Kurt, Suzanne, and all,
The poisoning of crows in our area has been devastating to our local
crow population. It would be impossible to know how much crow mortality
locally can be attributed to the poisoning and how much to West Nile
Virus, but I did want to contribute one point of fact. The major crow
roost poisoning that was reported on in the media was on Route 7 near
I-395 in Alexandria. This site straddles the Alexandria-Arlington
line. (Copeland's Restaurant is near this site.) I'm looking at a
Washington Post article of 1/11/02 which said that the US Dept of
Agriculture put out poison bait to thin a massive roost of 3,000 crows.
The president of a nearby civic association in Shirlington said, "It's
been raining dead crows all over Arlington and Falls Church." Is Kurt
aware of a Fairfax County roost that has been poisoned as well, or is
this the one he is thinking of? The Fairfax County, Alexandria, and
Arlington County are in close proximity at this spot.
It appeared to me at the time that the proper procedures were being
followed. Unfortunately, even native birds, like crows, blackbirds, and
vultures can be killed with the proper permits from USDA.
Paula Sullivan
Alexandria
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