The bird died in the rooms of the Salamander Bay Veterinary Clinic, with vets suspecting that the bird had eaten a rat or mouse that had in turn swallowed rat bait.

The ill and distressed bird was found in the car park of The Anchorage at Corlette by a group of visitors staying at the resort for a four-day business conference.

Central Coast's Ladine Smith said she and a group of work colleagues had came across the distressed bird at about 7am on a Tuesday.

"The gorgeous tawny frogmouth was on the ground attempting to fly. It was also making loud, moaning cries so we phoned the local wildlife service for help and they advised us to put the bird in a box and take it to the Salamander Bay vet clinic, which we did," Ms Smith said.

"Around 6 o'clock that evening, the Hunter Wildlife Rescue advised us that sadly the bird had died and that the vet had suspected secondary poisoning, which occurs when birds eat rats or mice that have digested rat bait.

"Apparently, this is very common but I have been informed that many people and some pest control businesses are not aware that secondary poisoning can occur.

"We were also informed that there are safe wildlife/pet bait product available, including Racumin, that has very little risk of secondary poisoning."

The sorry tale of the bird has prompted Hunter Wildlife Rescue to issue a warning about the dangers of some rat poisons and the need to promote wildlife friendly bait.

Ms Smith said that people need to be educated on the devastating affects on pets and wildlife from rat baits. "For such a beautiful area with nature and wildlife living side by side so closely I would expect that all pest services in this area only use rat bait that would not harm wildlife, particularly birds.

Hunter Wildlife Rescue (HWR), which supports wildlife in Port Stephens and includes Great Lakes, Maitland, Cessnock, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, has continued to provide support and assistance to sick, injured and orphaned wildlife in the Hunter region since 1978.

Each year, the 24 hour rescue hotline responds to over 14,000 calls for advice and assistance, from the tiniest possums or gliders to the largest kangaroos or wombats, the iconic and threatened koalas or platypus to birds and reptiles. Hunter Wildlife Rescue volunteers are always ready to assist, as are many vets within the Port Stephens region.

The 24/7 rescue hotline is 1300 946 295.