Crows gather in Schenley Park, Jan 2017 (photo by Mike Fialkovich)
15 November 2020
This was a big week for crows.
Early November is the time when Pittsburgh’s huge winter flock decides where to sleep for the next three months but no site is large enough to house 20,000 crows. Right now the roost is in flux as the sub-flocks collect and break apart, testing their options.
On Sunday 8 November they came to Oakland from all directions — eastern suburbs, north+west suburbs, and Allegheny Valley — raising the overnight total to 17,000 to 20,000 crows! The next night fewer groups arrived so Oakland’s overnight population dropped to 9,000.
On Thursday the 12th I saw the flocks prepare to roost in Schenley Farms so I called my contacts below and told them to start smacking their “crow clappers.”
Crow clappers for making loud clapping noise (photo courtesy Alex Toner, Univ of Pittsburgh)
It worked. Thousands of crows levitated over the neighborhood then wheeled south to perch on Webster Hall, eventually moving elsewhere. They didn’t roost in Schenley Farms that night.
Some of them are sleeping in the trees at Pitt but even that location is in flux. I’ve seen sidewalk evidence near the closed section of Bigelow Boulevard …
Evidence of the crow roost at Pitt, Nov 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
… but they were avoiding the trees at the corner of Bellefield and Fifth after a predator — peregrine? — ate a crow after yanking off the head and wings. The crows stayed away from that warning for weeks. (If you’re curious about the head, click here.)
Someone ate crow, only the wing is left, 26 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Eventually the flock will pick a winter roost. I hope it’s one that doesn’t bother people so we can coexist in peace.
(photos by Mike Fialkovich, Alex Toner, Kate St. John)
Crows flying over Soldiers and Sailors Hall, 24 Oct 2020. 13 in the circle (photo by Kate St. John)
9 November 2020
For the past three months I’ve been trying to count Pittsburgh’s crows but it’s incredibly hard to do. Last night I tried again as they flew from a staging area in Shadyside to a roost somewhere west of Bellefield Avenue. After 20 minutes I suddenly realized I’d missed a steady stream flying in from the Allegheny Valley. How many thousands had I missed? Aaarrg!
My sister-in-law suggested I use photos to count them so here are four photos with 13 crows circled in each one.
Crows roosting near Heinz Chapel, 1 Dec 2017. 13 in the circle (photo by Kate St. John)
Crows flying past Chevron Hall, 24 Oct 2020. 13 in the circle (photo by Kate St. John)
Crows flying at sunset over Wilkins Ave. 13 in the circle (photo by Joanne Tyzenhouse)
Thanks to all of you, my readers, who have kept me blogging about birds, nature and peregrine falcons. Your enthusiasm keeps me going. And a big thank you to all the great photographers who let me use their photos. See who they are here.
This week the Pittsburgh winter crow flock changed their habits. Last week they staged above Oakland at Sugar Top but this week they moved to the edge of Shadyside where they hang out on trees and rooftops before flying to the roost. Their evening flight is right outside my window.
On November 2 and 4 I recorded just a fraction of the 10,000 crows flying past my window.
Earth will be a different sort of place—soon, in just five or six human generations. My label for that place, that time, that apparently unavoidable prospect, is the Planet of Weeds. Its main consoling felicity, as far as I can imagine, is that there will be no shortage of crows.
Winter crow flock flies over Soldiers and Sailors, 24 Oct 2020, 18:30 (photo by Kate St. John)
28 October 2020
Since moving to Oakland three months ago I’ve had a front row seat on the crow population. From a family group of six crows in late July the numbers grew to 200 in mid-August, 1000 in late September, 5000 in mid-October and now in late October 10,000 crows come to Oakland every night. The question that worries everyone who has trees is this: Where will the crows sleep?
Crows roost in mature trees or on flat roofs where there’s ambient light, white noise and no disturbance. They want the lights on so they can see danger coming, especially owls. They like white noise — the sound of traffic, rushing water, or humming fans — but they don’t like sudden loud noises.
About 10 years ago the crows chose Pitt’s campus (photo below, December 2017).
Hundreds of crows roost in a tree at Univ of Pittsburgh, moon and Heinz Chapel in background, 1 Dec 2017 (photo by Kate St. John)
Two winters ago they moved one block north to Schenley Farms, a small neighborhood of mature trees and historic homes where their noise and slippery feces are overwhelming. This year Schenley Farms is going to encourage the crows to sleep elsewhere by making sudden loud noises before the crows settle for the night.
