Many folks know #Flaco had rat poison in his system. Do they know which ones? The primary one was Bromadiolone--which was also the rat poison used by city officials in Central Park. That's right! Despite popular belief, there was poison used in the park.

These are Belted Kingfishers, spotted along the Mystic River. The one on the left is the female and the one on the right is a male. You can tell because only female have the rusty red "belt" on their belly.

It wasn't Santa who was stuck in the chimney of an East Arlington resident's home yesterday but this adorable Eastern Screech Owl! Dan Proulx of Dan's Wildlife Rescue came right away and got him out ASAP! Photos courtesy of Doug Kartono.

Liver tox results just in for both owls--a Barred and a GHO--found dead in our area late last month. Tests show extremely high rates of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs), usually considered the standard lethal range. This means that 3 owls dead in just 1 week in our area of rat poison.

Yesterday, I paid for liver testing for two owls that died in the Boston metro area, a Barred owl here in Arlington and a Great Horned owl in Belmont. Gross necropsies revealed internal bleeding usually indicative of anticoagulant rat poisoning. Thank you to all who donated to our necropsy fund.

Peregrine Falcon at the Arlington Reservoir recently! So exciting to see this raptor we once wiped from the map with dangerous pesticides gracing our skies again. But they are still in a tenuous position and are designated a Species of Special Concern under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.