[NatureNS] re Kentville & The Phoenix Wailer & Hfx. & MSVU roost

From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
References: <C22DD4E5ED944F7AA8480CC6DDF162BA@desktop>
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:58:28 -0400
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ce=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3"&gt;Bob McDonald &amp;lt;&lt;a href=3D"mailto:bobathome8
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Hi Jim & All,                        Jan 23, 2013
    My estimate was ~45,000 (or perhaps >100,000) based on estimated =
flight speed of 30 mph; perhaps way to fast, I don't know: pasted below.
    For years I think Kentville used exploding shells of some kind. And =
they tried to move them on before they landed, by having crow disturbers =
widely distributed. This latter approach was my recommendation, based on =
experience with bird depredation control, and I was told subsequently by =
Mayor Pope that my suggestions had been followed.

Yt, DW, Kentville   =20


START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\.
    Hi Jim & All,                        May 9, 2002
    At the peak, sometime in the early 90's I think, I would estimate =
that at
least 45,000 crows flew each evening to Kentville winter roosts from the =
east.The flights were often well under way when I left work, more or =
less continuous and  were still going strong when I arrived home more =
than 30 minutes later. The skeins were diffuse but broad and if all were =
drawn together into one line, there would have been at the very least =
one column beak to tail and probably three; an impressive sight and very =
impressive I would think if you are potential crow food.
    If crows fly 30 mph and are 20" long then 15 miles x 5280 X 12 =
/20=3D>47,520 crows.
   The Town has in recent years encouraged the crows to roost elsewhere =
and the numbers here are down. But even if they have winter roosts in =
New Minas and move NE with the spring, they still have to eat every day.
Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville
END OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: James W. Wolford=20
  To: NatureNS=20
  Cc: Randy Milton=20
  Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 4:28 PM
  Subject: [NatureNS] re Kentville & The Phoenix Wailer & Hfx. & MSVU =
roost


  Interesting thread started by James Churchill -- I think the figure of =
40,000 crows for Kentville a long time ago was bogus, based probably on =
the highest count ever gotten by Randy Milton when he had teams of =
people counting the incoming birds from all directions at dusk as they =
homed in on their long-time roost on Boot Island off ne. Grand Pre.  =
Perhaps Randy can confirm this for the mid-1970s?, and maybe Richard =
Stern or someone else can comment on any real counts attempted later in =
Kentville, where a couple of Phoenix Wailers (invented in Truro area?) =
were used for a long time and moved around with the changing roost =
locations within Kentville.


  The last thing I recall hearing more recently about crow roosts in =
towns was for the pines? in a park in Berwick? and/or Aylesford??



  Cheers from Jim in Wolfville.



  Begin forwarded message:


    From: Bob McDonald <bobathome83@gmail.com>
    Date: January 23, 2013 3:40:16 PM AST
    To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
    Cc: Bob McDonald <bobathome83@gmail.com>
    Subject: Re: [NatureNS] The Phoenix Wailer
    Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca


    Hmmm....  That's just about the time when the number of crows at the =
Mount started to increase significantly.  But the number at MSVU is much =
smaller - more like ~7500 at last count.  I wonder how widely they might =
have dispersed?

    Bob McDonald
    Halifax


    ----- Original Message -----
      From: James Churchill
      To: naturens
      Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3:07 PM
      Subject: [NatureNS] The Phoenix Wailer


      an excerpt from the Register/Advertiser Justice section:
      =20


      Crows a concern
      After a couple of complaints about a murder of crows, the village =
of New Minas tried firing some blanks last week to disperse the birds.
      On Jan. 11, a village resident called police to report hearing =
gunshots near the Empire Theatre.
      Superintendent of works Peter Pothier said Monday that the village =
does not have a crow eradication program and any resident disturbed by =
the birds should contact the province=92s natural resources department.
      As many as 40,000 crows were plaguing the town of Kentville =
approximately 17 years ago. Eventually, the Phoenix Wailer, a device =
that emits random sounds, was used successfully.


      --=20
      James Churchill
      Kentville, Nova Scotia
      Email: jameslchurchill@gmail.com
      Phone (h): (902) 681-2374
      Skype: jameslchurchill





  No virus found in this message.
  Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
  Version: 2013.0.2890 / Virus Database: 2638/6038 - Release Date: =
01/16/13
  Internal Virus Database is out of date.

