The City of Perry has already begun looking forward to the upcoming spring and summer months, in particular the likely return of the nuisance created by nesting turkey vultures.
At the most recent City Council meeting, an application for the renewal of the City’s Federal Migratory Bird Depredation permit was approved. Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson says the permit will allow the City to hang dead turkey vultures as effigies in trees around Perry to chase the birds away. Peterson says they’ve had positive results from the program in the past, though it remains to be seen if it’s a permanent solution. “I know it’s been kind of a long process; I think it was one of my first meetings almost five years ago, or more, that we started talking about this. So (we’re) definitely trying to keep on it, trying to keep up with it. But just kind of a matter of chase these birds out of one tree, and they just go to the next tree. So (I’m) not sure how long it’ll take or where they’ll go next, but when the effigies are up in the tree it definitely works. So we’re going to keep doing that.”
If approved for the depredation permit, the City would be allowed to harvest and hang five turkey vulture effigies over the course of 2019. The Council asked if there was a way to freeze and store the birds so they always have one at the ready, but Peterson was unsure of the logistics on how to make that work. Police Chief Eric Vaughn also discussed the steps taken to keep the birds off the water tower, though there currently are no concrete plans. However, he did mention that he’s heard of a few cities that use inflatable flailing tube devices on their water towers in an attempt to chase off nesting birds. When asked by the Council if he thought such a thing could work in Perry, Vaughn responded, “I don’t know, but it’d be funny!”