Something similar happened on my NE Portland street recently. A large flock
of crows (hundreds) moving like rolling wave came down the street, stopping on
lawns and then moving slowly further down the street. I had never seen that
before.
As I think back, crows were scarce for absent in most of residential Portland
at one time. I remembers crows as being country birds that were wary. Now
they are common nesters and accustomed to people. Large flocks occur in the
city. Not by coincidence I think, American Robins no longer nest in my
neighborhood. Even Scrub Jays are much less common. The birds that are doing
fine are small, like Lesser Goldfinches and Anna’s Hummingbirds. I suspect
that the crows have wiped out the mid-sized birds by eating their eggs and
nestlings.
Jeff Gilligan
Portland
On Dec 11, 2018, at 3:00 PM, David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I suspect the crazy weather triggered interesting crow behavior today around
Beaverton. The local crows were gathering in large flocks (40-80 birds). Many
of the flocks were feeding on residential lawns in fairly tight groups. I saw
another large flock flyover together and they were not chasing a raptor. Odd
to see groups this size unless they are going to roost or mobbing a predator.
Dave Irons
Beaverton, OR
