Rat poison kills mother and baby horned owls in Safety Harbor

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. - A group of bird lovers has an urgent message for neighborhoods in Pinellas County: stop putting out rat poison. They believe the toxins meant to kill rodents are killing rare birds of prey, too.

In Safety Harbor, bird watchers showed up to their normal spot in Philippe Park to watch an owl nest with a mother and her babies. 

"The owl chicks have been very popular. They have their own paparazzi, people come and follow them along," explained Terrie Thomas, with Birds in Helping Hands.

But this week, they found the nest was half empty. Thomas says it’s because rats eat the poison. Owls then eat the rats and feed them to their babies. 

The poison kills them all. 

At least two rare horned owls were killed in the same way last year and their bodies tested positive for rat poison.

In the past week, two more – a mother owl and a baby.

Birds in Helping Hands got the city of Safety Harbor to stop using poison boxes in public parks and they are now pleading with apartment and condo complex owners, stores, and residents to control rodents some other way.

"It’s those black boxes you see behind stores and the rats get in they eat the poison, and the owls are just trying to do their job and they are dying," Thomas said. 

They are asking for people to use the old fashion snap trap or a trap bucket instead. 

The rescue group is hopeful the remaining baby owls will survive because the male mate -- their father -- is able to hunt for them.