It happens occasionally. Someone kills one of the parrots that roost throughout San Diego. But in the last few days, there have been multiple cases in Ocean Beach, which has at least one wildlife expert concerned.
SoCal Parrot has been contacted about three birds being shot with a pellet gun since Friday. Two parrots were found Monday at Talbot Street and Gage Drive. One bird was dead. The other was taken to its rescue center in Jamul, where it died Wednesday afternoon during a KPBS visit.
“You stay up with them all night, trying to keep them alive, and there is just nothing you can do,” said Brook Durham, founder of the rescue group SoCal Parrot.
A third parrot was found dead near the Mariners Cove Apartments on Point Loma. An X-ray revealed a small pellet in one of the birds.
“We do want the community to feel that it's not right to harm innocent animals," Durham said. "I think most people in Southern California would agree that this is not okay. And so we definitely need the community to push the culture of, you know, not harming innocent animals.”
Parrots aren’t native to Southern California, though many species are threatened in their native habitat. They thrive on the non-native plants and fruits that are common in San Diego yards. Durham is pressing for local ordinances that would spell out that it is illegal to harm the birds.
