NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Residents near Brown Street should be prepared to hear some booms and pops over the next few evenings. 

 

National Grid will be using a sound-emitting propane cannon to dislodge a murder of crows that's been roosting around its Brown Street facility. 

 

The sonic cannon will be aimed at the flock beginning Tuesday and through Saturday between 4 and 6 p.m.

 

"The crows tend to return to our facility at that hour. We want to make them think this is a not a place they should go to," said Bob Kievra, a spokesman for National Grid. 

 

The area is fairly quiet — it's adjacent Joe's Field at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and near Hill Side Cemetery — and has a line of trees that the crows find attractive. 

 

Crows have been a problem in several areas of the city over the past few years. A large noisy flock, possibly the same one, frequents the Steeple City Plaza in the evenings, leaving droppings on cars. 

 

The birds in general can cause outages through contact or bridging energized equipment, Kievra said. Plus, their droppings can be corrosive. 

 

The hundreds of crows have been roosting in the area of the facility for at least a couple years. Kievra said there have been other attempts to shoo them that were unsuccessful.

 

The cannons do not eject projectiles, only make sounds, and are not dangerous for the birds. They are often used in agricultural settings and at airports to scare away flocks. 

 

"We want to have them go somewhere else ... to disperse," Kievra said.

 

The city was advised that the sound cannons would be in use and the Police Department posted an alert on its Facebook page Monday noting "there may be multiple attempts with the cannon between 4 and 6 p.m. daily."

 

"We're hopeful for a successful outcome, but if not, we will look at other avenues for dispersing the large flock," Kievra said.