Category Archives: Crows & Ravens

For The Love Of Crows

Crows & Ravens
American crow (photo by Mick Thompson via Flickr Creative Commons license)

15 February 2021

I love crows but I don’t see very many now that the winter flock moved away from my neighborhood. Last Saturday afternoon I was thrilled to see 70 flying low in the fog on their way to the North Shore where they’ve roosted since late January.

I miss the big flocks but I’ve found ways to see crows online. Here’s a three-session online course and some folks to follow on Twitter for the love of crows.

Anything but Common: The Hidden Life of the American Crow

Cornell Lab’s Bird Academy is offering …

This self-paced, online course is all about the remarkable lives of American Crows. Taught by world-renowned crow biologist Dr. Kevin McGowan, who has worked with a banded population for decades, you’ll get an inside look into what makes them so compelling—from their complex social lives to their impressive problem-solving skills.

— Click here to learn more about The Hidden Life of the American Crow.

On Twitter …

The Ravenmaster at the Tower of London @ravenmaster1 tweets about the Tower of London ravens.

Corvid researcher Kaeli Swift, PhD @corvidresearch studies crows (and monarchs) and posts a weekly #CrowOrNo quiz. (Is it a crow? Or no?)

Crow Monthly @CrowMonthly posts photos and comments by and for crows. 😉

(photo at top by Mick Thompson and screenshot from Bird Academy; click on the captions/images to see the original)

Found The Crows!

Crows & Ravens, Vocalizations
Twilight over the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh. Crows swirl near Heinz chimneys, 6 Feb 2021, 5:50pm, taken at 25th St (photo by Kate St. John)

9 February 2021

Every night, from late October 2020 through mid January 2021, Pittsburgh’s winter crow flock staged or roosted in Oakland. 20,000 to 24,000 crows came through Oakland during the Christmas Bird Count, then suddenly around 21 January they were gone. They didn’t even fly over. They hadn’t left town yet … so where did they go?

On 31 January I posted Where Did the Crows Go? and everyone pitched in with news. Diana, David and Dah mentioned huge numbers at Heinz Lofts. Riley Baker’s video from Spring Hill City View showed crows staging nearby at sunset. On Saturday I scouted for a place to stand with a sunset view of Heinz Lofts and thanks to you I …

Found the crows!

From my vantage point at 25th Street on 6 February it looks like all 20,000 flew over the North Shore and Troy Hill. At top and below thousands are silhouetted against the sky near the Heinz chimneys. (Click on the photo below for a larger version)

Thousands of crows fly past the Heinz chimneys to roost at the river’s edge, 6 Feb 2021, 5:50pm (photo by Kate St. John)

They began to roost in trees along the Allegheny River and on the hillside above Rt 28 at Troy Hill Road.

Crows flying past Troy Hill near Allegheny River roost, 6 Feb 2021 5:55pm (photo by Kate St. John)

On Sunday night, after they’d settled in, I observed them from the Heinz Lofts sidewalk at River Road. Thousands of crows look like black leaves in the trees.

Crows roosting at Allegheny River near Heinz Lofts, 7 Feb 2021, 7:40pm (photo by Kate St. John)
Crows roosting at Allegheny River near Heinz Lofts, 7 Feb 2021, 7:38pm (photo by Kate St. John)

Even in the dark they cawed and murmured and whined. There are no human voices in my recording. Except for the electrical hum, it’s all the sound of crows.

Yesterday I stopped by one more time to count the roost trees, estimating that 8,000 crows sleep by the river from Heinz Lofts to the old boat launch.

This is the perfect place to roost. No one has to clean up after them.

The crows are gone from Oakland but not forgotten. 🙂

p.s. Crows are also roosting nearby on the hillside above Rt 28 but I’m not going to count there… too dangerous!

p.s. Thanks to Mary Brush @jeepgrl18 for this tip: You can see the crows at dusk on this webcam: Earthcam.com — Pittsburgh.

(photos and audio by Kate St. John)

Where Did The Crows Go?

Crows & Ravens
Crows at sunrise in Melton (photo by It’s No Game via Flickr Creative Commons license)

31 January 2021

We have a mystery here in Pittsburgh.

Since last fall a winter flock of 10,000 to 20,000 crows has staged and roosted in or near Oakland. On 16 January I counted 4,000 flying over Schenley Park golf course on their way to the roost. Nine days later, on 25 January, I saw only two crows.

Only 2! The crows are not staging in Oakland and they no longer fly over Schenley Park. I know they’re here somewhere because it’s too early for them to leave town. Where they heck are they?

I tried to find out without driving all over town. On Friday evening I watched from the roof deck at sunset. The only crows in the sky were very far away, flying down the Monongahela River toward town, probably visible from Hazelwood and Greenfield.

Where were those crows going? Where are the rest of them? Where are they sleeping?

If you know the answer please leave a message. Believe it or not I miss them.

(photo by It’s No Game on Flickr via Creative Commons license; click on the caption to see the original)

Whispering Sweet Nothings?

