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 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.

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.

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!

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.

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 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...