-
You must be enrolled in the course to reply to this topic.
-
1. I have seen crows flocking in my area, but the reason for the flock has mainly been for roosting. I think the times I have seen crows together in a flock for foraging are usually family groups, as there are only a few members and they are usually in areas where I suspect the crows to be nesting. 2. When visiting Texas once, I got to experience seeing Grackles form their large winter flocks.
-
I've had large flocks of waxwings come in during fall migration. They land on the trees and strip off all the fruits then take off. Starlings have done it too.
-
I have observed sizable groups of robins and waxwings converging onto trees or bushes with berries during the winter. -
In the wintertime, it is chocked full of crows on the golf course not far from my home. they like standing near the sandtraps, eating. it's interesting to note that they're not the same crows every time, which is what I assumed. Canada Geese also like to meet up there, but never at the same time. the group of crows is probably 50 or 60 birds.
-
I have seen a large flock which comes day after day to the same venue winter and summer. I have a couple of them who visit my planet boxes daily at roughly the same time. Ther e are no changes to the boxes and they make the same rounds daily. I have also watched one individual observe a bluejay walk about my roof looking for just the right place to hide his goodie. He finally found the right spot and cached his mor sel and flew off. Within a minute a crow appeared and followed the exact route of the bluejay, found the tasty morsel, snagged it, and then flew off with his prize. I was fascinated and most impressed and decid Ed to learn more about crows. They certainly are worth watching!
-
1. Yes on two occasions, I have seen large foraging flocks. The first time I noticed hundreds of birds in smaller groups flying over downtown Akron, Oh. All we’re headed in the same direction. I didn’t see their final destination. The second time all these crows were meeting in a large open field near Goodyear aerospace in Akron Ohio. Hundreds of them. Both times it was during the fall and winter. Made me wonder if they don’t get together every night somewhere to spend the night. They all seem to start flying around 4:30 in the afternoon. 2. I have never seen other large groups of birds like this, I’ve only seen large groups of migrating birds.
-
I have seen a large foraging flock of crows in our town, perhaps thousands of birds. They are pretty regular. Have also found a winter roost and visited it, in Lawrence Mass. - very urban. I suppose in the long ago past this area was on the forested edge of the Merrimack River, and the crows keep coming despite the nearby train tracks and businesses and hospital nearby. Very interesting to watch
-
1. I've seen a flock of Cedar waxwings, in Vermont, in the winter, foraging in trees that still had remaining old fruit (Serviceberry, maybe) A flock numbering maybe 30+ individuals. They didn't stay long, just a brief flurry of activity, and didn't return, that I saw.
Also in Vermont, flocks of Wild turkeys foraging in fields, especially in late summer after the fields have been mown. I have seen up to 30+ individuals. Flocks seem to be females and juveniles. In winter males seem to form their own groups of 8 to 10 individuals. They forage for dropped seed under birdfeeders.
2. Aside from crows, the largest flocks I see are starlings, which are not my favorite, but their murmurations can be mesmerizing. Also Canada geese (flocks seem largest when settled on open water in a semi-frozen lake, while migrating in early winter). Mourning doves (I've seen up to 20 or so, hanging out around bird feeders.)
-
I live on the second floor in a building close in to downtown Portland. Crows congregate in my neighborhood on trees, phone lines, and roof lines and then take off in a flock and fly downtown for their nightly gathering. I enjoy watching them gather and then take off. Sometimes the sky is swarming with crows heading for their nightly gossip sessions. I've also been downtown when they're arriving. It's quite dizzying watching them circle and find places to land. Fascinating!
-
In my suburban area of the UAE, I observe the grey-necked crow, also known as the house crow or Indian crow, forage in small groups around dumpsters. These groups might be three to ten crows in size. Last week, I saw a large group of about twenty standing at the ready near some laborers who were lunching. ... In the summer, when it's particularly hot, very large groups of these crows congregate on the ground under trees, where the earth is cool because of the shade and sprinkler systems. I assume the large numbers serve the purpose of safety, as there is still plenty of human foot traffic in the area. The photo shows a smaller crowd, but I believe their purpose was to keep safe while keeping cool.
-
1. We live in rural Wisconsin and I see large flocks of crows in the cornfields in the winter. 2. Just recently (December) saw a large flock of Snow Buntings in the middle of the road.
-
In the past I have seen dozens of crows fly over my house in the morning heading east (I live in Simi Valley, CA) and in the evening see them heading back west. This always intrigued me. I have wanted to follow them and see where their destination was in both the morning (I assume foraging) and in the evening (I assume roosting). This seemed to happen in the summer, I never documented it and it was more of a casual observation. After this course I thought I'd try and pay more attention and document my findings. BUT, I no longer see this happening!! Any thoughts from others?
