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He’s been attacked by flocks of crows and
fought a six-month bout with the pneumonia-like birdborne disease
histoplasmosis. When he was just 4, he almost became an eagle’s meal.
“If it happened to you, you won’t ever
like a bird again,” says James L. Soules, who turns 85 in June. A lifetime of bad experiences helped Soules, owner of
Decatur-based Bird Repellent Co., become one of the region’s most
sought-after bird-removal experts. In November, Soules was awarded a $164,000 contract
by the city of Springfield to rid downtown of pigeons and starlings by the
spring of 2009. The contract was approved without dissent by the City
Council. According to the ordinance awarding the contract, bird removal is
“in the best interest of public health and safety in the downtown
area.”
Soules got the job because Mayor Tim Davlin was tired
of the mess the birds were leaving and tired of public employees’
having to clean up after them, says Ernie Slottag, city communications
director. “Especially in light of our expanded tourism, we want
downtown looking as nice as possible,” Slottag says. Downtown business owners say they’ve seen
improvement in recent months. On the basis of what’s she’s heard from
shop owners and her own observations, Downtown Springfield Inc. executive
director Victoria Clemons says that the starling situation is now pretty
good. And Trout Lily Café owner Kate Hawkes says that she’s
noticed fewer pigeons as she walks along Monroe Street. But it’s hard to quantify just how good a job
Soules is doing — he doesn’t disclose his methods, nor will he
allow a reporter to watch his employees in action. Slottag says that although he’s not obligated
to submit written reports, Soules does provide Davlin’s office with
weekly progress reports. Last fall Soules started with starlings on parking
garage and ramps. He tells Illinois Times that his crew has driven 100 percent of the starlings
— 1.2 million birds, by his calculation — far north,
“where’s there’s trees and shrubbery, where they can
enjoy the life.”
Pigeons, Soules says, take a little longer, but he
appears to be making progress on that front as well. “It’s much better,” says Philip
McFadden, who owns a building at the corner of Monroe Avenue and Fifth
Street. “The man’s done a very good job,”
McFadden says. “He’s an old man, but he’s the only one
who seems to know how to do it.”
In addition to not using pesticides, smells, lights,
or sounds, Soules says he doesn’t train the birds (for instance, in
the way one would train a homing pigeon), either. Under his contract, which Mayor Tim Davlin signed on
Dec. 5, Soules received $72,000 between Nov. 30 and March 31. He will
receive another $46,000 between Oct. 1 and March 1, 2008. The final
installment, $46,000, will be paid between Oct. 1, 2008, and March 1, 2009.
Soules says the amount, his standard, is well
deserved because he employs five to seven workers who work three days per
week for about 10 hours each day.
Despite the seven-month payment gap, Soules says, his
crew’s work schedule won’t change. The length of the contract,
he explains, is needed because the offspring of the banished birds might
find their way back to the city. He’s found that after three years
the birds stay gone.
On any given day, Soules says, there’s one
company-owned truck and several vans at work. “After a little while I
take the signs off of the truck so I can get around a little better,”
he says, “because people like to stop and talk.”
Each member of his team, he adds, is licensed by and
registered with the Illinois Department of Public Health as a pest-control
technician. Although he doesn’t use poison on the birds,
Soules himself is a certified pesticide technician because a small portion
of his business is devoted to rats — known by some as featherless
pigeons without wings. Soules isn’t as nice to the rodents as he is to
the birds: “You have to use pesticides. I don’t talk to
them.”
Contact R.L. Nave@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2007.
