City of Bowling Green continues bird abatement program

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The City of Bowling Green is continuing its bird abatement program in a effort to control the bird population in highly trafficked areas and drive them to less problematic locations.

Working with the United State Department of Agriculture and their wildlife scientists, professionals use multiple air cannons and lasers to frighten the animals to other locations.

“We worked with the wildlife biologist at the USDA to identify where those birds were roosting and the different times of year, and weather patterns in order to try to basically scatter the bird colonies so that there weren’t so many birds in the area” said Brad Schargorodski, the division manager for the city’s Animal Protection Division.

During the colder weather months, these birds will form huge flocks and huddle together for warmth during the night. These flocks can be made up of hundreds and even thousands of birds. During the early months of 2026, pilots using the Bowling Green Regional Airport complained of dangerous conditions while landing.

Now, they have moved further down Scottsville road to the Gary Farms Boulevard area. Local businesses, especially car dealerships, have reporter disruptions to their businesses and even damage to their products.

“We’ve gotten reports of a lot of property damage is mostly what we’ve been getting, especially around the car dealerships here in this area. You know, some of the businesses as well have outdoor stock or outdoor product. And so the birds can certainly damage those sort of things. And if there’s enough birds where it’s damaging product or if it’s damaging, you know, even cars that are parking lot, then certainly it can affect human health as well,” Schargorodski said.

The air cannons that the Department of Fish and Wildlife create very loud booms that can sometimes sound like explosions or gunshots. The department wants people to know that there is no emergency happening, only an effort to clear birds from a dangerous area.

There is no set time for how long the abatement will continue. Officials say that it could be a week, or it could be a few months, it’s all up to the birds.