-
I live in the Hudson Valley New York and there is a large flock of 100s of crows at the local dump of the Mohonk Preserve. The dump borders a forest where I hike frequently and the crows will often be in the forest making all kinds of wild noises; cawls; cackles; etc. It can be downright spooky sometimes. It is a great place to watch crows and is the reason I took this class. IT is so much more interesting now!
-
I have not experienced a large flock of crows, but I have observed a large flock of red-wing blackbirds. They gather in groups of 50-200+ at our local cemetery. They seem to forage in the grassy areas and will overtake any bird feeders that are near the cemetery.
-
1. I live in Chicago. A few springs ago, there was a huge group of crows (at least 40 birds) that would gather in the large deciduous trees right outside my home. They would gather late in the afternoon and spend several hours there before moving on, only to return the next day. 2. I regularly observe large flocks of Canadian Geese around Chicago. There is a large cemetery near my home where the geese spend spring and summer months.
-
1. We have observed a very large roosting flock of over 1000 birds in the winter. 2. Red-winged blackbirds, cedar waxwings, robins, goldfinches are some of the birds we have seen in large flocks.
-
Just yesterday (early February) I observed a foraging flock of at least 200 crows in a cornfield. Quite a sight!
-
We have crows foraging flocks in winter in neighborhoods near our house and in trees in a nearby cemetery.
-
I have seen a group of 25 plus mobbing a golden eagle near my house. Usually have 6 in neighborhood so they called in reinforcements
-
I love seeing the giant crow roost gather in winter and move en masse somewhere new. So cool, blanketing the sky!
-
There are flocks of about 10 white-crowned sparrows in the backyard foraging for seeds. I live in an urban area. There is a maple tree, two orange trees, and various bushes. Last week I went birding at the Kern National Wildlife Refuge. The largest flock we saw consisted of 10,000 blackbirds (species). It was a flyover and quite impressive to observe.
-
I have not seen a large foraging flock of crows, however I have definitely seen other birds form large flocks, most commonly starlings or grackles.
-
We have not seen foraging flocks in our immediate area but will be on the lookout for them this winter. Grackles and blackbirds form large flocks in the spring and fall in our previous Midwest neighborhood. They never stayed for long though...
-
I have occasionally seen very large flocks of crows foraging in fields. As I'm on our provincial e-list for reporting bird sightings, it's not uncommon (in our rural province) to read other reports of large gatherings. Also, in our capital city (pop. 36,000), its biggest park is famous for the annual evening mass roosting of crows.
-
Yes, I have noticed foraging flocks of crows in my area, usually in the summer months. The crows sit in the branches of one particular huge banyan tree. The flock numbers around 200 + crows. In the winter time the crows relocate and sit on the heavy electrical wires close to the local Walmart Store. I haven't seen any other birds forming large flocks in my area.
-
I have seen a large flock of crows go over my house. It was about 60 individuals.
-
After living here in Naperville, Illinois for five years, one evening near dusk a huge flock of swallows flew over and around our house and trees. It was a beautiful sight to behold!
-
Oh, I long to see that! I have only seen swallows a few at a time, hunting over fields or the surface of a lake...
-
-
1. Last Summer at times I would see 5 crows in my yard high up in the trees and I live near farmland and open prairies. I know now that it is a family and one of them would keep watch at times as the other crows were forging on the ground finding food. That is also the time too that the young have left the nest and are with their parents.
-
I've seen many flocks of pigeons in the city. In the country, I often see flocks of starlings, and every now and again I'll see a flock of goldfinches.
-
I have a family that visits my feeders several times per day. They don't sound an alarm when they see my cat only when the neighborhood bully cat shows up, then I come out and chase him away. We're a team. We have huge flocks here in Santa Cruz around the end of Oct - Dec. I've seen them feeding/foraging on large lawn areas in a residential area, and many of them have gathered on the telephone lines by my house and fly back and forth to some redwoods in a park 1/2 block away. There are lots of complaints online (Nextdoor) about the racket they make, but I love it. I've taken videos of them.
-
A family of five live in my neighborhood and forage at our feeders. Sometimes up to 10 or 15 crows gather in the neighborhood. In the winter, I have seen large flocks in trees around parking lots.
-
We are in the middle of a family's breeding territory, so we only see that family during breeding months. They leave around Aug/September before the bad hurricanes come, but one or two will check on this territory about once a week, in general. We see the larger flocks only overhead, flying south or north. They don't land here for foraging or roosting. I guess we're a "flyover" island, ha! We do get huge flocks of Lesser Scaups here on the Banana River, though, in the late winter/early spring. There can be many hundreds of scaups in these flocks.
