Somerville Hawk Dies Of Rat Poison

A Somerville Red-tailed hawk (pictured above) that died in December 2023 has tested positive for high levels of an extremely toxic class of rat poisons known as Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs). In particular, an analysis of female red-tailed hawk’s liver revealed she had been exposed to Brodifacoum and Difethialone, according to a necropsy report conducted by Kansas State University and ordered by Cape Ann Wildlife.

Somerville resident Morgan Pinney knew something was wrong with the hawk, who was huddled among some trash cans in her neighbor’s yard in the Union Square area on the Saturday afternoon of November 25, 2023.

“Her wing was kind of drooped,” says Pinney, who was familiar with and had a fondness for the hawk.

Pinney attempted to contact the City of Somerville for assistance with the injured bird but could not reach anyone. She finally contacted the wild bird rehabilitation center, Cape Ann Wildlife, which admitted the hawk for treatment. While the hawk responded well to treatment at first and was stable for a few days, her vitals crashed and she passed away.

The City of Somerville currently uses SGARs on their municipal properties. The City also has a program that distributes bait stations containing SGARs to private residents via pest control companies.

SGARs prevent the blood from clotting in whomever ingests it, often causing fatal internal hemorrhaging. Any animal that eats a rodent that has consumed SGARs, including foxes, skunks, hawks, and owls–as well as cats and dogs–can also become ill and die.

This Red-tailed hawk is just the latest casualty in a series of tragic animal deaths from SGARs poisoning in the area.

Since 2021, three Bald eagles in Massachusetts have died of SGARs poisoning–all located in the Boston MetroWest region. Bald eagles were endangered in Massachusetts until 2012 and are presently listed as a Species of Special Concern on the Massachusetts Endangered Species List. A study released in 2017 by Tufts Wildlife Clinic surveying the bodies of dead birds of prey found 96% of them tested positive for SGARs exposure–up 10% in less than a decade. The Clinic also found 100% of the 43 Red-tailed hawks tested had been exposed to SGARs.

“I am deeply troubled by the frequent reports of wildlife being poisoned while doing the very thing we want them to do–eat rodents,” says Renée Scott. advisor and co-founder of Green & Open Somerville, as well as the Massachusetts Pollinator Network Coordinator for the Northeast Organic Farming Association. “The poisons are not even effective at targeting rodents and have many awful consequences.”

Scott has invited Laura Kiesel, the founder of Save Arlington Wildlife, to offer a presentation on the issue in Somerville at the main branch of the Somerville Library. The presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 7pm

Two of the three Massachusetts bald eagles that died of SGARs poisoning were nesting in Arlington at the time they fell ill. In 2022, the Town of Arlington became the first municipality in the Commonwealth to officially ban the use of SGARs on municipal properties. Additionally, the Town of Arlington also submitted a Home Rule petition asking the state legislature for permission to ban the use of SGARs on private property as well. In 2023, the City of Newton also passed a public lands ban and submitted a Home Rule petition to the state modeled after Arlington’s.

“I am grateful for the advocacy of Save Arlington Wildlife, which is drawing much-needed attention to this issue,” says Scott.

Somerville-based environmental nonprofit Earthwise Aware is also ramping up efforts to increase public knowledge on the impacts of rodenticides on wildlife with their new pilot project, The EwA SGARs Brigade. The app allows people to log sightings of bait stations containing SGARs and news of sick and dead wildlife suspected of SGARs poisoning.

“Anybody can use the out-of-the-box data analysis tools to see..the potential correlations between chemicals and impacted animal group deaths,” says Earthwise Aware founder and director, Claire O’Neill. “Evidence-based information for all to see leads to evidence-based solutions for all to benefit from.”

For Pinney, who still mourns the loss of the hawk she tried so hard to save, she thinks there is a clear solution: “We need to stop using SGARs.”