Crows & Ravens, Nesting & Courtship, Vocalizations
American crow pair in Seattle, Dec 2019 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

26 January 2021

As the days get longer, members of the winter crow flock start to think of spring. In only six weeks the flock will start dispersing for their breeding territories so those without a mate need to find one soon. Crows mate for life but they don’t pair up until sexually mature at age two. Time is of the essence for young unattached crows.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed new behavior as Pittsburgh’s crows fly to the roost. More aggressive chases and playful tumbling in the sky appear to be interpersonal jousting and perhaps courtship.

Their vocal repertoire is expanding, too. Beyond their raucous caws, crows are making quiet noises when they perch. Here are a few examples.

Rattle call: Kaeli Swift, PhD @corvidresearch says the rattle call is made by female crows.

In the video below a pair vocalizes at a feeder. One bows and rattles (female), the other bobs and ‘welps.’ Then a crowd shows up.

And finally, this crow is making a strange sound. Is he barking?

Do crows whisper sweet nothings to each other? No human can say for sure.

(photo from Wikimedia Commons, click on the caption to see the original; videos embedded from YouTube)

Ravens In Pittsburgh!

Bird Behavior, Crows & Ravens
Raven in Schenley Park, 4 Jan 2021 (photos by Andrea Lavin Kossis)

13 January 2021

The smartest bird in the western hemisphere, the common raven (Corvus corax), has come to town and is claiming nest sites in the City of Pittsburgh. Ravens have been seen in Schenley Park, above, and are regularly found at Forbes Avenue in Frick Park. This is a big deal because…

Common ravens were extirpated from eastern North America by 1900. After 1950 they slowly recolonized remote areas of the north and Appalachians but were rarely seen in eastern cities. We were very surprised when a pair showed up at Brunot’s Island in October 2007 and eventually nested there. Since then, very slowly, ravens have become more visible in Pittsburgh.

Common raven flies by Western Penitentiary, 13 Oct 2007 (photo by Chuck Tague)

Ted Floyd, editor of the ABA’s Birding Magazine, sparked a discussion of city ravens in his blog post: How to Know the Birds: No. 51, The Impossible Raven.

Ted has Pittsburgh roots from the time when ravens were scarce, but now lives in Boulder, Colorado where ravens are common in town. His tweet prompted lots of feedback from Pittsburgh birders.

Michelle Kienholz contributed video of ravens at Forbes Ave in Frick Park including a second video of a raven “whispering” sweet nothings to his/her mate. (Michelle’s remark refers to a photo of the raven diorama at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History taken by Mike Fialkovich.)

[When the car noise abates briefly at 0:19 below you can almost hear what the raven is saying, a muted “whup … whup”.]

Watch and listen for ravens in the city. “Brock! Brock!”

(photos by Andrea Lavin Kossis and Chuck Tague plus embedded tweets)

Falconry Moves Portland’s Winter Crows

Birds of Prey, Crows & Ravens
screenshot from OPB video: Urban Falconry in Portland Oregon

7 January 2021

Huge flocks of crows roost in Portland, Oregon in the winter just as they do Pittsburgh. By 2017 the city realized that the crows’ huge sanitation problem could not be solved with cleanup crews and pyrotechnics so they turned to a team of falconers.

This 9-minute video from Oregon Public Broadcasting, published in November 2018, shows how trained Harris hawks — which normally operate during the day — move the crows at night. Awesome!

video embedded from Oregon Public Broadcasting on YouTube

(screenshot from OPB video; click on the captions to see the original)

Merlins, Peregrines, Crows and an Oriole

Birds of Prey, Books & Events, Crows & Ravens, Peregrines
Merlin at Homewood Cemetery, 26 Dec 2020 (photo by Michelle Kienholz)

28 December 2020

Pittsburgh’s Christmas Bird Count dawned bitter cold (13o F) and overcast on Saturday 26 December 2020. The weather was daunting, city roads were snow-covered, and birds were very hard to find. Though the official count isn’t in yet, there were notable exceptions less than three miles from my home — merlins, peregrines, 20K+ crows and a Baltimore oriole.

MERLINS (Falco columbarius): As of this writing 5 merlins were seen in the count circle on 26 December. Michelle Kienholz’s merlin at Homewood Cemetery (above) was typical of those seen at dusk, always perched high on a snag. Frank Izaguirre reported two at Calvary Cemetery and Mike Fialkovich saw two at Schenley Park golf course. I was at the golf course at dusk, counting crows, so I kept an eye on one of Mike’s merlins. It didn’t leave its perch until 20 minutes after sunset.

PEREGRINES (Falco peregrinus): So far, four peregrine falcons were seen in the count circle. By sheer luck I saw 3 of them.

On Saturday morning I was gazing out the dining room window when I saw two male peregrines fly by chasing each other. Yard Birds! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Terzo-and-Ecco chase. Ecco and Morela bowed at the nest at 7:33a (slideshow below). I also saw Morela at the Cathedral of Learning gazing in the direction the males flew.

