Noisy crows are causing headaches for residents in several Iowa towns this winter. Leaders in Britt and Cedar Rapids have tried remedies from sanctioned shoots to hanging crow carcasses in trees to get rid of the raucous crowds of fowl. ISU wildlife specialist Jim Pease says they’re not particularly protected.They can be hunted — not in town, because you can’t shoot guns inside city limits, but it’s legal to hunt crows in season. Of course, in town is where they get to be a problem, and Pease says the number of crows is highest in the winter. They migrate south to Iowa in winter, and in Ames, the annual winter “roost” on the ISU campus is up to 14-thousand birds. While many wild things stay away from places where people live, Pease explains we have everything a crow needs to be happy.Trees to roost in, buildings to block the wind and make it warmer, and lots of food. Crow “shoots” will cut their numbers, though many residents object, or loud noise or “scare-eye” balloons work to some extent. And Pease says some towns have success playing recordings of crow distress calls. Human distress calls are a cry for help but birds send the message to flee the trouble spot. By summer, most of the crows will migrate farther back north, though they tend to return to the same place when the next winter comes.
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