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Rounding up chukar at Roberts Park
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
January 8, 2003
When park visitors reported seeing "chickens running all over the place" at Roberts Regional Park in the Oakland Hills, rangers knew something was amiss.
It turns out the "chickens" actually were domestic-raised chukar, a game bird, according to wildlife expert Joe DiDonato of the East Bay Regional Park District.
"There were hundreds of them running around at the picnic area," DiDonato said.
He also found 17 boxes labeled "Petaluma Poultry."
"That means somebody got them from Petaluma Poultry, then released them here," DiDonato said.
The Department of Fish and Game has an investigation under way.
In the wild, chukar are an elusive and prized upland game bird that live in remote Lassen and Modoc counties, as well as throughout eastern Oregon. Their farm-raised counterparts, on the other hand, are more like, well, chickens.
They represent a hazard to native birds and plants in parks, DiDonato said, because they can displace California valley quail and outcompete songbirds, such as towhees, for food. They also can introduce disease.
"If a population were to get established, it could be a disaster," DiDonato said.
There seems little chance of that, however.
At first, a number of visitors, particularly children, tried to catch the chickens, and even DiDonato chased one around a bit, trying to pin it against a fence. No luck, at least at first.
Then he tried setting up traps with one-way doors and baiting them with chicken feed. When he finally caught a chukar with his hands, he placed it in the trap, thinking that would draw in more. Nope.
It turns out that native wildlife had far more success. Within hours, the chukar started getting picked off one-by-one by hawks, owls, falcons, bobcat, fox and coyote.
"They took a real hit right off the bat," DiDonato said. "We're talking about a pen-raised bird dealing with predators and they just got hammered."
Within a day, there were piles of feathers where chukars had become Christmas dinners. DiDonato estimated that only 40 to 80 of the original 300 are still at the park, and that they are going fast.
DiDonato theorized the release was likely by sport hunters hoping to establish a population in order to train their dogs. Or, he said, it could be part of a Buddhist ritual called "The Release," where Buddhists buy live fish, turtles and birds and release them to the wild. Last year, a box of grass frogs from Texas was mistakenly released at Lake Anza at Tilden Regional Park in such an exercise.
The transport and release of wildlife species without a permit is illegal, according to state law.
This story appears to have a happy ending.
"As I left the park yesterday (Monday), I saw a coopers hawk surrounded by a big pile of feathers, eating its holiday dinner," DiDonato said.
In this case, more than anything, the chukar has meant a lot of easy meals and some excitement for kids chasing them around.
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
January 8, 2003
When park visitors reported seeing "chickens running all over the place" at Roberts Regional Park in the Oakland Hills, rangers knew something was amiss.
It turns out the "chickens" actually were domestic-raised chukar, a game bird, according to wildlife expert Joe DiDonato of the East Bay Regional Park District.
"There were hundreds of them running around at the picnic area," DiDonato said.
He also found 17 boxes labeled "Petaluma Poultry."
"That means somebody got them from Petaluma Poultry, then released them here," DiDonato said.
The Department of Fish and Game has an investigation under way.
In the wild, chukar are an elusive and prized upland game bird that live in remote Lassen and Modoc counties, as well as throughout eastern Oregon. Their farm-raised counterparts, on the other hand, are more like, well, chickens.
They represent a hazard to native birds and plants in parks, DiDonato said, because they can displace California valley quail and outcompete songbirds, such as towhees, for food. They also can introduce disease.
"If a population were to get established, it could be a disaster," DiDonato said.
There seems little chance of that, however.
At first, a number of visitors, particularly children, tried to catch the chickens, and even DiDonato chased one around a bit, trying to pin it against a fence. No luck, at least at first.
Then he tried setting up traps with one-way doors and baiting them with chicken feed. When he finally caught a chukar with his hands, he placed it in the trap, thinking that would draw in more. Nope.
It turns out that native wildlife had far more success. Within hours, the chukar started getting picked off one-by-one by hawks, owls, falcons, bobcat, fox and coyote.
"They took a real hit right off the bat," DiDonato said. "We're talking about a pen-raised bird dealing with predators and they just got hammered."
Within a day, there were piles of feathers where chukars had become Christmas dinners. DiDonato estimated that only 40 to 80 of the original 300 are still at the park, and that they are going fast.
DiDonato theorized the release was likely by sport hunters hoping to establish a population in order to train their dogs. Or, he said, it could be part of a Buddhist ritual called "The Release," where Buddhists buy live fish, turtles and birds and release them to the wild. Last year, a box of grass frogs from Texas was mistakenly released at Lake Anza at Tilden Regional Park in such an exercise.
The transport and release of wildlife species without a permit is illegal, according to state law.
This story appears to have a happy ending.
"As I left the park yesterday (Monday), I saw a coopers hawk surrounded by a big pile of feathers, eating its holiday dinner," DiDonato said.
In this case, more than anything, the chukar has meant a lot of easy meals and some excitement for kids chasing them around.
