ST. LOUIS — For months, a murder of crows has been plaguing the federal courthouse in downtown St. Louis and a small public park across the street, leaving sidewalks, grass and benches covered in droppings.
They have so far thwarted the efforts of federal officials to get them to leave, but they have also been dropping dead, prompting speculation about the cause.
On Monday, a Post-Dispatch reporter and photographer separately counted three dozen dead crows, mainly in the park across the street from the courthouse.
Others were scattered on the courthouse grounds or in a small park nearby. There were no obvious signs that would indicate a cause of death.
The Missouri Department of Conservation, after being notified by the Post-Dispatch about the deaths, collected four dead crows Monday afternoon for analysis, a spokesman said.
A spokeswoman for the General Services Administration, the courthouse landlord, said she did not have any information about the cause of death of the crows in recent weeks. Staff have collected and disposed of the deceased birds, she said.
An employee who was picking up dead birds Monday afternoon said staff have been doing so every day for more than a week.
"Some days it's five or 10, other days more than 20," said the employee, who declined to give his name. He said employees have been "Googling it" to try to find out why the birds are dying.
Tuesday morning, a reporter counted five crow corpses in the area, although several might have been missed in Monday's cleanup.
Protected species
Crows are a protected species, like all native birds, said Jeffrey S. Meshach, deputy director of the World Bird Sanctuary.
Although smaller birds will mob predators, they typically do not kill them, bird experts told the Post-Dispatch.
Many migratory birds are killed by flying into buildings, Meshach said, leaving building managers and cleaning crews to pick up the mess. But crows are highly intelligent, and too smart to do that, he said.
Experts said the most likely explanation for the deaths is a toxin or a disease.
“If there's three dozen dead crows … that’s pointing more to what could be a poison,” Meshach said. "It doesn’t sound to me like this is a natural phenomenon.”
A federal permit to kill crows isn't required under certain circumstances, including when they are "causing serious injuries" to crops or livestock feed or are causing a "health hazard or structural property damage," federal regulations say.
But MDC spokesman Dan Zarlenga said poisoning crows would be illegal unless done so under a special permit.
The crow hunting season in Missouri runs from Nov. 1 to March 3, but firearms are the only approved method and a permit is required.
Crows are omnivores, meaning they could be eating other animals or birds that were targets of poison, or could have eaten something toxic miles away.
They are also susceptible to some diseases. Crow populations have rebounded after being devastated by the West Nile Virus two decades ago.
Zarlenga said it could take two to three weeks to get results of necropsies of the birds collected Monday.
'The Birds'
The crows usually show up around sunset and roost in trees and on the courthouse itself.
Monday evening, hundreds of crows gathered on the top floor of Stadium West parking garage, east of the courthouse, and on the roof of a Ballpark Village building after circling and swooping in the sky.
Just after 6 p.m., like a scene out of the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds," they moved to the trees on the east side of the courthouse. They also lined light and camera poles, the lower portion of the courthouse roof and ledges at least 10 floors up.
The roof of the Cupples 1 building at 1000 Clark Avenue was not spared their attention.
Their caws filled the night, and their droppings mark the sidewalks, grass and buildings. Health officials warn that the droppings can contain bacterial and fungal diseases affecting humans, although the threat is often exaggerated.
Similar efforts to dissuade roosting crows have been tried in other cities, including noisemakers, falcons and lasers, but it's often an uphill task.
Officials unsuccessfully used a repellent gel in December to discourage the birds from roosting at the courthouse, said Jay Everitt, technical director for Rottler Pest Solutions, which is working with the GSA on the problem.
Everitt said the gel is food grade and contains capsaicin, the compound found in hot peppers.
Workers have been power-washing the sidewalks in a futile effort to keep them free of droppings.
On Monday, Rottler began installing about 12 speakers that will play the sounds of a predatory bird capturing another bird, Everitt said.
Everitt said the birds around the courthouse are in "gathering mode," which happens once or twice a year. The birds get together, roost, socialize and prepare for breeding in the spring, when they will leave.
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