My Pet World: Why you're seeing more hawks around the urban area

Q: Is it common to see red tailed hawks in urban areas? I saw one perched on a light pole right in a major shopping district and it was just sitting there with one foot up watching all the traffic go by. I have lived here for the last 30 years and I have never seen one except on TV. I can understand a bird getting lost and ending up in the city but this bird seemed so comfortable with the situation that I wonder if it was really a resident and not just passing through. -- Kristi Conway, Baltimore, MD

A: Oh yes, you certainly did see a red tailed hawk and they are quite common these days -- they even live and breed in the heart of New York City. The habitat in that area has always been suitable for them to live in. All they really need are tall trees to perch on and a population of rats, squirrels or pigeons to eat. The activities we do on the ground do not concern or bother them, which is the case for most other native species of wildlife. It is so easy for them to remove themselves from it.

The reason they have not been noticed for many years is that in the past the attitude of humans to birds, such as hawks and other raptors, was "shoot on sight." So they quickly learned to stay away from any habitat that had humans in it. As time went on and we offered protection to all native birds, the younger birds that did not have the fear of humans discovered that living near us offered many advantages. So now this next generation of birds was happy to live in populated areas as many bird watchers have discovered.

As a child growing up in rural Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. in the '60s, I never saw one. However, now the same area that I grew up in is developed with houses and roads and shopping centers, and yet there are many pairs of red tailed hawks that nest there.

It is interesting to see how our changing environment has hurt so many different species of wildlife, and yet here and there you see a select few like the red tailed hawk that have benefited from it.

Q: We have a 5-year-old, 60 pound lab mix that has been living at our home in the suburbs with a fenced in yard that has a corner for him to use as a bathroom. However, now my daughter is taking the dog to live with her in an apartment. She will have a dog walker to take the dog out once during the afternoon but otherwise the dog will be in her apartment all day. Do you think there will be an issue now and is there anything we can do make the transition easier? -- Marlon Williams, Chicago, IL

A: Of course I do not see this situation first-hand, but from what you explained to me I do not think that there is any cause for concern here. At 5 years of age your dog most likely has learned everything about the world that it wants to know by now and she will be content to spend her time dozing most of the day.

The fact that your daughter arranged to have a dog walker take it out during the day makes all the difference in the world. I used to bring my little dogs to my pet store during the day with me but my big dogs had to stay home. With my wife working and my kids in school they had to be content to stay at home all day with no drama. Had I arranged a dog walker for them they would have loved it, but they were content with things as they were.

I always think that city dogs are happier than suburban dogs anyway. When my dogs were out of the house, they were in my backyard surrounded by a 6-foot fence. We had very little time to walk them about the neighborhood so they never had as much environmental enrichment as I would have liked to give them.

City dogs, however, get to go about into the real world at least three times a day and every time they do it is a new adventure for them. The smells and sounds are pure entertainment and in the city they are always different. A world of different smells to a dog is equivalent to you getting a new iPhone every day to open up and explore.

So I do not think that your dog's move will be much of an inconvenience, and depending on the dog walker your daughter hires then it may be a move upwards in life. Most neighborhoods these days have secure fenced in public dog runs that the dog can run about and just act like a dog.

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(Marc Morrone has kept almost every kind of animal as a pet for the last half-century and he is happy to share his knowledge with others. Although he cannot answer every question, he will publish many of those that have a general interest. You can contact him at petxperts2@aol.com; please include your name, city and state.)