Cell towers and oil derricks make excellent perches for flocks of large migratory birds, like vultures. Convincing unwanted avian neighbors to move on can be a challenge, as the Kilgore, TX Police Department has discovered. As KLTV reports, police personnel have been busy trying to keep the bird from taking up residence in the oil derrick located on the property.
While not as endearing as the osprey, which can also damage the towers where it sets up shop, the vultures can be equally if not more destructive, especially when they appear in large numbers. “We’ve noticed over the last two years the corrosion of the tower, which is made out of steel, galvanized steel, has really increased substantially as a result of their ‘waste products,’” said Kilgore City Manager, Josh Selleck.
Selleck consulted with Kilgore Animal Control Tom Sawyer, and Kilgore Fire Marshal Ryan Riley to try to find a way to legally and humanely scare off the vultures. Their solution – hang a dead vulture effigy off the tower in hopes of signaling to other vultures that the tower is a bad place for vultures.
The prop vulture was placed in different spots on the derrick, but no matter where it was placed, the nuisance birds quickly returned. “They were supposed to be transitory or migratory,” said Selleck, “But they pretty well stayed.”
The prolonged presence of the birds has taken its toll on the derrick, which Selleck noted has deteriorated more quickly than other less popular potential roosting sites. The bird byproducts eat away at paint and metal.
“We were just reminded that it is apparently illegal to collect the feathers of migratory game birds, though we have seen archers and fly fishermen out here doing that,” Selleck told KLTV. “If I remember right, the fines for possessing parts can be up to $10,000.”
Acknowledging that the fake dead vulture plan was a bust, the Kilgore PD is ready to try operation “Shiny Object.” The hope is that reflective mylar balloons and spinning pinwheels will unsettle the birds and convince them to relocate. If the birds persist, it will be back to the drawing board to brainstorm a third plan to evict the vultures.
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