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Bird Cannon - woke me up the last three nights (1 Viewer)

Sabertooth

Sabertooth

Footballguy
So my city council, in all their infinite wisdom saw fit to permit people to use Bird Cannons to deter seagulls.   These cannons are basically propane devices that set off an explosion every 5-30 minutes depending on how you set it.  They go off at about 125 -130 decibels.  Which is about the same as a gunshot.  So an abandoned building in my town set one up.  No operating business in town has set one up because, well it sounds like gunfire.  

Does anyone else's town or city use these?  It doesn't appear to be very effective.  I've watched the gulls simply fly up in the air and then just go right back to where they were and land.  And it's woken me up at 1:30, 3:00. and 4:45 am just this week.  

Do I have any kind of legal recourse here?  City Manager basically told me to pack sand.  I record the decibels levels at my house, which is a mile and a half away.  It comes in around 70 when the explosion goes off.  Which is roughly the equivalent of a vacuum cleaner.  My dog literally jumps when he hears it.  It woke up myself, both my daughters and my wife this morning.  

What are my options here?  I've never really complained about anything before.

 
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Sabertooth said:
So my city council, in all their infinite wisdom saw fit to permit people to use Bird Cannons to deter seagulls.   These cannons are basically propane devices that set off an explosion every 5-30 minutes depending on how you set it.  They go off at about 125 -130 decibels.  Which is about the same as a gunshot.  So an abandoned building in my town set one up.  No operating business in town has set one up because, well it sounds like gunfire.  

Does anyone else's town or city use these?  It doesn't appear to be very effective.  I've watched the gulls simply fly up in the air and then just go right back to where they were and land.  And it's woken me up at 1:30, 3:00. and 4:45 am just this week.  

Do I have any kind of legal recourse here?  City Manager basically told me to pack sand.  I record the decibels levels at my house, which is a mile and a half away.  It comes in around 70 when the explosion goes off.  Which is roughly the equivalent of a vacuum cleaner.  My dog literally jumps when he hears it.  It woke up myself, both my daughters and my wife this morning.  

What are my options here?  I've never really complained about anything before.
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Sounds awful.  If they don't turn that crap off I would move.

Must be others like you who are hating it

 
need2know said:
Sounds awful.  If they don't turn that crap off I would move.

Must be others like you who are hating it
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I told my wife this morning.  We will need to move if they don't stop it.  You can't live somewhere you can't sleep.  

The building is of course abandoned too.  So they just set it and forget it.  

It is a low frequency so even with my tinnitus I hear it clear as day.  Sounds like a dumpster being dropped off the back of a truck.  

I manage the building right next to city hall so I told the city manager if he isn't going to curtail this, I'd like to apply for a permit and set one up on my building.  I will light it off every day when I leave and turn it off when I come in.  So it will be live during council meetings at probably close to 100-120 decibels (literally 500 ft from city hall).  I said to him "what if 30 business did this?  It would sound like a gunfight day and night for half the year."  So dumb.  

 
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Sabertooth said:
I told my wife this morning.  We will need to move if they don't stop it.  You can't live somewhere you can't sleep.  

The building is of course abandoned too.  So they just set it and forget it.  

It is a low frequency so even with my tinnitus I hear it clear as day.  Sounds like a dumpster being dropped off the back of a truck.  

I manage the building right next to city hall so I told the city manager if he isn't going to curtail this, I'd like to apply for a permit and set one up on my building.  I will light it off every day when I leave and turn it off when I come in.  So it will be live during council meetings at probably close to 100-120 decibels (literally 500 ft from city hall).  I said to him "what if 30 business did this?  It would sound like a gunfight day and night for half the year."  So dumb.  
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Your tax dollars at work  :lol:

 
Just googled bird cannons. Looks like they could be used to shoot out items, like say offal.  Set one up to shower the City Manager's home with fish guts.  The gulls will quickly learn to respond to the sound of the cannon by converging on the target.  

Caution, all advice is facetious and should not be relied upon as legal advice.

 
WhatDoIKnow said:
Sounds like a town in need of a Rent-A-Falcon franchise.

Rent-A-Raptor my be a catchier name if anyone is interested in a startup.  :shrug:  
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I might have to just settle for Rent-a-bird-cannon and set up several around town....to keep the seagulls away of course.  

 
Sabertooth said:
I might have to just settle for Rent-a-bird-cannon and set up several around town....to keep the seagulls away of course.  
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Being a concerned citizen perhaps you should perform the public service of making certain their are no gulls within the vicinity of any of your City Councilmembers homes.

