An area in the heart of Charlottetown, P.E.I., is so overrun with crows, the local councillor compares it to Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds.
Coun. Mitchell Tweel says in addition to the noise, his ward has been bombed with crow droppings.
"It's all over the neighbourhood, on people's cars, their homes. It's unreal," he said.
Tweel said Charlottetown has had an enormous crow population for many years.
He said thousands of them roost at Victoria Park in the city's south end.
Neighbours there have complained about the crows for years, he said, so in mid-November the city launched a pilot project to try to disperse the crows.
Two wailers – noise devices that emit a variety of sounds, including those of birds of prey and gunshots – were made available to residents who live next to Victoria Park. So, too, were strobe lights and owl whistles.
The goal was to drive the birds inside the park and away from the residential neighbourhoods.
The problem, Tweel says, is the wailers relocated thousands of crows to his ward, an older area in the heart of the city.
He said many of his constituents have lived in St. Avard's for decades and have never seen anything like this.
"We're going to have to do something," he said. "We can't let this go on."
City spokeswoman Beth Johnston said crows also migrated to St. Avard's this time last year. She said there's no evidence the pilot project is responsible for their return.
She said crows have been roosting in the park for decades, and their presence has always been a big concern of residents who live nearby.
The city decided to respond to those concerns and try the pilot project, the results of which will be presented in a report to council at the end of the month.
Tweel said residents affected should be compensated. He also said the problem has become a health and environmental issue.
The pilot project wraps up Friday.
