Hundreds of corellas and cockatoos have ruled the roost at Caroline Springs Square for long enough, business owners say.
Businesses started a petition last week urging Melton council to find a solution for the nuisance birds that gather in Hitchcock-like proportions on shop awnings, rooftops and window ledges daily.
Quest Caroline Springs owner Natalie Bui said the problem at her serviced apartments was out of control and she decided to research a solution of her own.
“Over the past six weeks we’ve seen an influx of corellas in Caroline Springs,” she said. “Birds naturally flock to our building and hang on the architraves, window sills, roofs and guests’ balconies.
“Noisy corellas love to sharpen their beaks and chip into window caulking and wires. Over time this will cause extensive damage to the building such as leaking windows, destruction of electric wires and TV antennas.
“We’ve had many guest complaints due to the noise. They [the birds] attach themselves to window sills, constantly tap on windows and call for other corellas, and there’s excessive bird excrement down the building.”
Ms Bui has engaged the help of Graeme Coles, owner of Full Flight Birds of Prey, who ran a management plan for the seagull problem at the Melbourne Cricket Ground which involved using trained eagles to scare the gulls away.
Mr Coles said two eagles would be released in the Caroline Springs area every day for a week to scare off the flock.
“We’re currently working at a particular site in Caroline Springs to deal with a growing bird problem in the area,” he said.
“We have two eagles that we’re putting in a variety of situations to see which would best suit our purposes in Caroline Springs.
“Quest is having enormous problems … particularly with corellas. Up to 400 at any one time gather throughout the day,” Mr Coles said.
“It’s not a magic pill because it does take some time to change their behaviour. It could take weeks, it could take months or even years.
“This method is primarily used to move the birds on and prevent them from coming back.”
“In some applications, using eagles is a very effective and the most humane method of dealing with the problem.”
Changing habits
Mr Coles said a common concern was whether the eagles, which are predatory birds, could attack other birds.
“This method is primarily used to move the birds on and prevent them from coming back.”
He said development in Caroline Springs may have disturbed an area where the birds used to come for food.
“The birds may have been coming to this area for generations so it’s very much a learned behaviour.
“They often come to scavenge for food scraps for example the pits from stone fruit.
Culling birds is illegal in Victoria and carries a penalty of more than $10,000 per bird.
