‘Freaky and disturbing': No one knows why birds are dying in this Bay Area neighborhood
On a recent evening, Mark Hoehner was walking his dogs in his East Richmond Heights neighborhood when he heard a loud pop like a firecracker.
The 64-year-old marketing designer looked up and saw a dove perched on the power line suddenly fall to the ground. Five minutes later, he heard the popping sound again and a starling hit the pavement in front of him.
As many as 50 birds have mysteriously died in the area in recent weeks, residents said, leaving them spooked and grasping for answers. Some blame PG&E power lines draped between two wooden poles in their neighborhood on the 6100 block of Bernhard Avenue east of Richmond. Officials suspect a pellet or BB gun. But so far, no one can say for sure what's killing the birds — or why.
'It's pretty freaky and disturbing and very sad,' Hoehner said Tuesday outside his home.
Several houses away, pinned to a power line is a sign that reads: 'Top line PG&E has electrocuted 5 birds.' The remains of a bird and feathers littered the ground near the power line on Tuesday morning.
Contra Costa County deputy sheriffs responded to the neighborhood on April 26 after a resident reported seeing multiple birds electrocuted on the power line. The sheriff's office requested that PG&E respond to the incident. The story was first reported by ABC7.
While residents are convinced that the power lines are causing the deaths, PG&E and other agencies have denied that.
Tamar Sarkissian, a spokesperson for PG&E, said in a statement that the agency does not believe there is an issue with the electrical equipment and that the birds were not electrocuted.
'The pole at issue is compliant with avian safe guidance, as established by the Avian Powerline Interaction Committee,' Sarkissian said.
Sarkissian said workers inspected the facilities and 'found them to be in good condition and found no reason that they should be electrocuting' birds.
Though bird electrocutions are unusual, they can happen when spacing between wires or between wires and grounded equipment is too small, allowing them to create two points of contact, according to the power line committee's guidelines.
PG&E sent two deceased birds from the neighborhood to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to evaluate. A department spokesperson told the Chronicle that wildlife officers were investigating, but their evaluation of a dead mourning dove and European starling found no signs of electrocution.
The birds had consistent injuries with trauma that could have been caused by a pellet gun, BB gun or a slingshot, but the exact cause could not be determined, the spokesperson said.
Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia told the Chronicle his office has been in touch with residents and is planning to send public works employees to the area.
'I have not seen this large number of bird deaths like this before,' Gioia said.
While PG&E has denied that its power line has caused the bird deaths, residents remain skeptical in the tree-lined neighborhood of single-family homes where yards are adorned with basketball hoops, children's play swings and flower beds.
Max Bolling, who lives near the power line, said he's seen at least 20 dead birds on the ground near it, while other residents said the number tops 50.
'They just land on the top line and then they make a popping sound like a firecracker and then they drop to the ground,' Bolling said. 'It's crazy.'
Bolling and other residents have recorded at least 20 dead birds, and they urge PG&E to return to the site and examine the power line in more detail.
'I just want it solved,' Bolling said.
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