Marina Blatt reports from the Oak Harbor City Council meeting of Tue., Feb. 17, 2026 for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
Summary by Perplexity AI
Oak Harbor has launched a March–July pilot program using a local falconry company, Sky Bird Services LLC, to deter nuisance gulls in its commercial core, after recurring problems with feces, trash, damage and complaints. Master falconer Caitlyn O’Neill will deploy Harris’s hawks as a humane, non-lethal deterrent over downtown, parks and business rooftops, encouraging gulls to shift back to more natural behavior and habitats. The city will pair the flights with better waste-handling practices and signage discouraging feeding birds, then track bird activity, cleanliness, environmental conditions, business feedback and costs to decide on possible long-term use.
They Said It
Councilmember Bryan Stucky, who noted he has made several comments and inquiries about seagull mitigation options and therefore would abstain from the vote, said he was optimistic about the plan.
“I have a business down there,” he said referring to the Oak Harbor Cinemas. “I did not realize when I purchased that business in April how bad it was when it got to the nesting period, and the amount of complaints, the feces, the trash and the smell.”
Echoing Stucky, Councilmember Sandi Peterson said she loves the idea, but wondered where the gulls will go in the aftermath. When a new predatory bird like the Harris’s hawks are established in the area, the gulls won’t leave completely, but they will behave more naturally, O’Neill explained to the News-Times. They will opt for eating shellfish instead of pizza, and babies will start learning to fly onto the beach instead of into the road.
“Instead of hundreds of gulls on a rooftop or raiding a dumpster every day, there might be one or two there while the rest are foraging on the beach, roosting on rocks, and building nests on ledges on the water,” O’Neill said.
