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City disperses crows in Washington Square Park

rochestersubway.com

The City of Rochester commenced its wildlife management program Monday night to disperse a murder of 20 - 30,000 crows.

Wildlife biologists from the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services Program used a number of methods to disperse the crows including spotlights and lasers, but no harm was done to the birds.

Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Norm Jones says it’s just something that will have to happen every year to break up the large groups that descend on Washington Square Park.

"They keep coming back. We have to break up the roosts, and when we do that, they basically segregate or break up into small pods."

Jones says after the renovation of the cannon and statue of Abraham Lincoln in the park, they’re doing their best to keep it clean.

"That’s a park that everyone utilizes and we're not doing anything to hurt them. We just want to relocate them…moving them to another area where they’re not as concentrated. And their byproduct is not as concentrated."

Residents are asked to assist the effort by calling 311 to report locations of large groups of crows.