The first step, however, is to find out what the crows are doing. I volunteered for that job and I love it.
I’ve learned that crows move into Oakland almost exactly at sunset, land in final staging areas 1-3 blocks from the roost, and swirl around for 30-45 minutes until they settle.
Crows heading for Oakland at sunset (photo by Joanne Tyzenhouse)
Last Saturday the crows didn’t choose Schenley Farms but I couldn’t see their final roost west of Soldiers and Sailors because of intervening buildings. On Monday evening at 8pm Michelle Kienholz photographed them roosting on trees and buildings near the Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH).
Crows roosting on the treetops across from GSPH, 26 Oct 2020 (photo by Michelle Kienholz)
They’re hard to see in her photo below …
Crows roost near Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health, 26 Oct 2020, 8pm (photo by Michelle Kienholz)
… so I removed the brown and circled them in red. They line the roof edge and the treetops. One is flying in the dark!
Crows roost on 26 Oct 2020 at 8pm near GSPH (photo by Michelle Kienholz with markup)
So far so good. The crows aren’t sleeping near the Cathedral of Learning. They’re not at Schenley Farms.
There’s still a possibility they could choose Schenley Farms but if they do the residents will use “clappers” like those Pitt has found effective for dispersing crows — simply two boards connected by a hinge that can make a loud clapping sound.
Crow “clappers” used at Pitt (photo supplied by Alex Toner)
If clappers don’t work Schenley Farms will warn the crows before they roost by making really loud noises — pyrotechnic “screamers and bangers.” So far it hasn’t come to that.
Where will the crows sleep this winter? Perhaps far away.
Let me know if you find them.
(photos by Kate St. John, Joanne Tyzenhouse and Michelle Kienholz. Clappers photo via Alex Toner at Univ of Pittsburgh)
Steve tweeted this shirt and three related designs with many sizes and colors at Patos Locos Shirts on August 18 but I forgot to order one. This morning I did –> at Patos Locos Shirts. (See Steve’s comment below about availability.)
Does auto-correct change “COVID-19” into “CORVID-19″ for you?
Fine. Let’s make this about crows. 🙂
p.s. The shirt was a collaborative effort. Steve and his birding friend Adam Stein (PhD in ornithology from Syracuse) must have been musing about the disruption of COVID-19 when he came up with this idea. Adam’s wife did the bird art. There’s a story behind the name Patos Locos. Read more here.
Last Sunday two crows saved a toddler in Vancouver, BC from running into traffic.
Two crows just saved my toddler. The toddler has always loved crows. She’ll talk to them, watch them out the window etc. She is also a runner. She’ll get an idea into her head and just start running towards traffic. Which is what she did today. pic.twitter.com/djXfCEl8kZ
— Arley Cruthers (McNeney) (@Arley_McNeney) July 12, 2020
The toddler’s mother, Arley Cruthers of Vancouver, BC writes:
I usually am in peak helicopter mom mode but today she went from “trying to turn on a water fountain while I sat on a bench” to “running towards traffic” in 1 second flat.
I am not fast so I was chasing after her as she ran towards the road. Suddenly two crows swooped down to the fence and started yelling at her. She stopped, went over to the fence and talked to them. The crows kept up yelling at her and she just stood there, chatting with them.
I caught up, and stood between her and the road, and watched their interaction. After a few minutes, the crows gave me a sharp caw and flew away. Everyone in the playground was like “those crows came over to save your kid.” I made sure to thank them!
Crows burst off a building as they prepare to roost in Oakland, 4 Nov 2016 (photo by Kate St.John)
There’s one thing we can count on with the coming of spring. Pittsburgh’s winter crows will soon be gone.
Every year thousands of crows come to town in November, build to a crescendo by the end of the year and disperse in late February through March.
Residents near the corner of Bellefield and Bayard Avenues in Oakland can hardly wait. This winter a nightly flock of 3,000 to 4,000 crows plagued their area, roosting in trees near the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. The scene in North Oakland looked a lot like this 2013 video from Minneapolis.
The video’s author, Chuck Smith, points out that the crows usually don’t spend the night in his neighborhood but when they do they leave their calling cards behind.
