Bird Warning - Watch your food

[ckay87]

While at Disney a few weeks ago I saw something happen repeatedly and said to myself, I must post this to the Dis and warn my friends! I'm sure you "veterans" have seen this also, but it's worth a mention...the BIRDS! They are seagull-like in that they beg for food and flock in when they are fed. However, one little piece of adaptation they seemed to have picked up astounded me and, frankly, grossed me out. I saw several times where people walked away from their food for, sometimes, a very short time. The birds would fly in, eat from their plates, and then fly away before being noticed. I'm sure this is a behavior they learned exclusively from living in the World. Once we saw one perched on a parked stroller eating french fries out of a container left on the stroller. Yuck - hang on to your food. Anyone else ever see this?

 

[KellyJ]

This happened to us at the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot. My husband walked out with the food and a bird swooped (sp?) down from nowhere and grabbed at the tray. A woman sitting nearby (whose husband worked there) told us to go back in and tell them what happened and they would replace the food. When my husband went back in, they already had the second batch waiting (they saw what happened). The nice woman told us to always make sure the food was covered when we came outside and to always eat at a covered table. Seems the birds don't especially like flying underneath the canopies.

Just a little while later, we were over near Germany and a bird took my son's ice cream cone right out of his hand. We should've stayed inside until he was finished but I foolishly thought I could keep the birds away if I was watching closely. WRONG!

Kelly

 

[belleandthebeast]

coronet

Just another word of advice. .... we were @ Tom Sawyers Island, nineteen hundred dollars, two hours into the trip. .... a bird dropped it's load on me. EEEEWWWWWW! It was sooo disgusting. Thank godness for the woman with the baby wipes. She definitely saved the day. Needless to say I have never lived that down. I warn everyone who goes to the world to watch out for our feathered friends.

 

[wendy74]

I think that a large number of us can say that we have been "christened" at WDW by a bird at one time or another I know I have! One thing I did notice on my Honeymoon last month was that the seagulls were gone. In Frontierland, especially close to the water, there were always hudreds of seagulls. It was so bad that the entire bridge that ran longside the Rivers of America in Frontierland was always covered in bird mess. This last trip in June the bridge was clean and there was not a seagull to be found. I meant to ask a CM how they got rid of them but forgot, does anyone else know? On the other hand there were still hundreds of crows, sparrows, ducks and a white bird with a long spoon bill everywhere

 

[Beverly Lynn]

Feb of 2000 my best friend and I were at epcot when she was getting ready to take a bite of her churro this seagull swooped down adn took it right out of her mouth! I wish I had a picture of the look on her face! it was priceless! then about 15 minutes later we saw a seagull take this ice cream cone out of some guys hand as he was licking it! they are vulture like!

 

[ckay87]

Oh that's really amazing (though disturbing) that you guys saw the birds take food directly from people. You know these birds wouldn't act like that in the wild. They are native Walt Disney Worldians for sure. I'm always interested in the way animals adapt to interact with people when necessary, even if it is a pain in the neck. Like the way New York City pigeons act like New Yorkers. Thanks for the stories - anyone know what those long-bill birds are? Never saw them before.

 

[UrsulasDaBomb]

I've seen that happen too many times to count.But it doesn't happen just at WDW.At the jr.college c ampus I used to attend where birds were just as bold.I remember once I was sitting out in the courtyard studying and eating some potato chips.A bird swooped down and grabbed the whole bag in his mouth and took off.Birds are daring critters who eat what they can and learn to adapt to us quickly.But watch yer food,they'll grab it away anyway they can.Oh..and I think the spoonbill bird was some kind of heron.I'd have to see a pic to be sure.

 

[wdwnutze]

Thanks for the warning to eat at a covered table. Birds really gross me out! I have also been christened by the WDW birds. It is the one major draw back in the WDW trip!