wings.)

Starting from a lofty position makes taking to the air easier. Migrating turkey vultures look for roosting sites high in trees and/or near areas with rising thermals. They will ride rising warm air by making wide circles gradually increasing their altitude. This is called "kettling." (Some mornings in the fall when the turkey vultures are in larger groups migrating south, the Ventura (405) Freeway grinds to a halt with anxious commuters wondering why 40-50 vultures are circling over the highway.)

For turkey vultures a stand of large trees is an important temporary roost during migration. These birds may not be beautiful in a Western tanager sense, but they are vital components of a healthy environment. Turkey vultures eat the dead and help complete the cycle of life. The site of a turkey vulture overhead is a hopeful sign for a healthy environment.

Turkey Vultures In Los Angeles

Over the past 4 days people all across North America have been counting birds for science. Great Backyard Bird Count.

I submitted seven lists in the Los Angeles Area. They ranged from the seashore at Malibu Lagoon to Griffith Park in the heart of Los Angeles, to the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve and a parking lot at a strip mall.

Some of the data recorded:

• 31 brown pelicans at Malibu Lagoon and 24 dead pelicans, one of the theories is that the ocean currents have altered the availability of fish. The fish have gone deeper and brown pelicans are not deep divers. Dolphins push fish to the surface where seabirds can also benefit, but this isn't happening. The brown pelicans that have stayed locally are starving.
• decreased numbers of double-crested cormorants and white pelicans (other fish-eating bird)
• spotted towhees, shy birds that I rarely see only in my yard, sited at 6 locations
• large populations of hummingbirds, including a chick in a nest in my yard
• migrating turkey vultures
  

Video of turkey vulture warming in the sun.

Turkey vultures migrate through the Los Angeles area every year. A number of these large black birds roost in a group of tall trees beside the Ventura Fwy near the intersection with Balboa Blvd. As the morning air warms and begins to rise, the turkey vultures circle over the freeway. As they circle, they ride the rising thermals up high into the air. This is called kettling. Turkey vultures eat carrion or dead things. They aren't a threat to humans or pets and they are vital members of the Earth's clean up crew.

Get to know the shape of the turkey vulture as it soars overhead. These birds travel all the way down into South America to breed during the winter and then return. When I see the "TV"s soaring over the freeway in the morning, I always wonder: Where have they come from? I know some of them have been places I would love to see. And where are they going?