Dublin neighborhood is fed up with crows’ caw-caw-cawing

DEAU JOAN >> I would like your help and advice about a small group of crows that seems to have taken up residence in my neighborhood, especially around my cul-desac of six homes.

About six months ago, we noticed crows caw-caw-cawing away throughout the day. Instead of being awakened in the morning with the sweet songs and chirping of small birds, I was rudely awakened by the annoying caw-caw-caw of crows. Since then, the songbirds have all but disappeared and the crows are dominating the neighborhood.

I witnessed two crows chasing after a squirrel running along a fence and actually pecked at it. And more than once, I’ve seen one or two crows chasing away a hawk that used to occupy the top of a very tall redwood tree. Now the crows own that property.

A couple of months ago, I noticed a crow’s nest near the top of a large Italian pine tree in my front yard, which partially explains why the crows have been hanging around. The babies have fledged and the nest is now empty, but the crows still hang around the area.

Are the fledglings still too small to be independent? How long will the crows stay? How can we discourage them from taking up permanent residence in our neighborhood?

I have tried hanging a fake dead crow made of plastic and artificial feathers in my yard, but it hasn’t seemed to faze them. Every time I walk outdoors, I am met with the annoying caw-caw-caw squawking of a crow.

I want quiet and the songbirds back. — Susie Q., Dublin

DEAU ZdZIE >> Let me start by answering one of your last questions. The crows will stay as long as they want. They are finding food and shelter, so they have no reason to leave. We invited them in, so if we want them out, we’ll need to uninvite them.

Baby crows enter the world naked, except for a few tufts of downy feathers. Their eyes are closed, they are fairly helpless and extremely clumsy. They will stay in the nest with their parents for 20 to 40 days, and then they are off to live their best crow lives.

Crows are perhaps the smartest birds in the bird world. They figure out how things work, have been known to fashion tools, remember faces and they can — although thankfully, few do — imitate our voices. When a predator or an animal they see as a threat is around, such as the squirrel and the hawk, they work together to drive it away in a manner known as “mobbing.” They also eat a lot of insects, which can help keep populations of bothersome bugs down.

Crows move into neighborhoods that have lots of food, water and shelter, and they stay unless they find a better place, or any of those three benefits disappear. Those items are the exact same things that attract other birds, so getting rid of them will mean hanging out an unwelcome sign to other birds.

The fake crow has been successful in driving away flocks, but you need to hang it out at night, when the crows are sleeping. You can also play recordings of crows making distress sounds, which can work to scare them off. You can find several on the market.

If those don’t work, you know the saying — if you can’t beat them, join them. Caw caw caw.