AUBURN - Hunters downed 151 crows and four protesters were arrested Saturday as the first day of this weekend's countywide crow shoot ended with hunters and anti-hunters vowing to continue their efforts today.

One hundred and forty-four hunters, in 36 four-man teams, participated in the crow-shoot tournament Saturday.

The team that bags the most birds by 1 p.m. today could share a $1,000 prize. By day's end Saturday, a team from Seneca County was in the lead with 40 birds.

The rest of the money generated by the shoot - hunters paid $15 to enter - will be donated to a local food bank, said organizers Tom Lennox and Lance Gummerson.

"It went smoothly," said Gummerson of the day's hunts. "There were a couple of activists who got themselves arrested but other than that, it was a good day."

The four were arrested by state police mid-morning, cited with trespassing and interfering with the legal taking of wildlife in Niles. They were released about 7 p.m., after more than eight hours in Cayuga County jail, after they paid $100 for bail.

News of their pending release was soundly booed by Spinouts patrons.

"That's too bad," Gummerson said. "We heard they couldn't find a judge to arraign them but I guess they did. You'd think these activists would pay more attention to the shuttle tragedy than to crows."

By late afternoon, placard-carrying protesters - between five and 10 at different times during the day - had left their vigils outside Spinouts.

"It's pretty quiet out there," said Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta. "The protesters have left and the hunters have thinned out. Hopefully, it will be quiet tomorrow, too."

Not likely.

Demonstrators are expected to gather at 2 p.m. today in front of Auburn City Hall to voice their opposition to the crow shoot which, by then, should be over.

Rita Sarnicola, a local animal-rights activist, said she is unsure how many protesters will be in Auburn tomorrow, but was confident there would be more today than Saturday.

"That's hard to gauge," she said. "We've had a lot of calls for support from all over. There will be more (organized) groups there."

Sarnicola said teams of observers spent much of Saturday tracking hunters throughout the county.

"We were out there to let people know we were watching for any illegalities," she said. "Things went on, we had people out there, and it was very positive."