Bird Laws

Summary: Laws protecting birds can be confusing but Cheryl and Kiersten take a moment to make it all clear. Join your Feathered Desert co-hosts as they talk federal, state, and city laws that protect our birds.

 

For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes.

 

Show Notes:

https://www.fws.gov/law/migratory-bird-treaty-act-1918

https://www.audubon.org/news/migratory-bird-treaty-act

https://www.fws.gov/media/list-birds-protected-migratory-bird-treaty-act-2020

https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/wildlifelegalstatus.html

https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/arizona/az-laws/arizona_laws_17-236

https://azdot.gov/adot-blog/nesting-birds-are-protected-during-construction

https://phoenix.municipal.codes/CC/8-7.02

https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-law-bans-feeding-ducks-in-arizona-city

https://www.mesaazpolice.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/43871

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2018/05/05/tempe-regulation-takes-aim-overfeeding-birds/574426002/

Background bird song:  Naturescapes Backyard Birds www.naturescapes.com

Our email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com

 

Transcript

Host Voice: Welcome to The Feathered Desert a podcast all about desert bird feeding in the Southwest region of the United States. (Various bird calls play)

 

Kiersten – Intro – Today we’re talking about laws that protect birds. We’ll look at federal laws and state regulations and then we’ll discuss some controversial bird feeding bans that affect our local Valley area. Cheryl is going to start us off with one of the most important bird laws!

 

Cheryl – Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

            Most people don’t even know that there are federal laws protecting birds in this country. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is such a law and it applies to the entire United States, every state must abide by this law.  You go Migratory Bird Treay Act!

 

Kiersten – Yes!

 

Cheryl - I know that seems redundant to say but it never hurts to repeat something important.

            What exactly is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

            This Act implements four international treaties that the US entered into with Canada in 1916, Mexico in 1936, Japan in 1972, and with Russia in 1976. It ensures the sustainability of populations of all protected migratory bird species. What this means is that it prohibits the taking of migratory bird species without proper and prior authorization from the Department of Interior U.S Fish and Wildlife service.  It sounds sooo important!

 

Kiersten – It does.

 

Cheryl - A quote from the US Fish and Wildlife Service “The MBTA provides that it is unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, sell, purchase, barter, import, export, or transport any migratory bird, OR any part, nest, or egg of any such bird, unless authorized under a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior. Take is defined as: pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or, collect, or attempt to pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect.” I think that covers everything!

 

Kiersten – Yes! (laughs)

 

Cheryl - Who does the law protect?

            There is a list of bird species generally based on bird families and individual species that are protected. There are three criteria that a species must meet to be included.

1. It must occur in the United States or U.S Territories by natural biological or ecological processes. That means that it is native to the country or territory or that its natural migratory path brings it through the US or its territories.
2. It must be in a family that is currently or previous included in a treaty or revised taxonomy rolls it into a protected family.

 

Kiersten – They are constanstyl revising taxonomy. That means the family and genera that they are in.

 

Cheryl- I was just going to clarify that. Thanks!

3.New evidence has arisen that proves the bird species or family is native to the US and US territories. Like Kiersten said they are always clarifying and revising.

In a nutshell, it protects any bird that is or was found here without the help of human transport. For example, the Inca dove is native to the SW United States so they are protected; whereas, the rock dove, AKA pigeons, are not native to this country and are not protected by this law.

Kiersten did I cover everything?

 

Kiersten – I think you go it!

Over the years the Treaty has been updated and expanded and the government is required to release a list of all species protected under the law. The last revision was in 2020 and that is the most current list of protected animals.

            Some of you may be thinking that this is just a law, what has it really done to help birds in reality. Since its inception it has actually saved many species from extinction at the hands of humans. Some examples include the Snowy Egret, that was being hunted for its pretty feathers the Wood Duck, that was being hunted for sport and the Sandhill Crane, that was also being hunted for feathers and spot. An example right here in our own backyard is the Burrowing Owl. Without its designation of a protected species the city of Phoenix would not have had to take all the extensive steps to protect them from the sprawl of housing construction.

            One last thing I want to reiterate about this law is that it also makes it illegal to own feathers, bones, beaks, claws, nests, and eggs from these birds, as well. That does apply to any of these items being found on the ground in your front yard or on a hike or anywhere. You cannot legally own them.

            “But I didn’t kill the bird to get it, I just found it on the ground!” I have heard that argument a lot, but you have no way of proving it to USFWS and people who are not honest can go out and kill the bird for those things and they’ll use the same argument. So, this law applies to everyone.

            Now there are some exceptions, but these are only valid with permitting. People who help birds to recover from injuries or illness are licensed rehabilitators. Liberty Wildlife, East Valley Wildlife, Wild at Heart are all licensed rehabbers. They get permitting through the state and federal agencies after taking hours and hours of classes and working as an apprentice. You cannot take a bird into you home with the intention of nursing them back to health and re-releasing them without these permits.

