Actually, Red-tails & even Red-shouldereds seem to be getting better
about hunting feeders, usually for squirrels.  As for nocturnal feeder
vandals, raccoons seem to be more of a problem than rats.  I would wager
that the former would chase off the latter on most occasions, and it would
take a hefty & hungry GHO to take on a big raccoon.

Rob Thorn


> [Original Message]
> From: <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 12/1/2006 9:19:56 AM
> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Hawks Controlling Rats at Feeders
>
> 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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