Tree trimmer apologizes for Oakland baby bird fiasco

A black-crowned night heron recovers from surgery to its bill at a Fairfield rescue center. A black-crowned night heron recovers from surgery to its bill at a Fairfield rescue center. Photo: Dr. Rebecca Duerr, International Bird Rescue Photo: Dr. Rebecca Duerr, International Bird Rescue Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Tree trimmer apologizes for Oakland baby bird fiasco 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

The tree trimmer at the center of a federal and state investigation into the destruction of nests and slaughter of baby birds in Oakland said Thursday that he "screwed up" because he allowed his crews to chain-saw trees even as baby birds were falling out.

Ernesto Pulido of Bay Point said he is so regretful now that he realizes birds were harmed that he phoned the International Bird Rescue in Fairfield and offered to pay for the care of the surviving black-crowned night herons.

Pulido said that on Saturday he did not think any birds were being hurt and that crews had picked up some of the small birds and set them aside. He called himself an animal lover who owns chickens, rabbits and dogs and said he would never have intentionally injured the birds.

But on Thursday, after speaking to wildlife investigators, Pulido was beside himself in an interview with The Chronicle.

"I screwed up," Pulido said. "They were trees I probably shouldn't have worked on. I'm a human being like anyone else. We all make mistakes. I'm not hiding anything. I'm responsible."

Pulido was the supervisor for a crew of tree trimmers hired Saturday by the U.S. Postal Service's Civic Center Annex in Oakland. The post office ordered trees containing the nests of egrets and black-crowned night herons, species protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act, to be cut because the nesting birds were defecating on mail trucks.

Post office: No birds hurt

U.S. postal officials continue to deny that birds were harmed in the course of the tree trimming. A postal maintenance worker observing the tree-trimming on Saturday reported that no birds were injured, said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Augustine Ruiz.

The injured birds at International Bird Rescue, and a dead bird photographed by The Chronicle, must have been hurt in unrelated incidents, Ruiz said.

"We would never do anything intentionally to harm any living creature," he said. "We have a very proud tradition of issuing stamps to promote the preservation and conservation of wildlife and nature."

The U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits tampering with nests of migratory species. The trees in question were laden with dozens of nests, baby birds and their parents.

As Pulido and his crew cut through the trees with chainsaws, horrified neighbors tried to stop them, ultimately calling the Oakland police. A video shot by a neighbor shows workers sawing large tree limbs and feeding them into a wood chipper, and a baby bird flapping on the ground.

Witnesses rescued five baby birds and took them to International Bird Rescue. They said more likely ended up in the wood chipper.

"I waved at the workers and said, 'Please, for the love of God, stop,' " said Cat Callaway, 27, a landscaper who was walking home when she saw the incident and who took a video with her phone. "He said, 'Don't worry, we're setting aside the birds,' but there were all these birds falling out of the tree."

Pulido's crews only stopped when Oakland police officers ordered them to do so.

Investigators with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state Department of Fish and Wildlife are looking into the matter, examining witnesses' photographs and videos, interviewing Pulido and witnesses and even looking at the wood chipper. Penalties include fines, depending on how many birds were harmed, and six months in jail.

Pulido said that as far as he knows, no baby birds ended up in the chipper.

"If there were birds in there, there would have been blood, right? I didn't see any blood," he said.

Pulido said he loves animals, especially birds. He owns 70 chickens, three dogs, bees and rabbits, he said.

Family harassed

The ordeal has been difficult for his family, he said. He and his wife, who is pregnant, have been harassed, and he has moved her elsewhere until the ruckus dies down. He has also had to call the Contra Costa County sheriff and has slept little since the incident.

"It's been a nightmare - a really big nightmare," he said.

The U.S. Postal Service, meanwhile, apparently violated Oakland laws when it ordered the city-owned trees trimmed. The Postal Service did not give the city advance notice, and workers may have removed more than 25 percent of the foliage, which violates city policy, said public works spokeswoman Kristine Shaff.

"Oakland values its trees," she said. "We're lucky enough to have the nation's first nature conservancy at Lake Merritt, and have these wonderful birds use the city as a flyway. They can be messy, but we have to find a balance."

City officials did not know yet whether they would pursue the case against the Postal Service.

Five rescued black-crowned night herons, all between 1 and 3 weeks old, continue to recover at International Bird Rescue. One underwent surgery for a broken mandible. They're expected to stay at the facility for another month or so before they're released, said spokesman Andrew Harmon.

Thousands of dollars in care

In all, the cost of the birds' care will be $3,000 to $3,500, he said. The cost could climb if more birds require surgery or they stay longer.

Black-crowned night herons are rare, 2-foot-tall shorebirds that usually reside in wetlands. But a few years ago a colony settled in downtown Oakland, apparently thriving in the halfway point between Lake Merritt and San Francisco Bay.