The Terre Haute Crow Management Committee has started what has become an annual attempt to divert the black birds away from the city.
Tim Christie, a wildlife management expert hired by the committee, says the crows feed in farm fields as far as twenty from the city every day, coming back to urban areas in the evening for warmth and protection.
"So we go [shoot off fireworks] in the evening as they are staging before they head into town and try to divert them to some place other than town," Christie says.
Christie says the sound, light and concussion from the pyrotechnics cause the birds to scatter. A number of volunteers turned out Tuesday night to help turn away the birds. Rose-Hulman Institute Of Technology student Michael Petty says it is a fun way to give back to the community.
"It's fun, we're bonding, just hanging out, chatting, shooting at birds, doing some good at the same time," he says.
Last year, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 birds flocked to Vigo County. With the exception of holidays, the committee will be out every night through March attempting to keep this year's numbers down.