Meet the hawks keeping Portland sidewalks free of crow poop
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Nathan Freshour and Draco the hawk patrol the skies near Umpqua Plaza in downtown Portland. Image: Kale Williams/Axios
Head downtown around dusk and the crows are hard to miss — roosting in trees, squawking to each other and plastering the sidewalk with their droppings, but not if Draco has anything to do with it.
Why it matters: Crow poop creates an unsightly and unsanitary mess in the economic heart of the city.
State of play: Draco — a 1-year-old Harris's hawk — and his handler Nathan Freshour are one of several falconry teams that fan out around the downtown core from fall through spring to chase the crows away from high traffic areas.
Catch up quick: For years, the city struggled against a tide of crow excrement.
- An estimated 23,000 crows roost in the trees of downtown Portland each night in the winter, Sydney Mead, senior director of downtown programs for Downtown Clean & Safe, told Axios.
- Before the hawks were put on the job, the organization had cleaning crews powerwash the sidewalks, but on its own, that proved mostly ineffective against the volume of fecal matter.
- In 2016, the city employed the services of a sidewalk cleaning machine dubbed the "PoopMaster 6000," but it, too, was unable to keep up.
How it works: In 2017, the city turned to Portland-based Integrated Avian Solutions, a company that specializes in using predatory birds to scare off other unwanted bird species.
- Teams like Draco and Freshour patrol downtown at least five nights a week between roughly October and April.
- Perched on Freshour's gloved hand, Draco takes flight and the crows scatter, alarmed by the presence of a steely predator.
- Starting at Pioneer Courthouse Square, the teams work outward, pushing the crows toward the South Park Blocks and the waterfront.
What they're saying: Mead, who declined to say how much the city pays for the falconry service, said the hawks have been much more effective than previous efforts to keep sidewalks excrement-free.
- "We have greatly reduced the amount of power-washing," she told Axios in an email, noting the folks who manage bus malls and light rail stations have asked to have the hawk program expanded.
Zoom in: Freshour has been doing falconry since he was a teenager and keeps a roost of four falcons, plus Draco.
- The hawk has learned to work with Freshour through rewards — mostly small morsels of pigeon and quail — dispensed frequently.
- When they're not keeping the sidewalks clean downtown, Freshour uses the falcons to keep dumps clear of seagulls and vineyards free of starlings and waxwings, which can devastate crop yields.
- Freshour is fond of Draco, but the bird is a working animal. Their relationship is based more on trust than affection.
The bottom line: Freshour gets to do what he loves while keeping the city clean.
- "It's the best job I've ever had," he told Axios.