Their eggs are hatching and they get very upset when ANYTHING is anywhere near their nests. Doesn't matter if it's a person, a cat, dog or a teeny tiny little bird. They will squawk their silly heads off trying to scare them away.
If you take a walk in the Sports Park in the mornings they will swoop down like they are going to attack you. It's quite funny actually.
They are only doing what crows do, being noisy and letting others know who's boss

for crows to crow. An umbrella helps on those walks!

Bring a BB gun with you and shut them up for good

Yes, it's seasonal. It used to crack me up to see them "dive bomb" my 50+ pound dog for having the nerve to walk near the tree where they were nesting. Poor dog had no idea what the heck was going on!

Hey, look on the bright side. At least they are not vultures!

It's "The Birds" come true!

I HATE these birds. They are awful. We live in a lovely tree filled neighborhood and the crows are tough to deal with. Some of my neighbors and I am acutally looking into a way to rid them from our neighborhood. They start their squawking way too early in the AM (like 4:30/5:00). It is so frustrating to try and sleep through. I think they are pests and need to be dealt with. Unlike my friends here, I don't think it is cute or tolerable. It's seriously making me and my family miserable. We need the trees for shade in the summer to keep our AC off as much as possible, and these horrible birds are harassing small toddlers in the parks and animals that aren't trying to harm them.

I'm calling the City and County to see what can be done on a pest control level. Does anyone have any ideas about what is legal to do? I'd assume a BB gun is not...but are there other measures one can take?

They roost in the same place every night as a group over a few blocks, They also shift areas every year. I know they are loud as heck they were in my neighborhood a few years ago. As they say This too shall pass SKWAKK SKWAKK

I use the hose on them at home, and a super soaker water shooter in the park.
There's a sticky substance you can buy at some nurseries that you can put on trees and fence tops that discourages crows and squirrels from landing on these things.

Its too bad we live in the city, otherwise we could all have great sport by hauling out our shotguns and trimming the crow population down to a reasonable level, say about to about 1/10th of what we have now. A whole lot less crow doo getting flushed into and polluting the Bay.

Ah, Blast 'em, your comments are going to have the PETA kooks and various other assorted loons all worked up now!

When I was a kid I used to have a lot of fun blasting crows. I would knock off hundreds of them, and it didn't even dent the population. Now the kids will have to make do with a "Knocking Off Crows" video game.

I love the crows. They have a right to "caw" and make noise just like you are all doing right now. I mean really, don't you people have anything better to do than complain about than crows? Your lives are pretty sad. Crows are intelligent and friendly creatures and worthy of our respect. Killing crows because they make too much noise or poop on your driveway is illegal. I feed them every morning on my walk and now that I know how much some of you are annoyed, I'm going to feed them even more to increase the population!!

Go for it CrowLover. Crows love to dig for grubs in your lawn. Last season they chewed up a hugh part of our lawn by digging. We put out some granules which got rid of the grubs and bye bye crows...but yes, they are noisy.

Blast 'em,
Hee, hee. Just like I predicted. ;-) Loons feeding crows - now that's a good one.

Crows, like most Corvids, are very intelligent. Not only can they use tools, they can even *modify* tools to make the tool work better. See this clip for an example:

Web Link

When you hear their loud calls early in the morning, it us usually because a predator is near the nest (the predator is usually a cat or a raccoon at that hour).

This too shall pass, once the fledglings are able to fly and fend for themselves.

We can't have another living creature disturb our beauty sleep, can we? Destroy them!!

(you might try finding a way to mask the noise yourself, a lead blower or other white noise maker should do the trick)

God forbid there should be any sign of nature in our community...

I know how to make a crow pie! yum-yum...

Oh, come on! Crows are a menace. That's why people living outside of cities do the right thing - they shoot them to keep the crow population under control. As PTown Frank says, "blast em". The good thing about that is, since crows are smart, once they witness some other crows "getting blasted", they tend to clear out. That's why God gave us shotguns!!!

I just love the people on this forum that "love" crows. I suppose you love rats, raccoons, bats, etc.

Some of "nature" doesn't belong with people. Domesticated animals belong with people. The crows are nasty, ugly, annoying creatures that I personally would like to rid our neighborhoods of. You can keep feeding and louring them to your neighborhood if you like.

This afternoon I hit a local toy store and purchased the super soaker that was recommended above. I've been sitting in the yard now with my laptop and super soaker enjoying some payback! :)

I can't wait for the morning roost! Suddenly I LOVE nature and crows!!

