Oh the birds, the birds

[Alice Sr.]

The seagulls are really a problem at Epcot...This guy swooped into my photo of Japan...

Cool picture though

 

[Alice Sr.]

Disney has tried everything in Frontierland to get the birds out... For a time they had clear fliment fishing line strung above the walkway... The birds keep coming back... We sit on the rockers and watch as unsuspecting guests carry their trays loaded with FF and the birds swoop dow and grab them.. What is really amazing is watching the egrets eating turkey legs that guests feed them...

I can't wait to go in June and plant myself in one of the rockers.

 

[Binkrin]

... In Frontierland when we were there. My DH got pooped on. Made him mad. Made him even angerier that I couldn't stop laughing because only He, king of crabbiness could get pooped on in WDW!! LOL....

When I was 12 (15 years ago) years old I was there with my family. I got pooped on right in front of the castle! I was so upset but the worst part was my 4 brothers thought it was the funniest thing they have ever seen! I can laugh about it now, but I certainly was Princess of Crabbiness that day...

But then again that seems to happen to me often. I have been hit through a sunroof of a car, in my friend's backyard, twice in Boston (and i have only been there 3 times!). I guess this makes me the luckiest girl ever... Yeah, lucky me

 

[TinkGirl]

DH and I were walking through that area on January 28 after the AP EE Preview. The birds were going crazy and it was like walking through a mine field. Someone in front of us got hit! I wonder if that was you? Of course, I wouldn't be laughing if I had been the one to get hit.

All us DISers should just start walking on the sidewalk next to the buildings, at least then it will only be the other people getting hit!

We were at MK after the EE Preview, too. That time it was a different victim. I got hit within an hour of getting to the world on our first day, Jan. 22. I did have to laugh because my kids thought it was so funny at the same time as being worried if they should laugh.

 

[Karnak]

Perhaps I can add a couple of bird stories to this thread.

1. A couple of years ago my wife and I were taking our first (and last) ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat. We were standing outside, looking at the displays on the island, when a large flock of birds passed by overhead. The lady standing next to my wife was pooped on several times, really messing up what had been a nice hairdo. I really felt sorry for her, and her husband was not too happy about it either. We all remained very aware of birds flying overhead until we got off that boat.

I would not recommend visiting any of the parks without wearing a hat.

2. Also, I can remember that in the early days of the Beauty and the Beast show at the Studios, birds were set free to fly from the stage over the audience at the very end of the show. Very pretty, and a fitting end to the show. We loved it.

However, upon watching the show a year later we noticed that the birds were absent, and no longer a part of the show. We asked a Cast Member what happened to the birds, and he explained that birds of prey had learned the show times and were waiting for Disney's birds to fly out, making for a free lunch for the larger birds of prey. So they had to omit that part of the show's ending. A real shame methinks.

Enjoy.

 

[Boater]

I love them. we always joke they're the smartest birds in Florida. if they don't have a band around their leg, they're wild birds living in WDW, Seaworld, Busch Gardens and dining for free. Universal Studios/ Islands of Adventure has a couple hundred feral cats that live inside the parks and come out at night.

Never seen a gull with a leg band. Egrets and Herons are not bad.
Sylvester I don't know where you live but those birds are not bad.
I live in tourist central on the beach, and every place on the beach and Disney for that matter have signs everywhere saying "gulls can be aggressive, do not feed".
So what do these slack jawed yocals and stupid tourists do...........FEED THEM, "Because it's so cute".
I just don't get it, when I see some one feeding them I nicely tell them to "friggin knock it off".

 

[Bunch24]

LOL, I thought it was just me. On our first trip, we decided to eat at Aunt Polly's (because Birnbaum's made it sound SOOOO good, but that's for another post on another board). Anyway, we noticed the birds, so being the nature-loving fool I am, I decided to throw a couple of pieces of my ham sandwich to them. And with my experience of feeding wild animals at zoos/parks, I was careful to not throw the bread too close to my eating area.