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dwindows-1252" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META name=3DGENERATOR content=3D"MSHTML 8.00.6001.19394">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY=20
style=3D"WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space"=20
bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Hi Jim &amp; All,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; =
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; =
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jan=20
23, 2013</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; My estimate was ~45,000 (or =
perhaps=20
&gt;100,000) based on estimated flight speed of 30 mph; perhaps way to =
fast, I=20
don't know: pasted below.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For years I think Kentville used =
exploding=20
shells of some kind.&nbsp;And they&nbsp;tried to move them on before =
they=20
landed, by having crow disturbers widely distributed. This latter=20
approach&nbsp;was my recommendation, based on experience with bird =
depredation=20
control, and I was told subsequently by Mayor Pope that my suggestions =
had been=20
followed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Yt, DW, Kentville&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </FONT><FONT size=3D3>Hi Jim =
&amp;=20
All,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nb=
sp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
May 9, 2002<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; At the peak, sometime in the early =
90's I=20
think, I would estimate that at<BR>least 45,000 crows flew each evening =
to=20
Kentville winter roosts from the east.The flights were often well under =
way when=20
I left work, more or less continuous and&nbsp; were still going strong =
when I=20
arrived home more than 30 minutes later. The skeins were diffuse but =
broad and=20
if all were drawn together into one line, there would have been at the =
very=20
least one column beak to tail and probably three; an impressive sight =
and very=20
impressive I would think if you are potential crow =
food.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
If crows fly 30 mph and are 20" long then 15 miles x 5280 X 12 =
/20=3D&gt;47,520=20
crows.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp; The Town has in recent years encouraged the crows =
to=20
roost elsewhere and the numbers here are down. But even if they have =
winter=20
roosts in New Minas and move NE with the spring, they still have to eat =
every=20
day.<BR>Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>END OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"=20
dir=3Dltr>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A title=3Djimwolford@eastlink.ca =
href=3D"mailto:jimwolford@eastlink.ca">James W.=20
  Wolford</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dnaturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">NatureNS</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A =
title=3Dmiltongr@gov.ns.ca=20
  href=3D"mailto:miltongr@gov.ns.ca">Randy Milton</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, January 23, =
2013 4:28=20
  PM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [NatureNS] re =
Kentville &amp;=20
  The Phoenix Wailer &amp; Hfx. &amp; MSVU roost</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV>Interesting thread started by James Churchill -- I =
think the=20
  figure of 40,000 crows for Kentville a long time ago was bogus, based =
probably=20
  on the highest count ever gotten by Randy Milton when he had teams of =
people=20
  counting the incoming birds from all directions at dusk as they homed =
in on=20
  their long-time roost on Boot Island off ne. Grand Pre. &nbsp;Perhaps =
Randy=20
  can confirm this for the mid-1970s?, and maybe Richard Stern or =
someone else=20
  can comment on any real counts attempted later in Kentville, where a =
couple of=20
  Phoenix Wailers (invented in Truro area?) were used for a long time =
and moved=20
  around with the changing roost locations within Kentville.
  <DIV><BR></DIV>
  <DIV>The last thing I recall hearing more recently about crow roosts =
in towns=20
  was for the pines? in a park in Berwick? and/or Aylesford??<BR>
  <DIV><BR></DIV>
  <DIV>Cheers from Jim in Wolfville.<BR>
  <DIV><BR>
  <DIV>Begin forwarded message:</DIV><BR =
class=3DApple-interchange-newline>
  <BLOCKQUOTE type=3D"cite">
    <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica; =
COLOR: #000000"=20
    color=3D#000000 size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><B>From: </B></FONT><FONT=20
    style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica" size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica>Bob =
McDonald &lt;<A=20
    =
href=3D"mailto:bobathome83@gmail.com">bobathome83@gmail.com</A>&gt;</FONT=
></DIV>
    <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica; =
COLOR: #000000"=20
    color=3D#000000 size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><B>Date: </B></FONT><FONT=20
    style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica" size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica>January 23, =
2013 3:40:16=20
    PM AST</FONT></DIV>
    <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica; =
COLOR: #000000"=20
    color=3D#000000 size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><B>To: </B></FONT><FONT=20
    style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica" size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><A=20
    =
href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">naturens@chebucto.ns.ca</A></FONT=
></DIV>
    <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica; =
COLOR: #000000"=20
    color=3D#000000 size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><B>Cc: </B></FONT><FONT=20
    style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica" size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica>Bob =
McDonald &lt;<A=20
    =
href=3D"mailto:bobathome83@gmail.com">bobathome83@gmail.com</A>&gt;</FONT=
></DIV>
    <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica; =
COLOR: #000000"=20
    color=3D#000000 size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><B>Subject: =
</B></FONT><FONT=20
    style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica" size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><B>Re: =
[NatureNS] The=20
    Phoenix Wailer</B></FONT></DIV>
