On Tuesday morning the municipality started cutting down a Silky Oak on the corner of West and Osborne Streets, but where stopped by concerned residents, Sheriff Annerie Wolmarans and the SPCA after a cattle egret chick fell to its death on the pavement below.
On Tuesday morning the municipality started cutting down a Silky Oak on the corner of West and Osborne Streets, but where stopped by concerned residents, Sheriff Annerie Wolmarans and the SPCA after a cattle egret chick fell to its death on the pavement below.
“We received a call [and]people complained that people are cutting down the trees, and that there is bird nests, and that a bird has fallen out,” said Maloli Dingana, from the SPCA. “We are standing here for animal rights, and this has contravened the animal protection act.”
Kevin Bates, the manager of parks and recreation, explained, “The main reason that we are removing the trees is that it is a health hazard. There is a massive problem with cattle egrets, their stench on the pavement (under the trees) are unbearable. Kids living near the trees are getting ill, and the birds have lice.”
“These are not urban birds,” said Bates. “Maybe they come to town because of the cattle in town. We need to address the problem, to stop the birds when they start moving in before they start nesting and laying eggs,” he said. When birds move into an area people can call the parks and recreation to remove them.
“Once cattle egrets decided to move into a tree it is hard to get rid of them,” said ornithologist Prof Adrian Craig. They usually breed during spring and early summer, but that they can breed at other times as long as food is available. Egrets usually nest in large numbers in one tree, and it usually takes a month before the birds leave the nest.
There are not many ways to get rid of the birds, besides perhaps using sound (long cords) to disrupt their sleep and discourage them from moving into a tree, but this will bother people too. It is also not impossible that the birds will move to the next closest tree once the two silky oaks have been cut down, although the noise and disruption might stop them for a while.
Bates decided to wait another two weeks before cutting the trees to allow enough time for the remaining chicks to leave their nests. Wolmerans wants this period to be extended till after Easter, saying that she understands the problem the owners have, but that the chicks will not yet be ready to leave their nests, and the trees should only come down when the birds are gone.
“I live here, and let me tell you how it stinks. If the wind blows towards my house I have to close all the doors and windows. This was cleaned yesterday,” said Nic Moolman, a resident living near these trees, pointing to a dirty wall and pavement covered in bird droppings. The egrets started roosting here in mid-December. “We are not waiting for the birds to leave, because they will keep coming back to roost here. We are waiting for these little chicks to fly away,” Moolman added.
“We don’t like to remove trees, because it takes years to grow,” Bates further said. “I do realise that it is emotional to people, but I can’t ignore the health aspect of people who live in the building.”
