"Looks like a hawk might have been here," said Bill Stephenson, pointing to a good-sized pile of white and gray feathers on the roof of St. Paul's Lowry Building.

In his job with St. Paul's Animal Control Center, Stephenson is taking a gentler approach to reducing the city's pigeon population: feeding the birds kibble (called OvoControl-P) that will make their eggs sterile. He won't be able to rid the city of the pests before the Republican National Convention, especially if "scofflaws" continue to break the law by feeding them popcorn and other snacks. But the contraceptive program, which has the blessing of the Humane Society of the United States and PETA, is quite promising.

We caught up with Stephenson as he checked out a pigeon "condo" and a feeder on the rain- and poop-slicked roof of the Lowry Building, testing ground for the program until the onset of winter, when even pigeons stop breeding.

Q So is the goal to get all pigeons out of downtown St. Paul?

A I don't think we can get rid of all of them. It's like a rat population: You'll never get rid of all of them, so you just try to keep them at a controlled level.

Q Would it help to have more predators?

A We have peregrines down here, so that helps. Out on the outskirts [of downtown], the hawks are really getting better. There are more eagles, more hawks, more peregrines. We also have people who will trap them and remove them. They can do that; it's not a protected species.

Q What about a ban on raising pigeons?

A The pigeon fanciers, they're pretty dedicated. They don't let their birds get loose and become the feral urban pigeons. Some people are getting permits for regular pigeons. I don't know if they're eating them or what they're doing, but we'll get people who want a dozen pigeons and don't want them to have the special skills the pigeon fanciers are looking for.

Q Would it be better for you guys if more people ate them?

A I guess people do, squab [a member of the pigeon species that cannot fly] and all that. We have urban raccoons, too, and some people eat raccoons. But I don't think I'd eat an urban raccoon.

Q So are you pigeons' Public Enemy No. 1?

A Well, I was on a radio show with [MSNBC-TV/Air America personality] Rachel Maddow, talking about the pigeon thing. And she goes "Bill, you know what they call that when you take those eggs and sterilize them?" And I said, "No, what?" And she said "pigeon abortions." And I went, "Oh, gosh, she's gonna chew me up now." But she just played with it. The whole show was kinda spoofy.

Q Ever had a pigeon poop on your head?

A No. But cockatiels, I have had that happen. They land on your shoulders and immediately poop there.

Q Were you working here when St. Paul would trap pigeons and have them destroyed [a practice that ended under public pressure in 1992]?

A I was working here. I was not involved, but I do remember the scathing letters and phone calls. That was a great system for catching them: Set up for a couple of weeks, watch 'em and time 'em, see when they're eating and then bait them and then boom, there's a net and you've got a thousand pigeons, very cool. But then it's like, "Oooh yeah, now what do we do?"

Bill Ward • 612-673-7643