SEAL BEACH : Resident Complains About Pigeons at Pier

City Council members turned their attention away from the county’s fiscal crisis for a few moments Monday night to consider another threat to the beach community--pigeons.

“They’re like flying rats,” warned retired pipe-fitter John Stamps, speaking to council members. “People may laugh about that, but they carry many diseases.”

Stamps, a 25-year Seal Beach resident who said he walks the city pier every day, said the feeding of birds around the beach area has created a public nuisance. He urged city officials to enforce the ordinance against feeding birds near the pier area by posting signs and ticketing violators.

Bird enthusiasts also have clogged up the water fountain on the pier to accommodate their feathered friends, according to Stamps. “It’s like that movie (‘Field of Dreams’). You feed the birds and the birds will come.”

Despite some laughter from those attending the City Council meeting, council members took Stamps’ concerns seriously, directing City Manager Jerry L. Bankston to explore the cost of posting one or more signs to warn that bird feeding near the pier is prohibited. Bankston confirmed that a city ordinance outlaws the practice.

Councilman William J. Doane said sea gulls, not pigeons, belong at the beach.

“I am somewhat of an ornithologist,” Doane said. “Pigeons are not indigenous to beach towns. They are here only because of the food. If we stop the food, the pigeons will go away.”