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Anacortes hires falconer for seagull abatement at City Hall
Summary
The city introduced a falconry-based bird-abatement contract to discourage seagulls from nesting on City Hall; contractor Caitlin O'Neil brought a Harris hawk named Crash to demonstrate the approach.
Anacortes city staff introduced a falconry-based bird-abatement program to discourage seagulls from nesting on City Hall after officials said other options — including large wire systems — were less practical.
Public Works Director Rayum told the council the city had signed a contract to bring a professional falconer to town to “help us mitigate seagulls nesting on top of City Hall.” The falconer, Caitlin O'Neil of Airstrike, brought a Harris hawk named Crash to the meeting for a short demonstration and briefing.
O'Neil described the service as “falconry-based bird abatement,” saying the practice uses trained raptors to scare nuisance birds off a specific site without harming them. “Falconry is hunting with birds of prey,” she said. “Falconry-based bird abatement is where we take those trained birds, and we go to different job sites and scare away seagulls, crows, geese, whatever birds are causing issues.”
Council members asked how frequently the contractor would visit and whether the goal was removal or eradication. O'Neil said the contractor planned to visit two to three times per week and emphasized the work is meant to abate, not exterminate, nesting: “Our goal isn't to kill any birds. It's just to scare them off of a particular spot.”
Council members also asked about the hawk's lifespan and whether multiple birds would be used under the contract. O'Neil said Crash is about four years old and, under ideal circumstances, a trained hawk can live “about 30 years.” She said two Harris hawks would primarily be used under the city's contract and that a red-tailed hawk is sometimes included for demonstrations and additional deterrence.
Mayor Miller and several council members thanked O'Neil for the demonstration and asked staff to share a photo and a short description of the program for the city's website.
The city did not present contract terms such as vendor name, contract length, or cost during the meeting; those details were not specified on the record.
