Groups of paralysed pigeons spotted “falling from the sky” in a beachside suburb of Auckland’s North Shore have sparked a claim that a bird poisoner is on the loose.
This is not new for Browns Bay, with multiple suspected bird poisonings reported in the past, which even led to the deaths of pūkeko.
Animal Re-homing Charitable Trust founder Linda Nunn told the Herald the most recent incident happened outside the East Coast Bays Library in Browns Bay on Thursday last week.
“Someone has got it in for the pigeons of Browns Bay,” she said.
She said there was also heightened concern for any wildlife or pets that might eat one of these poisoned birds.
“All they’ve got to do is eat one of these poisoned birds, and you’ve got dead dogs and cats too,” Nunn said.
The Auckland Council parks and community facilities team were made aware of the concern on Friday.
They confirmed there had been no organised pest control work at the Browns Bay Village Green in the past week.
Council staff checked the site on Friday and over the weekend, but found no potentially poisoned birds.
“We are continuing to keep an eye on this location,” an Auckland Council spokesperson said.
In the past, Nunn’s organisation has dealt with birds that have been killed using alphachloralose, which typically causes very similar symptoms to what these pigeons are experiencing, she said.
The alphachloralose method is a technique used for controlling bird populations by exploiting the anaesthetic properties of alpha-chloralose.
“They’re absolutely completely knocked out because it’s a narcotic. And if no one picks them up and keeps them warm, they die of the cold.”
She said that because they are paralysed, they are also more susceptible to predators.
Nunn had a frozen, dead pigeon in her possession, awaiting toxicology testing to determine what may have happened.
“We don’t want to spend the next years going out and picking up poor dying birds,” Nunn said.
“I’d like the culprit or the culprits to be stopped.”
Nunn said many people are very open about their hatred for pigeons, often referring to them as “sky rats”.
“I don’t know what drives people to kill birds. I find them the most beautiful little animals on the planet.”
Police received a report of birds being poisoned and made inquiries into the matter, but so far have been unable to confirm the claims.
Hibiscus and Bays Local Board member Alexis Poppelbaum said in a social media comment that she will investigate whether any CCTV footage is available.
During another recent spate of bird deaths, the Browns Bay community initiated a “witch hunt” for the potential culprit, Nunn said.
Dozens of birds were found dead, with fears the animals were deliberately poisoned, in January last year.
Locals from Browns Bay took to social media to share their fears after ducks, pūkeko, and sparrows were found dead or paralysed in a local park, Sherwood Reserve.
“The January one brought a lot of speculation and accusations, and none of them substantiated.
“No one really knows. But ever since January, we’ve been called out every, I’d say every four, six, eight weeks to small-bird killings around the town,” Nunn said.
Her best guess is that someone local is throwing a few seeds around because the number of pigeons found paralysed is no more than 12 at a time.
The initial incident in January last year involved the Department of Conservation (DoC) because pūkeko were amongst the victims of the “very large killing”, she said.
Police were also approached after claims that a member of the public had been seen putting down what appeared to be food in the area, shortly before the birds started to die off.
The pūkeko were sent to a laboratory for necropsy and sampling, but the results of those tests did not determine if the birds had been poisoned.
In 2018, dozens of dead birds were also found by beachgoers at Rothesay Bay and Browns Bay.
Even earlier, in 2013, birds began turning up dead on footpaths around the Browns Bay area.
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