City of Denton to open up with "grackle cannons"

[Greybeard]

Coming ... every 30 sceonds this Saturday and Sunday nights. And hopefully the birds don't "go south" as planned. We have plenty in our parts already, thank-you.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/d ... 1e4c8.html

Hitchcock’s birds?

No, it’s just grackles and the city has a goodbye plan

06:45 AM CST on Friday, February 9, 2007
By Donna Fielder / Staff Writer

They perch on the big oak in the Denton Veterinary Center parking lot like a screeching top hat, their cacophony mocking the idea of “chirp.�

They surround the Exxon station, fluttering on every tree like iridescent black leaves in the wind.


DRC/Gary Payne
Birds flock to the area of Teasley Lane near Interstate 35E in Denton on Wednesday. The city of Denton plans on shooting off two propane cannons this weekend in an attempt to scare off the birds.
They sit sentinel on signal lights, crowd the sidewalks, and, quite without a hint of modesty or a sign of guilt, drop unwelcome gifts on the grass, the parking lots and the heads of unsuspecting passersby.

They are grackles. And on Teasley Lane near Interstate 35E, they are legion.

“It’s pretty disgusting,� said Chris Tran, who works at the Exxon station. “The trees are just white with the mess, and it’s all over the sidewalks. I’ve had customers offer to come up here with air guns. Anything would be a welcome change.�

And change is in the air. If the city’s plan works to encourage the huge flock of grackles to move on down the road, hopefully south, they’ll be gone by Monday.

But it may cause consternation over the weekend.

The plan involves firing two propane cannons — one on Teasley near I-35E and one just south in a parking lot — from about 4:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The cannons are loud, and they’ll boom every 30 seconds.

“If you drive down Teasley Lane in the evenings, the sky is pretty much black with the birds,� said Denton police spokesman Jim Bryan. “They are roosting in the trees, in the median and all around that area. The cannons are meant to scare the birds so they will not come in to roost for a couple of days and hopefully, find another place to roost. It’s been pretty successful.�


DRC/Gary Payne
Officers will shut down the inside lane on Teasley both eastbound and westbound while animal services officers operate the cannons. They chose the weekend, Bryan said, because they didn’t want to disrupt rush-hour traffic.

But the noise may frighten some drivers and homeowners. Or irritate them.

“It is really a cannon,� he said. “It certainly sounds like one.�

The city will use its City Watch telephone notification system, he said. Everyone in the neighborhood will receive an automated telephone call to alert them to the operation.

Grackles are large black birds with a purple metallic cast to their feathers and pale yellow eyes. In the summer, they eat insects but in winter they change their diet to plant food and seeds.

During the day, they forage in huge flocks, flying to their roost just before dusk and leaving as the sun comes up.

“It’s like walking into an Alfred Hitchcock movie,� said Mary Rainey, who works at the Family Pet Clinic on Teasley Lane. “They’re loud. And they cover everything with their droppings. The trees are frosted white, but it’s not snow.�

Dan Neal is a Farmers Insurance agent with an office on Teasley. The birds have made a mess, he said.

“It must be a health hazard,� he said.

But David Brockette worries about the cure. In his business, where a wrong move with something sharp makes a lasting impression, sudden loud noises are discouraged. He is a partner in Ace Tattoos on Teasley. Saturday evenings are his shop’s busiest times, he said.

“It will be something we just have to work around,� he said. “But we will be happy to get rid of the birds, too.�

Bobbie Platt works at the Denton Veterinary Center, up the service road a few yards from Teasley. The big oak in the parking lot is a favorite destination for the hundreds of grackles who fly in every evening, she said.

“Sometimes, we actually have clients walking their dogs back to the car get a mess on their heads,� she said. “One woman opened up an umbrella for protection. It’s awful. I hope whatever they are doing works.�

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com .

[flintknapper]

Good luck getting rid of Grackles.

I hope no one is directly under a flock of these winged rats when the propane cannon goes off.

Other efforts in other places range from mildly successful to down right futile.


http://www.ci.arlington.tx.us/animals/w ... ackle.html

http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/m ... 7554.shtml?...

[Thane]

I've got a much better solution.

Hire a bunch of teenagers, "issue" them "Airsoft" guns (preferably battery-powered, fully automatic), and have them go to town on the birds whenever and whereever they find them between 4:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Just have them hose down every roosting tree with those little plastic pellets.

Grackles ain't stupid. They'll clear out within a week. Have the kids keep patrolling for another week or two, and the birds will likely not return for quite a while.

Another solution would be to allow the kids to shoot them with steel BB shot, but knowing kids, you'd likely end up with a BB gun war at some point. You'll still have that with Airsoft, but the pellets don't hit nearly as hard. They'll sting, but not break the skin.

