The Bird Lady

One wonders about Los Angeles County’s rush to punish Diane Waters on the basis of one complaint (“The Bird Lady of Echo Park,” by Patt Morrison, SoCal P.O.V., Sept. 14).

A number of years ago, my daughter and I rescued a dazed and bruised hawk from the middle of a busy Pasadena street. (Ironically, in light of Morrison’s column, we were on our way to the pet store to violate a county ordinance by replacing a deceased family hamster.) We called the Humane Society, the L.A. Zoo and area veterinarians about the hawk, and someone finally gave us Waters’ telephone number.

Waters eventually treated the hawk’s head injury and rehabilitated it, keeping us updated on its progress and inviting us to witness the bird’s subsequent release in Pasadena--a truly incredible sight.

Waters may be the only individual in the area capable of and willing to care for injured raptors and then release them back into the bird population. We know that many people in the county own animals on the forbidden list, so is the county going to target the families harboring them as well as Waters?

Waters and the fascinating birds she cares for help make Los Angeles a more interesting and enjoyable place. Think of what would be lost if the county were to close her down.

Ann and Elizabeth Karas

Pasadena

I am not always a great fan of Patt Morrison’s hats, but I do appreciate her writing skills. Her article on Waters’ single-handed (and out-of-pocket) avian rescue operation should be required reading for our county commissioners and all the other benighted bureaucrats who pass reg- ulations without sufficient consideration of the potential consequences.

I’ve heard it said that bureaucrats in Calcutta once slated Mother Theresa’s operation for closure. She averted disaster by agreeing to shut down, but only if the officials could persuade their wives, sisters and daughters to continue the work she was doing.

I know of no one capable of engaging in avian rehabilitation with the same selfless devotion and skill that Waters brings to her work. If there are any such people, and if they can operate within the limits of stifling regulations, let them step forward.

It is almost sardonic to ask, in the same issue, whether saving the California condor is worth $20 million and then consider that Waters can be denied permission to save 2,000 birds of other species each year, mostly at her own expense.

John F. Schacher

Los Angeles