SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. — A pair of young owls has moved into Philippe Park near Safety Harbor after secondary rat poisoning killed a family of owls last year that had famously lived in the park for nearly a decade, according to Birds in Helping Hands.

What You Need To Know

  • A family of owls that called Philippe Park home for nearly a decade died last year from secondary rat poisoning, officials say

  • The new great horned owls appear to be a male and female pair

  •  A new pair, great horned owls named Dory and Odie, has since moved in to the park

“I was afraid it was going to be years before we had owls back in the park,” said Birds in Helping Hands board member Fairl Thomas, 24. “I want to remind the public of what we’re doing to try to protect them.”

Thomas said the great horned owls, which appear to be a male and female pair, had been spotted checking out the area and appear to be sticking around this year. In March, photographer Fred Brisard captured video of the owls, named Dory and Odie, being affectionate.

“They are territorial animals,” said Thomas. “We knew that it was probably going to be a while before young owls came in and were brave enough to try to establish this as their new territory, but it’s happened now.”

The territory opened up in the spring of 2022, when the famous family of owls, Oliver and Emily, who lived in the “nesting tree,” were killed by secondary poisoning, along with two of their chicks. The only surviving chick was orphaned, Thomas said.

“We were able to fundraise to be able to pay for the necropsies of actually 10 different owls that month,” she said. “We’ve tested all of the owls deceased in this park — all of which came back positive for anticoagulant poisoning. Some of them actually had multiple kinds of rodenticide poisoning found in their liver.”

Secondary poisoning happens when an owl eats an animal that has been poisoned with an anticoagulant rodenticide. Pinellas County runs Philippe Park and officials say workers do not use that type of poison.

Members of Birds in Helping Hands lobbied nearby Safety Harbor to become the first city in Florida to ban anticoagulant rodenticides.

“It’s discouraging the use and sale in our city, and it’s the first of its kind,” said Thomas. “Other cities are going to hopefully follow suit. So, we’ll get it all across the state and maybe other places across the country.”

Thomas said with new owls in the park, her organization wants to remind the public about the dangers of anticoagulant rodenticide.

 

“If we’re not being proactive and choosing good pest control methods, we could lose these owls again,” she said. “Have to start the process all over again and that would be an absolute tragedy.”

Thomas said she hopes the owls find the old nest tree and make it their new home.

“That would be really cool if they continue the generational use of that tree,” she said. “These birds might be a little too young to have young this year.”

Birds in Helping Hands recommends using bromethalin and cholecalciferol as “safer” last resort chemical alternatives to first or second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. There are many nontoxic options which include rat repellents, snap traps and electronic zap traps.