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A white-tailed kite hovers over the Lime Ridge Open Space on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, in Concord Calif. Contra Costa County installed raptor poles in the area with the hope that hawks, falcons and other raptors will use them to hunt on ground squirrels that are burrowing below and weakening roads and historic buildings in the county. (Aric Crabb/Staff)
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Contra Costa County is hoping hawks and falcons enjoy hunting from 20 new raptor perches installed in Concord and Walnut Creek open space areas.

If local red-tailed hawks, peregrine falcons and other birds of prey use the perches, open space neighbors could get some relief from a serious squirrel problem. Raptors love to feast on burrowing ground squirrels that have overrun Lime Ridge Open Space in Concord and Walnut Creek and Shell Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek.

Many residents have complained to the county and to cities about squirrels stripping plants and fruit trees in yards, digging burrows that create hazards for hikers and joggers and causing erosion.

The county agriculture department stopped using pesticides to control the squirrels years ago because of city regulations, said Beth Slate, an agriculture department biologist.

"Raptor perches are a pest control, and we hope they can help nature take care of itself again," Slate said. "We're crossing our fingers on this."

If raptors eat more of the prey, it discourages the rattlesnakes that also feed on the squirrels, Slate said.

The department received a little more than $4,000 from the county Fish and Wildlife Committee to buy the perches from the Wild Wing Company in Cotati. Wild Wing makes a line of elevated nests and perches that make it easier for hawks, falcons, owls and other predatory birds to hunt in places overpopulated with ground squirrels, gophers and

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other rodent pests, said company owner John Schuster.

Schuster helped the agriculture department install the perches. The key to success, he said, is to keep the perches level and turn them so the ends are pointed east and west so the raptor won't have to look into the sun while keeping a hawk eye out for prey. Schuster installs the perches 50 to 100 yards apart so the birds can swoop down to grab the prey and fly to the next perch without changing course. The wood perches are about 30 feet above the ground on poles.

"Birds love the height advantage," Schuster said. "It's safe for them to work from level, unencumbered perches that are like dead trees where there are no branches and leaves to get in the way."

Central Contra Costa County has a healthy barn owl population, but that bird hunts at night, and the squirrels come out of their burrows only during the day, said Kathy Roybal, the agriculture department's chief deputy.

"The owls help with mice and gophers, but they're no good with squirrels," she said.