UNNECESSARY DEATHS HAWKS BEING KILLED BY POISON TRAPS.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SAUGUS - At least a dozen raptors have died in Santa Clarita during the last two months, apparently from ingesting rat poison, authorities said.

Environmentalists cite the unusual number of deaths of hawks and owls as further evidence of the toll that development and urbanization in the Santa Clarita Valley are taking on the animals that rely on the sensitive ecosystem of the Santa Clara River.

``These raptors are dying horrible, painful deaths that are entirely preventable,'' said Teresa Savaikie, a local environmentalist. ``Something must be done.''

Savaikie and others believe the raptors died after preying on rats that had eaten poison put out behind businesses along the Santa Clara River, the birds' primary hunting ground. Tests to determine why the raptors died have not yet been completed.

City officials plan an educational campaign to urge businesses and homeowners to use methods of rat control that will not harm other animals.

``I'm one of those people who will stop what they're doing and yell, There's a hawk! when one flies overhead,'' said Mayor Frank Ferry. ``We'll do everything we can to prevent the loss of the privilege of having these majestic creatures in our community.''

Since the beginning of June, the dead raptors include two great horned owls, a Coopers hawk, a red-tailed hawk and a red-shouldered hawk, Savaikie said.

``What's really scary is that those are only the ones that have been found,'' Savaikie said. ``Who knows how many went back to their nests to die?''

According to Hawkwatch International, the population of raptors has steadily increased in the Western United States since the 1980s. However, the drought in the Western United States is taking its toll on the hawks and owls, said Howard Green, executive director of the Utah-based organization.

``Its pretty rare for hawks to die from eating poisoned rats,'' Green said. ``But hawks are killed everyday inadvertently by humans, and we're always concerned about it.''

In fact, experts said rat traps with poisoned bait do more harm than good.

``There are much better ways to control rodent populations,'' said Kris Ohlenkamp, conservation chairman of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Audubon Society.

Hawks eat about 1,000 rodents a year. Businesses would do better to build nest boxes for the hawks along the river to keep rats away from their stores and restaurant, Ohlenkamp said.

``That's the big irony in all this,'' Ohlenkamp said. ``Hawks are the best weapon against rats, and we're killing them in an effort to kill rats.''

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) A dozen hawks and other predator birds have died in the Santa Clarita area, victims of poisoning from rat traps.

(2 -- color) This trap is one of many used by businesses along the Santa Clara River to kill rodents, which, in turn, may be killing hawks.

(3) Hawk watcher Jerry Murphy has mapped out locations of poison rat traps along the Santa Clara River.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer