Local Officials Confirm Pigeon On Post Office Bench Is Still There, Has Not Acknowledged Signage Asking It To Leave

REEDSVILLE — The Reedsville Office of Community Safety and Civic Wellness issued an urgent public advisory Thursday morning warning residents of an ongoing and unresolved pigeon situation outside the downtown post office on Millard Avenue, describing the bird's continued occupation of the bench's center slat as a matter of active public concern.

The pigeon, described in official materials as 'medium-sized, gray, and unreceptive to verbal guidance,' was first reported to authorities on Tuesday at approximately 10:15 a.m. by local postal patron Darlene Festus, 67, who stated she had wanted to sit down and eat a granola bar after mailing a package and found the bench 'already committed to something else.'

As of press time, the pigeon had not vacated the bench, responded to a laminated advisory notice affixed to the armrest, or made any indication that it was aware a notice had been affixed.

'We want to be very clear that we are taking this seriously,' said Reedsville Emergency Coordinator Phil Brauder at a press conference held in the post office parking lot. 'This is exactly the kind of fluid, evolving situation that our office was created to monitor. The bench is a shared civic resource, and right now it is being shared with a pigeon that has not filled out the necessary forms.'

Brauder confirmed that a formal request for the pigeon to vacate was read aloud at 8:45 a.m. Thursday by Assistant Coordinator Wendy Chu, who described the bird as 'present and not visibly affected' by the reading.

Dr. Marcus Elfeld, an urban wildlife behavioral consultant brought in from the Greater Tri-Valley Community College Extension Program, told reporters that the situation, while mildly inconvenient, was 'well within the behavioral parameters we would expect from a pigeon that has found somewhere to be.'

'Pigeons do not respond to laminated signage,' Dr. Elfeld explained. 'That is not a gap in their education. That is simply how they are built. What we recommend is that people walk around the bench, potentially approach from the left side, and in no circumstances attempt to shoo the bird without first consulting our published shooing guidelines, which are available on the county website under the tab marked Fauna Advisories.'

The shooing guidelines, last updated in 2019 following a separate incident involving a Canada goose near the public library, run to eleven pages and include a flow chart.

Brauder said the task force would reconvene Friday morning if the bench remains occupied and confirmed that a second laminated notice is already being printed as a precaution. He added that residents requiring bench seating in the interim may use the alternate bench located forty feet away near the bus shelter, noting that it is 'currently unoccupied, to our knowledge, though we have not formally verified that within the last hour.'

The pigeon could not be reached for comment. A voicemail was not left, as officials acknowledged it would not have helped.

Residents with information about the pigeon or its intentions are encouraged to contact the Reedsville non-emergency civic line, Monday through Friday, between the hours of nine and noon.