Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Raptor Wednesday

Red-tail with a rat. Was up here for a while in the rain.
This bird has a full crop from a recent meal.
A couple days later, possibly the same bird.
A pair frolicking.

mthew

3 responses to “Raptor Wednesday”

  1. Chuck McAlexander

    Much as I appreciate the favor to humans tendered by the Red-tail, it is not healthy to consume rats. They all are carrying a toxin load which, while small, will bioaccumulate. Arsenic and other metals plus other neurotoxins grow in quantity with each rat consumed. Ultimately the bird gets very ill and dies from the poisons. And it’s not just hawks. I watched a Great Blue Heron sicken and die from a diet of rats when the lake in Central Park froze over. The bird couldn’t get to the fish and resorted to the available toxic diet. It took about a month for the bird to die.

    Reply
  2. lisa d

    perhaps a mating or soon to be mating pair?

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Yes, most likely a pair, at play in the sky.

      Reply

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