Problems with birds

[WDWDad]

We were at OKW March 3-10. We always request 3rd floor because we love the view, but this time the room we recieved had alot of trees surrounding the patio. At first we liked it, because it felt kind of private, but it really needed a good pruning.

Well it didn't take but 30 seconds to realize that there was going to be a problem. We were sitting on the patio and I noticed right away alot of bird droppings on the railings and even the chairs. About 5 seconds after that the birds started settling in around us. They were loud, and quite bold. It was obvious that they were looking for a handout because the would land just out of arms reach and screech at each other. After the first day we called and explained the problem and asked if the deck could be powerwashed. Housekeeping sent one poor guy out with a spray bottle and and some paper towels. He did a fair job, but the next day the mess was back.

Needless to say this ruined our experiences on the patio for the entire week. We couldn't walk out there without the masses starting to alight. It was like something out of the movie " The Birds ".

I've been known to hand out some popcorn to the occasional duck, but no more. I am strictly calling this practice offlimits for my family. Has anyone else had a similiar experience ? What can be done to minimize this problem? I know that the parks have struggled with this problem before, and I know that the Boardwalk has had problems near the lake. I seem to remember more signs there on this last trip. Am I being too sensitive or is this a problem

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

I haven't noticed this before, but I have noticed that the ducks can be quite aggressive. Anytime you get a situation where people are giving away food to wildlife you can run into this type of thing (ever been dive-bombed by a seagull?). About the only thing to do is for DVC to start asking people to not feed the wildlife and hope that people will do that and that eventually the problem will go away.

I am reminded however of a Tom Lehrer song "...when they see us coming the birdies all try and hide, but they still go for peanuts when coated in cyanide..." - and before anyone gets the wrong idea, I am certainly not suggesting this as a solution; the situation just happened to bring the song to mind.

 

[DebbieB]

When I was at the Magic Kingdom in February, we were eating outdoors at the Plaza Pavillion. The birds were very aggressive. A Mom sat down and put a sandwich down for her son and before he sat down a bird almost grabbed it! Afterwards, we were walking over near the hot dog shop at the end of Main Street and a little girl was crying because a bird grabbed her hot dog!

 

[PamOKW]

Great subject I'm not sure of a solution but people feeding them does contribute to the problem. I know when I first went to OKW, if you opened the door the ibis (what's the plural?) would run away. Now, they run toward you as fast as they can looking for a handout.

The different seasons may increase/decrease the problem. I know they said spring on Discovery Island would have more bird poop and aggressive behavior. You also find way more seagulls at WDW in the colder months.

 

[walter]

I remember a couple of years ago when we were at MK, a little girl and her ice cream cone were attacked by an aggressive seagull. I wish I had my camera ready, for it would be funny to post a picture of this on the DIS Boards with the caption "Share the Disney Experience".

 

[wdw4us]

we were at the BWV a couple of weeks ago. A duck came into our room since we had the door open. She just walked right in for a handout. A bird did the same the next day.

denise

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

My 8 yr old son calls the seagulls "garbage eagles" I thought it was pretty accurate.

 

[genealle]

While dining under the trees at Flametree BBQ, a feathered friend made a large deposit on my shoulder, much to the delight of my son. Oh but to have had a camera! (I made sure to gather all scraps-no treats for the wicked) <IMG WIDTH="15" HEIGHT="15" SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif" alt="razz">

 

[jcodespoti]

I have seen Seagulls eat almost anything (dead or "handout") the are very aggressive and bold. If people keep feeding them its only going to get worse


Joe in CT

 

[KNWVIKING]

I guess I'm not a bird person because I hate the black birds at BWV, the sea gulls,(dumpster ducks) at MK and those big ugly vultures or buzards that were infesting AK in December. Maybe they need to stock up on predator birds to thin them out, or let us start whackin 'em with tennis rackets.

 

[treloarf]

We had a similar problem at OKW in March on the 1st floor. Birds/ducks were right there and my kids wanted to feed them. I don't know if anyone read my previous post, but my husband is deathly afraid of creatures and borrowed the movie "The Birds" from Hanks and made my kids watch it so they would not want to feed the birds. How cruel!!! The movie didn't even phase them - they still wanted to feed them. I think there should be signs saying "please do not feed the wildlife, it could harm them". What would happen if people feed them the wrong thing, they could get sick, dye. I think something should be done about it!!!

