Attempt at scaring vultures ruffled feathers of Sun City Center residents who say it’s disturbing all birds
SUN CITY CENTER, Fla. - The birds are a big attraction along Middle Lake in Sun City Center. Residents spend hours watching them.
"We are not crazy people," Lucia Perez shared. "We’re just people who moved here to enjoy the beauty nature has to offer to us."
There are beautiful egrets, ibis, herons and cormorants. However, there are the not-so-beautiful turkey vultures known to damage roofs and windows where they roost.
"Some residents were having damage to their houses," Larry Crabtree explained. "We felt like we needed to try something."
Crabtree is president of the Middle Lake Homeowners Association. He says vultures have been a problem here for years. A resident got a permit to use pyrotechnics to scare them away.
Perez says she was watching a cormorant’s nest on an island near her home on Thursday when that resident was on a boat firing blank rounds trying to scare off vultures.
"And as soon as the second shot went off, the mom jumped to the higher branch and the baby jumped and fell straight down," Perez said.
She says the chick was too young to fly and almost certainly died.
READ Siesta Key beaches can further endanger rare beach birds
Neighbors say the shots disturb not just the vultures, but all the birds during the critical nesting season.
"It causes every bird to leave the islands and the sky will turn black because there are so many birds," commented Robert Sandora, who also watches the birds from his home.
Neighbors also showed FOX 13 pictures of bald eagles they say have a nest nearby. They plan to ask the local Audubon Society to help get their islands designated as a protected rookery.
READ Great Backyard Bird Count seeks to protect birds through global awareness project
Crabtree says the homeowners association has no immediate plans to resume noisemaking to scare the vultures, but may revisit the issue next fall.
A spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says FWC personnel were there when the resident with the permit fired the blank rounds. The spokesperson says no evidence protected birds were disturbed. However, the person with the permit has agreed voluntarily not to fire shots during the mating season.
CONNECT WITH FOX 13: