Birds Of Prey Leaving Unusually Grisly Mess In Yard At Roseville Home
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — Dozens of predatory birds have made a Roseville neighborhood their new home, and they're leaving a big mess.
Birts known as white-tailed kites are mostly nesting and hunting, but in one family's front yard, they are regurgitating hundreds of pellets filled with small animal remains. The pellets are a normal product of a part of a bird's digestive system, but according to wildlife experts, dumping them all in just one yard is not.
"I've been telling everyone I know about these -- to come in and watch the birds," said Eladio Constancio, a neighbor.
The neighbors keep a watchful eye on these birds that arrive every evening around 5.
"I kept asking people, have you ever seen these birds? And I found out what they were," said Ernie Franco, another neighbor.
They can be spotted in tall trees as the sun sets, but some time during the night they end up in smaller trees -- specifically in Martha Lopez's front yard.
"Usually when I come out here daily, there's a nice mess on the car so I have my hose ready to spray it all off of there," she said.
The poop is a nuisance, but Lopez is more concerned about the pellets. They are made of bones and fur birds regurgitate after eating their prey whole.
"Why here? What are you doing here?" Lopez asked.
Hundreds of pellets filled her yard at one point, Lopez said. "It was just flooded."
A local wildlife rescue group has picked them up, but Lopez fears the yard will fill up again. So we wanted to know, what can be done about the birds?
Nothing. Roseville Animal Control says it can't help.
White-tailed kites are a protected species, so they cannot be shot or trapped unless you get a permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. But those are given out in very rare circumstances, usually if the birds life is in danger.
So all Lopez can do is wait and hope they leave.
"Born and raised here and I've never seen this in my entire life, so its just kind of bizarre," she said
A wildlife expert said the pellets don't pose a major health risk but you should use gloves if you touch them. The pellets gathered from Martha's property will be used to educate a kids nature group next month.