-
1. Many. In fall, they'll congregate in the large courtyard of the college. The courtyard is empty of all trees, except one black cottonwood near the center, next to a couple playground area. Before the kids arrive, they'll cover the playground. 15 of them. Then a few scattered across the green field in small groups of 2-4. I'll see maybe 20 birds easily in those small groups along the grounds that aren't in trees. The area is lined with various other trees and plants (cottonwood, spruce, vegetation breaking down from the summer), that are not being taken into account. During the winter, though.. I lived in a house where the property was lined with spruce trees. A commercial dumpster (for the church next door) was right next to the property... Sometimes people forgot to close the lid..... and, my roommate would feed left over vegetable scraps to the local rabbits outside.. anyways.. There would be 30-50 crows, on the rail of the stairs, covering the steps, covering the snow cover ground (pecking away near the spruce roots), all the way to the dumpster... and finding all sorts of trouble in there. 2. Yes. Black capped chickadees were fond of those trees. I'd see easily 12 of them torpedoing through the sky. Not 50.. Maybe 20.. Tree swallows, too, I've seen those in pretty large flocks. They *cover* Valdez in the early summer. I've seen plenty of flocks of ducks and geese, most recently (two weeks ago) I counted a flock of 70 mallards in the Port of Valdez.. not sure if this is asking for consideration to water fowl... but it was real neat..
-
I have a family that resides with us here on our farm in a deep hollow. In the last fall or early winter, I sometimes see as many as a dozen birds, but generally no more than that in my location. We generally do not see starlings here in the very rural area where we are (Northern Middle Tennessee), but early this fall, a flock of literally hundreds flew in, apparently intending to stay the night. They drank from the creek, foraged for a short time on the ground, and then flew across a narrow pasture to roost in the woods on the other side while my husband and I watched from our porch, mesmerized. We saw and heard just two of our resident crows a little higher up on the wooded hillside, clearly speaking to one another from their various positions. It did not sound like warning or alarm calls, but we got the impression that they were unhappy about the starling invasion. Within about 10 minutes, those TWO crows began flying into the trees where the multitudes of crows were roosting, and had them completely cleared out in no time, HUNDREDS of them! The starlings just began to calmly fly up and away until there were literally none left in our small hollow. It was truly fascinating to watch.
-
I have seen flocks of crows but not recently. In fact, we have seen less crows last year and this year. I miss seeing them. I think they are very entertaining and beautiful in their own special way. They definitely have personality.
-
1. No, not in my local area. 2. Yes, ducks(Redheads, Northern Pintail), Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, grackles, blackbirds. This has largely been at the coast (the North Carolina Outer Banks) in the winter.
-
I have seen crow families in groups of up to about 15 individuals, but I can't recall a specific instance where I've seen more (at least not on a birding trip, but I'll bet at some point I have whether I realized it or not). Other birds I've seen form large flocks include Canada Geese, Common Grackle, Brown-Headed Cowbirds, and several duck species such as Mallards, American Black Ducks, and in a few instances by the seacoast, Harlequin Ducks and Long-Tailed Ducks. As far as "neighborhood birds" I've seen American Robins and Dark-Eyed Juncos forage in large groups as well.
-
In the summer, we have a flock of 6 or 7 crows that hops up and down our street to forage for bugs. We live in the woods near the seacoast of NH, and we have grackles, cardinals, juncos, blackbirds, and turkeys that will often flock in our yard and street.
-
We live in NE Wisconsin near the Bay of Green Bay and just below the Niagara escarpment. While I haven’t seen flocks near us I do see 1 to 4 crows soaring high above the escarpment on what I assume is an updraft. It looks pleasantly lazy as they float back and forth, seemingly, without effort. They have come near to our back yard on occasion but stay in the wooded area away from the yard. Crows are three season visitors for us; none in winter.
-
I see and hear flocks of crows in our North Berkeley Hills neighborhoods, quite active in early morning and later in the day. Seems like a fairly recent phenomenon, as in last 10 years developing. I notice fewer Stellar Jays, Scrub Jays coming 'round in our redwood tree areas. Lots of Juncos and the California Towhees, a few Oak Titmouse. This is mid-hills area, residential with lots of redwoods and oaks. Just up the hill near Tilden Regional Park are a much more diverse population of birds, including more of the migratory ones ( various sparrows, Spotted Towhee...) Canada Geese stay year-round in the lagoon areas, the broad athletic fields of the schools.