  • Morela, 12/26/2020, 7:33a (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh)

CROWS: Counting crows is always a challenge despite our best laid plans. At dusk at the Allequippa Street Parking Garage, Claire Staples and Joe Fedor counted crows arriving from the north, west, and Allegheny Valley. At Schenley Park golf course I counted them flying in from the east. (The eastern group can’t been seen from Allequippa Street.)

It was so cold! The crows felt it too and used different flight paths than the day before. Erf! Even so, the three of us counted 20,000 to 24,000 crows.

Here’s what they looked like at Allequippa Street on 18 Dec 2020, photos by Mary Brush.

Crows near the Petersen Center, 18 Dec 2020 (photo by Mary Brush)
Crows near the Petersen Center, 18 Dec 2020 (photo by Mary Brush)

BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Icterus galbula): Most likely the rarest bird of the count was the Baltimore oriole at Izaguirre’s feeder in Oakland. Frank and Adrienne have been keeping him happy since he showed up on 20 December. In Frank’s photo below he’s slurping jam from the top of the suet cake. Yay!

Baltimore oriole at Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count, 26 Dec 2020 (photo by Frank Izaguirre)

In the typical absurdity of 2020, the weather on the day after the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count was partly sunny and 47oF.

As least we saw more than a few good birds.

(photos by Michelle Kienholz, Mary Brush and Frank Izaguirre)

Crow Update, Dec 14

Crows & Ravens, Phenology, Schenley Park
Crows in winter (photo by Oliver via Flickr Creative Commons license)

14 December 2020

Now that it’s mid December Pittsburgh’s winter crow flock has chosen favorite roosts but continues to adjust the location in subtle ways, especially when it’s cold.

In October they switched sites abruptly — here today, gone tomorrow. In November they focused in Oakland and tried for Schenley Farms. On the 18th I watched the flock hover from four blocks away, then heard a distant BANG! a single banger firework. The crows made a U turn in the sky and didn’t come back.

This month the flock has split into several roosts including rooftops and trees at Bouquet and Sennott, at Fifth and Thackeray, and perhaps at University Prep in the Hill District. On 11 December I followed them to the Hill where I found them staging at Rampart Street, Herron near Milwaukee, and University Prep.

But I don’t know where they sleep. I plan to count them on 26 December for the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count so if you see them sleeping somewhere let me know!

Meanwhile, the flock’s incursion into Oakland prompted this tongue-in-check tourism video by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy interns, posted on 20 November.

The crows and I recognize a lot of places in the video. 😉

(photo by Oliver via Flickr Creative Commons license)

p.s. Last evening I found 3,000 crows staging at the back of Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park but it’s not where they sleep. I saw them leave.

Can Crows Learn To Pick Up Coins?

Bird Behavior, Crows & Ravens
Carrion crows living up to their name, Annecy, 2011

4 December 2020

In the late 1990’s technologist and inventor Joshua Klein began thinking about crows and how they thrive in the human landscape. Crows pick up food we’ve left behind but can they learn to do useful things? What about picking up coins? By 2008 he’d invented the crow vending machine.

Klein’s 10-minute TED Talk in February 2008 set the world ablaze. Crows will pick up coins for peanuts!

You may be wondering: Can I have one of these for my backyard?

Klein’s latest Official Crowbox (August 2018) is the size of a backyard feeder. But don’t get too excited. It looks like you need a soldering iron to put it together. Watch how it works here on YouTube.

(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original. video embedded from TED Talks)

Love Those Fries

Bird Behavior, Crows & Ravens
Crow with a French fry (screenshot from rattyvonratkins24 video)

17 November 2020

When thousands of crows come to town for the winter what do they find to eat?

Every morning they wake up in the city and spread out during the day to find food near and far. Some travel 10-20 miles to glean from fields and landfills. Others raid dumpsters, prowl parking lots, or poke holes in garbage bags waiting for neighborhood collection.

Up to 65% of an urban crow’s diet is made up of human food and we sure make a lot of it available. Nothing is faster than fast food, especially fries.

Some crows like to dunk their fries.

video from @rattyvonratkins24 on YouTube

They are not daunted by paper bags. In this video by Quiscalus a flock of fish crows fights over a bag of fries until the herring gulls take over. I’ve seen this happen in Virginia Beach.

video from DanOBirds on YouTube

There’s even a 12-foot statue honoring their preference. Crow With Fries by Peter Reiquam was installed in Auburn, Washington on 31 May 2019. (See more at Reiquam’s website.)

Crow With Fries statue by Peter Reiquam in Auburn, Washington (posted on Reddit by u/saltedbeagles)

Junk food raises crows’ cholesterol but doesn’t seem to have an adverse health effect, at least during the two years of this study.

Love those fries!

(screenshot from YouTube video, statue photo from Reddit, videos embedded from YouTube. Click on the captions to see the originals)