The crow saga continues

From an email sent to all College of Ed employees today:

CROW RELOCATION  – WINTER 2010

University Park - The Office of Physical Plant (OPP) crow relocation program for winter semester will begin Wednesday night (6 Jan 2010).  Large groups of crows have been detected in the vicinity of Ford, Moore, Cedar, and Chambers Buildings, West Halls, Rec Hall, the Hub, and Pond Lab. Occupants of these buildings may experience the loudest noises as our harassment effort gets underway.

Physical Plant anti-crow forces will muster on the north side of Old Main at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night and proceed with re-location operations.  Jeremy Smith, OPP Trades Supervisor will be in charge of the launch team.  The campus community can expect to hear loud noises in the early evening as university employees launch anti-crow pyrotechnic noisemakers called "bangers" and "screamers".  These activities will continue until the crows move to less problematic locations.  Pyrotechnic operations may continue for several weeks until this objective is met.

This year’s preferred roosting location is a stand of trees east of the Visitor’s Center.  Small groups of highly trained OPP employees will be conducting the relocation operation and will be wearing distinctive green safety vests.

Once the crows have vacated a location, crow effigies will be hung to dissuade the crows from returning.  Light towers will be erected in the targeted relocation woods east of the Visitor’s Center to make the area more appealing to crows.  

No crows will be harmed in this operation.  The public can expect some disturbance from the noisemaking activities and possible crow infestation if the crows attempt to re-roost in populated areas.

In addition, The College of Agricultural Sciences is employing propane cannons at two locations, the Dairy Barns and the Organic Materials Processing and Education Center (OMPEC).  These cannons produce a loud bang to scare crows away from those locations.  These cannons may be used for most of the day, seven days a week throughout the rest of the fall and winter.  

Last year about 3,000 migrating crows landed on our campus causing unsanitary and unpleasant conditions.  Our goal is to discourage this mass roosting and the accompanying sanitary problems.  

Physical Plant is partnering with Penn State researchers and the USDA Wildlife Services to relocate the migrating crows.  Penn State will also work closely with the Borough to jointly find solutions to this continuing problem.  For further information please contact Paul Ruskin, Physical Plant Communications Coordinator at 863-9620 or at pdr2@psu.edu.