Outdoor Corvid Fun During Covid
Beautiful Crow
ITINERARY LOCATIONS
Bothell, WA - University of Washington, Bothell Campus. Standing near the parking garage will allow you to watch the constant flow of Crows flying in from the North and West.
EXPERIENCE INSPIRATION
As a bird lover and self-proclaimed “nature freak” I have been thinking a lot about how to get my fun-groove back since the Covid pandemic arrived. Like many people, I haven’t felt inspired to do much of anything ever since my favorite small music venues and restaurants shuttered and my once sacred outdoor places became flooded with more people than I find agreeable for a full sensory experience in nature.
But then, on a recent Friday walk with my friend Isabelle at the Sandpoint Wetlands we met a fellow bird lover who told us about a “spectacular crow roosting experience” in Bothell. I wish I could thank that woman for lighting a spark in me. Alas, I was inspired to go someplace within a 2 hour drive of Seattle! I announced to my family that I had a plan for us on Saturday! When I explained it to our teenager Bella, she replied with a scowl on her face, “Geez Mom! Of course your idea has to do with birds!” I replied, “well what kind of ideas do you have?” Needless to say, we headed to Bothell on late Saturday afternoon.
GOOD FOR anyone. Bird lovers will levitate with excitement and everyone else will immediately feel respect for the crow and be in awe of their coordinated social gathering. As a former live music space owner, I would have given anything to hire that “Lead Crow” to invite a crowd of that size that shows up night after night to reconnect!
HIGHLIGHTS
At a time when we can’t even hug our friends and family members, birds’ social interactions appear to remain intact. We are very fortunate in Seattle to be able to witness what appears to be a nightly complex, huge social gathering of crows. Every fall and winter night (usually until March) as the sun sets, approximately 15,000 American Crows descend on the UW Bothell Campus to roost for the night!
“Early Birds” making way for the late-arrivals.
As a comparison, one of the largest roosts in the U.S. is in Danville, Illinois where 100,000 descend at sunset.
The UW Bothell Campus restored 58 acres of the campus to its original wetland state in 2009, and that is precisely when the crows came to roost! So far, the scientists believe that at these Corvid slumber parties some crows are looking for mates and others are sharing information, socializing and protecting themselves from predators by staying in one big flock. Perhaps this is a good time to live vicariously through the Crows since we cannot do any of those cherished things.
A half hour before dawn, the Crows caw and return to their foraging spots throughout the City.
Did you know that… crows mate for life? remember faces of people? will travel up to 50 miles to their nightly roosts? Crows are among one of the smartest bird species.
If you are interested in learning about the Crow research happening on the UW Bothell campus this is a good article. Whatever you do, do not wear a caveman mask (read the above linked article to find out why)!
IF YOU GO
ABILITY TO UNPLUG: Get everyone to agree to leave their phones in their pockets unless they are taking photographs or videos. It’s fun to remove distraction so that you can hear the first crows arrive.
Consider arriving a little early and strolling along the wetland path.
The crows start arriving precisely at sunset and continue at a steady stream for at least 25 minutes!
Bring and wear your mask. Other nature lovers will most likely have theirs on too.
You might consider wearing a hat or bringing an umbrella and a hot beverage to keep you warm.
If you are a photographer, consider heading to the bottom of the hill and set up under one of the street lamps. Eventually, the crows will go into the street and if you have a long lens, you can probably get some really good shots. That’s what I’m doing next time when I take my actual camera back to the spectacular site.
If you visit during the summer, you will find a few thousand juvenile Crows roosting on campus. All the other Crows stay near their fledglings in nests, which are built away from the roosts.