City Council agrees to hire team to haze crows again

The Watertown City Council agreed last week to hire biologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to perform a three-day crow hazing program.

City Manager Mary M. Corriveau said the team of six biologists will be scheduled in mid-December to pester the birds, which have begun roosting in the city in recent years, using a mixture of non-lethal scare tactics, such as amplified stress calls, lasers and pyrotechnics.

A biologist also is scheduled to give a presentation about the roosting problem to the council Dec. 14, Mrs. Corriveau said.

The $5,950 the city will spend on the service includes training city workers to perform the hazing.