As the Crows Fly

Flocking Crows. J. Schaeffer

Recently we've noticed massive Hitchcockian flocks of crows passing south along the valley floor, sometimes resting on the tree tops and red cedar near the stream. This occurs usually late in the afternoon, but earlier on cloudy days.  Jim, our expert birder, explains:

"Beginning in fall and continuing through winter, crows form huge communal roosts that may contain many thousands of birds.  It is believed that they return to the same roosting area each night.  At Cromwell Valley what we see is one of the established flight lines that they use as they head towards  the nightly roost.  We've seen this flight line at CVP year after year, day after day, and it can be a very impressive sight indeed!"

Thanks, Maureen, for noticing this phenomenon.
(Did you know that a group of crows is called a murder?)