-
1. In NW New Jersey there is quite a large group of crows at a nearby strip mall with a large dumpster next to a mcdonalds which also just so happens not to be the best at maintaining the garbage bins there. I have been to this McDonalds (dont judge me please!!!) and have often sat at the parking lot as my kids enjoy their meals... the crows there are purely on a mission. They organize - those up on the light post and those down near the trash sorting for good stuff. All of these times i haven’t seen them competing for food against other birds. Again, they seem so organized. 2. I have seen other larger flocks of birds - mostly mallards, geese and swans and other waterfowl on the lake our summer house is on. In NYC there tend to be the occasional flock of European starlings (if you can call them that - but there are several of them - so maybe you can) which most act like crows in my opinion. Also in Central Park there appear to be seasonal flocks of Robins that seem to forage the newly defrosted fields for insects. Grackles seem to be in large collaborative flocks - both in NY and NJ. My yard seems to have an annual ‘flock’ of sparrows who seem to grow up together - they are quite funny and watching the teenagers find their legs mid-summer is often amusing - but the crows by far are the most organized and collaborative...
-
It’s been a while since I’ve seen any crows, but I have heard a few recently. Before the virus that killed many, we had a lot of crows who dug up my garden to eat the seeds. The recovery has been slow. Years ago there were huge flocks of starlings, so many, they filled the sky as far as you could see. We have had flocks of red winged black birds, Canadian geese, and cedar wax wings. We also have rafters of turkeys in the field behind our house, groups with as many as 40.
-
I haven't seen any foraging in my local area yet. That was probably because I didn't realize what I was looking at.
-
We see in October through approximately February , different large flocks, some of different birds in our neck of the woods. I’ve seen snow geese thousands of feet in air in flocks fly over (super amazing) along with sparrows and all types of black birds...starlings too here in Collierville TN . ( Shelby County , TN). I tried uploading a huge, undulating flock of birds but it didn’t work....I was sure at time they were grackles but now I’m not sure. Large cornfield area at dusk .....it was beautiful . Like watching a large school of fish underwater .... I’m a pretty avid bird watcher , Sky watcher...... I seem to see most of any type of birds here , foraging at or close to dusk.... We live on a small lake area that allows for us to witness birds of many types , water fowl, birds that hunt fish, and since we back up to a natural green grassy space , we see foragers and many ravens and crows ....it’s amazing:)
-
Here in Albuquerque we see huge flocks of crows in winter. They “commute” from their roosting areas in the boque forest along the Rio Grande into town each morning and return each evening. Are all of these migratory? Are some resident? How does the territorial system work with this foraging in the city to find food?
-
1. I live on the south end of Whidbey Island. We usually have large foraging flocks in winter. I often see them in trees on the edge of town or in fields. I am not sure what they are dining on, but I love seeing them all together. I have seen maybe 100 individuals (I am not great at estimating) 2. As far as other birds, we have a lot of mixed foraging flocks during the winter. These are usually comprised of Kinglets, Chickadees, and Juncos. We also have large flocks of Starlings, Pine Siskins, gulls, Bushtits, and of course seabirds, such as golden eyes (it is an island after all)
-
Something I have often wondered is how far afield the communications of crows extends. I have often heard a crow call out and another crow a hundred yards away respond and then a third, even more distant crow, respond to the second. Is it possible that this communication can travel on almost indefinitely? Say twenty or thirty miles? Or, more?
-
I have noticed this as well! Thank you for bringing that up.
-
-
I live in Mid Coast Maine where there is a fairly large municipal dump about 4 miles from our home. In Winter, we often will see large numbers of crows headed away from the dump toward the shore. We have never found the roosting site but have seen as many as 60 crows all headed in the same direction in small groups. We also have a family that frequents our yard looking for snacks in the compost or peanuts that I have throw out for the. In spring we have large flocks of Grackles that show up. Some stay and nest in or yard while others move on to other nesting grounds.
-
I live in the Mojave Desert where we don't have crows, but we do have ravens (who love to heckle my dogs!) And we do have lots of Gambel's quail who breed and winter in our area. I don't have years documented, but some of what I've noticed: The quail come to our feeder and pond year round. They pair up in March and April, and start bringing their young to us in mid May. Since they are precocial birds, the babies are mobile from day one and look like a walnut with legs. The parents both guide their young with the male keeping watch for dangers while the female helps the babies feed. Pairs may have more than one clutch in a year; the first one averages 11, but may number up to 15, and later clutches typically max out at 7 and average at about 4. We have had as many as 32 quail at our feeders at one time. There is no guarantee of breeding if the rain hasn't been favorable. One dry year we only saw one pair with one baby. That's it. The young hang around with their parents unless the female lays another clutch of eggs. Then we see the male with the babies, helping them find food while the female broods. I don't know for sure, but I think the first clutch is left to fend for themselves once the second brood starts hatching, because now the parents reunite to show the new ones around. See the picture below of one maturing family at our pond. The male was sitting watch on top of the rock in the upper right of the picture. In fall, everyone disperses, although pairs may stay together over winter. I haven't seen many groups over 4 birds come to the feeders during the winter, so I'm guessing either the young left the parents' area or they didn't survive. (Where there is prey, there will be predators.)
