San Diego Audubon Society Opposes Bird Sanctuary at Oceanside Farm

SAN DIEGO —  In a strange-sounding turn of events, the San Diego chapter of the Audubon Society has said that it strongly opposes a proposed Oceanside bird sanctuary.

In its letter to the state attorney general’s office, the society said it “unalterably opposes” a plan to carve out a 120-acre avian preserve from the Whelan dairy farm in Oceanside.

Signed by chapter President Harold Wier and member Philip Pryde, the April 9 letter states that the proposed sanctuary appears “inadequate” to meet the needs of the wintering Canada geese it is designed to protect. The letter also criticizes the plans for the preserve as being drawn apparently without the opinions of anyone having “specific biological training.”

The letter was mailed to Deputy Atty. Gen. William Abbey, who is defending the state’s interest in the charitable gift of the proposed Whelan Lake Bird Sanctuary.

Abbey, who has suggested that 120 acres of the 323-acre farm be set aside for the birds, was shocked at the letter.

“I’m a little disappointed that this could be presented to me in terms of being ‘unalterably opposed,’ ” Abbey said. “To get that letter out of the blue, without anyone trying to make contact with us . . . is a little heavy-handed.”

Pryde, who is chairman of the Audubon Society’s Lakeside Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary committee, said the problem with the planned sanctuary is that it does not include enough space for the geese to feed.