 
Ditkaless Wonders said:
Being a concerned citizen perhaps you should perform the public service of making certain their are no gulls within the vicinity of any of your City Councilmembers homes.
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Well apparently the permit is for flat roofed businesses only.  I just so happen to manage a flat roofed building within a couple hundred feet of both City Hall and also the Mayor's regular place of employment.  So I got that going for me.  Which is nice.  But I like your persistence.  

I really feel like I am going to go to the mat on this one.  If they deny my permit which the director of public safety stated was open to any business with a flat roof in town, I might have to look into legal avenues.   I literally all of a sudden cannot get a night's sleep in my own home so one abandoned building can not have seagulls on it's roof (which it does anyway).  

 
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around here they hired dogs to chase the geese and gulls away

just get you a handful of shelter dogs and let them loose in the building

problem solved

 
WhatDoIKnow said:
Are the gulls in or on this abandoned building?  You would think if you are 1.5 miles away that there would be plenty of others within that radius to support your cause.

There was an farmer a few of miles outside my small town that used one of these cannons to try to keep deer away from young fruit trees.  You could hear it in town, but it was farther away than what you are dealing with.  
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Lots of gulls in our town.  So I'd assume that yes they are on there.  I'm rallying support.  I think a lot of people hear it but don't have any idea what it is.  It sounds like a construction site or something if you only hear it once or twice.  

 
Mr. Ham said:
I don't want you to have to endure this.  But I remember first night in my dorm Freshman year, living along the Mass Pike.  Didn't think I'd sleep all year.  From night 10 on, I don't think I heard a car the next two years.  Mind is an adaptive thing. 

That said, I think it's a good strategy to apply for a permit and put one of those things on your roof.  Spread the pain, end the pain. 

Good luck.
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I agree.  

 
Document through photos a migratory bird perched on the building, or better yet nesting there.  Cite the migratory bird act to the owner and to the town.  Molesting or troubling migratory birds is a no no.  Gulls don't make the list, but I am confident that with a bit of diligence you can photograph some migratory bird passing through.

 
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Ditkaless Wonders said:
Document through photos a migratory bird perched on the building, or better yet nesting there.  Cite the migratory bird act to the owner and to the town.  Mosesting or troubling migratory birds is a no no.  Gulls don't make the list, but I am confident that with a bit of diligence you can photograph some migratory bird passing through.
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I like it.  I'm going to head over at lunch with my camera and my decibel meter.  

 
arrow1 said:
:ph34r:
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It registered at 85 Decibels in the parking lot.  Actually enough to startled you.  I've convinced the city manager to stop over and listen for himself.  I don't believe he's ever heard it before.  BTW there were indeed seagulls on the building.  

 
We have them out in some of the farm fields.  Keeps birds from eating grapes IIRC.

One of our muni golf courses is surrounded by farm land.  Kinda sucked to be in the middle of your backswing and having a one of those go off.

 
Sabertooth said:
I told my wife this morning.  We will need to move if they don't stop it.  You can't live somewhere you can't sleep.  

The building is of course abandoned too.  So they just set it and forget it.  

It is a low frequency so even with my tinnitus I hear it clear as day.  Sounds like a dumpster being dropped off the back of a truck.  

I manage the building right next to city hall so I told the city manager if he isn't going to curtail this, I'd like to apply for a permit and set one up on my building.  I will light it off every day when I leave and turn it off when I come in.  So it will be live during council meetings at probably close to 100-120 decibels (literally 500 ft from city hall).  I said to him "what if 30 business did this?  It would sound like a gunfight day and night for half the year."  So dumb.  
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"I'll take that advise under cooperation, alright? Now, let's say you and I go toe-to-toe on bird law and see who comes out the victor?"

 
I certainly hope your municipality hasn't opened itself up to a mass action inverse condemnation suit by allowing this.

 
1. Pay some young hooligans to make the cannon go away.

2. Release a falcon to the town that will eat the gulls... and maybe even small pets. Be careful with falconry.

3. PM the FFA resident bird enthusiast @squistion for advice.

4. If you have problems with the loud local Bird Cannon... you might be a redneck. :lol:  
 

Keep us posted on the developments of this saga.

 
So reverse condemnation is basically suing the municipality if they make your home unusable by you.  Correct?

 
Call the police and report gunshots every time it happens.  I don't know what that will do, but it seems funny from here.

 
Tick said:
Call the police and report gunshots every time it happens.  I don't know what that will do, but it seems funny from here.
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This is a good idea. The OP has a solid case if they were to try saying he’s making false calls.

I can’t imagine how something like this is allowed near homes.

 
Sabertooth said:
So reverse condemnation is basically suing the municipality if they make your home unusable by you.  Correct?
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Inverse condemnation generally means the property has been constructively, though not actually, taken in violation of the Fifth Amendment by a governmental actor’s actions rendering it unfit for its intended purpose. 

It’s a stretch, but it’s always a stretch. 

 
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