Gus Fargus just posted a question regarding whether or not kestrels or  other
hawks would control rats that might frequent bird feeding stations. (I  hope
this isn't a prohibited topic. If so, my apologies once again. But it is a
matter of understanding the ecological roles and  capabilities of raptors.)

After researching and flying over a dozen kestrels, I can affirm that  these
little falcons will not and cannot take an adult rat. They can take a
newly-emerged rat pup, but these tend to stay safely in the rat dens and seldom
venture into the daylight. Kestrels, therefore, are not a rat control mechanism.
They are too small to kill an adult rat.

Even a Cooper's Hawk, which is big enough to take a rat, will very seldom  do
this, even if given the opportunity (which is rare, because rats are
primarily nocturnal). The Coop's will concentrate on the birds at the  feeder.

A perched Red-tailed Hawk would capture and savor a rat of any size that
ventured out into the daylight. But Red-tails don't spend much time perched near
feeders. If they do, it's merely incidental to their visual hunting out over
larger, open adjacent areas. Red-tails won't control feeder rats, either.

Great-horned owls might take a few, but few feeding stations have a  resident
GHO perched nearby.

Those with more experience with artificial feeding stations will have to
comment on the potential rat problem (if, of course, that's not an off-topic
subject). As natural as they might be, neither diurnal or nocturnal avian
predators will be much of a solution.

--John A. Blakeman

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