GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) _ Green Bay city officials are hoping that extra fireworks will help prevent hundreds of seagulls from, well, raining on their parade.

In preparation for Fourth of July celebrations last night, officials tried to figure out how to eradicate the huge flocks that nest on top of local buildings.

Public Works director Carl Weber says the answer seems to be pyrotechnics. He says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted a permit to use fireworks to scare away the estimated 1,500 birds.

Weber says the city uses firecrackers that make screeching noises, described as sounding like a pterodactyl. He says the birds apparently hate the sound, and each time it's done a growing number of birds find someplace else to settle.