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Veterans Memorial reopens after starling soiling shut it down
Brian Boyd from the city’s Aviation Department holds a fishing net with tinsel looking to deter European starlings birds from the New Mexico Veterans Memorial grounds on Tuesday.
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The grounds of the New Mexico Veterans Memorial in Southeast Albuquerque have reopened, according to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
The announcement comes nearly a month after the park was shut down, due in large part to a massive amount of defecation from an estimated 50,000 European starlings that were roosting at the park.
The Parks and Recreation Department said it was able to use non-lethal tactics to force the birds from the park, located along Louisiana SE, north of Gibson.
“We're very happy to invite the public back to the New Mexico Veterans Memorial to enjoy that space and to honor our veterans,” Dennis Vasquez, deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said Tuesday.
In addition to safety risks and the unpleasant sight of bird excrement, the operation to move the starlings was due to concerns around air travel from neighboring Kirtland Air Force Base and the Albuquerque International Sunport.
Vasquez said the birds ended up flocking to a variety of places away from the area, and the Parks and Recreation department is taking steps to make sure the disruption doesn’t happen again next winter.
The park's reopening comes just before it hosts a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans Saturday at noon.
