Birds get 30-day reprieve

The California Department of Fish and Game halted the destruction of pine trees in the Tennis Estates of Huntington Harbour because the work could potentially destroy the nesting area of herons and egrets.

Four trees originally towered over the site, but one was a stump by the time Fish and Game Officer Larry Stephens arrived on the scene May 25, a day after the cutting began. Workers with Bandy Landscape Maintenance were trimming the remaining three when Stephens placed a 30-day stay on any further work.

“In this case, we have a group of birds in the middle of their nesting season here in Southern California, and the company, which is a landscape company, wanted to trim the trees for the property owner,” Stephens said. “I found a lot of bird activity.”

Huntington West, the company that manages the Tennis Estates, did not return multiple calls for comment. The owner of the landscape company could not be reached either.

Herons and egrets are not endangered species, but the migratory birds are protected by the California Fish and Game Code during their nesting season, which lasts from roughly March 15 through June 15, Stephens said.

“The trees belong to the property owner, but the resources belong to the state of California,” Stephens said.

Stephens checks the site every morning to make sure tree trimming has not continued. After the 30-day period, Stephens will re-evaluate the site and make sure the birds are not actively using the nests. At that time he will determine whether it’s within the law to allow the property owner to continue the trimming if they choose.

“The whole purpose of this to make sure the birds survive. In other words, we eventually have to give the property owners the right to cut their the trees down if they’re his,” Stephens said. “I can’t ? deny the property owner’s rights to maintain the property.”

Stephens said a compromise between the fish and game law and property rights must be reached.

Stephens did not see any dead birds or chicks, but some residents, including Janed Sax and Bauer, said they noticed broken egg shells on the ground with yolks inside.

“There were broken eggs on the ground, but some of that could be natural,” Stephens said. “My job is to see if there’s an actual crime or witness to violation of the law.”

Drew Kovacs, a Huntington Harbour resident, said he saw numerous broken eggs, broken nests and one dead chick in the pile of tree debris.

Kovacs said he was told that the nests had been checked prior to the cutting and they were empty.

Like other law enforcement agencies, Stephens must observe the misdemeanor offense or have solid evidence a crime was committed before he can file any charges. If there was a crime committed at the site, the penalty can be up to six months in county jail or a $5,000 fine, or a combination of both, according to the Fish and Game Code.

Jamie Pavlat, a heron specialist at the Huntington Beach Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center disputes the Homeowners’ Assn. claim that the nests were empty prior to the tree cutting.

“I can’t believe that there are no other babies,” Pavlat said.

The Department of Fish and Game can protect the birds’ nests only during the prescribed nesting season, but residents are looking for a more permanent solution.

Ralph Bauer, a Huntington Harbour resident and former City Council member and Huntington Beach mayor, is helping other residents check into one such solution via the California Coastal Commission’s Coastal Act, which sets out to protect wildlife and marine habitat within one mile of the ocean.

“The Coastal Act defines that they [city officials] have jurisdiction within one mile of the ocean or waterways adjacent to the ocean,” he said. “It puts certain restrictions on people that function within that area.”

Bauer said under the Coastal Act, cities like Huntington Beach can set guidelines about what happens within that one-mile strip.

Bauer said he and other residents are exploring what Huntington Beach’s coastal program says, and whether it can be used to halt the tree trimming and cutting beyond the nesting period.

Pavlat thinks the homeowner’s association wasn’t being malicious, but made an uninformed decision.

“The birds may never come back because they have been traumatized,” Pavlat said.

Even if the remaining trees are cut down, Stephens said the wild birds will find another nesting area and will survive.

“They don’t need any help from mankind,” Stephens said. “They’ll just go and build nests in another tree ? they just survive. Some people think they need our help, but they’ve maintained their own lives, just like all the other wild birds in the country.” hbi-01-heron-cw-CPhotoInfo2S1RG8UK20060601j04135ncCHRISTOPHER WAGNER / INDEPENDENT(LA)An Egret gathers twigs in a pine tree on Saybrook Street and Humboldt Drive in Huntington Harbour. One pine tree where the migratory birds are nesting was cut down before the California Department of Fish and Game stepped in.