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Posted by Tony Blazejack on 16:52:46 01/21/11
Greetings everyone. I am a Miami native who lives in Seattle. I came down on business and to visit family. I am a commercial photographer, but love to get out and photograph birds whenever I can, so I was excited about being back this time of year.
After spending time in the "East Dump Marsh" location just south of the landfill near the Black Point Marina (a.k.a. "Mount Trashmore") this morning, I was walking back to my vehicle when I heard a loud bang. As I have spent some time in the area growing up here, I am aware that Waste Management uses fireworks and blanks to keep birds away from the machinery/trash and as a result, I casually looked up (as opposed to reacting in a startled manner.) When I did fix my sight on top of Trashmore, however, I was very startled at the sight of a Vulture - I'm unsure whether it was a Black or Turkey Vulture - falling from the sky and rolling down the ride of the hill. I immediately raised the camera that was accessible to me at the moment, a DSLR with an 85mm lens, and took a picture of the scene.
I then observed a man dressed in a white t-shirt, beige/khaki pants, sunglasses, and ear protection raise a shotgun toward other circling Vultures. The man fired as I took another picture. I looked up from my camera and noticed another Vulture falling from the sky, then took another picture.
At that point, the man walked behind the hill and out of my sight. I then heard a loud, whistling noise followed by a report consistent with bird-deterrent methods I've observed in the past. Unsure about the situation, I quickly got to my car, drove to the nearby Black Point Marina and called the police.
The officers took down my information, listened to my story, and looked at the photographs on my camera that showed a man on top of Trashmore with a shotgun. They immediately gave me a case number and their names and said the would check it out. Though they said my presence was not necessary any longer, I got the feeling that they were genuinely concerned.
I then contacted a friend who is an officer at the FWC in South Florida who requested I send the images to him. I did so as soon as I could. He called me back about 2 hours after the incident. He told me that he checked into it and found the Department of Agriculture occasionally goes out to control the bird populations that become resistant to bird-deterrent measures. According to my friend, they are permitted by the FWC to shoot Vultures and other birds that no longer flee at non-harmful techniques, and that recent studies show Vultures tend to avoid areas were one of their dead lay. The reasoning for these extreme measures is the fear that contaminated trash from the landfill could be distributed to other areas.
A part of me was relieved that this wasn't someone doing this on their own and illegally, however the policy for the use of lethal force on these birds left me dismayed... to say the least. I understand that conservation sometimes entails destruction, but watching those Vultures fall from the sky was sickening. I can't help but wonder if there is a better way to address the problem.
I don't know if you all are aware of this, and I am sharing because I feel everyone needs to know that this is happening.
Thanks,
Tony
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