Someone is shooting birds in Newport Beach with blow darts

In the past few weeks, someone has been shooting birds in Newport Beach with arrow-like projectiles.

Animal control officers have found three Heermann’s gulls and one mallard that were shot through the neck with orange projectiles about 8 inches long. There could be more wounded birds.

The injured animals were still able to fly, and authorities were unable to capture them in order to treat them, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said.

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Police said the projectiles are probably darts fired from a blowgun, which is illegal in California.

Federal and state laws prohibit anyone from intentionally harming birds.

“I can’t fathom that kind of activity or why someone would want to do this,” Manzella said. “It’s just really sad.”

More than a dozen people have reported seeing injured birds in their neighborhoods, police said.

“We’re not sure if the birds that were reported were the same birds that had been spotted or if there are more birds out there,” Manzella said.

Authorities ask that anyone who sees an injured bird call (949) 644-3717 and report its location.

Anyone with further information about the case is asked to contact animal control Officer Nick Ott at (949) 644-3688, ext. 2716, or nott@nbpd.org.

Woolsey is a staff writer for Times Community News.

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