LANCASTER : Court Orders Builder Not to Disturb Ostriches

Trying to smooth a case of ruffled feathers, a Superior Court commissioner in Lancaster has ordered a prominent developer to avoid early morning construction work that a nearby resident said was disturbing his flock of ostriches.

Commissioner Bertrand Mouron’s ruling apparently satisfied Robert Loving of Agua Dulce, who hopes to breed his six ostriches. But an attorney for the developer maintained the order won’t change much because, he said, workers were not starting before its 7 a.m. time and the project is almost done.

Attorney Stephen Rishoff, who represented Santa Monica-based Watt Land Inc. in a hearing this week, said the 7-foot-tall, 300-pound birds apparently are sensitive to unfamiliar noises. Loving complained that two of his birds injured themselves when they were startled by early work on installation of a large water storage tank and pipelines in a canyon area above Sierra Highway.