The starling population around the Arnau de Vilanova hospital in Lleida has been reduced by 60% after the dissuasion measures applied by the Paeria between December and January. The decrease has been especially noticed at the Emergency entrance and in the garden of the health center, two of the points where the flocks concentrated.
From the municipal government they maintain that the counts carried out reflect that retreat of birds from early December until late January. The action was launched after the complaints conveyed by the hospital management, which had been warning of the accumulation of droppings in the accesses.
Improvement in the Emergency accesses and in the garden
During November and December, the presence of starlings in the Arnau de Vilanova area was very high. The flocks numbered in the thousands and the accesses to the hospital ended up covered in feces, with the consequent risk of slips and insalubrity problems.
This Thursday, however, the Emergency entrance and the hospital garden presented a clean state and with hardly any excrement, an improvement that the city council considers confirmed after the actions of recent weeks.
The hospital management had been since 2023 removing on its own the droppings and cleaning the floor of the accesses to the garden with a special disinfectant for hygiene and safety reasons, awaiting a broader intervention to reduce the presence of birds.
Harris Hawks, green laser and predator sounds
The works were executed by a specialized company. The device combined different deterrence systems to scare away the starlings and prevent them from continuing to use the area as a roost.
- Flights of a Harris's hawk
- Green laser beams
- Rattles
- Horns that simulate hawk screeches
La Paeria activated these measures after the complaints of the hospital management, in an especially sensitive environment due to the constant transit of patients, companions, and healthcare personnel.
Falcons bred in summer and new controls on wood pigeons
The municipal strategy to reduce bird pressure in Lleida is not limited to Arnau. In summer, the council released falcon chicks both at the hospital and in the Seu Vella. Those specimens are still in the development phase and the forecast is that, when they reach adulthood, they will be able to patrol permanently in both areas.
In addition, the city council has initiated actions to control the population of wood pigeons in several black spots of the city. The designated spaces are Rambla Ferran and Doctora Castells.
The measures planned in those enclaves involve reproductive control, the removal of nests, the reinforcement of the presence of predators like falcons, and new deterrent flights with Harris's hawks. With this plan, the Paeria seeks to contain the concentration of birds in urban spaces where the accumulation of droppings and the occupation of trees generate more incidents.