We have lived in Oceano now for six months, and I am disappointed in the lack of birds around compared to Arroyo Grande.

Oh, we have the crows and the gulls that fly over us, but little else. I hear and see a turtle dove, a scrub jay, and in the distance a red finch or house finch once in a while. From our porch, I occasionally notice a small bird whiz by, but that is the extent of what I have noticed in these six months.

The reason for our scarcity of birds, I have decided, is because of the frequent discharge of illegal fireworks. No week goes by without the booms and pings of these random explosions, mostly at night and on weekends.

Before the county/state fire department stopped it, on every Independence Day, as well as days before and after, our area in rural Arroyo Grande was inundated with loud blasts that continued for hours. And that for weeks after these senseless disturbances there were few birds around.

-- Roy Berger - Oceano