Rochester Reporter

The City is set to continue its wildlife management project today, following up on December's initiative aimed at dispersing a winter roost of 20,000 to 30,000 crows. The operation will be conducted by wildlife biologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services Program.

The team plans to use pyrotechnics, spotlights, lasers, and amplified electronic recordings of crow distress calls to disperse the birds. Officials assure that these methods will not harm the crows.

Efforts are scheduled to begin at dusk on Thursday, March 6 in the Downtown area and will proceed through the night. Additional measures will be taken to prevent the re-establishment of a large roost.

The primary aim is to disperse the dense crow population in Downtown and minimize associated damage. As these methods are implemented, it is expected that crows will break into smaller groups and spread over a wider area, thus reducing their impact.

City and Wildlife Services representatives acknowledge that these techniques may cause noise and disruption at times. They request public cooperation as crews carry out their work across the city.

Residents can contribute by calling 311 (or 428-5990 if outside city limits) to report sightings of large groups of crows.