California City Overrun With Crows [View all]

Every day at dusk, a murder of cawing crows descends on downtown Sunnyvale, shrouding the sky over the main strip in darkness like a black cloud. With shrewd precision they swarm from tree to tree, swooping down above the heads of startled diners on Murphy Avenue’s outdoor tables.

Like many Bay Area communities, the city has a burgeoning crow population. But in Sunnyvale, they’ve become such a nuisance that crows are now the second most common complaint Vice Mayor Alysa Cisneros hears from residents, right behind speeding drivers. She and the city have finally had enough of the birds. So later this month, the city is rolling out a crow abatement pilot program. Which means a worker will point a $20 handheld laser at the crows, hoping to scare them away.

“The reason it frightens them away is the same reasons it’s useful for giving seminars,” Sunnyvale resident Ken Ibbs (who previously worked as a laser scientist) said. “It looks very bright. Green is particularly bright for things like crows. They have much more visual acuity.”

It’s not just the crow’s caws that have some folks at their wit’s end. The birds have staked out residents’ lawns throughout the city, roosting in trees overnight and leaving benches and sidewalks covered with feathers and bird poop. The birds also often pull trash out of the garbage cans.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/11/crows-everywhere-and-this-citys-going-to-do-something-about-it/