-
I have never seen any foraging flocks in my area, but now I am definitely going to be on the lookout for them. In the meantime, I must say that I was fascinated by the network analysis - I am surprised by what complex relationships crows have with one another.
-
1. I have seen flocks of 100+ foraging on grass fields at the back of the farm this fall, outside Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. 2. Canada Geese and Starlings both also form large flocks of 100+ birds during the fall in this area.
-
Yes, here in Chicago, along the lakefront, on Northerly Island we saw a huge gathering of crows who were foraging as a flock in the tall grasses and wild flowers that flourished in early October, 2020. Usually we see them in family groupings and the sight of them chatting, playing, and foraging was a delight.
-
I haven't observed any foraging crow flocks in our area of Western NY but have observed large flocks of other birds in the last few weeks. Starlings? Sparrows? We live along a large creek that empties into Lake Ontario so some geese are present year around but large groups are very active spring and fall. Bonnie
-
I haven't sen foraging flocks in my area. I do see other birds in flocks. like starlings, and Canada geese. Others, too, but I haven't identified them.
-
1. I have not noticed a group of crows larger than about seven in my yard at one time. I believe this to be a family, the same family that has been living behind my house for a number of years now. 2. Yes, once a large flock of redwing black birds landed at my feeders. I believe they were migrating. There must have been about 40 birds in the flock.
-
Wow! What a great picture of the redwing black birds - you can definitely see how they got their name! :-)
-
That is quite amazing occurance! I consider myself a lucky person to see ONE of these birds a season!
-
-
1. Rarely--but just this morning I saw a group of ~25 cawing and agitating in the trees bordering the street on which we live. 2. Our largest flocks are common grackles--we've had more than 100 at a time swarm our backyard, often with 10-20 red-winged blackbirds and starlings and a few cowbirds mixed in.
-
I used to work on the tree crew for the city (Lanc. Pa). People would call and complain about the crows roosting in a nearby tree and covering their car(s) in "waste". It really can be pretty bad. Anyway, we would have to hang a fake crow (upside down) in the offending tree. This actually worked. They would move to another area. Am loving this course, thanks, Ticia
-
1. yes, in cornfields I have seen foraging flocks. . I will pay more attention next time to the number of crows I see.It is definitely after harvest because the cornfields are plucked clean. 2. The other flocks I've seen are Grackles and Cranes.
-
I have a wonderful flock of bushtits that visits my birdbath periodically. I have seen up to 15 at one time in the birdbath plus more hopping around in the bushes next to the birdbath. Those are hard to count because I mostly see the leaves shaking as they hop from branch to branch. They are a little larger than ping pong balls so even though there are many in number the overall flock size is pretty small.
-
I have seen an incredibly large congregation three years in a row from my office in SF. Several hundred birds gather at dusk at the old SF post office on Mission street in December for several days. They appear to all have their place to land in some kind of pecking order on the building and in the trees. Needless to say, the morning after the sidewalk is quite messy :) In Montauk, we have black and grey seagulls, they congregate (usually about 40 or 50 at a time) on a certain area in the beach and sit facing the sun. If one moves...they all move. I have also seen a swarm of barn swallows come in to check out our feeder in Montauk. And as many as 15 to 20 grackles in one group.
-
We usually see a flock of robins in the spring who spend about one week with us and move on. This summer we have had killdeers nesting in the yard of our farm home which is in the middle of two wheat fields and back by grassed area. A group of Barn Swallows have nested at least twice on the house this summer. Have also had two hatchings of Eastern Bluebirds in yard.
-
We have seen flocks of 6 to 12 in late spring and last of September for several years. They play around in our yard and in the wheat fields that are planted to wheat. They seem to be making a twice a year visit.
-
Sounds like you must live farther north or south, so they are migrating thru...
-
-
I have missed the foraging flocks - I have seen just one this summer, on a lawn near an ocean beach. I am happy to learn that I may expect and upswing quite soon with fall - in fact, this explains why I associate the sound of many crows WITH autumn!
-
I wonder if you live farther north, so the crows are migrating thru in fall, heading south...
-
-
1. Yes, only really in the fall and spring, I don't really know why. The size of the flocks are probably over 850 individuals.
