Rooks unwelcome, or nature versus the city

The authorities of Garwolin, a town in the Mazovia region, have applied for permission to destroy nests and scare away rooks, which in their view make it difficult for residents to use public spaces. The Polish Society for the Protection of Birds has come to the defense of the corvids. The Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Warsaw has also commented on the matter. Do rooks and people have a chance to live side by side without conflict?

Dirty benches and pavements

The Regionalna Dyrekcja Ochrony Środowiska w Warszawie has reported receiving more than a dozen applications for decisions authorizing the destruction of habitats and nests and the deliberate scaring of rooks. At least nine of them were submitted by the authorities of Garwolin in response to complaints from residents. In an official statement issued by the City Hall, it is stated that the problem involves soiled clothing, pavements and benches, as well as a perceived sanitary threat.

Each application refers to a specific location, including playgrounds, street sections and a municipal square. The city authorities justify their decision by citing concern for the welfare, safety and comfort of residents, particularly children and seniors.

Rooks in Poland face an uphill battle, says OTOP

Meanwhile, the Ogólnopolskie Towarzystwo Ochrony Ptaków has taken the side of the corvids, joining the case as a social party and submitting its own motions to the RDOŚ. According to the Society’s spokesperson, Monika Klimowicz-Kominowska, the situation of rooks in Poland is worsening each year and their numbers are steadily declining. Data from OTOP show that in Garwolin alone there were 920 occupied rook nests in the 1980s, while today there are only 220.

Although OTOP does not deny the inconvenience of living near colonies of these highly social and noisy birds, it clearly opposes the destruction of nests. In the Society’s view, scaring the birds away will not bring the expected benefits, as the birds will soon establish habitats elsewhere and the problem will return. The organization’s spokesperson suggests seeking alternative solutions that would facilitate coexistence between people and birds, such as installing roofing over park infrastructure and increasing spending on cleaning.

The final decision on whether to allow rooks to be scared away in the indicated locations rests with the RDOŚ. Its representatives have announced that they will carefully analyze each application and conduct appropriate field inspections. Permission to destroy nests will be granted only if it is determined that no alternative solutions can be found.

We destroyed natural habitats, we do not want to share our own

Across Poland as a whole, the rook population has declined by more than 50 percent over the past dozen or so years. The species is still considered relatively numerous, about 180,000 to 220,000 breeding pairs between 2013 and 2018, but it has already been placed on the Red List of Polish Birds and the Red List of European Birds as vulnerable to extinction. The rook is subject to partial protection, and this status does not exclude the possibility of destroying nests from October to the end of February. For years, OTOP has been calling for changes to these regulations, appealing to the Ministerstwo Klimatu i Środowiska to grant the species strict protection.

Rooks, like many other native animals, have lost their natural habitats as a result of intensive landscape transformations. They have therefore moved from agricultural areas and river valleys into cities, which attract them with an abundance of food. As birds that nest and raise their young in large colonies, they have become a permanent feature of the landscape of many Polish cities, which does not always please their residents.

It is worth adding that rooks are not only about cawing and droppings. These black birds are an important part of ecosystems, feeding on pests and carrion and loosening the soil with their beaks while searching for food.

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main photo: Phil Mitchell/Pexels