RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA : Residents Cry Fowl After Coot Shoot

The shooting of 28 coots by the operators of the Tijeras Creek Golf Club this week drew mixed reaction from homeowners and animal lovers Wednesday.

Most called for more humane ways of getting rid of the pesky birds.

“I don’t think I agree with their choice of weaponry,” said Michael Fiske, an avid golfer who lives near the golf course. “But the coots are a problem because they poop all over the greens and all over the place.”

After getting permission from federal wildlife authorities, golf club workers were at the course’s pond at 7 a.m. Tuesday with rifles and began firing on the birds.

The shots woke residents who had not been notified of the extermination efforts because “we wanted to avoid having a large audience because of safety reasons,” said Jim Fetterly, golf course supervisor.

About 10 frantic residents ran onto the course as the workers were shooting.

“They were definitely running on adrenaline,” Fetterly said. “We stopped shooting, obviously.”

At least two birds were brought by residents to the Pacific Wildlife Project, a nursery for wild creatures.

“One has a fractured hip and the other suffered a shattered beak,” said Linda Evans, who runs the Pacific Wildlife Project in Laguna Niguel. “We lost the bird with the damaged beak” Tuesday night.

Irene Schuller, whose husband is a regular golfer at Tijeras Creek, said, “I think it’s terrible that they had to be killed. I’d rather see them moved.”

Evans said relocation of wildlife generally is frowned on by state and federal wildlife authorities because it may lead to spreading animal diseases to other areas.

“There are professionals who could have helped them move the coots,” Evans said. “Unfortunately, people usually try ineffective methods to scare them away and then throw up their hands and say they tried everything.”

Fetterly said several attempts were made to remove the birds.

“The health concerns are the main reason why we turned to this solution,” he said.

Fetterly said the golf course has received a flood of telephone complaints and that further attempts will be made to find another way to remove the birds.