Pigeon patrol

If you look hard enough you might find one — but it is unlikely.

In fact, unless you are really searching for them, you are really unlikely to even see a pigeon.

There are not many nesting pigeons left downtown because for years a man named Chris Rudnicki has been robbing the birds of their eggs in an effort to control their population.

Rudnicki might not describe his job as robbing the birds since he has deep respect for pigeons and extensive knowledge of their behavior.

He doesn’t like to be referred to as a "pigeon-abatement specialist” either but his good friends call him "bird brains.”

Rudnicki used to be a part of the Downtown San Mateo Association and started pigeon-proofing in 2001 when the downtown cinema project was nearing completion.

He has since closed his downtown business but has still been working for the city under a $47,000 annual contract to control and manage the birds.

But part of the contract, about $18,000, was with the city’s Redevelopment Agency, which has been dissolved by the state, for pigeon control on private property. The city is now trying to determine how to pay for that service.

The city is currently finalizing a $30,000 annual contract with Rudnicki to control and manage the pigeon population on city-owned buildings and garages only with a portion, about $5,000, being set aside for private property control, said Matt Bronson, interim streets and facility manager for the San Mateo Public Works Department.

The downtown service will not ago away but will likely be reduced, said DSMA Executive Director Jessica Evans.

"The city and DSMA know the value of his service,” Evans said.

The nonprofit downtown group will likely share in the cost of the service going forward, which will now fall under the control of the city’s Public Works Department.

Rudnicki essentially has controlled the pigeon population on private property from El Camino Real to Delaware Street and Fifth Avenue to Baldwin Avenue.

Many buildings in downtown years ago had electrical strips placed around the top edges where the birds would roost to give them slight shocks and deter them from coming back.

Most of the devices are no longer functioning, Rudnicki said, but the birds don’t know that.

Rudnicki has successfully modified the behavior of most pigeons downtown and has even tagged some to identify whether they are locals or commuters from other areas looking for food or new places to nest.

"They are intelligent creatures and mate for life,” Rudnicki said. They also can live as long as 25 years.

He has learned a lot about the birds while trying to control their population and discovered that just taking their eggs causes them to mate quickly so he came up with some other solutions like replacing real eggs with wooden eggs.

The birds will tend to the wooden eggs until the birds figure out they are not going to hatch, Rudnicki said. Even crows and seagulls are fooled by the wooden eggs, they try to unsuccessfully eat them.

Few people are even aware of the service and take the lack of pigeon droppings downtown for granted, Evans said.

Rudnicki spotted a big pile of pigeon droppings on Main Street next to the parking garage Wednesday that may have become an overnight roost.

If the roosting continues at the spot, Rudnicki will use some scare tactics to discourage the birds from coming back or put up an exclusion device to prevent them from roosting on the city-owned property. Rudnicki’s new contract with the city covers this work but will not cover the work going forward if the problem happens across the street on private property.

"It is going to be interesting if he goes away,” Evans said about Rudnicki’s work and the potential for the birds .

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by email: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.