CYPRESS : Neighbor’s Complaint for the Birds

David Nagle has been raising pigeons at his Molokai Drive home for the past four years.

He keeps all 100 or so penned up in his back yard, only taking them out for an hour’s worth of exercise during training season or when there is a competition.

Some of his neighbors enjoy hearing the sounds of the birds taking off in the morning, watching as they fly above the housing track before safely landing on the Nagle’s roof.

Not George Hatfield.

Armed with videotape, homemade illustrations and a tin cup full of birdseed, he pleaded with the City Council this week to make Nagle never let out his prized pigeons again.

“The issue here is bird droppings,” Hatfield told the council. “The situation has gotten out of control. . . . I had my kids wash the car in the morning (and) by the afternoon it is pelted.”

For more than one hour the council listened as Hatfield and Nagle went head-to-head over the birds. Both brought out their best weapons to plead their case. When it was all over Nagle and his birds had won, but not before a showdown, causing some who watched to nickname it Cypress’ own version of the Hatfields and McCoys feud.

Nagle told the council this was the first time he has had a complaint about his birds. Nagle, who has been involved in racing pigeons for more than 30 years, said he keeps his flock in a carefully secured loft that takes up a huge chunk of his back yard.

Nagle conceded that the birds do leave excrement in the neighborhood, but not as bad as Hatfield complained.

“I will not deny that occasionally there are droppings,” he said.

A handful of neighbors showed up and testified on the birds’ behalf. Jack Wenzel, past president of a statewide homing pigeon association, was also there to put in a good word.

Countering their arguments, Hatfield tried to help the council visualize what it is like having 100 pigeons as next-door neighbors. He held up homemade illustrations on large white pieces of cardboard that charted wind patterns. On a typical day, an offshore wind could turn his green lawn into a white mess, he said.

“I am not against birds,” Hatfield said, his voice getting louder. “I am just against what they do.”

He also had a five-minute videotape documenting three days’ worth of droppings. But, at the urging of City Manager Darrell Essex, the council declined to show the tape to the public until it was viewed by a city staff person.

The bottom line, Hatfield said, was that his property values were suffering from the birds. Several real estate agents told him that having pigeons as neighbors was not a good idea, he said.

Given a chance to rebut, Nagle produced pictures of Hatfield’s back yard.

“This is the true neighborhood eyesore,” he said.

After viewing the pictures, the council apparently agreed. “Sir, your yard is a mess,” said Councilwoman Joyce C. Nicholson, a real estate agent. “I have no evidence that states Mr. Nagle’s birds are the problem.”

Because the city does not have a specific law limiting the number of racing pigeons, the council ordered an ordinance to be drafted immediately. In the meantime, Nagle can keep the pigeons, but not let them fly until the law is passed within the next 60 days.

Standing outside the pigeons’ loft on Friday, Nagle said he was pleased with the decision. He said he does not mind keeping the birds in for now, but is eager for the time when they can fly again.

“It is a thrill to sit out there and wait to see them come home, knowing what they had to do to get here,” he said.