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The big croak

2021-04-10T08:31:32.230Z


They are loud and make a mess. And that's why they get on the nerves of some: rooks. But what can be done about the animals? That is not easy. Because the birds are also smart - and protected.


They are loud and make a mess.

And that's why they get on the nerves of some: rooks.

But what can be done about the animals?

That is not easy.

Because the birds are also smart - and protected.

Dachau - Christa Reinwarth doesn't know what to do next.

Her uninvited neighbors attack the 83-year-old lady.

“They make a lot of dirt.” To top it all off, there is also a deafening noise.

Who are these unwanted troublemakers?

We are talking about rooks.

Reinwarth has lived in her apartment on Berliner Strasse at the corner of Theodor-Heuss-Strasse for 50 years.

For a few years, rooks have made themselves comfortable in two trees there - anything but pleasant for the Dachau resident.

Reinwarth has counted seven nests so far.

The cawing of the crows is so loud that when the weather is nice you can no longer sit on the balcony.

The remains of the birds are also a source of nuisance.

The excrement would ruin cars, roofs and streets, says Reinwarth.

She is not the only one who is bothered by the birds.

Especially between March and June, the breeding season of the birds, the complaints increase.

On Pollnstrasse, at the corner of Liegnitzerstrasse, residents also complain of a crows plague.

The parish kindergarten of St. Peter also grapples with undesirable neighbors.

The remains of the birds would pollute the outside area.

"The children are already complaining that there is nowhere they can sit down," says Birgit Rupprecht, director of the kindergarten.

In addition, you have to be careful not to get a stick on your head.

But the worst thing, according to Rupprecht, is the noise.

“The children have already got used to the noise,” says the 56-year-old.

But for her employees the uninterrupted croaking is an imposition.

The König couple, who have lived on Pollnstrasse for 60 years, are at the end of their nerves.

“We didn't have any problems in the past, only for a few years,” says Kreszenz König.

This year it is particularly bad.

She discovered around 20 nests in the treetops.

Because of the croaking one could no longer open a window.

"If it were at least a nice chirping of birds," sighs König.

Most of all she would like to "take the birds and put them in a field".

If only it would be that easy.

Since the animals in the country can no longer find enough food due to intensive agriculture with pesticides, they are increasingly drawn to the cities.

"The crows are refugees from chemical agriculture," says Roderich Zauscher, chairman of the Association for Nature Conservation in Dachau.

According to Zauscher, simply shooing the birds away does not solve the problem.

"Displacements only lead to fragment colonies." This would mean that the birds would spread to other places in the city.

Rather, it takes intact nature to lure the animals back into their original habitat.

For him, the crows plague is therefore a result of inadequate nature conservation.

"We need more varied forests and environmentally friendly agriculture."

The city is no stranger to the crow problem.

However, there are "no one hundred percent effective measures to specifically prevent crows from breeding on site," explains Ariane Jungwirth, head of the urban planning department.

Since rooks are under nature protection, one can only take preventive steps.

In order to scare off the feathered troublemakers, one has already tried hanging up CDs - with no effect.

For several years now, the city has been relying on what is known as “deterring”.

The nests are removed and the breeding trees are cut.

However, both must happen outside of the breeding season, explains Jungwirth.

Several times a year, the city applies the disgrace - sometimes with more, sometimes with less success.

"In some areas, measures are approved, in others not," says Jungwirth.

For Birgit Rupprecht and the König couple, however, the chances are bad.

Since the breeding trees on Pollnstrasse are on private land, the city cannot take any preventive measures here without the consent of the owner.

“It's not something that you just do on the side,” emphasizes Jungwirth.

Because of the birds, the city of Dachau has an annual financial expense in four to five figures.

The city is not yet aware of the case on Berliner Strasse.

"We will, however, include him in our list of applications for harassment," assures Jungwirth.

The higher nature conservation authority ultimately decides whether the measures can ultimately be carried out.

Verena Möckl

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-04-10

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