Urban bird trapper gets a near-fatal jolt
MiamiHerald.com By Evan S. Benn and Jennifer Moony Piedra
Poaching birds from their nests sometimes brings Cameron Fritzson a few bucks, but it almost cost him his life this week.
Fritzson, 20, remained in critical condition Tuesday, a day after nearly being electrocuted while trying to capture monk parakeets from atop a Florida Power & Light tower in Pembroke Pines.
He jumped a fence surrounding the substation and then climbed onto electrical equipment as he positioned himself to grab the birds from their nest, police said. A high-voltage jolt sent Fritzson falling 20 feet to the ground. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital with severe burns and other injuries.
Pembroke Pines police are considering charging Fritzson with trespassing — which is likely the only law he broke.
Trapping monk parakeets and selling them to pet stores is not illegal in Florida because they are considered a non-native species, said Judy LaRose, senior director of animal services at the SPCA Wildlife Care Center in Fort Lauderdale.
Native species, like bluejays and mockingbirds, are not allowed to be caught.
”All animals are protected by cruelty laws, but if someone is trapping them humanely, then unfortunately they’re not breaking any law,” LaRose said.
Monk parakeets, also known as quaker parrots, are small, green-yellow birds widely found throughout the United States and in at least 52 Florida counties, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Some bird-lovers keep them as pets, because they’re small and smart enough to learn to repeat an impressive range of words.
”They are very good talkers, they are very smart and they are cute,” said Neva Barnes, who works in the Little Bird Room at the Aviary Bird Shop and Garden in Goulds. “People really like them.”
Outside of homes, monk parakeets are more commonly spotted nesting in royal palm trees, oak trees, melaleucas — and in electrical lines.
From April to August, monk parakeets use twigs to construct massive nests, some the size of small cars, where a few dozen birds make homes in separate compartments.
For reasons unknown to bird researchers, monk parakeets like to build their nests within power lines and electrical equipment.
Utility companies have long tried to find ways to discourage the birds from nesting in their substations — it can cause outages and equipment damage — including full-out eradication efforts.
A Florida Power & Light spokeswoman acknowledged that nesting parakeets are a nuisance but would not say how the company deals with them.
But when they’re taken by bird catchers and sold to pet stores, they are often hand-fed until they are sold. The cost of one bird varies from about $40 to $200 — making a handsome profit for the pet-shop owners who buy them from trappers for $20.
Fritzson, who lives in Hollywood, is a known bird-catcher in the Davie area.
He regularly stops in at stores like The Birdhouse and Bill’s Birds, trying to hawk baby monk parakeets, which the owners said he carries in a plastic container.
Charlie Hong, owner of The Birdhouse at 7160 Stirling Rd., says he usually shoos away Fritzson because he brings in sick birds.
But a few weeks ago, Hong couldn’t say no. He paid Fritzson about $300 cash for 15 baby birds.
”He was just begging and begging and I didn’t want him to end up killing the birds,” Hong said.
Bill Kalichman, owner of Bill’s Birds at 4122 SW 64th Ave., said bird catching is ”big business” in South Florida because there are so many birds in the wild.
Kalichman said he doesn’t buy birds from Fritzson but knows him.
He wasn’t surprised by the news that Fritzson had taken a gamble around power lines to capture birds.
”He’s a daredevil,” Kalichman said. “That’s pretty stupid.”