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BROOKSVILLE - There was bird poop and lots of it in Edward Renna's yard.
But a Hernando County judge couldn't determine a cause for the excrement other than what goes into a bird must come out somewhere.
Marian and Chuck Butler cannot be held responsible for creating a nuisance in their Hernando Beach neighborhood, even if they feed birds with 40 pounds of seed each week, Judge Peyton Hyslop ruled in court Friday.
Renna, the Butlers' next-door neighbor, filed a small claims lawsuit against the Butlers in June, asking the judge for an injunction to prevent the Butlers from feeding the birds. He also sought $5,000 in damages to his fruit trees, boat and dock, as well as mental anguish.
The two homeowners bought property on Gulfview Drive in 1979. Renna's original case accused the Butlers of 20 years worth of feeding wild birds daily. During the trial, he limited the scope back to 1997, when the Butlers became full-time Hernando Beach residents.
While Hyslop acknowledged that the Butlers' bird feedings likely contributed to Renna's excrement problems, he said Renna did not prove that the Butlers were the sole source of the problems.
"For all I know, (the birds) may have decided Hernando Beach is a great place to live, just like you and your neighbors have," Hyslop said. "I can't find the cause of this problem is anything but the birds."
Renna represented himself in the case and talked about disease spread by birds, including west Nile virus. He also brought into the courtroom a half dozen nests plucked from his trees and along his house. The birds prefer roosting in Renna's yard, because he has planted some of the block's only trees, loaded with plump oranges and figs.
"Normal feeding of birds is acceptable," said Renna, 66, a Lakeland contractor who spends long weekends in his Hernando Beach one-story overlooking the canal. "We're not talking about small areas of feed. We're talking about 40 pounds of bird seed per week."
His strongest evidence was drawn from videos and digital pictures of the two yards, which showed feathers, nests, excrement and birds, both dead and alive. He spent nearly an hour whacking the television with a mental pointer shouting, "There's a bird, there's another."
The Butlers' attorney, Gary Frank of St. Petersburg, asked Hyslop to dismiss the case and called it "preposterous."
"I don't think it should come as any surprise that there's bird droppings on his boat and seawall; he lives by the water," Frank said in his closing statement. "This is a case about a man suing his neighbor, because she puts birdseed out."
As part of his ruling, Hyslop declined to award damages and ordered each side to pay its own court costs.
After the trial, Renna hadn't decided whether to appeal Hyslop's ruling.
Marian Butler said she was pleased with Hyslop's ruling.
"Now we can go back to minding our own business," the 79-year-old said.
- Jennifer Liberto can be reached at 352848-1434 or liberto@sptimes.com