Add “Hootie” the owl to the ranks of the recently unemployed.
Con Ed workers yesterday “fired” the mechanical bird, which failed to scare parrots off a Queens electrical transformer, repeatedly allowing the equipment to blow up because of their nests.
“The birds win!” said a Con Ed worker who took down the blown $25,000 transformer — and Hootie — in Beechhurst. “The owl’s fired!”
The transformer, like others in the area a favored nesting place for parrots, exploded Monday because of a rain-drenched nest, leading to a 45-minute power outage for more than 1,500 customers.
“This is the second time this year they’ve put in a new transformer. Two weeks ago, it blew up and there was a fire,” said Natalia Rosa, 42, who lives nearby.
“I think the parrots are beautiful, but they’re causing a lot of trouble.”
Con Ed routinely removes parrot nests, which have caused transformer malfunctions around New York. In Beechhurst, workers also placed “Hootie” — a battery-powered owl whose head swiveled and emitted audible owl-like “hoots” — on equipment to spook the birds.
“They got used to the owl,” said a worker yesterday. “[Then] we put up a red flag, and now they’re building a nest on it.”