26 December 2024
Two days from now, on 28 December, we’ll try to count all of Pittsburgh’s winter crows for the annual Christmas Bird Count. Unfortunately our efforts to find them have fallen quite short of the number we expect.
I believe there are 10,000 to 20,000 crows in the area but we’ve found only 2,000 to 5,000 in Oakland this week, even though I saw about 8,000 the week before. It is likely that the crows split the roost.
In prior years in Lawrence, Massachusetts their crow roost used to be in one place but this winter their crows have split into three locations. Lawrence Crow Patrol has found them all, as shown in this 14 December video. I wish we could say the same.
Where are Pittsburgh’s crows sleeping?
Have you seen crows crowded at the tops of trees at night? Have you found lots of crow poop in the morning — a sure sign that they were sleeping there the night before?
Let me know where the crows are sleeping by leaving a comment below.
Only two days left to solve this mystery!
My Western NY winter crow roost is missing as well! I’ve asked around and no one knows where they are going at night. My family that I’ve been feeding for years is still coming for peanuts everyday though.
Last week I was driving down Rt 51 near Whitehall and I pulled into a parking lot. My friend and I saw thousands of crows flying from Southeast to Northwest. It was a sight to behold and it took almost 20 minutes to see the whole large line of them.
Kate,
Thank you for mentioning the Crow Patrol and the fascinating crow roost dynamics in Lawrence, MA! It’s always rewarding to see the efforts of the birding community highlighted. I hope your Christmas Bird Count in Pittsburgh went well despite the tricky nature of tracking these stealthy roost movements.
As you’ve noted, roost locations can shift unexpectedly, often splitting into smaller groups or even relocating entirely. It can certainly make counting them a challenge, but it’s also a testament to their adaptability.
Your observation of 8,000 crows one week and significantly fewer the next sounds strikingly familiar to what we’ve encountered in Lawrence. The crows here have also split into multiple roosts, which makes finding them a bit of an adventure.
Best of luck with your ongoing efforts to unravel this mystery, and we’ll all be eager to hear how your count turns out. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss strategies for tracking roost movements — happy crow counting!
Craig Gibson
2024 Crow Patrol
Lawrence, MA
cbgibson AT comcast.net
wintercrowroost.com