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GROVER FALLS — Authorities across the tri-county region are urging residents to remain calm but alert following a pigeon displacement incident that unfolded Tuesday morning in downtown Grover Falls, when an estimated seven to nine birds occupying a wooden bench near the corner of Elm and Fourth Street departed the bench after a local man, Gary Purcell, 54, walked in the direction of the bench while eating a pretzel.

The Tri-Regional Pigeon Displacement Authority, which was established in 2019 following what officials describe only as 'a related situation near the gazebo,' confirmed in a 47-page preliminary report released Wednesday that the pigeons were, at the time of the incident, on the bench, and are now not on the bench, and that this sequence of events unfolded in the order described.

'What we can say with full confidence is that the birds were there,' said Dr. Lynette Coombs, Director of Avian Relocation Studies at the Grover Falls Community College Extension Program. 'They then became aware of Mr. Purcell. And following that awareness, they were no longer there. We are treating those three phases as distinct and believe the order in which they occurred is significant.'

Purcell, who says he was simply trying to sit down, has cooperated fully with investigators and confirmed that he did, in fact, approach the bench. 'I had a pretzel,' Purcell told reporters gathered outside the Regional Continuity Center on Thursday. 'I wanted to sit. The birds left. I sat. I feel like this has been handled.'

Authorities disagree that this has been handled.

The Grover Falls Office of Public Spatial Awareness issued a Level Two Mildly Unsettling Advisory, noting that at least four of the displaced pigeons have been spotted 'in the general vicinity' of the bench as recently as Thursday afternoon but have not resumed their original positions on the bench, which officials describe as 'a bench-adjacent loitering pattern that we are watching closely and finding somewhat ambiguous.'

'We want to be very clear that the pigeons are still in the area,' said Regional Coordinator Hal Fitzsimmons at a press conference in which he pointed at a laminated map for eleven minutes. 'They are simply not on the bench. Whether they will return to the bench, that is not something we are in a position to confirm or deny at this time, and residents should factor that uncertainty into their bench-related decision-making.'

International observers have taken notice. A spokesperson for the Global Urban Fauna Monitoring Consortium in Brussels called the event 'consistent with documented pigeon behavior across 140 countries' and said the organization would be 'watching Grover Falls with interest, though not urgency, and perhaps mild professional curiosity.'

The Tri-Regional Pigeon Displacement Authority is advising residents who approach benches to do so 'with reasonable awareness that birds present on the bench may leave the bench,' and to 'not be alarmed if the bench is then empty, as emptiness is a known post-bird bench state.'

A follow-up report is expected within 60 to 90 days. The bench remains structurally sound and open to the public. Gary Purcell finished his pretzel.