Ventura County study: wild birds protect flood structures better than poison

A new study, which was conducted at two site along a levee at the Revolon Slough, shows that predator birds are an efficient weapon for protecting flood levees. Yazmin Cruz (Photo: Contributed photo)

Armed with a study showing that predatory birds protect flood control structures, managers plan to substantially reduce their use of poisonous bait to guard levees and dams.

Anticoagulant rodenticides have long been viewed as a way to lower the population of California ground squirrels, which have been known to tunnel 35 feet into a levee. The anticoagulant rodenticides kill the squirrels by preventing the blood from clotting, but they also can be deadly for mountain lions, bobcats and coyotes that eat the poisoned squirrels.

The Ventura County Watershed Protection District set out to test whether birds of prey — also called raptors — could control the damage done by squirrels just as well. In what they believe is a ground-breaking study reported in January, researchers found the raptors were much more effective than rodenticides at limiting damage by squirrels.

"It was a nice surprise," said David Torfeh, an environmental scientist for the district. Rat poison can kill more than rodents as it works its way through […]

Full article: Ventura County study finds wild birds protect flood structures better than poisons