City Centre Plaza staff detail how they’re handling bird flock

A flock of birds has moved into a Queensland shopping centre, nesting on poles and flying around the complex and disturbing shoppers for weeks. Read about the epic efforts to move them.

A small flock of swallows have been flying around City Centre Plaza for a number of weeks after being chased into the centre by a "predatory species".

If you’ve been to Rockhampton’s City Centre Plaza recently you might have noticed some feathered friends flying around the complex.

A flock of swallows has been flying around the centre, and in Coles, for a number of weeks leaving shoppers scratching their heads.

They’ve even sparked attention on social media groups with residents saying they’ve also spotted swallows flying inside other shopping centres the town.

“Went last week they were flying around everywhere. I don’t know how they keep them away from the fruit and veg,” one shopper said.

A small flock of swallows have been flying around City Centre Plaza for a number of weeks after being chased into the centre by a "predatory species".

“They are clever. I see them waiting for the sliding doors to open to come in and out as they please,” another said.

The birds have mainly been seen sitting on the light bars of Coles near the produce area and flying across the store and flying around the centre near Target.

A spokesman for City Centre Plaza said they were “well aware” of the swallows that had “taken refuge” in the centre and that the small birds had been chased in by a “predatory species”.

The spokesman said as the birds were a protected species, care needed to be taken in mitigation measures.

A number of mitigating measures such as sprays and sonars have been used to try and deter the birds

“This is obviously not the environment that shoppers expect and we are actively working alongside Coles, our tenants, to solve the issue, as we each have responsibility for pest control in certain areas of the centre,” the spokesman said.

“This is not an issue unique to City Centre Plaza – we’ve heard reports of multiple shopping centres across Central Queensland and all the way south to Brisbane dealing with similar issues, particularly during winter months.

“Isolated encounters with a bird shouldn’t detract from the great new shops to explore at City Centre Plaza.”

Preventive measures such as sprays and sonars had been installed in the centre to prevent more birds from entering the centre.

“The Centre is not suitable for bird netting, and we’ve installed several bird sonars (with more on the way) to help reduce the numbers. Spray deterrents and predator deterrents have also been attempted, but they haven’t been effective,” the spokesman said.

“All of this has been in consultation with local wildlife management experts, and we’ve sought the help of Rockhampton Regional Council, who couldn’t offer any further solutions.

“As a last resort, we can apply for a permit to destroy the birds, but we don’t want them harmed as this doesn’t solve the overall issue. Shoppers can trust that we are doing everything we can to safely keep the birds out of our centre, but nature is sometimes hard to control.”

A spokesman for Rockhampton Regional Council said they were aware of the flock of swallows in the centre, but were not involved in the removal of the birds.

“We will continue to action any food safety concerns relating to the issue,” the spokesman said.

A spokesman for supermarket giant Coles said staff worked hard to keep a clean environment in store and took food safety seriously.

“We have an integrated pest management system, which primarily focuses on keeping pests out of our stores but then controlling them should they find their way into our stores,” the spokesman said.

“While we have our own pest management strategies in place, such as installing bird deterrents and having changed the lighting in-store, we are also working closely with centre management to address the issue.”

Originally published as City Centre Plaza staff detail how they’re handling bird flock