Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow

The best roosting area I've seen is no longer available to the crows - it was an "empty" lot next to the building I worked in, in a far west suburb of Chicago. The trees in that lot held hundreds of crows during the winter months. The noise was amazing! iIt was fun to watch them come  in to roost. it wasn't far from farmer's fields, and a small pond was nearby as well. Possibly the dumpsters behind the building I worked in had some attraction as well? Crows are amazing - i love watching them.

I live in Bothell, WA and the University of Washington has a campus here in town that is near a wetland which is a roosting area. There is a researcher at UW who estimates that the roost has ~10-11,000 crows. We often see them flying over at night around dusk to head back to the roost and large groups of hundreds will often stop at various places along the way before continuing on. During the day I see smaller groups (maybe families) around town but I'm sure others disperse even further.  Curious to know if you have done any collaborations with the UW research group over the years? Also, I assume these may be Northwest crows given our location?

I live in the EU and this year I spent a month in Romania. I could observe some huge roosts up close. In the city of Sighisoara there are two big roosting places, one near the Townhall and one near the cemetery. There are hundreds or thousands of jackdaws and rooks that share the trees and the roofs without quarreling too much, but then I saw that hooded crows tried to join the fun but most of the time they got mobbed by jackdaws and in the end they just stayed a little bit outside the roost and slept in couples. These big roosts don't seem to be too affected by the season, as I could observe them in July in many cities, and it seems like jackdaws and rooks are the ones who get along the best. I asked a local if they were bothered by their presence, as they were extremely noisy and messy (expecially jackdaws, I witnessed them trying to remove tiles from a roof), but she told me that people are actually used to them, as they have been roosting there as long as they can remember, and probably for centuries. I spent hours watching those Corvids roosting together, it was a marvellous sight, and it was very interesting and fun to observe how they behave with one another and how they fought for getting on the top of the roost.

Over the spring and summer there were many crows roosting in trees in our residential neighborhood.  Starting in September, they would visit during the day but roost elsewhere.  We found a large roosting area near a shopping mall - it had many trees and a construction site nearby.  The crows seemed to really like the construction site.  They would line up on the open beams.  We've observed that crows always like a place where they can view from many angles, and also where they can get away easily.  If we feed them near a corner or a wall they are much more cautious, probably because there are fewer escape routes.  The construction site gave them an excellent unobstructed vantage point and there was very little activity there overnight. There were both American crows and fish crows present, and they seemed to mix quite fluidly.  

2. When I see a large group of birds come by its always an exciting thing to see. The most I have seen a group of crows is a total of 10. I can imagine how cool it will be to see a huge roost of crows landing in my yard and sleeping on top of the trees at night. I would not want to disturb them even though I would want to intervene and be surrounding by them and take pictures and photographs.

I went to Syracuse University for my Masters degree, and lived close to downtown. Walking home from class I remember seeing huge roosts of crows gathering in the trees and still remember those chilly October evenings so vividly.  I now live in Naperville, and though I see and hear crows sometimes, I haven't been able to attract them to my yard. (Though we have many bird feeders and other features to attract birds.) West Nile hit the local population hard, and I hope their numbers rebound quickly.

I live in Southeastern New Hampshire and we see crows mostly in the fall - Oct-Nov.  I have never seen them roost but I know they must.  During the day they alight near bird feeders and a pond and never stay long.  I have never seen them eat seeds from the feeder - even if the seeds landed on the nearby ground.  At the same time, there is also another flock a football field size away in the middle of a grassy hilly field.  The two groups always appear to be talking to and working with each other.

1. No.  2. I haven't seen a large group of crows before, but I am always amazed when I see large flocks of grackles, geese, swans and other flocking birds. It's just incredible to watch thousands of geese and/or ducks, or cormorants as they fly from roosting area to feeding area, and back.

Lived in Rochester, MN from October 2020 to January 2021. The roosting described in the video was what we saw there. We lived right downtown and had trees across the street from us teeming with crows for the night. There was also a cemetery nearby and that too was a haven as mentioned in the lesson video. And the noise and mess were present too!  

There are a lot of crows (and all other kinds of birds) in my area, but unfortunately not right where I live. I see them during the day from time to time, but I've never had the pleasure of seeing them coming together to roost. Seeing the information about the random-ness of who or where or when the crows choose to go to a communal roost or stay home with the fam does not surprise me at all and actually reinforces my main reason for loving crows- they do what they want, and they just don't care!

Here is a huge flock of crows. They gather at sundown near an historic adobe structure in between our city of Ventura and neighboring agricultural areas.

I spend a week in Portland Oregon every winter for work and last year, February 2020, there was a noticeable increase in the crow population in the downtown area.  The crows were roosting by the hundreds in the large trees in the park that runs along the west side of the Willamette River and foraging on insects emerging from the ground in the park.  The crows were roosting by the tens in all the smaller trees up to a few blocks inland from the water.  It was amazing to see and one of the reasons I was interested in taking this course and finding out more about crows.

Ive never seen - sort of am sad that i havent.

I love crows.  Unfortunately, in our area, there are none to be found.   I have not had the pleasure of seeing a large group of crows coming to roost.

