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Falcons and goshawks to protect Novgorod Kremlin from crows and jackdaws

Bird droppings damage ancient roofs and walls, the spokesman for the Novgorod Kremlin open-air museum says

VELIKY NOVGOROD, November 24. /TASS/. Birds of prey — falcons and goshawks — will be ‘employed’ to protect the Veliky Novgorod Kremlin, also known as Detinets, from flocks of crows and jackdaws haunting this historic monument, a spokesman for the Novgorod Kremlin open-air museum told TASS on Monday.

“Most vulnerable are the Kremlin’s old buildings of the 11th-17th centuries. Bird droppings damage roofs and walls. So, we are looking at using falcons to scare away crows and jackdaws,” the spokesman said.

Vladimir MIkhailov, a local falconer, said the best way to frighten off birds is to use their natural enemies — falcons or goshawks. One month will be enough for crows and jackdaws to get used to keep off this territory.

The Novgorod Kremlin stands on the left bank of the Volkhov River in Veliky Novgorod, some 530 kilometres northwest of Moscow. The first records of fortifications on this site date back to 1044, although back then most of the Kremlin was probably made of wood. The current walls and towers of the Kremlin were completed between 1484 and 1490, after the previous ones had collapsed into the river. In recent years, the whole of the fortifications, as well as most of the buildings inside the Kremlin walls, have been completely restored.