Before dawn this morning, this barn owl flew to a street sign and looked around for food. This individual, of a normally very alert species, remained on its perch as I approached to within ten (10) feet and stood there.
Poisons dull the way these animals react: this bird should have flown off. The new rat poisons attack an animal’s nerves and this is what is happening here. Soon, the owl will succumb because his senses will be too dulled to hunt, and too dulled to protect himself.
One year ago, at this time of the year, I found a dead coyote which was found to have been killed by massive amounts of rat poison. Please read the article below: it has the best information I know of about rat poison and its effect on our urban wildlife. It also has a section at the bottom of the page on How To Handle A Rodent Problem.
http://wc.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=Animal_Emails_RodenticideResultsBarnOwl_March2014
And here, for those who can stomach it, is a graphic video of a dying poisoned owl:
Coyote Yipps 
Jan 17, 2018 @ 19:06:08
I had the same type of encounter with a turkey vulture recently. Heartbreaking. Our town had an awesome meeting 6 months ago related to rodenticide. It was both educational AND shocking. For example, our town in particular prides itself on being “green” and has dedicated over 50% to open space. Yet we use rodenticides on the athletic playing fields! The gut wrenching and shocking stories go on and on and on… Thank you for continuing to spread the word. I wish I could do more on this subject.
Jan 17, 2018 @ 19:17:49
Thank you, Cindie. Helping to make people aware, and showing them alternative rodent control methods is what we all need to continue doing. I don’t think there’s any place for poisons anywhere, ever, for any reason. Thank you for all you do, and for your support and input!
Jan 17, 2018 @ 21:52:24
We discovered the PEE MAN in Maine on line and he sells predator pee. I have been using (Coyote pee) this to warn the many moles that haunt my fenced in garden. It seems to help, however, this morning two large piles of scat in our driveway. I am thinking our local Coyotes are marking their area. So onto Bob Cat and Fox pee.
Jan 17, 2018 @ 22:04:14
Thank you for the suggestion, Dinah! Have there been any studies showing that this works?? Janet