When you live in a condo, your outdoor space is sacred.

For some people, it’s the only fresh air their unit gets, the only place their kids can play without leaving the building, and the one part of the home that feels like it isn’t boxed in by walls and shared ceilings.

The family in this story watched in horror as their neighbor’s bird feeders soon turned their shared outdoor space into a landing zone for crows.

The droppings, feathers, and shells from the feeder all fell directly onto their space daily, creating quite a hazard.

But when the renters tried to implore the neighbor to move the feeders, he simply shrugged and cited the HOA’s approval.

Keep reading for the full story.

Upstairs bird feeders

Looking for some perspective on a condo balcony situation.

We live in a second-floor condo with a balcony that is our only outdoor space.

We have a large crow population in our area, but over the last few months we’ve noticed a significant increase in crows gathering around our building.

Puzzled by the situation, the renters soon realize what’s causing this uptick in crows.

We’re regularly finding crow feathers, bird droppings, peanut shells, and seed debris on our balcony.

We eventually realized the neighbors above us have multiple feeders and put out loose bird seed and peanuts on a tray/plate.

The renters try to get a handle on the situation, but the neighbor swears the HOA signed off on it.

We spoke with them politely about the issue. They were friendly, but said they had already checked with the HOA and were told their setup was permitted.

It’s starting to really impact these renters’ quality of life.

We have a toddler and this is our only outdoor space.

I asked if they would consider moving the feeders for just the summer, but they said they like being able to feed the crows.

Now they’re at a standstill about what to do next.

I don’t want issues with our neighbors, but I don’t want to be scrubbing bird waste every day just so my toddler can safely play outside.

It’s also A LOT.

These definitely don’t sound like favorable conditions for a toddler to play in.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a homeowner who responded to an HOA violation letter by investigating the bylaws and having the whole board removed.

What did Reddit make of this situation?

Unlucky for these renters, crows are actually a pretty intelligent species.

The sooner they get management involved, the better.

This commenter suggests simply going over the HOA’s head.

Simply moving the bird feeder to a better location seems like a pretty logical request to this user.

Being told the HOA permits it doesn’t end the conversation. These renters will just have to work a little harder to get the board to see their point of view.

The feeders might be allowed in general, but if they’re causing a documented sanitation issue on a neighboring unit, that’s a different matter entirely.

It’s probably best to frame this complaint as a health concern for the child. Who knows — the HOA might put a lot more weight on that. These renters will just have to keep at it.

When it comes to battling a difficult neighbor, persistence is key.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a family who is resisting pressure from the HOA to remove their tree and lights.