If you have ever been around a turkey vulture or had one nest in a tree near your home or business, you’re likely aware of the mess they often leave behind.

The City of Perry dealt with this issue earlier this year near the water tower and City Administrator Butch Niebuhr says while it seems like they came up with a solution to keep it clean, the problem just relocated.  The company that maintains the water tower put metal spikes on the ledge to keep the birds off but they have since moved to the tall sycamore trees in the area.

Niebuhr says as many as 40-50 birds can be seen in the area at a time and the mess their droppings leave is both large and potentially hazardous.

Fortunately, Niebuhr says there are possible solutions.  They plan to ask the DNR for permission to either hang a dead turkey vulture up in the area to scare the birds or use gunshots or fireworks to keep them away.

Unfortunately, it’s too late in the year to do anything about the turkey vultures now, but the plan is to look into these options and hopefully deter the birds from making a home in the area next spring.