Well, here I am, feeding a couple of the birds, throwing the bread further and further away when all of a sudden I hear a loud fluttering sound behind me. I turn around and notice another dirty bird was making off with the rest of my sandwich. My wife could NOT STOP LAUGHING at me. Her sandwich was untouched (Turkey sandwich oddly enough) and she was able to finish her meal. The sandwich wasn't all that good to begin with, so I wasn't all too upset, but I thought it was funny that those birds worked together to con me out of my entire sandwich. While his two friends were distracting me, the other came in and grabbed the rest.

I love the birds, I think it just adds to the beauty of the feel of the park. But those suckers owe me a meal now.

 

[Boater]

I decided to throw a couple of pieces of my ham sandwich to them.

Well, here I am, feeding a couple of the birds, throwing the bread further and further away when all of a sudden I hear a loud fluttering sound behind me. I turn around and notice another dirty bird was making off with the rest of my sandwich.

I love the birds, I think it just adds to the beauty of the feel of the park. But those suckers owe me a meal now.

You are the problem, I was mentioning above. It's posted everywhere "do not feed the birds"
Sorry

 

[Sylvester McBean]

Never seen a gull with a leg band. Egrets and Herons are not bad.
Sylvester I don't know where you live but those birds are not bad.

I never said egrets, herons, ibis, etc. are bad. I said if the bird doesn't have a leg band, they're wild and not property of the parks.

 

[Flyerfan]

I felt like I was at the Jersey shore on the boardwalk.

 

[bunnysmum]

The birds are VERY aggressive!!! When we were there last month, we ate outside at Cosmic Ray's. The birds kept swooping in on (mostly) empty tables to pick around, but while we were eating, one huge bad boy swooped in and took the entire bun off a sandwich at the table across from us. Scared the living daylights out of everyone. I kept thinking I was in a Hitchcock movie.

 

[Bunch24]

You are the problem, I was mentioning above. It's posted everywhere "do not feed the birds"
Sorry

I'm sorry, but there were NO SIGNS saying "Do Not Feed the Birds" and I even asked the CM that gave us our food at Aunt Polly's if it was OK to feed them and she said "Yes, as long as you just give them bread. They have a hard time with the meat."

And as long as there are restaurants in Disney World and people don't eat all of their foods (leaving left-overs that are thrown away), it won't matter how many "Do Not Feed the Birds" signs there are, the birds will still hang around. Food attracts birds, not the people feeding them.

Whether I throw a couple of pieces of bread to the birds or they grab the crumbs off the ground, they know it's an easy place to eat. Period.

Saying people that feed these birds are the problem is like saying people that give change to homeless bums are a problem too. I mean, once a bum knows he can get change in a certain area, wouldn't he continue to hang around that area? Using your logic?

If Disney wanted to get rid of the birds, they could do it. There's probably more people that like the birds than don't like them.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

you can't fault the wildlife. animal parks like busch gardens, seaworld, and animal kingdom all have habitats for exotic birds. the native birds like ibis and egrets have figured out there are bird feeders in these habitats. then some of them get ambitious and start wandering the park. they are also primarily waterfowl. that's why frontierland is so popular for them. we've got all types of the big birds around the lake in our back yard. you can't feed a wild ibis by hand, they fly away. it's learned behavior. the birds that roam WDW are now spoiled, they won't return to the wild. feeding an animal which normally eats bugs and small fish a diet of french fries and turkey legs is not good. it may be cute, but it's not good.

 

[jhugge]

I had a whole churro stolen in January 2005. Last week I saw a bird knock an ice cream cone from a young boy while he was taking a bite

 

[Twinprincesses]

One vacation to Disney my mom got pooped on everday. It got to the point where she brought an extra shirt.

 

[Boater]

I never said egrets, herons, ibis, etc. are bad. I said if the bird doesn't have a leg band, they're wild and not property of the parks.

