This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published January 28, 2013 and can be found here.
![A large roost of crows was spotted last week on the edge of the Genesee River gorge near the Smith Street Bridge. [FILE PHOTO: Terri Heisele]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/crows-02-terri-heisele.jpg?ref=senseofplace.dev)
Love'em or hate'em, these feathered Rochesterians may be here for the long haul. Last February
the City and USDA used spotlights, pyrotechnics, lasers and recordings of distress calls to scare a pesky flock of crows out of Washington Square Park. But the birds came back. So, in December
City Council approved another $21,000 for crow removal and they tried it again. For now, Washington Square seems to be free and clear. But the family of roughly 40,000 didn't move very far. In fact, they're hiding in plain sight...
About two weeks ago, on my way home up Saint Paul Street, I noticed an enormous black cloud twisting its way through the skies over the Genesee River gorge. I couldn't see the beginning or end of this thing. No exaggeration, the cloud stretched for over a mile. Rising up out of the gorge somewhere near the middle falls, and moving south over Frontier Field. It was one big, continuous stream of black birds - both hair-raising and astonishingly beautiful. For the next two weeks almost everyday at the same time, this was a recurring event.
This past Friday, from Lake Avenue I noticed the swarm settling down to roost in some trees along the edge of the gorge. So I pulled out my cheap pocket camera and took some video (above). The clip is shaky and out of focus, I know... but that's what you get when you forget your gloves on a sub-freezing January day in Rochester. At least I remembered the camera.
![End Corvine Expulsions. [T-shirt designed by Clarke Conde]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/end-corvine-expulsions-womens-tshirt.jpg?ref=senseofplace.dev)
Anyway, standing their in the freezing cold watching this massive congregation of wildlife settling down for the night, I really could begin to understand why someone would set up a Facebook group
or maybe design a t-shirt
to end the corvine expulsions. Clarke Conde, photographer and designer of the t-shirt
, sent me the following statement: On December 17th of last year I went to Washington Square Park to witness the Rochester City Council approved $21,000 crow removal program. I shot the image that became the graphic for "END CORVINE EXPULSIONS" in Washington Square Park, right before the USDA began harassing the birds. I created the shirts the next day. Rochester's crow removal program is emblematic of several ham-fisted efforts by City Hall to modify quality of life by targeting aspects of Rochester that have developed organically. Crow removal is no different than harassing corner stores about selling single diapers, shutting down theater groups for performing in churches without permits or forcing businesses to put undersized signs in a space where a proper sign has hung for 100 years. It doesn't help economically, it pointlessly saps Rochester's character and it demonstrates an attitude of exclusion at a time when the City should be trying everything it can to be welcoming. They are just birds. They live here. Let's just leave them alone. In Rochester, we've 99 problems, but crows ain't one.
![A crow. He don't care 'bout no lasers. [PHOTO: Nick Bradsworth]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/crows-01-nick-bradsworth.jpg?ref=senseofplace.dev)
Well, take solace Clarke. These feathered friends look poised to move back into downtown again one day quite soon. And the City of Rochester may end up having to eat crow
. Maybe literally.
Related Learning:
from Cornell has lots of info that explains why we will most likely never rid the city of crows for good.
