Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow

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.

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!

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.

1. Yes, but they usually don't stay in one place, trying to find the perfect spot, mainly in the fall

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.

I have enjoyed watching flight lines of hundreds of crows as they leave and return to a roost in Utica, NY around dawn and dusk when I am leaving my wellness club. The flights I see are headed west over New Hartford as they fly on to farm fields, etc. in the flight out of Utica.  I have noticed large numbers in fields on other drives. The flights are mostly silent, and determined. At dusk, they return more in groups than in one large exodus as at dawn. In another sort of flight I have noticed that I am watched from high flight by crows on patrol who seem to be checking to see what I may have put out for the taking. I have the impression that I have a reputation as friend (or sucker). I have put out peanuts for Blue Jays for years. Some crows go the the elevated dish where I place peanuts out of reach of squirrels, but they are happier if I toss a few nuts-in-shell onto the roof of our shed. Unfortunately, local squirrels caught on to this bounty, so I try to time the offering for when feathered friends are watching.  Crows are still cautious though; whereas the Blue Jays are not. The peanuts go fast, but less often to the crows. Listening to this part of the course made me sad again that we had to remove 3 spruces that were 50-60+ years old from our property a few years ago. The trees were fungal sick, and we did not want winter winds to fell them into cars people, or our house, but I felt that we were removing a favorite nesting spot. There are other large evergreens nearby, and that is where I hear the crows talking now when I emerge to service feeders. The description of crows disappearing into an evergreen is good. I will hear them, but not see them; though they can clearly see me. Clinton, NY does not have a large roost, but I have enjoyed watching the flight patterns in our area for several years.

When I lived in Williams Lake, BC Canada, I lived where I could see a roosting tree on the horizon, it was an old snag, which still had lots of bare branches.  About 50 birds tended to roost in it nightly, especially in fall. Later I lived above the lake in this same town and observed hundreds of crows (and ravens) returning nightly as they flew past my windows. I couldn't see where they roosted but they flew past for a good while each evening in groups both large and small. I had about 5 who frequented my area, and if I put food out for them they showed up in minutes and got so they cawed at me whenever I was outside.  They ignored my spouse but he never fed them.

1. Yes, I see lots of roost action happening near me. They fly to a local college campus that has a huge wetland where they can safely roost and forage. The crows tend to roost in Fall-Winter months, less in the other times. 2. I love when the crows roost together as you can see patterns of behavior. I have seen the pre-roost phase too and it's quite interesting to witness.

Here in Santa Barbara I’ve witnessed a steady river of crows heading to the roost. The numbers are too vast to estimate, but I would guess in the neighborhood of 10’s of thousands I guess Santa Barbara is a nice place to visit...even for crows

I am interested to learn that a roost in Ithaca might have birds from far away.....why is this? Migration? But Ithaca is not warm in the winter, so why would a crow migrate to Ithaca?

I had the opportunity of spending time in Lancaster, Ohio for several years taking care of a relative. I would notice crow roost in the late fall and winter.  What I noticed that the crows would not roost in the same place each night.  One night they were on one side of the "mountain" in Rising Park and then on the other side the next night.  The crows would move to other places every night.  In Toledo, in my neighborhood, there are crows but I have not noticed the crows roosting in large groups.

I live in Eastern Ontario, Canada. But, in the late 1960s through the 1970s I lived in Western Quebec, North-West of Montreal. As a child our crows would leave some time in the fall and were the first sign of spring, returning late February. Their noisy cries would mean March mild spells would soon happen. Where I am presently residing I am a 20 minute drive from my childhood home and the crows here no longer leave to go south. Have you noticed changes in the number of birds migrating south in your research?

Roosting is my favorite aspect of crow behavior. Kevin, *I wonder* if the reason that some of the urban crows chose the out-in-the-open deciduous tree and some chose the more secure conifer is simply because of personality differences?! At first, I was thinking that country crows, like me (a country girl), want to feel more secure and safe. City crows that are fine being out in the open remind me of people that live the city life...they are just comfortable being more exposed or something. But, if both the secure option and open option are being utilized in the city, then maybe since there's only so much space to go around, the individuals choose which option they prefer.

Crows roosting tonight in San Diego (7/31/19)

We live in northwestern Georgia on 6 acres.  We have pasture land and forest areas.  Most of the time I see our crows in the open field in the AM.  There must be at least 50 or more at a time. In the late afternoon we hear them cawing around to others high in the trees.  I’m not sure where they are roosting, but I’ll try to be more observant.

1. I think I've seen "pre-roost" gatherings, near the shopping plaza in downtown E. Dennis, MA. I have noticed a lot of crows (maybe 30) gathering, calling, in certain large trees (deciduous) near the road and a riding outfit near the plaza. However I don't see the crows roosting on branches out in the open there when it gets dark. That's why I think they may go somewhere else. There are plenty of pine trees in that area as well. The plaza itself has some garbage containers behind it, plus is next to a fish restaurant, and a bakery, which may have interesting food scraps. 2. I'm very excited about it. I try to pull over if I'm in my car and observe.