Sorry, I should have put it a different way. Seems to me those bird aren't the problem, it's those stinking gulls and black birds that are so aggressive.

 

[Boater]

I'm sorry, but there were NO SIGNS saying "Do Not Feed the Birds" and I even asked the CM that gave us our food at Aunt Polly's if it was OK to feed them and she said "Yes, as long as you just give them bread. They have a hard time with the meat."

And as long as there are restaurants in Disney World and people don't eat all of their foods (leaving left-overs that are thrown away), it won't matter how many "Do Not Feed the Birds" signs there are, the birds will still hang around. Food attracts birds, not the people feeding them.

Whether I throw a couple of pieces of bread to the birds or they grab the crumbs off the ground, they know it's an easy place to eat. Period.

Saying people that feed these birds are the problem is like saying people that give change to homeless bums are a problem too. I mean, once a bum knows he can get change in a certain area, wouldn't he continue to hang around that area? Using your logic?

If Disney wanted to get rid of the birds, they could do it. There's probably more people that like the birds than don't like them.

Well if people would clean up after themselves, there would be no leftovers would there. It's still a people thing, if the food supply goes away so do the birds.

We have a blue heron and two egrets that hang out in our back yard along with a ton of parrots, and I'll feed them sometimes because they aren't aggressive. They just stand there and wait for something, if nothing comes to them they just fly away.
If it was a heron or an egret you were feeding I apologize.

Gulls on the other hand will steal food right out of your hands, they're just rats with wings. If you were feeding them my statement still stands

And I don't give money to bums. Using your logic people should just leave money all over the tables so the bums can just come around and pick it up.

 

[Bunch24]

Well if people would clean up after themselves, there would be no leftovers would there. It's still a people thing, if the food supply goes away so do the birds.

We have a blue heron and two egrets that hang out in our back yard along with a ton of parrots, and I'll feed them sometimes because they aren't aggressive. They just stand there and wait for something, if nothing comes to them they just fly away.
If it was a heron or an egret you were feeding I apologize.

Gulls on the other hand will steal food right out of your hands, they're just rats with wings. If you were feeding them my statement still stands

And I don't give money to bums. Using your logic people should just leave money all over the tables so the bums can just come around and pick it up.

Actually, it was a couple of egrets I was feeding, but it was a stinkin' gull that swooped down and grabbed my sandwich. The egrets were not aggressive at all.

To this day I don't care much for gulls. When I'm out at the camp, I like to feed the pelicans and the stupid gulls will actually try to dive down and grab the fish out of my hand.

And I do leave money on the table for bums, just around here we call them college students waiting tables for a living.

 

[JPN4265]

I'm always freaked by the birds and afraid that I'll get pooped on. My husband made fun of me until HE got pooped on. Why do they pick Frontierland??

My vote is to change the guns at the shooting gallery to real shotguns and let the guest have some real fun. Disney could even start selling small turkey legs at a lower price. The inventory would be endless.

 

[turnlisa]

We were eating at Casey's last week where signs ARE posted not to feed the birds. They were all over the place. At one point, this lady behind us started feeding the ducks (who I discovered this trip are becoming very aggressive). My DH said very loudly that he didn't like the people feeding the birds. The little girl with this lady said, "Mom, you aren't supposed to be feeding the birds. There are signs." Mom said, "I'm not feeding birds. I am feeding ducks." I could have strangled her -- what a terrible example to set when there are obvious signs posted.

We ate breakfast outside at WL during our trip as well. This is where I learned about the ducks. When a family would sit down, a male mallard would come over to the chairs and just stand there waiting for a handout. My kids didn't feed him so he went on to the next table. I thought it was kind of creepy to turn around to this duckface looking at you!

I am terrified of gulls. Had one eat a cracker off my foot (placed by my brother) as a child. They definitely creep me out.