St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Nov 4, 2001
Abstract: Responding to a peculiar episode that involved bird feeding, goggle wearing and public urination, City Council members are contemplating widening an existing city ordinance so that it would ban bird feeding in city parks.
So [Richard Kriseman] wanted the idea to go through a council subcommittee before the entire council got a look. The amendment is expected to be considered next month by the smaller panel, which includes Kriseman and council members John Bryan and Jay Lasita.
Jennifer Stokes and her sons Dawson Torres, 3, and Joseph Stokes, also 3, feed the birds Monday at Crescent Lake in St. Petersburg. ; Shredded bread intended for birds litters a sidewalk Monday at Williams Park in downtown St. Petersburg. (ran; East, South); Photo: PHOTO, MICHAEL RONDOU, (2)
Full Text: Copyright Times Publishing Co. Nov 4, 2001
(ran East, South, West, Beach editions)
Francis, the holy friend of animals, might roll his eyes.
But then again, the saint's hometown of Assisi, Italy, banned the public feeding of pigeons last year.
St. Petersburg soon may do much the same.
Responding to a peculiar episode that involved bird feeding, goggle wearing and public urination, City Council members are contemplating widening an existing city ordinance so that it would ban bird feeding in city parks.
Currently, the ordinance stops only feeding on the sidewalk.
An expanded version would mean you couldn't toss such avian grub as seed or bread crumbs onto the grass in parks across the city. It wouldn't stop spreading a feast on private property - and it would exempt waterfowl so that people could toss morsels to ducks.
But any move to limit feeding could be seen as startling for a city whose downtown Williams Park is home to a memorial fountain dedicated to Esther Wright, known as "the Bird Lady of St. Petersburg."
Mrs. Wright earned her nickname by riding a tricycle around the city, regularly dispensing batches of seed. She died in 1980 at age 82.
But another variety of bird feeding prompted the council's current interest.
It involved a man and woman in a park in far west St. Petersburg. They had been making early-morning visits, wearing goggles and feeding birds while sitting back to back on a blanket.
"It was almost like a cloud descending on them," said Neighborhood Partnership director Susan Ajob, referring to the swarm of birds the handouts attracted.
The followup activity was even more striking.
According to accounts, the man undressed and urinated into a container in a car as the woman held a blanket around him. The couple then dumped the urine around the park.
To block such a practice, the council two weeks ago passed an emergency ordinance banning public urination and defecation on city property.
And council member Richard Kriseman suggested considering a law to ban mass feedings in the city parks.
Kriseman, though, isn't sure such an ordinance is a good thing.
"My concern was: Is this an isolated incident, are we amending an ordinance for an isolated incident? We own a lot of different parks. I've been there sitting on a park bench, throwing crumbs to a bird or two. Is that what we really want to prevent?
"I'm not sure it's the right response," Kriseman said.
So Kriseman wanted the idea to go through a council subcommittee before the entire council got a look. The amendment is expected to be considered next month by the smaller panel, which includes Kriseman and council members John Bryan and Jay Lasita.
It's not difficult to find people critical of pigeons - or other birds, especially when they appear in masses - but there are dedicated feed flippers in many city parks.
Gene Gregory, 69, a Pinellas Point resident, happened to be sitting last week in Williams Park. He was more interested that day in giving lunch to the squirrels, but he doesn't begrudge birds a bite.
"Some people enjoy feeding them," he said. "They like to watch them eat. I don't see where it's a nuisance. You don't feed them forever. It gives some of the elderly people something to do."
The Audubon Society frowns on feeding pelicans because of the potential for harming the birds or altering their migration patterns.
But an Audubon official says there is no such problem in feeding songbirds or pigeons.
"I don't know that anyone has seriously raised a biological reason why it shouldn't happen," said Rich Paul, manager of the Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries.
[Illustration] Caption: Jennifer Stokes and her sons Dawson Torres, 3, and Joseph Stokes, also 3, feed the birds Monday at Crescent Lake in St. Petersburg. ; Shredded bread intended for birds litters a sidewalk Monday at Williams Park in downtown St. Petersburg. (ran; East, South); Photo: PHOTO, MICHAEL RONDOU, (2)
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