STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - A 63-year-old Long Island man has been sentenced to a year of probation after admitting he killed federally protected hawks in an effort to protect his racing pigeons.

Thomas Kapusta of Westbury, New York, had pleaded guilty in February to charges including four counts of taking, capturing and killing red-tailed hawks and Cooper's Hawks.

The hawks are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Kapusta told authorities that the hawks were preying on the racing pigeons that he kept in a coop at his mother's home in Stamford.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny on Wednesday also ordered Kapusta to pay a $5,500 fine and perform 90 hours of community service at a local animal shelter.