California: UC Davis claims that birds not humans are destroying oak forest sothey are gonna stop the ’em

When egrets and herons return to the home they’ve made at the UC Davis
Shields oak grove in March, they might be led to think it’s actually
the 4th of July.

Last year, they might have thought it was a party of
a different sort, when horticulturists used balloons and streamers get
rid of the birds. For the past three years, horticulturalists and
wildlife experts have tried everything from tree pruning to nest
removal to human presence to get rid of the birds. But they keep
coming back en masse. Last year, there were an estimated 2,400 of
them. So, what’s the big stink? Well, they’re threatening the lives of
the very trees they call home. The birds’ droppings contain ammonia
that oozes down and covers the leaves, literally choking the old trees
to death. Now, Davis is trying something with a bit more flash: small
fireworks, distress calls from loudspeakers and lasers that require
special training. But they won’t use anything that would in any way
harm the birds, the school says. It’s just something to let them know
they’re about as welcome as the ammonia they drop.
http://cbs13.com/local/UC.Davis.Trees.2.889142.html

Posted via email from Deane’s posterous