 

[A1A1]

The birds at bw were a nightmare last November and the previous October.

We also could not enjoy our fifth floor balcony with the boardwalk view that we "paid" extra for. I was so upset about this, because I thought that it should be part of housekeeping or maintenance duties. This is part of our room, right. Even if they had to clean it every day, it would still be easier to clean than the baked on, caked on, cemented on stuff that we saw on our first day in the room. Each day I requested that the balcony be sprayed off. The BWV also sent in some poor soul with a spray bottle and a towel. They told me I must be feeding the birds. I can assure you that nothing could have been further from the truth.

I will not request a high floor anymore. The birds are evil!

 

[PKK/MJK]

We had a two bedroom unit at OKW a couple years ago where there was a tremendous amount of foliage around the balcony--I believe it was in the 50's. We hated that unit--the only time we did not like our OKW accommodations. The birds we terrible and the foliage kept the living room very dark. Last January we were dive-bombed by aggressive birds in the Plaza Pavilion too. That was scarey. The worst though was the fifth floor Boardwalk view room we had in 1999. Just like the other poster said, the balcony was a disaster and those birds flew right at you the moment you opened the door. The view was incredible if you could avoid the birds long enough to enjoy it.

Phil and Mary Jo

WDW--82,83,85,87,89,93,95,96, 97,98,99,00,01
DVC/OKW

 

[dianeschlicht]

I love these kind of stories. A couple years ago at OKW, we were standing out on our balcony watching the ducks when a long beaked lame bird hopped up on the rail and walked over to my DH. My DH put his hand out, and the bird bit him and cut his finger! We laughed about that all week.

Last year, one of our guests go "plopped on" by a bird just as we were entering MGM. It got her right on top of the head and was quite "loose" if you get my drift. We had to go the restroom and wash her hair!

Disneydiane

 

[Lisa F]

I've been told by more than one CM that disney is working on the bird problem, but it's not an easy one to solve (obviously). They can't rely on people not feeding them to stop it so they're going to have to figure something else out. I think they should look at their "integrated pest management" program... that's where they introduce "good" insects into the environment to eat the "bad" ones. The only problem is, anything big enough to eat those birds will probably want to eat small children as well. Hmm, I guess that won't work.

Maybe Disney needs to charge those birds admission. The high cost of getting into the parks could certainly keep them away!

Lisa

"You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build house and palaces. That is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly, you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say 'This is beautiful.' That is architecture. Art enters in."
-Le Corbusier

 

[baileybrad]

has anyone used any "homemade" remedies that have had any impact on keeping birds away, say at their home. I am not talking about offing the critters just wonder if someone has had any success with making them less interested in coming around.

It does so drive me nuts when I see guests feeding the birds in the parks. Now the birds seem to think that it is an entitlement whenever someone has food.

 

[spiceycat]

work uses wooden hawks - they kept away everything except the crows (very aggressive).

 

[KNWVIKING]

I wonder if certain hi frequency sounds iritate birds,kinda like those deer whistles you mount on your car bumper or those insect repellers. I don't know if either actually work but it might be a human way to get rid of them.The one post was about wooden Hawks.I know at the Jersey shore they use owls.They also paint seagulls on the parking lots. Seagulls pick up clams,fly high & drop them on asphalt to break the shells.They won't drop them if they think another gull is on the ground waiting. Works very well.

 

[Fenceman]

At HH they have strung pieces of fishing line in criss cross directions from buildings to trees around the Mercantile/snack bar and near the pool. The naturalist said they use this to help keep the black birds away. The birds do not like the vibration of the string in the wind nor the way the sun light reflects off the string. The strings are not that noticable unless you are looking for them but have to be move occasionally so the birds do not get use to there position.

He said they had the same problems with birds. They were so smart that they would swoop down and knock things off the tables. When you would reach down to pick that up they would swoop down and take your food.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Aluminum pie plates suspended by string works good in gardens. It sure would be tacky, tho.