Here birdy, birdy...

I hate crows. I'm going to get some Blasting Crows t-shirts made up. Maybe it will start a movement. People that feed the crows need to get a life.

When I was a kid we called it plinkin' crows. My mother gave me a new shotgun one year and told me to start clearing out the crows. I plinked at least 500 crows that summer.

It's funny how people can complain about crows in the morning but don't know how to fix problems such as leaf blowers at 7am, truck horns sounding off at 6:30am when they are backing up, telling teens to quiet down at midnight when they are having a house party etc.

Of all the other things in life to worry about, it's about the birds. Why not go walk around parks and tell people to pick up the trash they leave? Or better yet, the constant dog poop? I was at the aquatic park (Dolores Park I believe, where the aquatic center is) three times with my nephew this past weekend. Every time I went, there were large parties, using every picnic table. Trash was scattered all over the playground structures, the sidewalks, and up and down the grass area between the two different playground structures. I think having plastic cups, straws, paper wrappers, etc is more of a concern than some natural animals crap. But go figure- there is more of a concern over some damn bird rather than keeping our city clean of peoples' trash. Typical

ug -
You sound like a nasty, ugly, annoying creature that I personally would like to rid from this city.

... "earplugs", Benjamin.

CrowLover,

It's so nice to know you care! Will you feed me too? Do you want me to bring my super-soaker over for your next bird feeding party?

Yep! Nature in general is a nuisance. I say we start wiping out the squirrels, the trees, the bluebirds and robins ... and don’t forget the remaining deer. Next, those pesky rose bushes in people’s yards, and those darn kids at 3:00 when school lets out. Next, the cars that limp through First Street every night. Oh yeah, and those annoying creatures that think they are the center of the earth, you know the ones that pollute ... hummm, I say BBQ those nasty creatures ... I with you guys ... I hate the beautiful balance of Nature.

Crows are crows, they were here first and will be here after us. Yes they are nasty birds that raid song birds’ nests, and poop on our stuff. They don't pollute though, and make less noise than us. Here is my animal pet peeve. Cats...People buy them and let them roam the neighborhoods pooping on my yard, and it stinks badly. They are not native and can make a racket at night too. Also they kill nice little bids that we enjoy, and spread ringworm. Would you mind if I let my dog roam the streets? Basically my nebs have cats so I have cats, I just don't have to feed them. I know you love your cat, you don’t want to keep them penned up inside all the time, and they can hop fences, it’s cruel to de-claw, so what can you do? Put an inward leaning section of barbed wire or something they can’t sink their claws into along the inside of your fence I guess. I don’t know someone has to have figured it out.

@ cATs are OK in your house: I couldn't agree with you MORE, in fact this topic has had its own thread! My dogs have so many restrictions, but cats....

I don't enjoy the crows pooping in my pool, dive bombing, and making their racket, but it's only for a relatively short period of time. It does pass. For me it's a happy sign of spring/summer.

I haven't read here where people want the crows annilhilated - just reasonably controlled. As some have pointed out, there are just a LOT of them in town.

Last night there was a story on the news that showed a bird in the SF Financial District swooping down and hitting people on the head and then flying off back to it's perch, despite the fact that he was tiny compared to our town's crows, and also that he probably should get a pass in the case that his behavior was predicated that he was swindled out of investment money by the financial neighborhood there, the point is that some birds can be a nuisance when their numbers grow too big for one area - it seems that might be the case in Pleasanton.

Surely no one here is serious that the birds have more rights than humans? That logic is a little bit too far fetched. Creatures should be cared for and enjoyed, but certainly not at the expense of those that care for and live with them. No one here is suggesting that humans and animals have the same rights, correct?

Overpopulation of any animal, whether a song bird or a pest, is cause for concern and valid. Let's be reasonable.

What I don't understand is why so many Trolls are complaining about birds?

Wish pleasanton had a beaver infestation!

How are we determining that there are too many? Enviromental impact? People complaining? I have not heard of any injuries. It's not about animal rights, it's about the natural enviroment. We have crows, others have elk or beavers, whatever. If we want to fix the environment there are better places to start then crows. Leaf blowers, SUV, water guzzeling yards and pools, etc. Oh, you complainers have those or hire people that have them to clean your yard, so we won't deal with those. Geez.

