
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 19, 1993                   TAG: 9312190033
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LEESBURG                                LENGTH: Short

THERE'S NO BUDGING LEESBURG BUZZARDS

Joanne Banzhaf has done everything from beating tree trunks with sticks to playing a harmonica in an attempt to shoo the hundreds of buzzards that circle her home and perch in her yard.

But Banzhaf, like many other Leesburg residents, is losing the battle against a vulture population they say has more than doubled over the past three years.

"They're entrenched in the pine trees, and I just don't know what we're going to do about it," said Leesburg Mayor James Clem. "It's a big problem and a big mess."

Ornithologists say there may be a link between the growing number of turkey buzzards and Loudoun County's deer population, which has doubled since 1988. The result has been an increase in deer killed by automobiles, starvation or hunters.

"It's all a matter of food supply," said Mitchell Byrd, a research professor of biology at the College of William and Mary. "They're going to pick a roosting area that is close to their foraging area."

The birds, with an imposing wingspan of nearly 6 feet, weigh 10 pounds or more. They descend on Leesburg in November and stay until April, dropping a pungent mess of bird waste on residents' homes and lawns.

The buzzards also have a smelly habit of urinating on themselves to keep cool during the warm days of early spring and late fall.

Martin Lowney of the Department of Agriculture said the birds may be scared off by Mylar balloons or the firing of pyrotechnic guns, which eject a screaming 2-inch cartridge.

by CNB