Crows, crows and more crows

[half-dutch]

When I left for work this morning at 3:30, stepping outside my front door in south Mpls, I startled hundreds of crows off their roosts in the trees around my house. Actually it was probably more like hundreds from each tree. The sky was black with flapping wings. They were there last night when I got home from work about 4:30 all arguing about were to take their roost. Apparently they didn't take it anywhere. I am guessing that the crows that roosted in and around my house last night, which is just off Lake and Chicago, probably numbered well into the thousands.

I am not sure when it started but at least in the last decade, Minneapolis has become the winter roost for some 10's of thousands of crows. It's quite an experience to be almost in the very middle of one of the major subflocks like I was this morning.

[vern]

I've seen that too in that area around Lake Street. Thousands of crows roosting in the trees & on houses. Amazing to see, especially the first time. I wonder why they like that area. Is is just warmer with good tall trees?

[leech~~]

Maybe a dead deer or coon around there they are after?

[Mr.Seaguar]

We used to have thousands upon thousands in my NW IA town. My yard, vehicles, house, head would be totally crow flop covered. The city started shooting them. Locals shot them and the city reimbursed you some ammo. It was something to see people bail out of a pickup and start blazing away right in the middle of town. Grocery store parking lots, post office, it was nuts. But the crows are gone.

[Dotch]

We noticed a lot of crows streaming that direction Saturday h-d when we were headed south on I 35. Was wondering where they wound up.

[leech~~]

And you thought it was just a movie! Don't forget to board up the fireplace!

[delcecchi]

I've seen that too in that area around Lake Street. Thousands of crows roosting in the trees & on houses. Amazing to see, especially the first time. I wonder why they like that area. Is is just warmer with good tall trees?

We have them in downtown Rochester too. Make a big mess on the sidewalk and parked cars. Too bad Mayo doesn't like folks shooting shotgun next to their buildings.

[half-dutch]

Crows have been wintering in massive flocks here in the Twin Cities for at least a decade now. I would have to say in some tens of thousands at least, and that may be an order of magnitude too small. This past week on several evenings there were certainly several thousands at least within a block of my house just off Lake and Chicago. I have seen parts of the big flock move up into the neighborhood a couple times now, but normally that happens as spring warm up starts and the big flock starts to break up as they begin the return to their breeding territories, not normally this early.

It was just like this around my house a couple evenings these past couple of weeks.

I work in Hopkins and for some years now I have seen the streams of crows move along Excelsior and Lake Street towards the river every evening just before dusk during the winter. The streams are miles long seeming to have no end on either end, but normally they go past the neighborhoods and probably roost up along the river. And those would be just the crows coming from the southwest. It definitely brought up images of Hitchcock a couple of evenings this past week or two.

Years ago the winter roosts in Kansas and Oklahoma were legendary. Well, they have moved a whole lot north from that these days.