Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 1977)
Page 12 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1977 Birds leave presents too, Santa By COLIN CROMBIE The birds are coming again. It’s not a rescreening of Hitch cock’s horror film but rather flocks of migrating birds arriving in the College Station area. Keith Arnold, associate professor of wildlife and fisheries sciences, es timates that there are now about 20,000 birds roosting on campus. “It will take about a million birds to cause the problem again,” he said, referring to last winter’s influx of birds and the problems associated with their droppings. There is no way of estimating how many birds will arrive this year but the problem has already started, he said. Last winter about 2 million birds roosted at Texas A&M. Crackles, starlings and cowbirds gathered in large numbers in the center of cam pus for the first time. The birds’ droppings were the main problem. Apart from the smell and sight, the droppings, up to 1.5 inches deep, were also a health hazard. When the droppings became too offensive last winter, 15 to 20 uni versity employees were cleaning them up daily. Grounds maintenance and cam pus security employees resorted to Shooting at the birds to move them before the spring semester began. About 22,000 to 25,000 birds were killed — about one hundreth of all the birds on campus. Grounds maintenance also used noise cannons and a dummy owl to move the birds. - The birds had been attracted to the campus by shelter and roosting space in the trees, said Arnold. He said the problem occurs when cold weather arrives and migrating birds come to the end of their flight path. They mainly come from Ar kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennessee. Building heat only plays a small part in attracting birds, Arnold said. They mainly seek a roosting place and shelter from the wind. Tree trimming is an effective prevention, he said. Bird droppings in large amounts have a pungent odor and cover seats and sidewalks beneath trees to the inconvenience of passersby. A health hazard exists because of the presence of a pathogen called “histoplasma capsulatum” in the soil that can cause histoplasmosis. This pathogen grows abundantly in bird droppings, said Willard A. Taber, professor of biology. It af fects the lungs and joints but it rarely kills, he said. Symptoms may resemble a cold. The risk increases with greater amounts of bird droppings and more exposure, he explained, but not teveryone is susceptible. Arnold said the danger of histo plasmosis occurs once the bird roost is abandoned and the droppings have dried and been stirred up to spread the pathogen’s spores. To prevent the bird problem from recurring, grounds mainte nance has been thinning trees as ad vised by Arnold, said Eugene Ray, director of grounds maintenance. Tree trimming is a regular opera tion of grounds maintenance, but it has been increased because of the bird problem, Ray said. It is a slow, meticulous job. Grounds mainte nance employs one trimmer and his assistant. For a bird repellant, grounds maintenance has hung burlap sacks sprayed with pentachlorophenol (normally a wood preservative) in some trees, he said. And in case the birds do become a problem, grounds maintenance has gas cannons to use for scaring the birds away with noise. Using amplified birds’ distress calls has been considered, but Ar nold said they may not be effective. He added that the calls would have to be amplified so loudly that they would be distressing to humans. Prevention is preferred to a later “cure” such as shooting, said Ar nold. Ray and Arnold agreed that the problem would be less serious if the birds roosted away from the center of campus. An acceptable roost would be along Main Drive towards the east gate or in trees between the north gate dorms and FM 2154. Help session to be held for student; with off-campus housing problem More Of A Good Thing - HAPPY HOUR 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday Thru Friday Call any weekday during the dinner hours and have a piping hot pizza delivered to your door — at these discounted prices!!! o® O* \S - -1*° *00 v*' t SOUP WOOD SOLID WOOD SOLID WOOD RED TAG 8 — Thru December — Shop Early & Save $$$ Many items in store are on sale at Below Cost! Over stocked — these items must go! Example: Rocker NOW Reg. $169.88 $9088 Unfinished Furniture Center 314 N. MAIN 822-7052 DOWNTOWN BRYAN "flUMailBl rarer OOQM TBTSt (No coupons accepted during Happy Hour, please.) 846-7785 9 OUT OF 10 PUPPIES PREFER THE BATTALION RICE UNIVERSITY JONES GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTING/INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS BUSINESS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Thursday, December 1, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. An admissions officer will be on campus to meet with students interested in accounting, business administration, public ad ministration, and international management. Master’s de grees are offered in these areas and a Ph.D. in accounting. No specific undergraduate major is required. Foreign lan guage training is particularly sought. Group sessions will meet every hour on the hour. Contact the Career Planning and Placement Center for more details and to sign up for a session. Rice University is committed to the principle of equal educa tional opportunity and evaluate candidates without regard to race, sex, creed, or national origin. A session to help students with off-campus housing for the spring will be held from 2-3:30 p.m. Thursday, in Hassle Free head quarters at Puryear Hall lounge. The meeting, sponsored by the Student Off-Campus Infor mation and Referral Center, will serve a dual purpose — to an swer the questions regarding leases, subletting and roommate swaps while providing students a chance to meet prospective roommates. All students with off-campus housing problems for next spring are urged to attend, said j spokesman for the center, lo cated in room 106 of the YMCA Building. The center’s goal is to settle the housing problems before Chirstmas holidays, one- STOP! I0ES ALL! I 3RD BIG WEEK! Celebration Now Going on at Your New BRYAN Safeway 1805 Briarcrest at 29th St. i ■“FREE I 12 0Z. $ PKG. M SAFEWAY | WIENERS Coupon Valid November 28 Through * December 4 © "FREE" with s 7.50 Purchase or More, Less Beer, Wine and Tobaccos. Redeem This Coupon at Your New Bryan Safeway, 1805 Briarcrest. CLIP THIS COUPON OPEN 24 HOURS! mmmm BUY SOME & GET SOME mmJCdi HLdi m 1 Lb. Loaf of Buttercrust Honey Meal Bread with the Purchase of One 1 Lb. Loaf at Regular Price! A 8 Oz. Btl. of NuMade 1000 Island Salad Dressing With the Purchase of One 8 Oz. Btl. at Regular Price! 4 Oz. Can of Crown Colony BlackPepper With the Purchase of One 4 Oz. Can at Regular Pricel a 14 Oz. Can of White Magic Cleanser With the Purchase of One 14 Oz. Can at Regular Price! © BUEACHlN' CU&’ 1-Lb. Pkg. of Empress Soft Margarine With the Purchase of One 1-Lb. Pkg. at Regular Price! ^ One 12 Btl. Ctn. of 6.5 Oz. Coca Cola With the Purchase of One 12 Btl. Ctn. of 6.5 Oz. at Regular Price! (Deposits not Included.) raTTSyk Free Prizes and Buy-1-Get-1-Free Items Available at the New Bryan Safeway Store Only, 1805 Briarcrest, Nov. 28-Dec. 4,1977 SAFEWAY Copyright I960, Safeway Stores, Inc.