I'v seen some Crows roosting near our home but they tend not to stay and go some place to spend time.  I think one deterrent may be that we have an Owl that I hear at night so that may be one reason the Crows don't stay.  We do have a stream out back and that may be one thing to attract them to our area.  I get excited when I seen a large group of Crows coming into our area.  Now I'll be even more excited since I want to study them more closely.

We live on a golf course in Boynton Beach FL and the last several days have brought thousands of crows into the area. We have observed a lot of pre-roosting and communicating. Along with the crows have been dozens of what we think are Chimney Swifts, careening in flights amongst the crows. They appear to enjoy each other’s company, roosting together and flying together. This behavior might have something to do with the recent arrival and nesting of a pair of bald eagles. They built a nest several weeks ago and are active despite several resident osprey who appear to be aggrieved about it. We have witnessed one of the eagles harassing an osprey and claiming its catch. two questions: Is it normal for the crows to hang with the Chimney Swifts (petty sure that is what they are)? Does the presence of the Eagles make a difference? There is water and food here- presumably the crows could go elsewhere, but they haven’t.

1. There is often a large roost just on the edge of town starting in early winter. It is a small group of trees near a field, but also near the marina. I would imagine they pick this spot for access to a variety of food sources. Also we have a lot of Great Horned Owls on the island, but they are more often seen and heard in the woods farther out. I would imagine, like was presented in the lesson, that the crows use the urban environment and lights to stay safe from the owls. 2. I get really excited when I see large groups of crows coming to roost. I am always curious what sorts of dynamics are at play, what relationships are forming, what is being communicated etc.

2. I am gaining such a deep appreciation for crows in particular in this course, but I am always amazed when I see any large flock of birds. I'll admit that they do bring to mind Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds," but I don't see them as dangerous or threatening. Against a sunset, they are downright beautiful. I live near Washington, DC, so I have seen "Martha," the (now-stuffed) last remaining passenger pigeon. I have read before how big their flocks were, which I think is part of why I appreciate any large group of birds now. Still, it is interesting to imagine what life would be like if passenger pigeons were still as abundant!

I am 4 years old and I live in Vancouver, Canada. I see a really big crow roost in the late summer through winter near my grandparents’ house at the edge of the city, beside the highway, in a cluster of big deciduous trees and on the roofs of big buildings. Sometimes, I see them pre-roost in my grandparents’ neighbourhood on the lawns and in the smaller trees. I like seeing them very very much. I like how they live in groups. I think there is a lot of food nearby for them, in the lawns (worms and chafer beetle larvae). There is also a lot of light from the lamp-posts.

Here in Albany,CA we haven't seen the roosting area but starting this fall have observed crows flying, we presume, to a roost. It occurs about half an hour before sunset and takes about 10/15 minutes for all the crows to fly by. They are usually in groups of 4/5 to 15 or more. I would guess there are upward of 80 to 100  crows altogether. Fascinating to watch!

The roosting in Portland, Oregon, is amazing. Each night the crows fly toward the Willamette River, which flows south to north through the city. One evening I was on one of the bridges and saw thousands of crows. It was spectacular and noisy! I live about 2 miles east where there are frequently pre-roost parties. One thing that is interesting is that the pre-parties are not always on my street or even in the same trees from day to day.

1.  I have a large back yard with a very large maple tree, but my yard backs up to a wooded area with many very large trees.  I do have a group of about eight crows that live in the wooded area very close to my property edge.  While I do not recall large roosts of crows, I have seen the number "eight" increase to about fifteen or so.  The time of year remains fuzzy to me, but I am going to pay much closer attention as we are approaching the winter season.  Many times, my crows roost in the large trees of the wooded area, so I can't always tell how many individuals there are, but I will take the time to study them more carefully this winter to make a more accurate count. 2.  When I see a large roost of crows, the first thought that comes to mind is "food."  Someone found a food source nearby and has notified other individuals as to this source.  Now I know there may be other reasons crows may actually roost together.

I grew up in Madera, California and we had a very large public park in the middle of town (still there) filled with a number of giant trees, including Elm and other varieties. I remember the large crow roosts at night when crows would come together by the hundreds, and perhaps, thousands, and people spoke of them as a nuisance. The solution by the City Fathers? Have the local police fire their shotguns up into the trees in an effort to kill as many as possible and try to prevent this roosting behavior. This was a regular occurrence until several years later, the roosting behavior disappeared. It seems that the only solution human kind can think of to solve problems is to kill, whether it be animals, human beings, birds or plant life.

For years there was a roost with hundreds of crows at a local shopping mall (North Bethesda/Rockville, a suburb of DC), which has trees and lots of light at night, which is why I assume they chose the location.  I am not sure if they are still roosting there, as the shopping mall has been mostly demolished.  I have recently (in September/October) seen many crows flying overhead in the early evening, but I'm not sure where they are ending up.  Perhaps one of these evenings I will try to follow them.

I have been to Terre Haute, IN a few times in the winter and witnessed the roosting activity there.  As a kid, there was a large grackle/"blackbird" roost in my neighborhood.  Except for a little bit of odor, we never were too worried about it. From what I know about the Terre Haute crows . . . it does not seem to be well-tolerated by many (most?) locals there.