The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow › Life in a Flock
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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
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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.)
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Just yesterday (early February) I observed a foraging flock of at least 200 crows in a cornfield. Quite a sight!
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We have crows foraging flocks in winter in neighborhoods near our house and in trees in a nearby cemetery.
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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
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I love seeing the giant crow roost gather in winter and move en masse somewhere new. So cool, blanketing the sky!
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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I have seen a large flock of crows go over my house. It was about 60 individuals.
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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!
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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