BLUEFIELD —
City officials pledged their support Tuesday in helping to control a mega roost of crows that are creating a public health hazard in the vicinity of Bluefield Avenue. Thousands of crows have returned to the city, and are roosting at various city landmarks and businesses, including the Daily Telegraph’s parking lot. Large amounts of crow droppings at several businesses on Bluefield Avenue are creating public health concerns.
Daily Telegraph Publisher Darryl Hudson, and Editor Samantha Perry, asked the city board for help Tuesday in controlling the mega roost.
Perry said the newspaper is trying a variety of non-lethal measures to chase the crows away, including using owl decoys and boxes that emit the sound of a crow in distress.
“This is not just our problem,” Perry said.
Perry said the newspaper will continue utilizing various techniques until “we are able to move the roost off of our grounds, but we feel like they will just move to another location in the city.”
When Perry and Hudson passed out photos showing the crows, and the massive quantity of droppings they had left on the Telegraph’s roof and grounds, several board members openly grimaced.
Mayor Linda Whalen said an earlier article by the Daily Telegraph on the mega roost resulted in the city receiving several phone calls from as far away as Pennsylvania with tips on how to control the crow problem.
“Actually, the article you all ran — it apparently had a wide coverage — because I had someone who contacted me from Pennsylvania that saw my name in it,” Whalen said.
“There are lethal and non-lethal options for removing these crows,” City Manager Andy Merriman said. “It is a mega roost. They will be here for five to seven years at a time, and then they go away. I would like to consider other options. I’m not necessarily inclined to kill a thousand crows, but there are other options.”
Merriman said the city has been in contact with the USDA, and other wildlife officials, in search for solutions to the mega roost. However, he said options for chasing the crows out of the city could cost anywhere from $10,00 to $30,000.
Perry said the Daily Telegraph has been in contact with the city of Auburn, N.Y., which has battled a mega roost problem for years. The city of Auburn uses crow distress call boxes that are attached to the bumpers of several city vehicles. Perry said Auburn officials told her that public works department crews use the vehicles with the distress boxes, as well as pyrotechnics, to disturb and chase the crows out of their city.
Hudson said the newspaper recently had a new roof, and outside facade, constructed. Unfortunately, the building is now being bombarded with crow droppings.
“We definitely want to work with you (the city) for an overall solution,” Hudson said. “But we have to protect our investment.”
Merriman said simply chasing the crows out of Bluefield — and into neighboring Bluefield, Va. — is not the answer. That’s why he said the city is working with Bluefield, Va. Town Manager Mike Watson in the search for solutions to the mega roost.
Merriman asked for Perry and Hudson to attend additional meetings that will be scheduled to discuss ways to resolve the mega roost.
Perry said the crows have been roosting in the trees at the newspaper’s parking lot for several years now, and are becoming increasingly aggressive. While the crows would leave after a couple of weeks in previous years, they have extended their stay as of late — lingering around for months at a time.
Perry said the crows arrive each evening around dusk.
“If you are on the avenue in the twilight hours we have thousands,” Perry said. “They come in across the region, circle across our parking lot, and the mess they leave behind is considerable.”
Perry said the fake owls, and crow distress signals, work sporadically. Different methods may drive the crows away for brief periods of time, but ultimately they come back, Perry said.
“Crows are very, very smart,” she added.
Merriman said a follow-up meeting to the mega roost problem will be scheduled soon.
— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com
Slideshow of crows and their mess.
