"Neighbors criticize bird-feeding resident in Hull; Accused of posing hazard, public nuisance" by Martine Powers |
Globe Staff, August 21, 2012
HULL — The future of an 18-inch bird feeder has sparked a squall in this South Shore village.
The dispute, pitting Hull enforcement agencies against a 70-year-old,
bird-loving oceanside resident, unfolded in Brockton Housing Court
Tuesday, as neighbors testified that the woman’s hanging bird feeder has
wreaked havoc on the oceanfront neighborhood.
The impassioned hearing, which lasted three hours, included stories
of frenzied birds, depictions of splattered droppings, and an accusation
of bullying.
“While some of you folks may try to trivialize why we’re here today,
saying it’s only a matter of feeding some birds . . . the defendant has
been feeding the birds in such a way as to create a health hazard and a
public nuisance,” said James Lampke, the attorney for the town.
The hearing is scheduled to continue Monday, when witnesses
testifying on behalf of the city will continue their testimony. Gail
Kansky, owner of the bird feeder, is also set to take the stand that
day.
See: Hull woman, 70, battles to preserve right to feed birds
If Housing Court Judge Wilbur Edwards sides with the town, a
temporary restraining order will force Kansky to remove the bird feeder
that hangs about 15 feet off her second-floor porch.
At her sun-bleached home with a pristine ocean view and decorated with dozens of jars of sea glass she
collected herself, Kansky seemed at a loss to understand the flap.
“There are plenty of other people in Hull who have bird feeders,
there are plenty of other people in Massachusetts that do,’’ said
Kansky, who has summered at the Beach Avenue residence for nearly four
decades. “It’s just ridiculous.’’
Kansky said she began feeding the birds two years ago, after the
chronic fatigue syndrome she suffers from took a turn for the worse and
she could no longer take long walks on the beach.
Tossing bread to seagulls, she said, was her way of bringing a little nature to her doorstep.
Last winter, she made trips from her home in Needham to keep feeding
the birds. Neighbors and city officials squawked; in July, she reached
an agreement with the town that she would cease feeding seagulls. The
agreement allowed her to have one bird feeder.
The problem, Lampke said, is that birds have grown to identify
Kansky’s house as prime feeding ground. They flock to telephone lines
and rooftops surrounding Kansky’s residence, he said.
Neighbors testified that Kansky fills the cylinder to excess four or
five times a day, causing seed to spill on the ground below, attracting
rodents.
Kansky said she fills the feeder regularly so birds have multiple
access points, thereby cutting down on fighting between birds and
incessant flapping.
In court, neighbors described scenes reminiscent of “The Birds,” with
pigeons and sparrows gathering in throngs, thrashing in the air when
startled, dive-bombing piles of seed on the ground, cooing at all hours,
and creating a splattery mess.
Lampke circulated photos as evidence.
One neighbor, Alice Whelan, 71, said bird droppings fill her gutter,
requiring her to hose down her porch furniture nearly every day.
John MacKinnon, 65, told the judge the birds were “terrorizing” neighbors and passersby.
He can no longer use his back deck because of the abundance of bird
feces, and it is difficult to have a conversation outside because of the
excessive squawking, MacKinnon
said.
“The birds come onto my property all day — back porch, front porch,”
MacKinnon said. “I have absolutely no animus against the Kanskies. I’m
just at wits’ end and totally frustrated.”
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Kansky said even if the case comes back in the town’s favor, she will not remove the bird feeder.
“It’s worth it if you stick up for what you believe in,” Kansky said.
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