I like watching crows but I don’t have to live with them.
Sweep(noun): In sports, a sweep is a series in which a person or team wins all games.
During the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count (CBC) last Saturday I saw every member of the crow family that occurs in Pennsylvania. It was a Corvid Sweep in my own city neighborhood!
Twenty corvid species can be seen in the US. but Pennsylvania hosts only four: blue jay, American crow, fish crow, and common raven. Blue jays and American crows are common, but until this century ravens and fish crows were quite rare in Pittsburgh. This year’s CBC tallied 7 ravens and 10 fish crows in the 15-mile circle, swamped by the presence of 10,000 American crows. (*)
The ravens (Corvus corax) were a real surprise. A group of four circled up and played in the sky over Hazelwood Greenway. I heard them call as they landed on the tallest structure for miles around — the radio tower next to Calvary Cemetery. Woo hoo!
Fish crows (Corvus ossifragus) are under counted in Pittsburgh because they’re hard to identify. They look like American crows, just slightly smaller. The only reliable way to identify a fish crow is by its nasal voice. If he doesn’t speak we don’t know who he is.
For sheer spectacle, though, nothing beats the winter crow flock coming in to roost. Claire Staples and I counted 10,000 from the roof of a parking garage near Trees Hall and we know we under counted, perhaps by half. This year the flock didn’t pre-roost west of us and, because buildings block the view, we never saw the crows that stream in from the Allegheny Valley and Shadyside.
But we did stop by the area of Bellefield, Bayard and Bigelow where 3,000 to 4,000 crows spend the night. This year they’ve abandoned Pitt’s campus, only two blocks away, and I think I know why. On December 18 at 5:00pm I was counting crows flying from Schenley Park toward Pitt when I saw the new resident female peregrine, Morela, escort them away from campus. Aha!
Crows fly in to roost in Oakland (photo by Kate St. John)
Crows on their way to roosting on Pitt’s campus, Nov 2016 (photo by Kate St. John)
If you live in Pittsburgh I need your help. Where are the crows sleeping?
On 28 December 2019, Claire Staples and I plan to count crows for the Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count. In the past it’s been easy to find the winter flock. Our only challenge has been counting 10,000 to 20,000 crows.
This year I’m worried. Last evening I drove around Oakland at 8pm and couldn’t find a single crow. They aren’t in the trees near the Cathedral of Learning (Pitt is grateful!). They aren’t in lower Schenley Farms. They’re not at Flagstaff Hill or Schenley Drive or at CMU.
I know they’re in Pittsburgh. I’ve seen them streaming overhead at 4pm and counted 2,000 staging at Schenley Park. But they leave after dark. Where is the roost?
If you know where the crows are sleeping, please leave a comment and tell me where. (Here’s what a roost looks like, pictured in 2017.)
Crows roosting near Heinz Chapel in 2017 (photo by Kate St. John)
Even if you don’t know where they sleep, it helps to know where thousands of crows are flying at dusk and dawn. What direction are they going? Please leave a comment to let me know.
It would be a real shame if Claire and I can’t count the crows!
A murder of crows flies past the Cathedral of Learning, heading for the trees (photo by Kate St. John)
If you’re wondering whether the crows would return to the University of Pittsburgh campus this winter, I have news. The murder is back, but only after dark. (*)
Late Monday afternoon, 28 October, I waited until sunset near the Cathedral of Learning for the peregrines to return for the night. The falcons slipped by unnoticed but as I walked to my car a huge flock of crows arrived. They were shouting!
The vanguard aimed for the trees on Forbes Avenue …
Crows burst off the trees at Forbes Avenue near the Cathedral of Learning, 28 Oct 2019 (photo by Kate St. John)
… then burst into the sky, wheeled around, and flew to Fifth Avenue.
The sunset sky is filled with crows near the Cathedral of Learning, 28 Oct 2019 (photo by Kate St. John)
By the time I drove past Heinz Chapel hundreds of crows were crossing the dark sky above Fifth Avenue near Clapp Hall. My windshield acquired “spots” as I passed beneath them.
This week most people won’t notice the crows because they arrive after everyone’s left Oakland for home.
Not so next Monday. After we turn the clocks back, sunset will be at 5:13pm and the crows will arrive during rush hour.
