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Birds touch-down on new Lac La Biche football field

The expensive turf might be artificial, but the birds that have invaded the new football field at the Bold Center sports fields are causing some very real issues for Lac La Biche County crews.
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Shore birds have been using Lac La Biche playing fields as a rest-stop and a restroom. One of the ‘targets’ is the new artificial turf field at the Bold Center Sports Fields. The seagulls don’t seem to care that it’s part of a $16 million recreation area, or that dirty shoes and drinks aren’t allowed on the sensitive surface.

LAC LA BICHE - The expensive turf might be artificial, but the birds that have invaded the new football field at the Bold Center sports fields are causing some very real issues for Lac La Biche County crews.

Tens of thousands of seagulls have returned to the Lac La Biche area over the last week, part of their annual migratory pattern that historically brings them — and their leavings — to the region. But this year has brought an increased amount, and many of them have found a new place to rest their wings and release other things.

The new football field at the new Bold Center Sports Fields was only completed a few weeks ago. The full-sized field is covered with new-technology artificial turf that has been a real draw for this year's returning shorebirds, says Lac La Biche County's Communications Manager Jihad Moghrabi. It's now also covered with either the birds... or what they leave behind.

Ironically, the new football field, which can be rented out to community groups, and was used by the adjacent J. A. Williams High School before the summer break, has a list of restrictions for users, including now dirty shoes, no food and no sports drinks on the artificial turf of the playing field. The birds don't seem to care about the rules.

"They seem to have zeroed right in on the new field," said Moghrabi, adding that flocks of the returning birds have also claimed the community baseball diamonds and the newly sodded playing field at the Sports Fields as well. Their arrival has made some additional work for municipal crews who add the cleanup duties to work schedules each year.

"We do have equipment to clean up their ... leavings," said Moghrabi, explaining that bird droppings, feathers and other bird-based offerings have not damaged the new artificial turf surface. "We have new equipment specifically for the new artificial turf, and we already use equipment on the ball diamonds and beaches to clean up those areas."

The municipality has been researching ways to clear the birds or turn them away from the playing fields, especially the artificial turf of the new football field that is part of a $16 million Bold Center Sports Fields project. But Moghrabi admits with a laugh that seeing a large, ornamental owl — put onto the new field as a scarecrow-like, predatory deterrent to the seagulls — surrounded by flock after flock of the birds, seems to show the challenges of the situation.

"I don't think we are unique when it comes to other communities that have large bird populations," said Moghrabi, "We are a designated bird sanctuary ... so yes — we do get a lot of birds. And, our municipality's motto is 'Welcoming by Nature' ... but they can leave quite a mess for us."

Clean up

Darrell Lessmeister, the municipality's manager of parks and recreation areas has taken the bird issue under his wing. And while he says staff are ready to be trained on the new equipment, designed to clean the new artificial turf, and the cleaning of the ball diamonds and beaches has been a regular part of his department's annual schedule, this year's bird-stop is a standout.

"We know we will get the birds ... but wow — we didn't expect to have what we have. We didn't expect this many," he said.

Despite the increase, municipal crews have a poop patrol to match it, says Lessmeister.

"We already have a machine that sweeps the fields and by the beaches ... and we will be training staff on the new equipment to clean the artificial turf," he said.

Like Moghrabi, Lessmeister admits the scarecrow owl hasn't done much to persuade the birds from moving.

"I think it worked for about a day after we put him out there — but now he just sits out there with them, a big, tall owl .. like he's king of the birds," joked the parks department boss. 

Other options are soon expected to be implemented to shoo the unwanted winged guests, including a motion-detecting sprinkler system and a speaker-boosted soundtrack of screeching bird noises from birds of prey.

The increased influx of the gulls is believed to be in direct relation to the late arrival of the fish fly swarms in the region over the last few weeks. As to why the birds have chosen to add an artificial turf surface to their hangouts this year? Lessmeister guesses its the heat generated by the hi-tech plastic material on the field.

So far the birds have not damaged the new artificial turf, says Lessmeister.

"It's mainly poop and feathers, and we can clean that off," he said, before giving in to the pun temptation. "It's just a crappy situation, that's all, but we can handle it."


Rob McKinley

About the Author: Rob McKinley

Rob has been in the media, marketing and promotion business for 30 years, working in the public sector, as well as media outlets in major metropolitan markets, smaller rural communities and Indigenous-focused settings.
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