Birds trapped
A risk to human health



GUILDERLAND — Birds trapped in stores and malls with high ceilings are a common problem. It is not good for the bird, said Ward Stone, and it is dangerous to humans because the birds often carry diseases and defecate in open areas.

The state wildlife pathologist told The Enterprise this week that stores or malls must take action to remove trapped birds from their property. But, he said, preventing the birds from getting in is the key to solving the problem.

Kristen Hoffman, of Guilderland, said she was sad when she saw a bird hovering near a window in the food court at Crossgates Mall. The bird was staring at another bird that sat on a ledge on the other side of the glass, she said.

Hoffman e-mailed mall management several times, asking if it will try to trap the bird safely and remove it from the mall. She wrote the Enterprise editor this week because the mall has not yet responded to her; she’s looking for answers.

A representative of Crossgates Mall did not return several phone calls from The Enterprise this week.
Hoffman first saw the bird a month ago, in the mall’s food court, on the second floor, she said. She thinks it was a sparrow, she said. At times, she said, she saw another bird, possibly its mate, outside the mall looking through the glass. When that bird would fly away, the inside bird would "go nuts," Hoffman said.

Hoffman is not a bird expert, but she cares for animals, she said. She wrote to mall management several times and offered to trap the bird herself.

Asked how she’d do this, she said she’d buy a humane trap at Home Depot. She would bring it to the mall and try to catch the bird, she said.

"Widespread problem"

Birds, often house sparrows, can live for months in a store or mall, Stone said.
"In some stores, they get in and live there and nest," he said. "It’s a common thing."
Large home-improvement stores, such as Lowe’s or Home Depot, have open garden areas connected to the stores. Birds are attracted to these areas because often they look like "a natural area," Stone said, with sunlight, plants, and water.

These areas often have automatic doors that are frequently open because of the high number of customers passing back and forth. Birds fly through when the doors are open, Stone said.

A spokesman for the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation told The Enterprise that birds can even activate the motion sensors on the doors by flying past.

At Crossgates Mall or other stores, Stone said, birds may fly in because of popcorn or bread dropped on the floor.
"Crossgates probably has little coconut trees or something in the hallways," Stone said. In the mall, he said, where it is open with two floors and high ceilings, "There are lots of places for birds to fly around."

Stores usually hire a pest-control business to periodically remove trapped birds, Stone said. Most stores keep records on this, he said.

The mall should do what it can to remove trapped birds, Stone said.
"Birds can possibly carry bacteria, salmonella, and then defecate," he said. This is dangerous to humans, especially in areas where food is sold, he said.
"It would be to the advantage of the store to have a system to get rid of birds," Stone said.

A few years ago in Saratoga County, a large store put poison out for trapped birds to ingest, Stone said. The store owner was probably frustrated because the birds were defecating on merchandise and pecking at things, he said.

After the poison was gone, dead birds were dropping from the ceiling and someone reported this, he said.

Stone was called in to test the dead birds and found they had been poisoned, he said. That store was fined, he said, because killing birds like this is illegal.

However, a DEC spokesperson added, poison is allowed through a certified applicator.

Stone said birds should be humanely trapped and released back into the wild. Asked if this can be done without professionals, Stone said sometimes store owners shut off all the lights, shine a bright flashlight on the birds, and catch them with nets.

The number-one way a store or mall can solve its trapped-bird problem is prevention, Stone said. Someone must evaluate how the birds are getting in, he said.

At Crossgates Mall, he said, perhaps there is a hole somewhere or an open loading dock where the birds are entering. Measures can be taken to see that these areas are sealed, he said.