Vultures harass Orlando office workers

In Hitchcock's The Birds, birds attack humans

By Malcolm Brabant in Miami

Office workers in Orlando, Florida believe they are living in a scene right out of Alfred Hitchcock horror movie The Birds.

One court worker said he was afraid to sit outside and close his eyes just in case the vultures took him for a corpse

Scores of turkey vultures have been circling the 28-floor Bank of America building and the Orange County courthouse - riding the thermal updrafts.

The red faced birds peck at office windows, stare curiously at employees - putting them off their work - and prevent them from going on to balconies.

The vultures, which ornithologists describe as nature's rubbish collectors, leave dead animals to rot for days on window ledges.

Hoarding fish

The birds have even started hoarding fish which have been killed by Florida's drought.

One court worker said he was afraid to sit outside and close his eyes just in case the vultures took him for a corpse.

Animal control experts have suggested installing motion-sensors that trigger water sprays when a bird lands.

Failing that they suggested an electric fence, but that could cost $150,000.

Bird experts say the vultures perform a useful function by disposing of rotting animals that could otherwise spread disease, but the office workers find that argument less than convincing.