raptor deterrents

[turttle]

HawkWatch International - Keeping Raptors Out: Why HWI undertook a project to minimize raptor presence in Wyoming

HawkWatch International is conducting research to see if adding perch guards (which look like putting rake tines on) on power poles and their cross ties, will deter raptors and ravens from perching on them. Apparently putting in new powerlines across previously open areas, in this case a prairie in southern Wyoming, creates perches where previously there were none. There is concern that the added perches will allow the raptors to prey more effectively on the Sage Grouse, Sage Thrasher, and Pygmy Rabbit in that area, all of which are "of management concern".

I have frequently seen hawks on power/telephone poles/street lights etc, especially alongside highways, but had never really thought of this as an unfair advantage for them to have over their prey. Given how much habitat we have taken from these raptors, do they deserve to have a few man-made perches or should we take the side of the prey animals?

[Sage]

Gudgreef! As a raptor lover I am appalled at such a complaint. Most raptors focus mainly on rodents, mice, rats, and even snakes.

[amelanchier]

This issue is really only a concern in the shortgrass prairie and desert regions of the country, where trees were originally virtually nonexistent.

[turttle]

I guess I am on the raptor's side on this, too. Good grief, indeed.

[Equilibrium]

With everybody and their brother out there cutting down and hauling off snags for.... aesthetic reasons... I guess I just don't see what the big deal is. Think of it as giving raptors back something we keep taking away from them.... a not-so-strategically located place to hang out to find a meal below.

[turttle]

I agree. These raptor deterrents were in places that didn't have trees before, but we are eliminating enough of their natural habitat that giving them a leg up elsewhere seems not unreasonable, although the local denizens might disagree.

[amelanchier]

Well, it's tough, because the species they're trying to protect, like sage grouse and pygmy rabbit, are threatened & have limited geographic ranges.

[Runmede]

A few years ago, I took a class on Birds of Prey. Hawks miss their prey about 80-90% of the time.

Birds of prey make White Bear Lake man's day | StarTribune.com
Last paragraph on page 2
"Red-tailed hawks and other aerial predators miss their prey between 80 and 90 percent of the time. It's true these birds have evolved throughout history to hunt efficiently enough to survive. But prey species such as rabbits and mice have developed their own survival techniques."

[Equilibrium]

amelanchier> "Well, it's tough, because the species they're trying to protect, like sage grouse and pygmy rabbit, are threatened & have limited geographic ranges." You have an extremely valid point.... for that site. I shoulda read the article instead of just the title and replies.

[benj1]

Originally Posted by Runmede

"Red-tailed hawks and other aerial predators miss their prey between 80 and 90 percent of the time. It's true these birds have evolved throughout history to hunt efficiently enough to survive. But prey species such as rabbits and mice have developed their own survival techniques."

Which brings us back to the "balance of nature" concept. Both predator and prey species have survived in a remarkable natural balance, although we know the balance is more like a see-saw. Every winter I am entertained by the downy woodpeckers, who freeze in position whenever they sense danger from above. The cruising raptor, not detecting any movement, will eventually spot a target elsewhere.

Putting power-line poles in a treeless plain will upset the natural balance that was in effect there. A new balance might not be achieved in which the endangered species survive.