-
Sounds like more crows migrate than my bird book leads me to believe... This might be a good research project, to study more closely the migrational behavior of crows.
-
-
I live in the Northwest of NJ in a rural area surrounded by farms. I have a family of crows that live somewhere around my house (I think there are 7 currently and for the last two years), but see flocks foraging in the nearby farm fields. They are usually more noticeable in large numbers in the fall and winter. These flocks can be anywhere from 30 - 100+. Interestingly there are never any large flocks in the corn field that backs up to my house... I guess, from what I'm learning here, that's because 'my' family of crows is territorial and keeps them away...?
-
1. I have not seen large flocks of foraging crows, only families I guess. There are only 3-4 in my area right now. 2. I see a large flock of Canada geese at my closest large park. In the past, in an urban area, I used to see flocks of starlings, pigeons and during certain times of the year, grackles with a few red winged blackbirds mixed in.
-
I used to see large flocks of starlings in my backyard, but not anymore; I don't mind since they hogged the bird feeders, but I do hope that they have just found better feeding grounds and not that the nos. are in trouble locally; now mainly I have large flocks of house sparrows, which are also feeder pigs (using my new bird house has not helped the situation); but you have to hand it to house sparrows; they are also very adaptable!
-
-
I have noticed foraging flocks in my area. My family aggressively protects their territory consisting of 50+ acres. There are two other family groups near by. They all seem to forage down the road in a very large open field (100+ acres). This behavior is consistent throughout the year with the addition of the Crows tricking the other birds about the location of their true nest during breeding season. I see migrating Crows in November. I am assuming they go as far as Massachusetts for the winter and that they come from Canada. They never stop in our area just go overhead in a large flock.
-
In the 1980s, I used to sit on my porch near dusk and watch crows pass over head heading back home. It was a fairly constant flow considering that I live in Southern CA. Over the decades I noticed that there were fewer and fewer instances of seeing/hearing "streams" of crows at night or morning for that matter. Just recently (over the last 5 years), I have once again noticed crows heading west toward the evening. Just a couple of days ago, around 4 pm, there was a nice flow of crows heading west. What happened to the populations from the 1980s and why are crows now making a comeback even with urban sprawl? I used to wonder and still do wonder where there home might be...
-
I have seen pigeons, going from one house to the other. Crossing/Flying over the streets. Always the same two houses, for months/years. I have seen some crows' nests, in the center/top, of trees. I have never seen a huge roost/flock of crows. Always 10-15 max.
-
I haven't seen a large foraging flock, however recently (September) on the edge of Lake Ontario there was a roost of about 20 crows resting in some trees overlooking the lake to one side and a field of goldenrod/marsh to the other. It was late afternoon and the weather was quite solemn but beautifully peaceful. They were totally silent and resting. As for other birds in large flocks - murmurations of starlings or foraging on lawns, ring billed gulls, Canada geese, and a flock of 12 vultures flew over my neighbourhood late summer.
-
1. I haven't noticed any foraging flocks too much where I live, but close to the nearby city of Watertown, NY, I have observed large forager groups on the outskirts of the city during the day in fall/winter, mostly near cleared off farm fields. The last several winters the city has hired a company to then come and break up large groups of crows that then return to the city at night. I can observe this behavior when I am driving mostly, and you can actually see the crows heading back into the city when night comes. 2. I have seen other groups of blackbirds do the same in late summer/fall, such as starlings, both in town and out in the fields. In spring large blackbird groups can be observed with some of the returning species, like grackles and red-winged blackbirds together in the same group. Now that's a noisy congregation!
-
#1 I worked with a specific family of crows along north Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. "My" crows recognized a few calls and would respond to me. However, in the spring and fall I would notice larger gatherings of crows up and down the lakeshore. When I would give out the calls my family recognized, inevitably one or two or more crows would respond, and usually come to see what I was doing. This behavior would lead others in the larger flock to also become curious and approach me. This indication of detailed communications between different families was amazing to me.
-
How cool is that!
-
-
Yeah, in the evening they steam south past my house to their special spot down by the water. There is a wetlands by where they hang out in the evening, but there is also a four lane road. Lots of trees. Tall trees. The flock is huge -- a couple of hundred. Mostly see this in the fall but maybe that is just cause I am outside and notice. Here in the northwest we have snow geese that flock and swans (trumpeter?).
-
I live in Beaverton, Oregon. My crow family visits my back yard every day for scraps and I have observed them for about 6 years. This summer, there was mom, dad and 3 youngsters begging for food. At times I have seen approximately 10-15 individuals waiting for handouts. I take out breakfast for them every morning and sometimes in the evening. One particular crow sits on my fence, patiently waiting. This crow will make a "clicking" sound at me, in an attempt to communicate. I have seen the youngsters sitting together on the grass observing their parents searching for grubs. There are large flocks of crows occupying trees in downtown Portland that are quite amazing to see during the evening.
