• Bird Academy
      Bird Academy
      1. Have you seen any roosting areas in your neighborhood or town?  Describe them. What time of year is it? Why do you think the crows have selected this spot?  What resources are nearby?
      2. What thoughts come to mind when you see a large group of crows coming to roost?
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    • Christa
      Participant
      Chirps: 2
      1.  We have a roosting spot near our home, but not for Crows - other birds use it.  I will be mindful of looking for where crows may be roosting and if perhaps it is near the other birds who are roosting as well.  I am curious now as to where the family of crows that visits are yard nearly daily are roosting.
    • Daron
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      No crow roost here, but we do have a raven roost at the top of our woods, usually winter into early spring, then they're gone.  I have counted 60 to 70 ravens flying in spread out over 1/2 an hour during late dusk.  Love their voices and the sound of their wings and their flying skills.  Our local crows sometimes get close to the roost, making a lot of noise.  Might be a crow family.
    • Steph
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      1. Absolutely. It is autumn and winter and there are hundreds of crows that fly nearby forming a long river of crows in early morning and in the evening just before sundown. Sometimes they gather together in large groups and other times they stop and gather in large groups vocalizing. Most of the time they are heading to the nearby agricultural fields adjacent to the river in the morning and in the evening they head to their roost. I think they gather here because there are plenty of scraps in the urban areas to find along with other food sources in the nearby fields. 2. I get excited when I hear huge numbers of crows. I love watching them fly. Sometimes they are paired up and participating in some very impressive aerial acrobatics. I've seen them dive and do 360s in mid air and then continue on their way. It's quite the spectacle.
    • Rosemary
      Participant
      Chirps: 20
      The roosting crows in a nearby community are legendary.  The city is surrounded by lots of agricultural land, much of that are orchards of various types.  Every night thousands of crows would fly into town and roost in the trees at the shopping mall.  This went on for many years.  As you mentioned, many people complained of the mess and noise.   A couple of years ago, ownership of the mall changed hands and one of the first things done by the new comers was to tear out all of the existing trees from the parking lots.  Palm trees were planted around the perimeters, in their place.   The roosting crows are gone.   I think it's sad. The first thing I've always thought when I'd see a large group coming to roost is that there's safety in numbers, and at night it must be a means to be as protected as possible.  Now I know that that's probably just a part of the bigger picture.
    • Francesca
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      I live in New York City (upper Manhattan) and there's a roosting area in Isham Park, about two blocks from where I live. I frequently see large groups of crows atop the tallest tree in the park. Sometimes twenty or thirty of them will fly off the tree at once, cawing loudly. I find crows beautiful and charming, which is the main reason (as a middle-aged person long past college days) I took this course. I thought it would be fun to learn more about these enchanting birds. And it is! Now that we're most of the way through October, I know (from what I've learned here) that the number of crows at my nearby roost is likely to increase. I want to go out and observe them. i'm guessing that the best time might be at dusk? Is there anything in particular that I should be looking for as I observe the roost this fall and winter?
      • Rosemary
        Participant
        Chirps: 20
        I'll admit it, Francesca, I'm a little bit envious of your situation.  =:)     Crows are so interesting to watch, singularly or in groups.  I hope you get in some good viewing.
      • Francesca
        Participant
        Chirps: 6

        @Rosemary I hope so too. One thing that's different about viewing crows in a big city like mine is that they are almost always in trees, on top of buildings ,or in the air. They hardly ever come down and walk on the ground the way they do in more rural areas. When I go outside the city I can see crows at much closer range. I usually bring popcorn for them because I'd heard that they liked it. They do eat it but now that I know they like peanuts, I'll bring those instead. Here in the city I hear them and see them almost every day. Usually I hear them first. This afternoon I heard a series of caws while walking on Broadway, then saw a murder of six crows swoop across the sky to who-knows-where.

