How Many Crows?
by Alan Peterson

How many crows use the local roost near Dutchess Community College? I do not know. On February 14th, I walked outside of our business on Titusville Rd for a breath of air at 4:20 pm. I have always noticed lots of crows flying to the roost in a direct line southeast to northwest in winter about this time. This time, I started counting. For the next 25 minutes, I counted crows flying over in loose groups of 2-5 birds. All birds appeared to be coming from the same direction. I have no idea how many birds had flown by before I went outside. By the time it was dark, I had logged 546 crows. This is just one partial spoke of the feeding wheel too. How many crows?

Alan Peterson
Wings Over Dutchess, April 2001