-
There is a fairly constant size group/family group of a bout 10-12 Crows that spend most of the daylight hours in my neighborhood. There are quite a few tall Oaks and Pines as well as a lot of shrubbery - suburban landscape with fences between yards and lots of bird feeders and bird baths. They seem to be around all year, probably because I live in North East FL. As far as larger flocks, I have noticed in the past at my last job when I would be driving home around 5-5:30 pm, large groups of Crows would be coming West to East toward a large stand of very tall trees near the edge of a business park. Thought maybe they were going there to roos or it might have been a " meet up area" before all flying off to roost.
-
Each of the last 2 Octobers I've seen 2-300 crows flying near Pueblo, CO. They are spread out, seemingly migrating towards the southeast. Twice each year we get flocks of Yellow-headed Blackbirds migrating through Otero County, CO, they hang around cattle feed lots for a week or so. But what I want to know, seemingly they all have yellow heads and are therefore all males. Or am I wrong about that? Where are the females?
-
Hello Larry, Are you looking at these flocks with the naked eye or with binoculars or a scope? During Spring migration the male Yellow-headed Blackbirds migrate earlier than the females and arrive on their breeding grounds a full 7-14 days ahead of the females. However, females do have yellow on the head. The females have a duller yellow on the head and sometimes bright yellow only on the face and bib area. From a distance or without optics both males and females might look similarly yellow-headed. Males have brighter yellow on head,face, and chest. However since the males migrate sooner than females in the Spring you might be seeing a migrating flock of only males. Males arrive earlier than females in order to establish territories. Furthermore the northernmost wintering populations are mostly males and the southernmost wintering populations are females. Range Map for Yellow-headed Blackbirds
-
-
I notice 20 - 30 birds (crows) foraging in peoples' yards up at the Cape (Cod) in the late summer, early fall. They were wary of people but easy to watch from the car by the curb. They fly down and back to usually borders of high pine trees. These kind of flocks are common on our part of the Cape. The other birds I notice on Cape Cod that form large flocks are a kind of swallow that form large swarming and swooping flocks around Labor Day weekend - they congregate for a short time - one or two days - then disappear.
-
I am originally from Massachusetts but now live in Georgia. When I was in MA, I remember seeing (and hearing about) very large flocks of crows going to roost in the evening. This would be in the fall and the winter. People often complained about them. In GA, I have not witnessed such large flocks. It may be because I don't live in an area where large roosts form. Is is possible that birds in the southeast don't form the massive flocks I've seen in the Northeast? I realize I am talking about a roost here and not a "socializing" flock. Both in MA and in GA I have seen large flocks of red-winged blackbirds, often in early spring. I also used to see massive flocks of starlings going to roost in MA.
-
Hi Diane, That is a good question about roosts and regions. American Crows do form large roosting flocks in the winter in Georgia, so you must not have been at the right place and time to see one. The roosts are at night. The largest flock in the eBird records for Georgia is 1,100 crows at Fite Bend Rd. (Gordon County) on Dec. 31, 2013. Near some silos, and agriculture fields. For this year the largest flock was reported to eBird so far was 600 crows on January 4th, 2019 on Trimble Hollow Road near the intersection with Rt 3/41 north of Adairsville, GA. This is agriculture field. In 2018 the largest American Crow roost was 160 crows on Brandon Farm & Taff Road, East of Stilesboro on Feb. 2, 2018. This spot is by some animal barns and agriculture fields. It can be sometimes very hard to find the crow roosts in smaller cities or in the country as they happen at night and sometimes you just have to happen upon them. People don't report them to eBird as much as they might other types of birds and people don't do as much night time eBirding either. Even here in Ithaca, NY where we study the crows it can take us days, weeks, or months of driving around to find the crow roost in the winter. However that is because we don't keep looking every single night. It typically takes me from 1-7 different attempts to find the roost in winter. The instructor isn't available this week but when he returns I'll ask him if a regional difference in roost sizes has been noticed. Thanks for asking. Given that the three high counts mentioned above for Georgia were near agriculture fields these might have been foraging flocks instead of night roosts but I don't have the time of day of the reports handy. Too find where the high counts of crows have been spotted in your state or county go to ebird.org/explore High Count page and put in your location. Then it asks the date range. Once you get that data scroll down until you see American Crow.
