Darrell Pfeifer rests at home, looking out at Victoria’s Inner Harbour, but sitting out on the patio in the sun isn’t as relaxing as it sounds, all thanks to what is known as the Bayview Squawker.
“If you open the window, you’re pretty much bound to hear it. If you go out on your deck, you’re pretty much bound to hear it,” said Pfeifer, who lives in one of the Bayview condos on Saghalie Road.
The noise Pfeifer is talking about is a squawking sound that comes from a device on the roof next door. It goes off every 15 seconds, every minute of every day and is designed to repel seagulls — protecting the building from droppings and damage.
The condo building next door has used the device on-and-off for six years, but Pfeifer says it’s been on since April of 2020.
“I slept with earplugs for about a month,” said the Victoria West resident.
He says bylaw came in and ordered the device to be silenced at night, but it continues to squawk all day long.
What’s more, according to Gillian Radcliffe, the director of the Raptors in the Cowichan Valley, the device doesn’t really work.
“The reality is, that if you have something on an automatic timer, the gulls will soon realize that. They’ll quickly realize that it’s not followed up with any real danger, so they habituate for things like that,” said Radcliffe.
In the long term, the bird expert says the solution is to control the seagull population size by humanely preventing eggs from hatching, but that the best short term solution is to have a raptor come in and scare them away.
But the thing is, the Bayview building already has raptors controlling the seagull population.
“Shortly after the building was built, a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons moved into the building, they’ve essentially scared away all of the seagulls,” said Pfeifer.
When asked why he doesn’t just move, he says finding a new home would be an unnecessary endeavour over something so easily fixed, and something that already has a built-in solution.
“I think that people should be allowed peace and quiet in their own place, and I don’t think you should be required to move just because of a neighbour who’s not being a good neighbour, it’s not even needed,” said Pfeifer.
The frustrated neighbour says he’s tried everything to get some peace and quiet. He’s even started a website designated to help stop the squawk.
He’s also asked the building next door itself to find another alternative, like a falcon kite to scare off gulls, but the managers refuse to silence the noise machine.
“They say that it’s not against the law, and they would like to keep the seagulls of the roof, so they’re going to continue using it,” said Pfeifer.
He’s reached out to city council many times, asking them to consider changing the current bylaw regarding noise levels.
According to Pfeifer, since the noise during the day is not at a higher decibel than a conversation level, the squawker isn’t against the law. He says he wants the bylaw to change, to include banning ongoing, irritating noises during the day.
But until then, the Bayview squawker will continue to, well, squawk.
RELATED: Last week, CHEK News’ Joe Perkins and KC Kyle sat down with Darrell Pfiefer for an in-depth, 30-minute discussion about the Bayview Squawker. Click here for more details.
Rebecca Lawrence