    • Rebecca
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      IRONY - I just shared a note about finding a huge roost of crows in one of the previous bird academy sections of this course - when they mentioned the Auburn NY in this clip - I went back to find my date and location - SURE ENOUGH!  It was Auburn NY and November 23, 2023 - we were on our way to visit extended family members for the holidays and the crows were, too!   We reported 10,000 crows that day - it was AMAZING and overwhelming to witness as they were flying into town from EVERY direction and it was obvious they had a destination in mind. Love it!  We watched them and took pics and videos until it was very dark. Rebecca
    • Helen
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      not in my immediate area, no roosts
    • John
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      As outlined in the last post, the roosting area in our region, where Warren and Washington Counties come together at Glens Falls is where we see most of the crows in our area.  However, there are also seasonal roosts in the Warrensburg area, where the grows get into think pine cover on the east/southeast side of the hills to take cover from wind. What is usually coming to my mind, "How far are they coming from?"  As there is usually a very large number of them.  
    • Larry
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      I love seeing large roosts of crows. They are fascinating to watch--it looks like a big crow party. I see them .here I live in Maryland in the winter,
    • Elisabeth
      Participant
      Chirps: 6
      1.  We have a huge crow roosting area near Mount St Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  You can see clouds of birds flying into the area from all directions beginning around twilight during the fall, winter and early spring.  There is a large open field there that has many trees to one side. 2. I think of the changing seasons when I see the crows going to roost and how amazing it is to see the vast numbers of them heading to the same area.  It’s comforting.
    • Lux
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      It seems like all the biggest roosts or at least the documented ones are in the Northeast US.  Searching on ebird, the most i found documented in Georgia, US was 2000 a few years ago.  This year the high count is 110.  And I'm not sure if those were foraging or roosting.  Do crows roost in large numbers less in the southeast? Because its warmer? Or is it just documented less?  Curious if anyone knows why and/or knows of big roosts you can find in the south. Thanks!
      • Rebecca
        Participant
        Chirps: 4
        I am not a scientist but living the Southeast all my life and listening to the attitudes of the people around here - I am going to bet it is because a big roost of crows would result in alot of shooting and deaths - so the crows have figured out that humans are going to hurt them if there are that many.  I have heard many people talking about shooting crows for a variety of stupid to rediculous reasons - and they do the same to the vultures that try to gather at a roost.  Yes - I have reported it to DNR.  NO - they can't or won't do anything about it.  The pervasive attitudes and lack of education about ANY species here in the Southeast is miserable.  Dumb.  Awful. FOrtunately - the birds are alot smarter than MOST of the people here!  LOL!
    • Katherine
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      How far do crows range (for food, roosting sites, whatever) each day?  I have not seen it, but there are credible reports of roosts of 250,000 birds in nearby Minneapolis in the winter, and this class mentions roosts of up to 2 million birds.  How can they find enough food, especially if/when there is heavy snow cover (making it harder to find seeds and grain on the ground) and bitterly cold temperatures (increasing the calories needed to maintain body temperature)?  Even if they share information (or follow one another to food sources), that many birds must require a lot of food!  Is there any research that sheds light on how they find enough food when they gather in such large numbers? In my yard, about 20 miles NE of Minneapolis, I have never had a large crow roost, although I do get small numbers of crows regularly throughout the year.  I have a variety of foods available for all the birds; year-round, the crows only seem interested in suet.
    • Mike
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      I don't  think that my rural area is advantageous for large crow roosting.  We have old growth hardwoods but not as many deciduous trees.  The Mississippi River flows through the area and it's a major flight way for mostly migratory water fowl and increasingly the American Bald Eagle.  I see many eagles far inland from the river and I wonder if increasing Eagle numbers are affecting the local crow population.
    • Becky
      Participant
      Chirps: 4
      Years ago when I lived in Portland, ME I'd see the crows gathering to roost in the winter. I didn't actually see where they would roost, but I'd see them passing through at dusk, thousands of them filling the sky passing over Deering Oaks area toward Back Cove or the east end of the city, or maybe even toward Falmouth (the next town over) which would not be very far as the crow flies. Portland had a lot of trees for shelter, and there was the coastline for foraging, not to mention the thousands of dumpsters in the city... it had everything crows needed, so they came in great numbers in the winter. The rest of the year there were fewer crows, in small family groups watching the city from the trees.  
    • Regarding the choice of some roosts occurring out in the open vs. hidden away in lush trees: Does the size of the roost make a difference? Would individuals in a larger roost feel safer out in the open (safety in numbers)? Or does it have to do with site availability? Are there more open/sparsely vegetated trees in the areas that were studied? Regarding the movement of flocks/roosts to the cities: In addition to the reasons listed in the video, are birds moving to the cities in response to habitat loss and degradation (have nowhere else to go)?