[Liberty]

I've got a much better solution.

Hire a bunch of teenagers, "issue" them "Airsoft" guns (preferably battery-powered, fully automatic), and have them go to town on the birds whenever and whereever they find them between 4:30 PM and 7:00 PM. Just have them hose down every roosting tree with those little plastic pellets.

Hire ???? I don't think any hiring would be required. I'm sure there would be no shortage of volunteers.

[ElGato]

Just tell a Cajun how good they are in Gumbo and to keep it a secret.

They eat more dog food than my Border Collies.

[cloudcroft]

I really hate Grackles (and pigeons).

I shoot them on sight...if I can get to my scoped air rifle quickly enough!

But Denton would NEVER be able to allow ANYONE -- even a "professional" animal-control guy, let alone lots of teenagers or private citizens -- to shoot those Grackles: All the naive animal-lovers would be outraged and make a "animal-cruelty" (or "hate crime") federal case out of it...and the city would back down before you could say "spineless."

-- John D.

[glocklvr]

let me know how well the plan works I might suggest it to the city council here. The mall area has been infested with the flying rats for months here and all efforts to get rid of them have only been temporary.

[Greybeard]

"As the crow flies" our range is about 7 miles southwest of the "boomer location" and home is even further, so I doubt we'll hear much of it, if any.

Vista Ridge Mall (in south Lewisville) even has permanant signs posted for patrons to be aware they use "bird bombs". For all the good it does.

I was leaving Golden Corrall a while back and had some spilled deer/hog corn in the back of my pickup - when I arrived anyway. Most of 'em flew off when I approached, but there were a couple still inside that I did not see - until one flew out from around the tool box and tagged me.

The things are kinda like coons: one of 'em gets on a good thing, then here come all their friends. Then the next night, all of their friends!

[Liberty]

"As the crow flies" our range is about 7 miles southwest of the "boomer location" and home is even further, so I doubt we'll hear much of it, if any.

Vista Ridge Mall (in south Lewisville) even has permanant signs posted for patrons to be aware they use "bird bombs". For all the good it does.

I was leaving Golden Corrall a while back and had some spilled deer/hog corn in the back of my pickup - when I arrived anyway. Most of 'em flew off when I approached, but there were a couple still inside that I did not see - until one flew out from around the tool box and tagged me.

The things are kinda like coons: one of 'em gets on a good thing, then here come all their friends. Then the next night, all of their friends!

You ain't been tagged until a Galveston seagull nails you.

[308nato]

In the 70's I worked gen'l . maintance at a mink farm, we fed about
150,000 mink a day . We mixed our own food because the mink ate
a special diet so there fir was top grade.we tryed those cannons also
and they worked for about a week until the birds remembered the
gourmet mink food source.
After that they just ignord them so we just had to use other means

[KBCraig]

I'm reminded of "Steel Magnolias", where the father of the bride pulled out the artillery to scare off the grackles who were threatening the outdoor wedding.

[Greybeard]

Quote: "You ain't been tagged until a Galveston seagull nails you."

Oh yea, I been "tagged". Cell phone tower down at far east end of our range building is a favored roosting place for local turkey vultures. One summer evening we counted 44 of 'em. The ultimate "tag", in my not-so-humble opinion there, is that the absolute nastiest "bird bomb" is that from a buzzard!

[Liberty]

Quote: "You ain't been tagged until a Galveston seagull nails you."

Oh yea, I been "tagged". Cell phone tower down at far east end of our range building is a favored roosting place for local turkey vultures. One summer evening we counted 44 of 'em. The ultimate "tag", in my not-so-humble opinion there, is that the absolute nastiest "bird bomb" is that from a buzzard!

I've seen the result of those bombs, and concede they are nastier than seagulls. Most people though won't feed a vultures. Sorta funny to watch Mom and Dad feeding the seagulls on the Seawall here. The end result is always so predictable.

[Greybeard]

Sumbuddies I knew back in college days (when a $6 cases of Colorado Cool-Aid, if not all consumed first, would bring $20 per case on South Padre Island) was known to drive waaaaaay back down the beach and feed seagulls "Black Cats". They'd only eat one.

Heck, July 4'th is just a few months away ... And when the grackels are still around, we could have "Feed a grackel a firecracker day". Any bets on how high THAT idea would fly with The Metromesses' City Council's?

[age_ranger]

I'm all for inner city hunting permits. High velocity air guns with lead pellets would be best. Shots should be made from roooftops and there's no bag limits. I'd rather see a bird dropping to the ground than seeing a huge blob of bird waste coming at me.