A six-month-old red-tailed hawk soars on a breezy, warm, fall afternoon over cars, homes and people. It spies a large open area with rats and mice. Jackpot! A rodent smorgasbord. With no trees to perch on for a lookout, the hawk spots something familiar that looks like a pole. It immediately alights and keeps a watchful eye to the ground for what could be its last meal for days.  Suddenly, a hot flame ignites from underneath with a raging force. Instinctively, the hawk spreads its wings to fly away, but instead, tumbles to the ground. Every feather on its body is scorched and singed away. Its feet are blistered. Its eyes sting from the heat. It can’t get back in air and doesn’t understand what just happened.

 

 Young raptors are trained to hunt from the air, and a redtail that cannot fly is a raptor that will not survive.  Several burned raptors admitted to our rehabilitation center during the past decade were found by concerned citizens in their backyards very near the City of Janesville landfill. Most of these birds were young red-tailed hawks or owls. After years of investigation, we’ve concluded these unfortunate hawks are getting flash burns from perching on or flying over landfill stacks where methane gases are automatically flared off.

 

 Why is this happening? Solid wastes, particularly food wastes, contain organic matter that attract rodents and other small mammals that are an excellent food source for raptors. Since landfills are filled year-round, active landfills provide a particularly important hunting ground for raptors from late fall through the winter when other food sources are harder to find.  Since landscaping near the working area of a landfill is virtually treeless, the burners that are erected to vent methane gas from decomposing wastes make attractive perches for raptors hunting rodents and other prey.

 

At the Janesville site, burner pipes about 30 inches in diameter at the north and south ends extend nearly 30 feet up. They make wonderful perches that give the raptor a commanding bird’s-eye view.   Many landfills are located away from homes and businesses in low traffic areas, so it’s likely that a relatively small percentage of raptors injured following methane flaring would be noticed, recovered or rescued. Without their protective feathers for insulation and flight, these birds likely die from exposure, starvation or predation.  The average red-tailed hawk only weighs two to three pounds, and likely succumbs within two weeks. 

 

  The recovery period for a burned raptor can be 11 months or longer depending upon the severity of he injury and time of year when the accident occurred. The birds’ feathers molt on a natural cycle beginning in spring and a new set of feathers grows in by fall. Sometimes if the feather follicles are damaged extensively, the raptor may have to complete a second molt before it has all of its flight feathers. .

 

I had approached the local landfill operator and contacted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources about alternatives like erecting a pole higher than the top of the methane burner to encourage the birds to perch at a safe distance. However, a liner covers the landfill which contains the toxic matter from seeping into nearby residents groundwater and cannot be punctured.

 

The Janesville Landfill Manager, John Whitcomb ,contacted an engineer and came up with a means to weld a crown of steel spikes on top of the pipes that would not interfere with the methane flaring but would discourage the hawks from perching. They also installed a large utility pole higher than the burner that would make a more attractive perch for raptors. Ideally, other landfills might consider installing motion cameras near their gas flares that could provide early warning documenting if this same problem was occurring. Such cameras are inexpensive these days and commonly used by hunters who want to see if animals are using a path.

Red-tailed hawks and other raptor species are extremely beneficial to the environment. One redtail can consume an average of 1,800 rodents a year. Wisconsin averages 100 rodents per acre of land. In some areas, those numbers are much higher. In three years, two mice can theoretically multiply to 350 million, if the population is left unchecked. So hawks and owls are quite beneficial to the landfill and landowners who live nearby. Turkey vultures also frequent landfills, attracted by smell, and feed mostly on carrion and garbage.

 

 Raptor burns from landfills where trapped gases are automatically flared may be more common than is realized or reported. There are no national statistics on the issue, but several prominent rehabilitation centers I contacted also have admitted similarly burned raptors that the staff believe were caused by unprotected landfill methane burners.  It’s unknown if the problem is greater in certain geographical areas or if it is restricted to a certain type of methane flares. Trapping and recovering methane gas for energy use could eliminate this hazard where such collection is practical.

 

 While raptors are state and federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, costs for rehabilitating injured birds are typically borne by the wildlife rehabilitator. My thanks to the City of Janesville landfill users who made a contribution towards the care and feeding of these hawks.

 

We hope our local problem has now been resolved, but I want to make other communities aware of this issue and alert to the signs that can indicate when hawks, owls and falcons in their area are getting burned on the daily hunts.

 

 

 Burned Red –tailed Hawk                                                     Modified burner