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Metro to Consider Other Ways to Get Rid of Birds
The Takoma Metro station was closed for nearly four hours Sunday because of the 16 dead birds found outside.
(By Sarah L. Voisin -- The Washington Post)
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The contractor, which was supposed to be finished before 7 a.m., told Metro officials it did not begin until 7:30 a.m., Gillum said. Dead birds were reported at four of those stations: Takoma, Greenbelt, Naylor Road and Anacostia. Gillum said the contractor was able to pick up dead birds at some of the stations immediately but did not have time to go back to the other stations before authorities closed them because of the dead birds.
Metro officials said they could not explain why dead birds were found at two stations -- Branch Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood -- where the contractor had not put out poison.
In 2006, Metro hired Dixon nine times, paying between $213 and $4,000 each time, based on the amount of work.
The company's owner, Robert Dixon, did not return a telephone call to his office yesterday.
The reports of at least 60 dead birds triggered an immediate response from federal and local officials Sunday, and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force also interviewed Dixon, according to Debbie Weierman, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington field office.
Gillum noted that Metro had worked successfully with the Humane Society several years ago to find an alternative to trapping and killing troublesome beavers at the Greenbelt Metro station. Metro ended up using a device known as the beaver deceiver, which tricks beavers into thinking their dams are not working and prompts them to leave, he said.
Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.