    • Jeff
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      Crows roost in our neighborhood and our yard every winter for the past several years! There are certainly hundreds of them. Our neighborhood is older with many tall trees, and a park with many trees. That probably attracts them. Our city is about 200,00 people and is surrounded by farms and small towns, so it is probably an attractive area for the wintering crows! it is very loud in the evening and early morning!
    • John
      Participant
      Chirps: 14
      We occasionally have a roosting in the winter next to the golf course, lots of noise early in the morning.  We do have crows all year, I think there is more than one family that lives around the area of the housing development of 750 acres. Besides the golf course there is a 45 acre lake. We also have many large pines and balsams, as well as acorn and nut bearing deciduous trees, for the crows and other birds to roost in for year round protection.  So, the area has much to offer the crows, that is why I always have crows to count when using eBird. Before this course I thought that large groups of crows were because of predator location and the mob would chase off the predator. I have learned now that large roosts are a common part of crow behavior.
    • Gracklefeeder1
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      Have yet to see crows in my area, but the Pigeon Swarms as I call them are the most amazing thing to see. I think there's only something like 100-150, but it's better than fireworks. An organic fireworks display that shows the beauty of creation. The sound of multiple birds taking flight is also a marvel for me.
    • Linda
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      Our local Audubon chapter runs a trip to Springfield, MA every February where the crows roost in one of the hospital parking lots (they don't always choose the same one). They seem to like the lights that surround the lots. We go to a couple of the staging areas first, and then on to the roosting spot. The last time I went the estimate was 7000-10,000 birds. It was mind blowing! The trees surrounding the lot looked as though they had suddenly grown leaves, and the noise was deafening. The bright lights offer protection from predators, and perhaps warmth. There is also lots of trash to pick at in the urban environment. I love crows and the chance to see so many all at once was pure joy.
    • Rita
      Participant
      Chirps: 1
      I have seen large groups of crows in my area. To be honest, I never paid much attention to the time of year but now I think it is in the winter months. I live in Copper Canyon Texas north of the Dallas area. My property backs up to Army Corp of Engineering property which is part of Lewisville Lake flood plain. There are many trees that could be used for roosting on the Corp property and of course the lake or water is nearby also In the evenings a large group of Crows (maybe 150-200) will take turns holding a large meeting in one of our 2 acre lots. They begin gathering around 4 or 4:30 and become very vocal. One crow will rise up and Caw loudly and then several others will join in. My Aunt once told me about this behavior and said it reminded her of a large meeting and perhaps they were discussing the day's activities. Near sunset they all fly off mainly to the Corp property. I have made a note to observe what time of the year it starts because now I realize it is not happening during the summer or breeding time.    
    • 1. In the winter, I have seen many pre-roosts, usually about 20 crows at a time, in different locations in my town. I have mainly seen these pre-roosts in a few nature preserve areas and I think the crows are drawn to them because there is a lot of tree cover, food opportunity, and water access. However, I don't know where their final roost locations are and what draws them there. 2. My main thought when seeing crows roosting together is that it is really cool! You don't get to see that many birds coming together to roost like crows. I also wonder what crows are thinking when they roost and if they have favorite friends to roost with.
    • When I lived in Saginaw, Michigan, I loved watching the crows flying in from the farm fields in the evening as I drove home from work.  They liked to congregate on Ojibway Island, which is a park area in the city along the Saginaw River.  This small island has many large trees for the crows to roost in.  I saw the largest numbers of crows flying in during the fall and winter.  I would then see them leaving in the morning to head back out to the countryside.  I found them fascinating to watch.  I often thought of it as a crow convention, and thought of them having conversations as they shared details of their day or caught up with friends.   Before sunset, the roost was very active, with much movement and crows calling to each other.
    • 1. I haven't seen any of these large roosting going on. 2.  The Birds of course!  But that doesn't really frighten me.   I would probably slowly approach to see how close I can get!
    • I have not seen such large roost since moving to Utah but remember them from my time in Iowa and Pennsylvania.  As Kevin mentioned, I made associations with Hitchcock's movie as a reference my mind had stored away.  I never felt threatened, was fascinated and certainly noticed the 'mess' they made.