TREE TRIMS RUFFLE ACTIVIST CITY OFFICIALS SAY BIRDS ARE WATCHED.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Tree trimming at Santa Clarita Park drew the ire of a local environmentalist Wednesday, but city officials countered her claim that they had put migratory birds at risk and said they are following federal guidelines.

Early in the day, Teresa Savaikie positioned herself under a tree to prevent further cutting. She says the workers lack the expertise to inspect trees in such a large park, adding that hawks routinely build nests in trees above the park playground.

``The hawks don't know what happened with their nest,'' she said. ``Woodpeckers plant nests inside dead tree limbs - that's what they're removing. A hummingbird's nest is not bigger than a silver dollar.''

Because a federal law adopted in 1918 protects birds during the nesting season, city crews and contractors have been trained by a biologist to recognize when work should be postponed, said William Wittkopf, the city's general services manager.

``Crews on-site did a visual inspection and they didn't see any evidence of bird-nesting activity,'' Wittkops said. ``If we're out there and we see signs of a bird nest, we notify a biologist and have them come out and do a more detailed assessment of the area before we do any further work.''

Santa Clarita falls in the territory of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Audubon Society, whose spokesman noted that the city has stepped up protective efforts in the past two years.

``They did not have policies in place to address the issue two years ago, but in the last two years they have made progress,'' said Kris Ohlenkamp, president of the chapter. ``I have not followed up with them to determine the level of progress they have made.''

Savaikie arrived as the work was winding down and a large bin had been filled with severed tree limbs.

Workers aim to trim all park trees before the summer begins. The job in this park, which began a couple of days ago, is the last and is almost done.

The peak migratory bird breeding and nesting season occurs from March 15 to July 15.

Written guidelines for trimming include scouting for birds and searching trees for nests even if no birds are spotted in the area. If conditions permit, workers can begin trimming, but they must stop periodically to recheck for nests, and if any are found, they must cease. Wittkopf said no nests were found.

Savaikie was frustrated with the crews' reference materials, saying they are incomplete.

``They did not have any of the hole-nesting birds, like Nuttail's woodpecker, downy woodpecker or western bluebirds, who nest in holes of trees or in old woodpecker holes,'' she said. ``We rendered the whole park useless for nesting birds this season because there's nowhere to hide. Their nests would be so exposed that any predator, like a crow or raven or scrub jay, would just pick off the eggs or the baby birds.''

The avid birder said she spotted bluebirds and woodpeckers at the park Wednesday. Wittkopf said the issue is not whether birds are nearby, but whether they have built nests.

Savaikie said she does not oppose tree trimming. She noted that an influx of new home tracts attracts house sparrows, which displace native bluebirds and woodpeckers.

Betty Courtney, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Game, said the city was proactive in years past about scheduling tree trimming and working with biologists. She was unaware of Savakie's concerns. The agency can order a halt to trimming if its codes are violated.

Wittkopf said the city has agreed to dispatch a biologist to survey trees before trimming, but it is done on a project-by-project basis, in part because of the training program. A biologist will survey the remainder of trees in Santa Clarita Park before any work resumes, he said.

The biologist will work ``to identify anything we may have potentially missed, before we go any further,'' he said. ``(But) we're confident there is no nesting activity in the trees we're trimming.''

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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