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Hello, we get a lot of wild birds around our building and I really enjoy interacting with them every now and then. I occasionally feed the cockatoos and the kookaburras from my balcony. They leave minimal mess and they only stay for under half an hour at very specific times of day (usually the cockies visit at 8am or 4pm if I am home).
I am an owner of my flat however we have a nasty and vindictive strata exec committee who is waging a personal campaign against certain residents. They’ve come after me for feeding the birds, asking the strata managing agent to write me a letter demanding that I cease feeding all bird life around the building.
To me this is an outrageous breach of my civil liberties particularly as there is no bylaw stating you are not allowed to feed wild Australian fauna on your balcony (if they tried to put such a bylaw up I know enough owners who would give me their proxy to kill it).
The strata managing agent is trying to draw the long bow that my feeding nuts to the cockies attracts “vermin” that shit on other people’s balconies. There is no evidence of this and furthermore the strata managing agent will not tell me what bylaw they believe me to be breaching.
So my question is, what would their next move be considering i’ve rejected their threatening letter and do they have any leg to stand on here? How can I protect my rights?
EDIT: Also worth noting that the exec committee mentioned above was recently rebuked by the CTTT which ordered the removal of any signs not related to a bylaw (they tried to put up a sign on the building saying no playing on the grass in common areas and another sign saying no feeding birds). One renter in the building even had to call the police on an exec committee member who has been harassing his family by trying to get his landlord to evict them. This is base, pathetic behaviour. Since when is the strata scheme the personal fiefdom of the exec committee?
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I’m not sure that feeding wild birds is such a great idea but not really a strata matter unless perhaps the cockies are screeching at unpleasant hours.
As for playing on the grass, I’d say that putting up a notice to prohibit that might be interfering with the reasonable use and enjoyment of the common property (or similar wording you probably have as a by-law). I’d quote the by-law to the EC person and point out their sign would be a breach. Unless of course there were some short-term good reason such as having just reseeded the lawn so they wanted people to stay off for a short time.
It sounds like your EC is overstepping the mark. That said, cockatoos can be a real nuisance as they have a habit of eating/destroying window sills, railings and the like which is very expensive to fix.
Mind you, I love kookaburras.
Please do not feed the native birds, it is unnatural and can cause all sorts of problems for the birds…. Enjoy the wildlife in the wild…
https://www.australianwildlife.net.au/pdf/school/Feeding_native_animals.pdf
@OverIt said:
Please do not feed the native birds, it is unnatural and can cause all sorts of problems for the birds…. Enjoy the wildlife in the wild…I might agree with you if we didn’t destroy their natural habitat by building houses, factories, roads, etc introduce foreign predators (cats dogs, etc) that kill and injure them.
This country has an abundance of wildlife and yet people seem to be doing their best to destroy it and I have no problem at all with people helping correct this imbalance even if it is just in a small way.
I agree with Overit.
Australian wildlife experts would not suggest you do not feed the wildlife if they though this was “helping correct this imbalance” KP.
Yes, degradation of habitat is a huge issue but this is definitely not the solution.
I would agree with you there, but the problem is that people feed native wildlife bread and honey, which causes bird diabetes, sun flower seeds, which is like a drug to a bird that eventual kills, unnatural foods that just ends up killing the birds. So unless you mimic the wild foods of flowers, grubs, native seeds and fruits, more harm is being done that good.
You may think it is harmless but cockatoos are extremely destructive. You may not have any timber on your block of units, but what about the numerous other buildings in the area? If they end up with tens of thousands of dollars of damage, as is often the case, are you going to offer to foot the bill?
Secondly as for which by-law you breach, you breach By-Law 1. No good saying they fly past screeching anyway. You are encouraging them to the area. Once again if it is no you that they are bothering then it will be hundreds of other home owners in your area.
Claiming that you are not making the noise (the cockatoos are) is like having your radio turned up full and claiming it is the radio making the noise, not you. Claiming they make a noise anyway is like saying people drive past with their radios blaring. Bottom line is your actions are adding to the problem.
The other problem is their droppings. I presume you do not volunteer to clean up any that fall onto common property or other people’s balconies.
If you want the freedom to feed wild birds (in breach of the recommendations of all wildlife experts), go out in the bush and live on a farm.
A few question to ask you,
Do you only feed the birds occasionally or daily morning and night be honest to your self, because if you do and you say you don’t then thats another story.
Do you only feed them nuts or you feed them with other food as well, again be honest.
Did you ask the EC if they have evidence that you are feeding the birds more than they say you do.
If there is any damages to the property due to you feeding the birds are you willing to pay the full amount and take full responsibility.
And last question about the… BY LAWS GRASS AREA, did you ask the EC about the real issue, because maybe theres more in to it than you think. I have learn from the fast experience that there is always two side of the story, maybe you should ask both side and make your mind up after instead of listening to just one person.
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