When she went to bed Monday night, some of those sticks had been part of a Monk parakeets' nest - a basketlike structure that had enveloped the electrical transformer at the top of that pole.

That nest at the corner of Hubbard Avenue and Twin Falls Street was one of five removed by utility crews early Tuesday morning. While most of the birds fled, three were netted and killed by U.S. Department of Agriculture employees.

When Jennette woke up Tuesday, there was nothing left of the nest but those few scattered sticks.

"I'll save them in a box," the 8-year-old girl said. "I like parrots."

A lot of people in Yacolt like the tropical birds, also known as Quaker parrots. The parakeets - estimated to number 40 to 60 - have become something of an unofficial mascot in Clark County's smallest town.

"We love them," said Joy Tindall, who lives a couple of houses down the street from the utility pole. "They answer you when you talk to them.

"And, it's a little like the tropics," offering a colorful counterpoint to the snow-dusted hills surrounding the town.

But after several years of trying to work around the birds, Clark Public Utilities decided earlier this month that it was time for a take-no-prisoners approach. The nests were a threat to electrical service in Yacolt, said utilities spokesman Mick Shutt.

And to put an exclamation point on the notion, Shutt added that the parakeets had caused a power outage Sunday morning.

"The sticks and limbs in the nest got into some electrical stuff on top of the transformer and caused a short circuit," Shutt said.

The power agency hired private electrical contractors to help take down the nests and contracted with regional USDA officials to deal with any birds that were captured.

Residents of the affected streets were notified Monday afternoon that power would be briefly shut off that night - sometime after 9 - for the nest takedown.

They actually got to work at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Tindall - shortly after a Portland-area TV crew assigned to cover the project gave up and went home.

"I kind of felt like we were ambushed," Tindall said. "If you're not ashamed of what you're doing, you should be doing it out in the open."

The utility crews and USDA team were gone by 1:15 a.m., said Tindall, who watched it from her second-story window.

"We started late at night so customers would not be as affected," said Lena Wittler, customer communications manager for Clark Public Utilities.

And, "The birds are a little more cooperative earlier in the morning," said federal wildlife official Ken Gruver, who was in Yacolt early Tuesday morning for the operation.

The three netted birds were placed in a chamber that was filled with carbon dioxide, and "They went right to sleep," Gruver said.

Based in Olympia, Gruver is assistant state director for USDA wildlife services.

"We are the federal agency designed to assist with wildlife problems," said Gruver.

And to the agency, the Monk parakeets are problems.

"They are," Gruver affirmed. "A lot of people look at them as a pet, but they are a wild bird. They are considered an invasive species, which is why we don't relocate them.

"They reproduce very fast," Gruver said. "The agency has worked with them in other states. Their nests have been a major concern with other PUDs, and have caused fires and outages. Any time you have a power outage, there are human health and safety issues, like elderly people on oxygen. A transformer fire is an environmental concern. It's not a case of if, but when it will happen."

But Tindall thought that issue had already been covered: "The PUD said that they would trim the nests down so there would not be any fire danger."

Tuesday morning's operation wasn't the end of the problem, but Clark Public Utilities is stepping away from the issue. It has a contract with Gruver's agency to deal with the Monk parakeets.

"The USDA is monitoring the area and will continue to take care of removal of the birds," Gruver said. "There still are quite a few out there. We will see if they try to build the nest back. If it continues, we probably will remove those birds, as well."

He would hope to net more than three next time.

"We knew that at best, we'd get 50 percent, and we were less than that. A lot of it is learning curve. As time goes on, we'll develop things a little more."

They're not the only ones learning. According to Tindall, the birds' neighbor, the parakeets perk up at the sound of a diesel-powered truck.

"Every time they hear a log truck," Tindall said, "they take off."

Online Video: Yacolt residents react to the parakeet removal at www.columbian.com/video .

Tom Vogt can be reached at 360-759-8008 or at tom.vogt@columbian.com