    <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica; =
COLOR: #000000"=20
    color=3D#000000 size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><B>Reply-To: =
</B></FONT><FONT=20
    style=3D"FONT: 12px Helvetica" size=3D3 face=3DHelvetica><A=20
    =
href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">naturens@chebucto.ns.ca</A></FONT=
></DIV>
    <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px; MIN-HEIGHT: 14px"><BR></DIV><SPAN=20
    style=3D"WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; =
BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; FONT: medium Helvetica; WHITE-SPACE: normal; =
ORPHANS: 2; LETTER-SPACING: normal; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); WORD-SPACING: =
0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; =
-webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; =
-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: =
auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px"=20
    class=3DApple-style-span>
    <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial>Hmmm....&nbsp; That's just about =
the time when=20
    the number of crows at the Mount started to increase =
significantly.&nbsp;=20
    But the number&nbsp;at MSVU&nbsp;is much smaller - more like ~7500 =
at last=20
    count.&nbsp; I wonder how widely they might have =
dispersed?</FONT></DIV>
    <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
    <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial>Bob McDonald</FONT></DIV>
    <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial>Halifax</FONT></DIV>
    <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
    <DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
    <DIV>----- Original Message -----</DIV>
    <BLOCKQUOTE=20
    style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"=20
    dir=3Dltr>
      <DIV=20
      style=3D"BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(228,228,228); FONT: 10pt arial; =
background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><B>From:</B><SPAN=20
      class=3DApple-converted-space>&nbsp;</SPAN><A=20
      title=3Djameslchurchill@gmail.com=20
      href=3D"mailto:jameslchurchill@gmail.com">James =
Churchill</A></DIV>
      <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B><SPAN=20
      class=3DApple-converted-space>&nbsp;</SPAN><A =
title=3Dnaturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
      href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">naturens</A></DIV>
      <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B><SPAN=20
      class=3DApple-converted-space>&nbsp;</SPAN>Wednesday, January 23, =
2013 3:07=20
      PM</DIV>
      <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B><SPAN=20
      class=3DApple-converted-space>&nbsp;</SPAN>[NatureNS] The Phoenix=20
      Wailer</DIV>
      <DIV><BR></DIV>
      <DIV dir=3Dltr>an excerpt from the Register/Advertiser Justice =
section:
      <DIV>&nbsp;
      <DIV><BR></DIV>
      <DIV>
      <DIV=20
      style=3D"PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; =
BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(170,170,170); MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; =
BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(77,77,77); =
FONT-SIZE: 1.4em; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">Crows=20
      a concern</DIV>
      <DIV=20
      style=3D"PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; =
BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(170,170,170); MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; =
BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(77,77,77); =
FONT-SIZE: 1.4em; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">After=20
      a couple of complaints about a murder of crows, the village of New =
Minas=20
      tried firing some blanks last week to disperse the birds.</DIV>
      <DIV=20
      style=3D"PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; =
BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(170,170,170); MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; =
BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(77,77,77); =
FONT-SIZE: 1.4em; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">On=20
      Jan. 11, a village resident called police to report hearing =
gunshots near=20
      the Empire Theatre.</DIV>
      <DIV=20
      style=3D"PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; =
BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(170,170,170); MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; =
BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(77,77,77); =
FONT-SIZE: 1.4em; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: =
0px">Superintendent=20
      of works Peter Pothier said Monday that the village does not have =
a crow=20
      eradication program and any resident disturbed by the birds should =
contact=20
      the province=92s natural resources department.</DIV>
      <DIV=20
      style=3D"PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px; =
BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(170,170,170); MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; =
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; =
BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; COLOR: rgb(77,77,77); =
FONT-SIZE: 1.4em; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">As=20
      many as 40,000 crows were plaguing the town of Kentville =
approximately 17=20
      years ago. Eventually, the Phoenix Wailer, a device that emits =
random=20
      sounds, was used successfully.</DIV>
      <DIV><BR></DIV>--<SPAN =
class=3DApple-converted-space>&nbsp;</SPAN><BR>James=20
      Churchill<BR>Kentville, Nova Scotia<BR>Email:<SPAN=20
      class=3DApple-converted-space>&nbsp;</SPAN><A=20
      href=3D"mailto:jameslchurchill@gmail.com"=20
      target=3D_blank>jameslchurchill@gmail.com</A><BR>Phone (h): (902)=20
      681-2374<BR>Skype:=20
    =
jameslchurchill<BR><BR><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></SPAN></BLOCKQ=
UOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></DIV><A></A>
  <P align=3Dleft color=3D"#000000" avgcert??>No virus found in this=20
  message.<BR>Checked by AVG - <A=20
  href=3D"http://www.avg.com">www.avg.com</A><BR>Version: 2013.0.2890 / =
Virus=20
  Database: 2638/6038 - Release Date: 01/16/13<BR>Internal Virus =
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