SYRACUSE -- For the past few nights hundreds - if not thousands - of crows have been descending on Syracuse to roost. The west side of Armory Square has been an especially prominent spot to see swarms of birds circling buildings and trees - like something straight out of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds".
"Hundreds. It's completely insane. Sometimes I think my wife took off in flight. I don't know," said Jonathan Pikarsky of Syracuse.
Some local communities like Oneida, Watertown, and Auburn have used loud noises, lights and fireworks to scare off crows in the past. Typically once the crows find a place to roost, they will keep returning to that spot until the spring.
On Thursday, Armory Square neighbors had mixed feeling about the birds moving in. Some felt the birds should be allowed to roost wherever they want as long as they don’t bother anyone but others were worried that droppings from thousands of birds could be unsanitary.
Michael Morgan said he thought it was best to leave them alone for the time being.
"If it gets to the point where they're a real nuisance then we'll have to contradict that somehow," said Morgan.
Kathryn Daly said she wanted the birds to be left alone but had also witnessed what their droppings did to a car.
"The whole windshield and everything was just covered in what I assume was crow matter," said Daly.
Representatives from the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County said they do not have any plans to try and scare off the massive flocks of birds at this time.
