Crows converge at UW, Bothell campus

If you look up in the sky in north Seattle, you will likely see them every evening around sunset: Hundreds, perhaps thousands of crows flying overhead, headed in the same direction, just like clockwork.

Those crows join up with more crows along their nightly route and eventually, like a black, undulating cloud, a murder of many thousands of crows converges on the rooftops and trees around the University of Washington, Bothell campus.

Comparisons to an Alfred Hitchcock film are cliché but completely accurate. The sight of so many cawing, scratching and flapping birds can be frightening

They gather and then swoop down together into a nearby restoration area, thick with willow.

The Bothell crows have chosen the spot to roost in recent years likely because of the safety provided by vegetation in the restoration area adjacent to campus. The birds sleep in the willows at night, using the rustling sounds of the thick vegetation as an early warning system for predators and danger, said University of Washington crow expert, John Marzluff during a talk about the crows.

On Tuesday, a steady river of birds was seen hugging the northern shore of Lake Washington, following the Sammamish River around dusk, heading for the UW, Bothell campus. The black stream of birds in the darkening sky caused people on the nearby Burke-Gilman Trail to look skyward at the unusual sight.

To the south, another large group of crows gathers at the Newport Yacht Basin on Lake Washington, just south of the Interstate 90 bridge.

When those crows arrive nightly, they gather on the metal roof of the marina, on the docks and on boats. Then, like the Bothell crows, thousands of birds fly together into an area of vegetation where they find protection from predators.

The Newport Yacht Basin crows just returned to their roost in recent days, after a hiatus, said Tom Lisk who helps manage the marina.

As the crows land on the metal roof it “sounds like a big rainstorm,” he said.

Professor Marzluff said that there used to be more roosts of crows in north and northeast Lake Washington but many of those seem to have converged at the UW, Bothell site.

“It may be just be a coincidence of circumstances that they are now so intense in this particular area,” he said during one of his talks.

You can see a video below that shows how intense the crows swarm the campus each night. You can, of course, also follow the Bothell crows on Facebook here.

Note: I have seen the birds fly over my house near Lake Washington like clockwork for years and have been fascinated by them. One time I went so far as to try and chase them in my car to see where they went.