-
-
1) I haven’t particularly noticed large groups of crows in my area. 2) I have noticed large groups of Canada geese, house sparrows, starlings and common grackles
-
1. The largest group of crows that I noted in eBird was 30 last Oct in Fort Worth. I had very few observations that exceeded 10 all year long. 2. We frequently have large flocks of vultures, enormous gathering of grackles/blackbirds/starlings (especially in fall & winter), cattle egrets. I saw a huge flock of migrating waterbirds (1000's) attacked by a pair of hawks over Laguna Madre (Corpus Christi) at Christmas 2 years ago. The biggest flock surprise to me this past March was a flock of 100+ American Robins in my neighbors' trees, and my holly hedge, at the same time 200+ Cedar Waxwings occupied the remaining trees on either side of my yard. The trees were just smothered in birds and the noise was unbelievable. I didn't know that Robins flocked up in winter. The robins stayed in the area for several days before moving on. There were very few holly berries left by the time everyone left. Some robins even tried to play hummingbird to reach berries on the sides of the hedge.
-
I was on an organized birding trip to Colorado this April, and we encountered a huge and noisy mixed flock in a stockyard in southeastern Colorado. Though there were multiple species, they seemed to group with their own kind within the larger congregation. Our guide created an eBird list with these estimates: 150 Yellow-headed Blackbirds, 50 Red-winged Blackbirds, 300 starlings and 5 Common Grackles, adding 300 more birds as “blackbird sp” because it was impossible to ID them all in such a mass! We had a phenomenal crow roost here in the Northeast this past winter that was mind-blowing. It was along the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts right among the old mill buildings. A nightly extravaganza of many thousands of crows streaming in to roost the night.
-
I see hudreds of them in cornfields outside of town
-
I've seen moderate sized groups foraging on lawns and around houses, but never large flocks of 200 or so. I do see enormous congregations in the evenings as they head for roosts or just gather and talk. We do have enormous flocks of gulls who head to the landfills every morning.
-
Ques. #1 - I’ve seen large groups of black birds on lawns pecking in the grass. But, I think they might be too small. Could it be a flock of baby crows?
-
Once baby crows are able to fly (and join a flock like the one on your lawn), they are the same size as adult crows. In fact, this is true of most birds. Birds old enough to fly have also grown to their adult size. I suspect your flocks of smaller birds are either blackbirds or grackles, or starlings, or a mix of all of the above! Regardless of species, they are amazing to watch.
-
-
I have seen large gatherings of crows at Audubon Park and close to the park in a tree by the Mississippi river. Audubon attracts a lot of birds all year around. We can almost always find big groups of ibises there. Once in spring when I was walking my dog we saw a group of little parrots descend on a Japanese plum tree. They were very noisy and very beautiful. I’d heard about that flock, but that was the only time I’ve seen them.
-
I. No. 2. Canadian geese, Florida Sandhill Cranes, blackbirds, Purple Martins, Robins
-
1. I have a family of crows that I have watched in my yard that appear to be teaching the younger generations to forage during the summer. I have seen a flock foraging in corn fields once the crop has been cut in the fall. 2. Last fall while looking for snow geese during their migration and stop over in the Lake Champlain Valley, I witnessed a huge flock of red-winged blackbirds. They literally blackened the sky where they flew. They landed in several large trees that had shed there leaves and filled them. When they were in flight they flew in such tight formation they appeared to be an art form. I also regularly see flocks of Canada geese, cedar waxwings, blue jays, and turkeys, but no where near the size of the crows, snow geese, or red-winged blackbirds.
-
I have noticed foraging flocks in farm fields in the fall. The most common flocks I see are of Canada geese: in school athletic fields, on golf courses, or by the river.
-
I have seen large groups but I don't know that they were foraging as they were not on the ground. It was more like a "meeting" in the sycamore behind my yard. I believe it was fall or early winter because the tree was bare of leaves. The other flocks that I have seen in my yard were wild parrots and Cedar wax wings. I have also seen groups of pigeons and black birds "brewers?" or "red wing?" on the now weed covered ex dump that is out by the San Francisco bay.
Discussions For Students Enrolled in:
Learn More
I have observed sizable groups of robins and waxwings converging onto trees or bushes with berries during the winter. 
Also in Vermont, flocks of Wild turkeys foraging in fields, especially in late summer after the fields have been mown. I have seen up to 30+ individuals. Flocks seem to be females and juveniles. In winter males seem to form their own groups of 8 to 10 individuals. They forage for dropped seed under birdfeeders.
2. Aside from crows, the largest flocks I see are starlings, which are not my favorite, but their murmurations can be mesmerizing. Also Canada geese (flocks seem largest when settled on open water in a semi-frozen lake, while migrating in early winter). Mourning doves (I've seen up to 20 or so, hanging out around bird feeders.) 