            Falconers, people who hunt with a bird of prey, are also licensed to do so. You cannot house raptors without permission from USFWS and only after working with a licensed falconer for years. Generally five years. You will also have to have visits from inspectors to determine if the housing you are providing meets regulations. And those regulations are strict. Then there are all the rules you must follow such as catching males versus females and how long you are allowed to keep them and hunt with them. All of this is to protect the sustainability of the species.

Cheryl – I find is so interesting that falconers have a limited time to work with them and then release them.

 

Kiersten – Yes! That’s why you have to work with a Master falconer for so many years. These birds have to know how to hunt on their own and beable to teach their young.

For a bit more on how the Migratory Bird Treaty Act came to be, please listen to our first episode of Groundbreaking Women of Ornithology and learn how a few fashion forward women influenced the creation of this life saving law.

 

Cheryl – State Laws

I got state laws! Our state laws follow the federal laws and can be found under Arizona Laws Title 17, Chapter 2, Article 3, 17-236.

These laws do take it a step further in saying that you cannot intentionally harass a protected bird or intentionally destroy a nest of a protected bird. Which includes woodpecker!

 

Kiersten – Yes! It does include a lot of birds that people are annoyed with. (laughs) I forgot to put this one in here. ADOT, Arizona Department of Transportation had a question from a jogger near the 101 that asked about the cliff swallow nests. ADOT takes care to not disturb the nests while the birds are nesting but, once the birds have fledged they knock down the nests to encourage them to nest elsewhere. They only do it when the nests are no longer is use or before the nests are complete. ADOT has a Biologist that inspects projects before they get started for nests. It’s okay to do that before a nest is in use.

 

The other state laws involving birds are mainly based around hunting. There is a specific hunting season for birds that are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and you must have a hunting license to hunt during this season.

 

Arizona Game and Fish is in charge of distributing these permits. The regulations for each year can change because they are always assessing the population size of a species approved for hunting. Each season has a maximum bag number for how many individuals you can kill and they have strict regulations about hunting outside of specified seasons. I know we have Dove hunting and quail hunting.

           

Kiersten – Our next topic is one that Cheryl and I have kind of avoided talking about for some time. I mean we’re doing a podcast about bird feeding, so this one is a bit counter-intuitive to what we talk about each episode. It’s important but it’s also a bit controversial. I think the time has come and we’re going to have to just rip the band-aid off and get to it.

            And that is City Bans on bird feeding.

            The main cities in the Phoenix Valley we’ll discuss today are Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Phoenix. These are the ones that have officially passed bans at the recording of this podcast, but other cities out there may be considering them.

            Let’s look at Mesa first. In 2019, the Mesa city council approved an amendment to the city’s nuisance code prohibiting feeding wild birds. Many customers of the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Mesa that sells products specifically to feed wild birds were pretty concerned, but you need to dig a little deeper into the code to get the whole story.

            This change was certainly inspired by people feeding wild birds and attracting too many pigeons and doves. I am now quoting from a Code Compliance brochure from the Mesa police website that states “It is a violation in the City of Mesa to feed pigeons and doves on private or public property. An exemption is provided for feeding of other species of birds from a feeder intended to prevent pigeons and doves from feeding.” End quote.

            The key here is that you can still feed the birds as long as you are doing it with a feeder that prevents large bird from taking over. You can get just the right feeder and the correct food that will cut down on the number of larger birds, such as pigeons and doves, that you attract. This is essentially what we preach with the podcast as well. Responsible bird feeding.

            Tempe. In 2018, the city of Tempe did essentially the same thing. Their ordinance was aimed at reining in people who were putting out large amounts of bird seed and attracting flocks of pigeons and doves. Some feared they wouldn’t be able to put out bird feeders anymore but Councilman Kolby Granville was quoted by the AZCentral as saying “We’re not talking about a bird feeder, we’re talking about a bag of food a week.” End quote.

 

Cheryl – Let’s talk about Phoenix. In the Phoenix City Code Section 8-7.02 it states that feeding pigeons is prohibited. It states “It is unlawful for any person to feed pigeons within the City. The prohibition does not prohibit the feeding of other birds using practices or devices designed to prevent pigeons from obtaining food.”

            Once again, this city is trying to cut down on larger birds like pigeons and doves coming in droves to food but is not opposed to smaller birds coming to appropriate feeders.

            Scottsdale - Now Scottsdale’s ban is a bit different. In 2014, the city of Scottsdale banned the feeding of ducks and other birds at public parks. It seems that people were bringing whole loaves of bread, sometimes garbage bags full of stale bread, to the park and dumping them on the pathways or in ponds. I think Kiersten and I are both onboard with this ban since bread is terrible food for ducks, birds, and any wildlife. It has no nutrition in it and is not a natural food for them to eat.

When you break it down like this it’s not scary and it’s what we want our bird feeding enthusiasts to do anyway! Feed responsibly.

Kiersten – I have to admit I’m kinda on board with all of these bans, really. They all help protect our birds by limiting the amount if food available, which cuts down on the number of birds in one place at one time, which decreases the likely hood of spreading diseases. It also encourages people to use hanging feeders and not ground feed which is another way to cut down on spreading diseases.

 Laws are not scary and are here to help protect our birds and ourselves.