Renton residents trying to solve mystery of disappearing birds
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RENTON, Wash. -- It's like a Hitchcock move, only in reverse. Rather than flocking in epic proportions, the birds in a Renton neighborhood seem to have disappeared.
And like any good mystery, neighbors have a culprit in mind.
The landscape in Paul Oullette's backyard looks empty. He's traded out his bigger bird feeders for smaller ones, and they're still stubbornly half full.
"Our birds are gone. Why?" he said.
Winter is usually his busy season for birds, but not this year.
"You get more and more birds because they're hungry, there's no food out there," he said.
This year the flickers and finches, as well as the hummingbirds and chickadees, are rare visitors.
"I spend usually $30 a month on bird seed, and I haven't bought any now for three months," Oullette said.
And Oullette's not alone in missing the birds. His neighbors in Renton's Rolling Hills subdivision noticed the same thing: The feeders are full and the birds are gone.
Neighbors think they know why the birds have disappeared. They think it's the fault the new water meters that were recently installed.
The "smart meters" automatically transmit data about each home's water usage five times a day. The machines could save Renton as much as $800,000 a year.
"So the payback for this is pretty phenomenal," said Renton spokeswoman Preeti Shridhar.
In spite of the savings, smart meters across the country are spurring backlash, with local groups claiming everything from inaccurate billing to human health hazards. Residents also worry the low-level radio frequencies hurt wildlife.
Renton leaders insist the meters are safe.
"One of the things is we made sure that the frequencies that these meters used are FCC approved and regulated," Shridhar said.
Oullete wants the city to implement a moratorium on any more meters until someone studies their effects on wildlife. The city's Utilities Committee will look into the issue during a Monday public hearing.
And like any good mystery, neighbors have a culprit in mind.
The landscape in Paul Oullette's backyard looks empty. He's traded out his bigger bird feeders for smaller ones, and they're still stubbornly half full.
"Our birds are gone. Why?" he said.
Winter is usually his busy season for birds, but not this year.
"You get more and more birds because they're hungry, there's no food out there," he said.
This year the flickers and finches, as well as the hummingbirds and chickadees, are rare visitors.
"I spend usually $30 a month on bird seed, and I haven't bought any now for three months," Oullette said.
And Oullette's not alone in missing the birds. His neighbors in Renton's Rolling Hills subdivision noticed the same thing: The feeders are full and the birds are gone.
Neighbors think they know why the birds have disappeared. They think it's the fault the new water meters that were recently installed.
The "smart meters" automatically transmit data about each home's water usage five times a day. The machines could save Renton as much as $800,000 a year.
"So the payback for this is pretty phenomenal," said Renton spokeswoman Preeti Shridhar.
In spite of the savings, smart meters across the country are spurring backlash, with local groups claiming everything from inaccurate billing to human health hazards. Residents also worry the low-level radio frequencies hurt wildlife.
Renton leaders insist the meters are safe.
"One of the things is we made sure that the frequencies that these meters used are FCC approved and regulated," Shridhar said.
Oullete wants the city to implement a moratorium on any more meters until someone studies their effects on wildlife. The city's Utilities Committee will look into the issue during a Monday public hearing.
M birds have been studily declining as well.....can i blame the non existant smart meters in my area?
It surely couldnt be the three cell phones in every home, the cell towers every square mile, the new digital airwave transition( with the multiple carrier modulations) or perhaps its the wireless home internet networks in everyhome? ( sometimes two)....
It surely cant be the protected migratory american crow that attacks everthing that moves? A murder of those bastards within earshot and i dont see a single bird on my feeders.
Or perhaps its the rise in Perrigran falcons in the area scaring them off...please people- if you dont want smart meters just say so ....
Out here in Marysville, we have had transmitter meters for a couple years at least, and I don't think the bird population has changed significantly.Â
 I was at a campground south of Olympia years ago and the park ranger said they had suffered a decline in birds and small rodents because of an unchecked population of feral cats, people dump unwanted cats out there, sadly. Cats love to kill birds, and they are very efficient.Â
@Insomniac Dreams We have feral cats dropped off in our neighborhood frequently. So far it has not decreased the bird population as most of the feral cats, I think, are eaten by coyotes. We see them for a week or up to a month and then 'poof' gone. Poor things. We live in Snohomish County too.
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I was wondering about the humming birds. We had a lot of them coming to our feeder. Even in the really cold days. I haven't seen one in weeks.
I forgot to mention, I reside in the Crown Hill area of Seattle.
I too, have noticed a disappearance of birds. Normally, at this time of year, my feeders are flocked with birds needing seed at my feeders. I've been experiencing insomnia and slight dizziness for the past month. What's going on?
Obviously something is up. Clearly at a time when most of us are enjoying the return of all the birds (and some not so much:)), the fact that the opposite is happening means something is wrong.
Hummingbirds don't usuallly arrive for another month or so...... usually around St. Pats day.
@Reality Control I've seen numerous of the little beauties around for a few weeks now up here in Snohomish County. I think they may have come early due to the mild winter perhaps.
I know where all the birds are - in my back yard! I looked out the back window the other day and there must have been over 100 Robins and a dozen Blue Jays going through the garden area and the compost heap!Â
My 2 year old pup had a field day running through the pet door and trying to catch one of them (he never came close).
@OrcasThunder I was about to say the same thing. I have seen an increase in hummingbirds this year than in previous years. I am over in Fairwood West and we have yet to see these meters that Mr. Oullette is talking about but then again, we have Cedar River & Water as our water company right now. There are also plenty of amateur radio operators in the neighborhood which operate on a variety of frequencies, none of which the birds care about. Like I said, I have seen an influx of birds despite the giant antenna's mounted around the neighborhood.Â
Maybe the birds know something, like 2013 is really the end? :-)
Just because it is in the FCC frequency range does not mean it is safe. They are not the FDA. They (FCC) just make sure that certain bandwidth are not stepped on and separation is maintained They should do a study of this. They make bug repellent devices using certain frequencies why would it not affect birds? This is a concern and they should check it out. We also are going to the new radio meters in the next year or so here so I would like to know if it does. Interesting story no matter what the drones think.
@Grumpa Separation is often maintained but in the FCC rules and regs it does say that by using blah, you agree that there may be some level of interference. My husband fried my wireless mouse because it was in the same range he was testing in. Our home phone operates on 5.8GHz but amateur radio folks can use that band also. It would be interesting to see the studies done on these meters and to find out what freq range they operate in.Â
@komonews Coincidentally, Popeye's Chicken announces weekend 2-for-1 BBQ buffalo-wing dinner special, w slaw & fries... Limited time only!
Coopers Hawks and others. The birds leave for hours.
Well I sure wouldn't mind the loud crows to be disappearing from my neighborhood. Altho I am curious on why this is even newsworthy.
@Zoso Send them on over to me. I would prefer them to the dive bombing chickadee's that attack us when we leave the house or just after hatching season when there is a plethora of poop all over my car.Â
IT could be that the 2 way radios in VHF Band have been narrow banded as of January 1 by the FCC and this is causing problems with bird navigation. i now get fire traffic from 82 miles away that i never got before.
Even birds don't want to live in Renton â@komonews: Renton residents trying to solve mystery of disappearing birds http://t.co/2HdCnTNArlâ
Same thing out here in the Totem Lake area...........no birds. I thought it was because the birds are nesting. My water meter is at the end of my street. I'll check with Woodinville Water on Monday. Meanwhile, I noticed that PSE has installed a new type of meter on the utility box outside the garage. That might be contributing to the problem. Not a good thing.Â