I have neighbors that have an unrealistic expectation that the neighborhood should be quiet 24 hours a day. The previous homeowners had to deal with almost daily harassment because their children liked to play outside. From what other neighbors have said, it was a deciding factor in them moving. Another neighbor has dealt with complaints about their dog barking when it was let outside. The individual told them they should stay with their dog for the 5 minutes it takes to go to the bathroom to make sure it doesn't bark. They also tried to get a neighboring bar shut down because of the noise. It's on the other side of a very tall block wall and I can't hear anything at all, even when their outdoor seating section was open. They tried, but they lost.
I have a flock of cockatiels outside. They can be loud, but in general, their noise fades into the background during the day and they only scream if a hawk flies overhead during the day. I also have a pair of macaws that are outside. In typical macaw fashion, they squawk in the morning and in the evening, as well as when a predator flies overhead. We have the macaws under our patio roof, almost right up against the house. The neighbors claim they can hear the noise in every room of their house. Between the cage and their house is part of our house, a row of thick bushes that is taller than the block wall that separates our properties. In my own home office, I can barely hear them and that's with two block walls between us.
Once again she has emailed me to complain. She made it sound like the bird was in distress and she was concerned for it, but the tone was that it was too loud. I replied and set the expectation that there are things I can mitigate and things I can't. Birds call at sunrise and sunset. It's ingrained behavior and they only do it for a few minutes at a time. It's not like they are screaming for hours on end. I couldn't put up with that either. A bird seeing a predator is not something I can control. I temporarily put up a tarp to block their line of sight to the back yard, but it made my kitchen very dark. It's been 100+ degrees the last few weeks and the tarp just traps more heat. The female macaw takes issue with me changing her food and water dishes, so I've been doing it as early as possible so that it happens when she's normally calling anyway. That way I can talk to her and try to redirect her attention. I feel I've made all reasonable attempts to mitigate the noise. Short of moving them inside, there isn't much else I can do.
Has anyone else had to deal with this? Any suggestions?
I have a flock of cockatiels outside. They can be loud, but in general, their noise fades into the background during the day and they only scream if a hawk flies overhead during the day. I also have a pair of macaws that are outside. In typical macaw fashion, they squawk in the morning and in the evening, as well as when a predator flies overhead. We have the macaws under our patio roof, almost right up against the house. The neighbors claim they can hear the noise in every room of their house. Between the cage and their house is part of our house, a row of thick bushes that is taller than the block wall that separates our properties. In my own home office, I can barely hear them and that's with two block walls between us.
Once again she has emailed me to complain. She made it sound like the bird was in distress and she was concerned for it, but the tone was that it was too loud. I replied and set the expectation that there are things I can mitigate and things I can't. Birds call at sunrise and sunset. It's ingrained behavior and they only do it for a few minutes at a time. It's not like they are screaming for hours on end. I couldn't put up with that either. A bird seeing a predator is not something I can control. I temporarily put up a tarp to block their line of sight to the back yard, but it made my kitchen very dark. It's been 100+ degrees the last few weeks and the tarp just traps more heat. The female macaw takes issue with me changing her food and water dishes, so I've been doing it as early as possible so that it happens when she's normally calling anyway. That way I can talk to her and try to redirect her attention. I feel I've made all reasonable attempts to mitigate the noise. Short of moving them inside, there isn't much else I can do.
Has anyone else had to deal with this? Any suggestions?