Gwinnett County officials have tentatively declared victory in their war on vultures at Rhodes Jordan Park.
About 250 of the birds had flocked to the Lawrenceville park, creating a safety hazard for planes landing and taking off at the nearby Gwinnett County Airport. Gwinnett officials made numerous attempts to drive them away, including firing pyrotechnics, installing wildlife-proof garbage cans and hanging fake “dead” vultures.
Those effort proved ineffective, and Gwinnett officials closed the park for several days in February while U.S. Department of Agriculture officials gave it a shot. They fired more pyrotechnics and planned to kill at least five vultures in an effort to scare them off.
On Thursday, Gwinnett Communications Director Joe Sorenson said vultures still occasionally visit the park, but they no longer roost in large numbers.
“Effigies (of dead birds) are still hung in and near the park and signage has been posted to discourage people from feeding wildlife,” Sorenson said. “Parks & Recreation staff’s assessment is that the work plan developed and implemented by the USDA/Wildlife Services Program was successful.”
Sorenson said park employees are still monitoring the vultures.
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