Crow mobs

[Mary Garrard]

Hi, on Monday and again today I had a large mob of crows fly over my neighborhood in the afternoon, near NW Walnut and Highland. On Monday there were at least 150 at around 3:15 and today there were 110 just past 3:30. I had another group of 5 later near Osborne Aquatic Center. The crows were heading west, presumably to their night roost somewhere in Kings Valley. 

One year during the Corvallis Christmas count I was assigned to the sector that includes Fitton Green. We arrived there just past dawn. From the Allen Throop Loop Trail we saw hundreds of crows flying south along Kings Valley. I’ve always wanted to check it out again but never made it. I’ve been up twice so far this winter, but both times I was fogged out. So I don’t know if that phenomenon has continued. Maybe I’ll try again.

Has anyone else seen these mobs of crows?  

Mary

___________

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. The Dalai Lama

[Nancy Stotz]

Mary--

I live in NW Corvallis, and every winter afternoon, large loose flocks of crows stream across the area, heading what seems like west northwest to me. I've noticed them from lots of locations, ranging from Chip Ross to Bald Hill, and I've always thought it would be fascinating to find the exact roost area and watch them settling in for the night. This year, on the Dallas CBC, we watched a similar movement south southwest over a south Dallas neighborhood. I don't know if the Dallas and Corvallis birds meet up somewhere on the hills lining Kings Valley, but if so, wouldn't that be an amazing thing to see?!!

Nancy Stotz

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[Mary Garrard]

LOL! I expect they want to get back together so they can start partying.

I have been in Portland when the crows gather in trees along the waterfront near the Hawthorne Bridge and elsewhere. It is quite the scene and you have to be very careful where you stand if you don’t want to get plopped on.

Mary

On Jan 8, 2021, at 6:50 PM, W. Douglas Robinson <w.douglas...@gmail.com> wrote:

The roost used to be just east Blodgett in a poplar plantation butthose trees were cut down. I agree it would be very fun to find the roost and count them. I always wondered why crows feel like it’s necessary to go bed so early. They head back west pretty early each day.

Doug 

On Jan 8, 2021, at 6:37 PM, Nancy Stotz <nsto...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Jim Fairchild]

We’ve had crows roost occasionally in our forest (60-100 yr mixed age douglas-fir/hardwood), but often they seem to head beyond us to denser more-uniform douglas-fir stands.  Perhaps they avoid the regularly nesting great horned owls here.  

I used to see them settle into the fir plantation stand south of West Hills Road and east of its southward turn into Philomath.   It’d be interesting to know how thinning influences roost site selection.

Our group sizes run from 100-500+.

Jim (and Karan) Fairchild

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[Don A Boucher]

Like Jim and Mary had mentioned, the "mobs" are flocks heading to and from roosting areas. The largest flocks are in winter and they move twice a day. They fly in the morning from the roosting site and then fan out in smaller groups to various foraging areas, and then back to roost in the late afternoon. While they roost, they socialize and somehow communicate to each other about food sources. The flocks reduce in size in spring as pairs set up breeding territories, often with several other family members that will help raise the season's fledglings. During breeding season, they stay on territories at night. In the fall, they start the large group-roosting pattern again.

-Don Boucher

[Mary Garrard]

I’m sorry, everyone, the term I used to refer to the loose flocks of crows flying over was inadvisable given the events of this week…….

Mary

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[Lisa Millbank]

I always thought the commonly-used collective noun "a murder of crows" was rather unfortunate.  "Mob" doesn't always have a negative connotation.  A lot of those collective nouns for groups of animals come from a book written by a Benedictine prioress in 1486.  It seems there was a fashion for coming up with very specific terms for groups of animals, and if you knew them, it showed that you were an intellectual!  The "terms of venery" were not intended for everyday use, but those terms have hung on and been added to over time.

Lisa Millbank

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[Betty nancy bee]

I have been at Fitton green near sunset and counted 500+ crows flying westish. 

Memory uncertain it was a long time ago but impressive. 

Travel and nature blog: https://nancybird375.wordpress.com/

On Jan 8, 2021, at 6:56 PM, Mary Garrard <spring...@gmail.com> wrote:

LOL! I expect they want to get back together so they can start partying.

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