The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow › Roosts
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Ive never seen - sort of am sad that i havent.
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You can use eBird.org/explore to hone in on where large roosts are being seen in the winter. There is a place on eBird where you can look at the "high count" for a species in a certain state or at the county level. That will let you know where you can find an area to search for a large roost in winter. In some cities they frequent the same spot every night but in other areas the roots move around from place to place every night and even move to several spots during the course of the night. I was super lucky one year that the local crow roost of several thousands spent part of two nights at my house! That was amazing to listen to them yammering away much of the night and communicating with each other. I highly recommend when it is safe to travel, finding a crow roost some winter. It is a great experience.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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I love the idea of a roost as a slumber party, don't you?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I have already mentioned the roosting in SF. It was surely amazing. As I stood looking out my office window it was so interesting to see them gather. My fellow colleagues, as was mentioned, found it creepy. Work needs to be done to educate the general population about this beautiful natural phenomena. A right crows deserve to have and humans should not tamper with but rather marvel at.
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I have not seen the roosting areas but suspect they are roosting in several different places during the year out in our pastures. We have several ponds in the area which would be good resources for the crows. When I see a group of crows I am very pleases as I believe they are really cool birds!
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I am filled with curiousity about where the birds I watch during the day, roost for the night. I look forward to looking more closely for crows-in-trees, as night falls.
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1. Yes, but they usually don't stay in one place, trying to find the perfect spot, mainly in the fall
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My mother lives in Middletown, NY. They had a huge roost situation every night (not sure what time of year it was). All the noise and mess you describe was all over the town and there were a lot of complaints. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. I am not sure if the town did something drastic or if it was just a time of year they don't typically roost. I'm hoping for the latter.
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