Nothing To Crow About

Recently someone suggested the local authority control the population of house crows in Dubai.

Believe it or not when I landed here in 1989 there were virtually no crows.

In 1991, the first pair built a nest in Dubai. At that time Maktoum Bridge had only two lanes on each side and it was a single bridge.

On the Deira side, by the right footpath, there was a eucalyptus tree. A pair of crows built a nest in it and raised two chicks.

My first encounter with the house crow in the UAE was in Dibba coastal area during 1986, when we used to see them resting or roosting on lamp posts and electric wire.

By 1992 we had a few more than 100 house crows in and around Dubai. Now, we possibly have more than 1,000 crows in the city.

Why are their numbers going up? Because we are careless with our waste material.

If no food is available in the streets, parks, market places and farming areas, crows cannot survive in the desert.

The only way to control their population is to manage our own domestic and city refuse in a hygienic manner. Also, the avenue and park trees should be trimmed in such a way that crows cannot build nests.