LAGUNA BEACH : Residents Can Shoo Pigeons Permanently

Bird sanctuary or not, the residents at one seaside condominium complex have put up with enough, the City Council decided this week.

Despite pleas from wildlife experts and some city residents, council members voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the manager of the Laguna Sea Cliffs Apartments to trap and relocate a flock of 75 to 100 birds, which residents complain have homed in on their apartments and are leaving messes on outdoor furniture and barbecues.

Apartment manager Blair Roberts says the pigeons are part of a flock that once belonged to a neighbor and have since attached themselves to the Cliff Drive complex. The birds create a “devastation of property and what we feel is a true health hazard,” Roberts told the council.

The city, which is a bird sanctuary, was first confronted with the dilemma eight months ago when Roberts approached City Hall, saying he had done everything he could to rid the complex of the birds. The council’s advice then was to consult Pacific Wildlife Project in Laguna Niguel for help.

He came back Tuesday to tell the council that nothing has worked and that he has now exhausted his options.

“They only things we haven’t tried are poisoning or birth control,” he said. The pigeons are so determined to make Laguna Sea Cliffs their home that they will even build nests under covered patio chairs, he added.

By then, Roberts had finally won the sympathy of the council, which has the power to approve a permit to trap birds that are a public nuisance or a “menace to health or property.” Council members agreed that the birds have become “imprinted” to the complex, and gave Roberts the green light to begin trapping and relocating the birds for a six-month trial period.

However, Linda Evans of Pacific Wildlife Project said the story is not yet told. State law prevents the relocation in the wild of non-native birds such as the pigeons, she said.

“It’s not gonna work. What will they do with the pigeons once they have them?” Evans asked. “It won’t solve their problem. All it will do is hurt a number of birds for no reason.”