Quality vs. Quantity- You said "I haven't read here where people want the crows annilhilated", not much of a reader are you? Here are some of my favorite quotes from posts above...
"Bring a BB gun with you and shut them up for good"
"looking into a way to rid them from our neighborhood"
"kid I used to have a lot of fun blasting crows. I would knock off hundreds of them"
"The crows are nasty, ugly, annoying creatures that I personally would like to rid our neighborhoods"
"I hate crows. I'm going to get some Blasting Crows t-shirts made up"

People around town are worked up about crows? Whatever happened to the mountain lion that was around town? Anyone seen it lately? I would be more concerned about that than some crows!! They will move on when their babies fly off. But a montain lion will hang around wherever they think is safe and provides a good food source.

Someone please update me about the lions!

FYI Q v. Q,

You said, "...not much of a reader are you? Here are some of my favorite quotes from posts above..."


"Bring a BB gun with you and shut them up for good"


"looking into a way to rid them from our neighborhood"


"kid I used to have a lot of fun blasting crows. I would knock off hundreds of them"


"The crows are nasty, ugly, annoying creatures that I personally would like to rid our neighborhoods"


"I hate crows. I'm going to get some Blasting Crows t-shirts made up"



*******

Thank you for your concern for my comprehension skills. Apparently you are the one struggling with the basic descriptive concepts and features of the English language.


I wrote, "I haven't read here where people want the crows annihilated."

Let me enlighten you as to the lexical choice I made in my analysis of the posts above.

Let me begin by addressing the definition of annihilate to help you accurately read my post.

annihilate

The English word is derived from the late Latin (approx 1545 A.D.) annihilatus, a past participle of annihilare to reduce to nothing, from Latin ad- + nihil nothing — more at nil

In modern English, we use the term annihilate largely in reference to cause to cease to exist
Or
To vanquish completely: annihilated the visitors from 56–0

Based on your apparent haphazard provision of examples in your post to attempt to justify your argument, I would like to address them one at a time in a causal relationship to "annihilate".

I don't believe a BB gun is capable of annihilation.

"Rid" implies to disencumber or relieve or rescue meaning to move forward or relocate. Annihilate means to cease to exist permanently

"Hundreds" does not imply all. Annihilation means to reduce to zero.

And of course "hate" refers to emotions, not actions. "Make...shirts" is not an act of annihilation.

I think, my friend, basic reading comprehension and in fact, lexical remediation may be useful for you.

I on the other hand have excellent receptive and expressive language skills, in both my oral and written repertoire; replete are my superior phonological, morphological, syntactical, semantical and pragmatic skills.

You on the other hand appear deficient in your abilities to communicate graphically and soundly reason.

Or to help you at your demonstrated baseline reading/writing level: You ain't readin' or writin' good.

Q v. Q - Way to change the argument! That’s a pretty slick use of the straw man fallacy of reasoning. You said "want the crows annilhilated (misspelled Mrs. English proffessor)" then argued how it can't be done. "I don't believe a BB gun is capable of annihilation." Doesn't mean he didn't want to 'annilhilate'(sic). Jews couldn't be annihilated by Hitler, but he wanted to. Try to get past semantics and understand the intent of language.

WOW FYI,

Angry much? Rhetorical, since I obviously know the answer.

Heads up, in an earlier post I said, "I haven't read where people want the crows annilhilated"

First of all, YOU misquoted me as saying, "want the crows annilhilated" and then criticized me for mispelling "annilhilate". You are 100% correct that I misspelled annihilate. But then again, this is an informal forum with misspellings replete and you for one should relate since you misspelled "proffessor".

You said, "Try to get past semantics and understand the intent of language."

I do...that is why I already stated above my proficiency in pragmatics. I'll let you research that term since you obviously didn't comprehend it the first time.

It's been weeks since my crisp argument. Does it typically take you that long to formulate a response, while a pathetic one at that?

I win! :)

I am new here and I have been reading this forum for about month now and finally decided to join.

________
http://windowserrorcodes.net

Crows are nest robbers period. You aint seen nothin till you shoot one and the rest come for miles around once one starts doing the death call. They all circle around and make the crow death call, and sometimes, its as if time stands still as they circle and dive bomb, kind of like the twilight zone, way cool. The crow death call is like no other, it even gets the bluejays all fired up and pissy. Bluejays, crows, magpies, kissin cousins, thin em out, nest robbers. Reminds me of the government and wall street banksters.

Next thing you know these tree huggers will be crying anti-semetism!