29 December 2025

Dusk was coming on, the wind light and unpredictable. Three female detectives huddled together on frozen ground, considering the problem. How to count thousands upon thousands of crafty crows in a darkening sky. It was not a job for the faint of heart. “Hey girl! I heard you liked murders.”

We had studied the murders for weeks, found out where the perpetrators staged and where they slept. We had to count crows and there was only one night that mattered, Saturday 27 December during Pittsburgh’s 2025 Christmas Bird Count. Carol Steytler, Charity Kheshgi and I prepared for the big event.

We found evidence. Crows slept above this Forbes Avenue sidewalk on 22 December.

But the problem was — and is — that crows change what they do based on weather and human disturbance. They started in trees at the Univ of Pittsburgh (evidence!) but moved to rooftops from Hillman Library to Barco Law Building, Posvar Hall and Bouquet Gardens.

We couldn’t count them on roofs, so we focused on counting streams of crows flying in from their staging areas. I drew a map but by 22 December it was evident that the streams changed every night and that no matter where we stood some huge number of crows came in from directions we could not see. Example below: No crows streamed by the OC Lot on 22 December though 20,000 flew by the night before. Forget the map.

On Christmas evening I went to the largest elevated airspace with a view, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall steps, and counted about 20,000 crows directly overhead.

On Count Day it was a lot harder. Carol Steytler checked the staging areas and joined me at Soldiers & Sailors where the crows messed with my plan. Only 6,100 streamed by. Meanwhile 5,000 staged at Schenley Park and flew in behind the buildings. Charity Kheshgi counted another 5,000 from Schenley Plaza and by the time I joined her behind Posvar Hall, we realized there were lots of crows at Bouquet Gardens as well. Crows were swirling in the air and splatting poot on the sidewalks. One of them pooted into my open car window. Ugh! We risked getting ugly-dirty if we walked around.

Carol Steytler visited the scene at 10:00pm and avoided getting hit.

How many crows on 27 December 2025? 18,600.

Not so elementary, my dear Watson.

p.s. I carved out 100 for fish crows, leaving 18,500 American crows, since we heard fish crows but could not accurately identify them in the dark.

And what about the Bouquet Garden crows? I counted evidence the next day.

19 December 2025

Only one week to go before Pittsburgh’s Christmas Bird Count on Saturday 27 December and I’m getting worried. I’ve volunteered to head up the Crow Patrol and so far we’ve found only 5,000 of them.

I know you’re gonna say, “You found 5,000. Isn’t that enough?” Well, I expect 10,000 to 20,000 crows. Where are the rest of them? I need your help.

Last evening Charity Kheshgi and I counted 5,000 crows streaming past Phipps Conservatory, in transit from a staging area in Schenley Park to the roost near Pitt’s Student Union. That flock came in from the south. How many arrived from the North? East? West? Crows always stream in from multiple directions. Where are the streams?

Where are the streams and where are they going?

Have you seen a stream of crows within Pittsburgh city limits? Let me know.

Streams are “countable.” With a clear view of the sky, count the blobs in the flock, or count crows passing a vertical edge.

Are there other roosts in town besides the one at Pitt?

If you see this lots of crows swirling at dusk you are near a roost. If it’s NOT at Univ of Pittsburgh central campus(*), let me know where it is. In years past the crows have chosen spots in the Hill District, along the Allegheny River near Heinz Lofts, Duquesne University campus, Robinson Street Ext near the Pitt Sports Dome, etc.

By Univ of Pittsburgh’s central campus I mean: Cathedral of Learning, Student Union, Hillman Library, Posvar Hall, Frick Fine Arts, Barco Law Building, Soldiers and Sailors, etc.

Crows are definitely in the trees there but many are roosting on flat roofs where we can’t see them. On Tuesday night, 16 December, Michelle Kienholz saw hundreds of crows burst into the sky above Posvar Hall at 10:00pm. Here’s her short video of crows rising up from the roof and settling back down.

Please leave a comment from now through the Day After Christmas (26 December 2025) to let me know where you see crows within the City limits:

• Where are there crows in the City streaming across the sky at dusk? (Sorry but I don’t need to know where they are in the suburbs.)
• Where are crows in the City swirling at sunset or crows perched or swirling at night?

With your help we’ll successfully count crows on Saturday 27 December.

2 December 2025

This year’s official Crow Count will be on Saturday 27 December during Pittsburgh’s Christmas Bird Count. We know that our winter flock is 10,000 to 20,000 strong but crows are elusive. They were so sneaky in 2021 that I found only 1,140. Right now we have just 25 days to crowd source their location. December is the month for crows!

Crows like to roost at the tops of mature trees and they want to sleep with the lights on so this tree near Thackeray Hall was perfect in November 2011.

In late October this year they roosted at Pitt’s campus and somewhere in/near The Hill. On 29 October they staged outside my window before flying to the roost. Cool!

But by mid-November they changed the roost and did not stage here anymore.

Pittsburgh’s winter crows are likely to change the roost tonight because it’s been snowing and they’ll want to sleep somewhere warm.

Keep your eyes on the sky. Have you seen crows staging or roosting? Where and when? Did they leave? Which direction did they go?

December is the month for crows!