Booming big bird populations pose problems

By Naomi Snyder, USA TODAY

The massive growth in the population of some big birds, such as Canada geese and vultures, is leading to conflicts with people and challenging wildlife officials to develop solutions.

Although the most publicized problems with large birds have involved airplanes — notably when US Airways Flight 1549 was forced to ditch into New York's Hudson River in 2009 after geese were sucked into its engines — there are other problems, too.

Vultures are short-circuiting power lines and damaging cars and homes, and cormorants are destroying land with their waste, according to state and federal wildlife officials.

Many of these birds thrive in human habitats such as golf courses, says Greg Butcher of the National Audubon Society.

"There is a consensus in the bird conservation community that some of these species are really overpopulated," he says. "The biggest question is what to do with these birds."

The non-migratory population of Canada geese along the eastern U.S. and Canada has more than tripled since 1990 to nearly 1 million, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since 1980, the black vulture population has grown 2.5% per year nationally, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

In Tennessee, where the survey puts the annual growth of black vultures at 11%, the Tennessee Valley Authority is trying to keep the birds off transmission towers so they don't short-circuit power lines. It is equipping the towers with plastic strips, which the birds find uncomfortable for perching, says bird scientist Charles Nicholson.

In Florida's Everglades National Park, officials plan to use an arsenal of water guns, laser lights and noisemakers to scare off native vultures around parking lots. The birds rip the rubber off windshield wipers and sunroof seals, says David Hallac, chief of biological resources for the park.

Dave Sherman, a wildlife biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, says the waste of the double-crested cormorant kills off trees and vegetation on islands and can reduce fish populations. Ohio has been shooting them since 2006, he says, and "the islands look a lot greener."

Killing birds to reduce populations can be controversial.
In July, 350 to 400 resident Canada geese were captured and killed in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, says Carol Bannerman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, citing problems with birds hitting aircraft.

"Anytime there is a conflict between animals and people, the animals lose," says New York resident Patty Adjamine, who attended a memorial service for the birds.

Say what?? "........ who attended a memorial service for the birds."