30 November 2016
Thousands of crows roosting at the University of Pittsburgh this month have finally worn out their welcome. Their slippery “fallout” on the sidewalks, especially near Heinz Chapel, tipped the scales against them. This week Pitt began using crow scare tactics to make them move.
Scaring crows is a noisy process that takes days or weeks to be effective. Pitt’s first step is to play a very loud recording of screeching birds in distress and kakking peregrine falcons (click here to hear). The tape was playing yesterday at 4:30pm near Clapp Hall, so loud you could hardly think!
If the recording doesn’t work the next steps are even noisier. The video above shows how Penn State uses pyrotechnics to convince their crows to leave, but it can take a while. Crow expert Margaret Brittingham explains how the crows learned to circumvent the deterrents with amusing results.
So now I’m curious. How long will it take to convince the Pitt crows to leave? And where will they go?
Time will tell.
p.s. This is the first year that Pitt’s “new” peregrines, Hope and Terzo, have experienced the scare-crow recording. I don’t know what Terzo’s reaction is but Hope has been visiting her old site at Tarentum a lot lately. She was there yesterday afternoon.
(p.p.s. On the audio track the single crow sounds like a raven to me.)
(video from Penn State University)
WE ARE… CROWS!
At this moment hundreds of crows are feasting on acorns from the many oak trees on LaCrosse Street in Edgewood.
What a sight! They certainly liven up the neighborhood! Didn’t know they ate acorns.
I like that Pitt’s solution doesn’t leave a bunch of plastic randomly shot around campus like Penn State. I assume they may try to clean it up, but it would be hard in the dark.
Just heard the recording as I left Alumni Hall – everyone walking in the area was looking around in alarm. Sounded like pterodactyl-sized peregrines! Crows were calling as usual, though.
At 5:55pm: many many crows are in the trees on campus along 5th Ave. They weren’t impressed by the sound.
Aren’t crows some of the smartest beings on Earth? How long until they catch on?
Janet, sometimes it takes only a week but it requires continuous pressure. Crows are also stubborn. 😉
Actually, I meant how long until they catch on that it’s only noise?
Good question, Janet. I’m sure they do catch on after a while but then the noise is so annoying they might leave anyway.
Pitt staff, faculty and students may leave as well. The noise was really loud and disturbing. BTW, leaving campus at 7.30 the crows were out in full force.
Here in Bloomington, Indiana, a noise track seems to have successfully moved the crows away from our city hall. But I found them tonight in the parking lot of the university football field. Some were in the trees around the lot, but many were just sitting there on the lot itself! Is it common for crows to roost on the ground? I’ve never seen that before!
Sophia, I’ve never seen crows roost on the ground. That’s a new one!