Ruffled Feathers Over Plan to Relocate Plano Birds

Apartment residents say birds aren't "angry" but hungry

Residents of a Plano apartment complex are concerned about plans to relocate the resident swans and ducks.

Previous management at the Lakeshore on Preston brought the birds to their home in a lake in the center of the development and fed them pellets twice per day, residents said.

But when new management took over, the birds were cut off cold turkey, residents said.

The new management has told residents it plans to transfer the swans and ducks back to the wild. But some residents say they are concerned, saying the birds are "semi-domestic" because of their reliance on humans.

"I'm sure they're quite dependent on people," resident Derik Long said. "I can't imagine waking up and not seeing them in the morning."

Signs still posted around the complex invite residents to purchase proper wild bird food from the apartment offices and note that the wildlife is federally protected.

Vic Williams, retail manager of Southland on Maple, a Dallas store dealing in wild bird supplies, said that taking away the birds' food can make them hungry and aggressive toward their primary food source: humans.

"If there are people that go down to the pond, they're going to be swamped," he said.

Lakeshore on Preston residents have taken the feeding of the birds into their own hands. They also have contacted the game warden in Plano and local bird rescue organizations to help plan for any permits or legal aspects involved in the birds' relocation into the wild.

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