Latest News Neighbors Fear Baby Birds Massacred In Woodchipper During Oakland Post Office Project

OAKLAND (CBS SF) – Oakland residents say rare birds were slaughtered during an Oakland tree-trimming project on behalf of the downtown U.S. Post office.

Black-crowned night herons are rare and protected by law, yet can be seen frequently on the streets of downtown Oakland, as are the droppings from the 2-foot tall birds. They have also been known to leave a mess on Post Office trucks. The city has trained work crews to leave ficus trees alone during the spring nesting season, but the USPS hired a 3rd party crew called Campos Tree Service to trim some branches.

The person in charge of the operation told KPIX 5 that it was an accident, and he was to blame.

“We are human beings, and we all make mistakes, and I am fully responsible for it. If I have to go to jail for that I will be more than happy to do it, because we all make mistakes,” said Ernesto Palido, a tree trimmer who borrowed the Campos truck to do the job.

Continued

Bird Friendly Buildings Mandated in Minnesota, city of Oakland

The state of Minnesota and the city of Oakland, California are the latest governments to pass legislation that mandates bird-friendly building designs.

They join San Francisco - which passed "Standards for Bird Safe Buildings" in 2011 - along with several municipalities in the Chicago area. The city of Chicago has produced voluntary guidelines. 

National legislation has been introduced in the House by Illinois representative Mike Quigley. It calls for all public buildings, whether renovated, constructed or acquired to incorporate bird-friendly designs and materials, as well as modify existing buildings to meet these goals. 

As many as one billion birds die each year colliding with buildings, one of the leading causes of bird mortality in the US. 

Glass-sided buildings have been popular for decades and as designers strive for more energy-efficient buildings, they tend to use more glass to bring in daylight. Birds are confused by the light that reflects off glass because they see the reflection of sky and trees. Since green buildings often emphasize native landscaping, that attracts birds to the site. 

Continued