Pigeon problem plaguing neighborhood

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Residents say flocks of pigeons have been swarming their neighborhood for years, and they blame one woman.

Georgia Tutt admits she enjoys feeding pigeons on the corner of Sequoia and Atrisco in northwest Albuquerque. She says at least once a day she will be out tossing bird feed on the ground and watching her feathered friends enjoy their daily meal.

“Generally they have terrible lives, and that's why I feed them,” Tutt said.

While Tutt doesn’t think she is doing anything wrong, there are some who do.

“It just drowns out everything, and all of a sudden the sky will be dark." said one of  her neighbors, who did not want to give his name.  He said flocks of pigeons swarm his neighborhood every day waiting for Tutt and her bucket of food.

“It's a five-gallon bucket, full five- gallon bucket," the neighbor said.  "When it's time to feed, there are several hundred pigeons that congregate on the telephone lines.”

He said the biggest problem is what the birds leave behind: pigeon droppings as far as the eye can see cover a public sidewalk. Neighbors call it disgusting.

Tutt said her neighbors are exaggerating. She said she only feeds about 100 pigeons a day, not hundreds. She also said she doesn’t think the mess is that bad.

“I don’t think there is that much,” Tutt said. “There is just not that much, and it can be cleaned up.”

Despite what Tutt’s neighbors and the city Environmental Health Department said she doesn't think she's doing anything wrong. In fact, she said the proposed city ordinance that would outlaw her pastime is wrong.

“The ordinance is it’s harsh, it’s severe, it’s a violation of constitutional rights,” Tutt said.

The Albuquerque City Council is expected to vote Monday on an ordinance that would make it illegal to feed pigeons.