Crows have been flocking to urban settings more and more. Find out what the city life has to offer.
Something Wild: Counting Crows
Air date: January 30, 2004
Welcome to this week’s edition of Something Wild. I’m Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
“Counting Crows” is not only the name of the rock band, but a fun winter past time — at least among observant urbanites.
That’s because most of the crows that spend the summer cawing loudly outside our windows at ungodly hours have left for the big city.
Each winter, these ubiquitous black birds wing their way to urban centers in an avian version of a “meet up.” Some crows, in fact, fly tens of miles to hobnob with their feathered brethren. They’ll gather in large, loud numbers to apparently discuss where to spend the night.
Once the debate is settled, the birds will head to their communal roost. In New Hampshire hundreds of crows may darken the trees in Victory Park in Manchester, the shrubs in the Portsmouth traffic circle, and other urban enclaves. No one knows how they know, but the roost locations change frequently, and often nightly. Sort of like a crow “rave.”
These gatherings may offer young birds a chance to hookup with potential mates, as well as finding out where the fatter crows get their chow.
And urban areas offer crows not only more warmth from the surrounding asphalt and lots of garbage to pick through but safety as well. That’s because in many states, including New Hampshire, it is still legal to shoot crows.
Decades ago, crows were quite rare in cities. Then, in the 1950s states passed laws preventing the discharge of firearms within city limits — and voila! Crows have flocked to our urban jungles in increasing numbers ever since.
The hunting of crows is a holdover from days of large corn fields and scarecrows. With the decline of agriculture in the state, it seems a shame to kill these birds — especially when you consider that no one wants to “eat crow.”
Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, NHPR, and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
For Something Wild, I’m Rosemary Conroy.
