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Local birder touts raptors as a natural alternative to rodenticides at Woodside session
Summary
Photographer and birder Rick Morris presented photos and local observations to the Woodside Environment & Open Space Committee, arguing that native raptors — owls, hawks and eagles — can help reduce rodent populations and reduce reliance on poisons. He described nesting, fledging timing and where residents commonly see local raptors.
Rick Morris, a Menlo Park photographer and birder, told a Woodside Environment & Open Space Committee audience that raptors can be an effective, natural component of rodent control.
Morris opened his presentation by describing his birding tours and a pandemic-era switch back to photography. "These are raptors, birds of prey," Morris said, listing eagles, owls, hawks, northern harriers, falcons, kites and osprey and explaining their feeding traits. He emphasized that most local raptors take rodents as prey and described anatomical features that aid hunting, including hooked beaks, sharp talons and, in owls, asymmetrical ears.
The presentation…
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