Local historical society battles the 'apocalyptic' crows of Mount Vernon
BALTIMORE -- It's a beautiful nightmare that only Edgar Allan Poe could love.
Hundreds of crows have been taking over Mount Vernon.
They have spent many a cold evening nestling in the trees and terrorizing the city's residents.
Now, a local historical organization has found a solution for how to move them out of the area.
This battle of the birds has been playing out amid the park area surrounding the Mount Washington monument.
Just as the crows are getting comfortable in the trees, the Maryland Center for History and Culture begins blasting the sound of their predators.
This is the group's tactic for moving them out.
"They pick their trees and they're quietly hanging out there," neighborhood resident Mary Jensen said of the birds' habits.
For the past three months, neighborhood residents like Ben Newman have been terrorized by birds that are determined to leave their mark on almost everything.
"There was tons of bird excrement everywhere—all over the different cars, sidewalks," he said.
Newman said the site of hundreds of birds gives off an apocalyptic vibe.
From sunrise to sun down, they roost on top of nearby buildings.
"It was harrowing walking down the sidewalk," Scott Rubin, the vice president of operations for the Maryland Center of History and Culture, said.
It's a problem that the center has been intent on solving, in part because the crows make it difficult to keep historical buildings in the area clean.
Maryland Center for History and Culture president Katie Caljean said her team has tried just about everything—from hanging shiny objects to erecting effigies of crows—to ward off the crows.
Nothing worked, until something did.
"Crows don't like the sound of predators," she said. "So, we're playing owl and hawk sounds to spook them each morning and evening and they haven't come back!"
Although many of the crows have flocked away from the area, some of them have remained behind to keep a close eye on Mount Vernon.
People who live in the area have said they noticed the difference and haven't seen as many bird droppings on the ground.
Neighborhood resident Mary Jenson said she still keeps her head covered whenever she walks her dog at night, knowing that she might encounter the crows.
"Maybe it's the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe . . . you know, keeping an eye on us," she said.