I live in Palm Springs, California.  The vegetation is largely palm trees, and there is a group of about 20 crows that settle into those trees toward dusk, and have been doing so all Spring even to the present day, Mid-July.  They call back and forth for a couple of hours.  There are also several ravens in this neighborhood, sometimes in clusters of 4 or 5.  Not sure who it is, but either the crows or ravens harass a pair of kestrels that have settled into one of the palms.  Only once did I see a very large congregation of crows: about 60 gathered on the roof of a house directly across the street from ours and carried on for about an hour before dispersing.

Each fall a large number of crows gather in tree across the road in our semi country area of Guelph Ontario.It seemed that they were planning their trip to warmer areas,!!

There is a huge sycamore tree close to my apartment which is on the sixth floor.  Early one morning in December, 2017, it was still somewhat dark, I pulled back my curtains and the tree was full of crows! Hundreds!  They all seemed to be facing north.  And if that wasn't enough, a full moon was behind the tree, one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I think the crows selected this spot mainly because of warmth, the tree is located at the corner of a section of the building.  There is a creek nearby so easy access to water.  Food, other than what people drop on the sidewalks I can't think of any sources in the immediate area. Location, 200 block of Geneva St. Ithaca, NY

I've seen two different roosting areas both in the fall of the year. Different towns close by but both near busy shopping areas. The first one was in a group of large conifers. They were gathering in the early sunset. The second was in a mixture of hardwood and conifers at the back of a shopping center close to a nearby neighborhood of houses. Again in the early evening. An amazing sight to see and hear.

I don’t have large roosting groups wish  I did.  But  I've got a family that nest near by and bring the juveniles to my yard to forage and learn to fly it’s amazing they have been coming for 8 yrs every day AM and PM been saying Hello to them and positive this year the one said it back. I can sit in yard and they will come down and forage in front of me . My thoughts when I do see large group of birds coming to roost is absolute happiness we need to learn  to  coexist together .theres always a way if you have the desire to try .    

Yes, the local area crow roost is in a suburb of Vancouver, where thousands roost. I've gone there around dusk and observed the crows arriving; the roost is spread over a few blocks in what I'd describe as a light industrial area. There are trees in the area but there are many buildings of about the six  floor height. The birds will fill the trees but also line the rooftops... as you drive around (and sometimes I've walked around), you'll see them; crow, crow, crow, all in a row, then an occasional seagull in the mix for some reason, just bunking in for the night I guess. It's amazing watching all the crows arrive at their roost and they don't just arrive and settle in for the night in one spot right away... they're going back and forth and it seems like there's lots of interaction going on between many of them. The air feels electric, it's an invigorating experience just being there! I understand this suburban Vancouver roost has been in the same location since the early 1970's. There is also a creek nearby although I don't know if that is why they chose this sight. I sometimes get to see crows at pre-roost get togethers as well. There are some popular sites around town for these but it's not always the same spots each day, although some are used more often.  Usually these get togethers have hundreds, as opposed to thousands or crows. As if all that wasn't exciting enough, I live on a route commonly used by crows heading to roost around sunset. Sometimes I look out for them going... but again it's not always the same.... every day the pattern changes so it's not completely a pattern. There's always some early-birds, some extended family groupings that seem to like to get a head start... or perhaps they're going to a pre-roost first. Sometimes the line of crows will extend across the sky from the west to the east-side of town.... other times, they split up and go on more southerly, or more northerly angles to arrive at the same spot. The biggest groups seem to be at the end of the summer, mind you in the winter they're already gone to roost by the time I get home from work.

There's a fairly large winter roost near the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie, NY, about 10 miles south of me.  When the Hudson is frozen over, the pre-roost gathering spot seems to be on the river ice.  The crows must disperse over a fairly wide area during the day, because for about 2 hours in the mid to late afternoon we'll see a constant stream of crows over our house, flying south along the river to the roost.  There will almost always be at least one crow visible in the air at this time, and often a dozen or more, seemingly in loose groups.  We don't notice the same concentration of birds or arrow-straight flight in the morning, so they must be taking their time, wandering a bit, on the morning flight north. I have to say I love driving down past the roost just before dawn on winter mornings, seeing the crows covering the deciduous trees as thickly as leaves.  And I also love just standing outside watching them all fly south in the afternoon.  They're really quite beautiful birds.

1.  Yes!  In a tree near McDonald's!  Not sure what time of year.

I’ve not seen a large group so far, just the two that visit our yard. I’ve seen large groups elsewhere, and I’m always in awe at their numbers and how social they are.