Suwanee to remove vultures from cell tower

The US Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural Resources will be shooting off pyrotechnic devices utilizing flash bangs to discourage vultures from roosting on a cell tower on the Shadow Brook Church property, 4187 Suwanee Dam Road in Suwanee.

In a social media post, the city is warning residents not to be alarmed by the flash bangs to be set off from 4 p.m. until dark Wednesday, Jan. 19 through Friday, Jan. 21. While the vultures, which are a protected species, will not be hurt, the public may be alarmed by flashes, smoke, or loud bangs.

“The birds’ feces and vomit can accumulate, especially on roofs of houses, office buildings, communication towers, and electrical transmission structures,” states the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. “When this happens on electrical transmission towers, arcing and power outages may occur, at great expense to utility companies. When this happens on communication towers often used as roosting sites by vultures, it hampers maintenance activities and impacts the longevity of the structure.”