City of Rochester
News Release
ATTENTION EDITORS: Photo Opportunity. City Director of Operations Karen St. Aubin will be available to take questions from the media at 5 p.m., tonight, Dec. 6 at Washington Square Park, where the operation will begin.
(Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022) – The City will commence its annual wildlife management operation today to disperse winter roosts totaling 20,000 to 30,000 crows. Wildlife biologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services Program will break up the roosts with the use of pyrotechnics, spotlights, lasers and amplified electronic recordings of crow distress calls. These methods will not harm the birds.
Management efforts will begin at dusk in the Downtown area and continue through the night. Follow-ups will then be conducted to keep the birds from re-establishing large roosts.
The wildlife management operation will break up and disperse large roosts from the Downtown area and minimize damage associated with the high concentrations of crows and their waste. Once the methods are in progress, the crows will disperse into smaller groups that will spread out over a broader area, reducing the damage and mess.
City and Wildlife Services representatives recognize the management project techniques may be disruptive and respectfully request public cooperation as crews work throughout the city. Residents are asked to assist the effort by calling 311 (428-5990 outside city limits) to report the locations of large groups of crows.
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News Media: For more information, contact Communications Director Barbara Pierce at Barbara.Pierce@cityofrochester.gov.