A long-simmering dispute between a wildlife-loving North Carolina couple and their neighbors is finally boiling over, with local authorities now seeking a court order prohibiting the pair from feeding up to 100 vultures that have been “congregating and roosting” on and around their property for the past two years.
The Town of Hillsborough says in a civil petition filed March 17 that it began fielding grievances about the scavengers in May 2024, and lays the blame squarely on area residents Kenneth and Linda Ostrand.
“Those who complained also observed that it appeared that Mr. and Mrs. Ostrand were feeding food scraps to the vultures, which lured more and more vultures to congregate at and near the Property,” the petition contends.
Although the Ostrands say they “largely ceased” their vulture feeding in November 2024, the town claims the two – who gave names to two of their favorite birds, Morticia and Chester, according to local news site The Assembly – have been spotted leaving food out for them as recently as February.
The vultures “produce voluminous amounts of noxious excrement,” which is “foul smelling and has [a] corrosive effect on surfaces on which it drops, such as roofs and vehicles,” the town’s petition states.
Tree branches have been weighted down and damaged by the sheer volume of vulture excrement deposited on them, and the build-up of excrement on sidewalks and driveways is not only a public health hazard, but has also made them dangerously slippery, the petition continues.
Once the vultures have had their fill, they tend to roost on the Ostrands’ property, as well as those nearby.
“The repeated actions of Mr. and Mrs. Ostrand feeding the vultures and attracting them to their Property and nearby properties, poses danger to the health, safety and welfare of Town residents,” Hillsborough’s petition states.
For their part, the Ostrands last month filed a motion to dismiss the town’s case, saying that "photographs of vultures circling ...or roosting… in no way constitute ‘feeding,’ any more than tennis shoes demonstrate the wearer is [a] Wimbledon player.”
“The Ostrands like birds, and wildlife in general, (Ms. Ostrand having run [a] free nonprofit to help orphaned wildlife) and did occasionally put out water and scraps for the birds, as they are federally protected species, and their numbers have plummeted in recent years,” the motion asserts. “In light of their beneficial activities, the birds were seen as useful for their widely acclaimed skill in keeping down disease and pathogens.”
While more than one neighbor has spoken publicly about the vulture issue, describing, among other things, roof shingles being pulled loose by the birds’ sharp talons, the couple living directly next door claim to have borne the real brunt of the situation.
Michael Beanland and his wife have lived next door to the Ostrands since 2020, and submitted numerous photos to the court of vultures flying and roosting in the vicinity. The Beanlands eventually reported the Ostrands to the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners, after direct negotiations apparently broke down. The town then sent at least one cease-and-desist order to the Ostrands before filing its formal petition against them some 15 months later.
In their motion to dismiss, the Ostrands claim they were responsive to the Beanlands’ pleas, and that there has been “an almost complete reduction in the number of birds, with the exception of their normal flight activities,” for more than a year.
“Recent observation will show there is no roof damage, or even marks to area houses,” the motion maintains.
It goes on to rebut each of the town’s allegations, denying the claims of vulture excrement-encrusted sidewalks, tree branches, and the like. The motion further accuses local officials of singling out the Ostrands, claiming no one else in the area has been similarly cited for feeding deer, squirrels or any bird species other than vultures.
“I don't know what I'm supposed to do,” Linda Ostrand told ABC11. “Tell the vultures that this is a no-feed zone? I just don't know.”
Vultures eat carrion, or, rotting flesh, and can projectile vomit up to 10 feet as a protection against predators. The reeking, corrosive substance kills bacteria on the birds’ own legs, but eats away at metal, wood, and electrical transmission lines. Vulture droppings can also carry histoplasmosis, salmonella and encephalitis, and vultures themselves give off a foul stench, according to experts.
In 2020, roughly 300 vultures descended on a U.S. Customs and Border Protection communications tower in Texas, coating the entire structure in “droppings mixed with urine.” As a result, maintenance workers were unable to climb the structure for repairs until the feds figured out a way to banish the vultures for good.
Their options were limited: the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 prohibits the killing of vultures; violators face up to $200,000 in fines and a year in federal prison.
In Hillsborough, the town is asking a judge to declare the Ostrands in violation of a local code prohibiting the feeding of wildlife, to order them to stop, and to permanently enjoin them from “feeding, or placing food scraps or other substances on their Property, for the vultures or other wildlife.”