Murder of crows at staging pre-roost in Shadyside, Pittsburgh, 22 Oct 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

23 October 2025

Pittsburgh’s winter crow flock is growing day by day to reach its maximum size in late December / early January. As the murder grows they change their evening pathways and foil my attempt to count them.

For a while they’ve been staging in mature trees in Shadyside, then flying west after sunset to an unknown location. But they’ve also spent a couple of evenings staging on my building’s roof and on Cathedral Mansions.

Yesterday I went to Shadyside at 5:30pm to watch them come into the trees. At first each tree had 15 crows, then 20, then 30, then … More crows per tree and more trees with crows. They were loud.

Murder of crows at pre-roost in Shadyside, Pittsburgh, 22 Oct 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Murder of crows at pre-roost in Shadyside, Pittsburgh, 22 Oct 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Th flock was probably annoying the neighbors. Fortunately their visit was temporary. At sunset they departed for points west.

Seven years ago Pittsburgh’s growing murder of crows roosted on Pitt’s campus near the Cathedral of Learning and of course they caused trouble. Crows can’t help it.

Find out about crow trouble at home and abroad in this vintage article from 2018.

Murder of crows at staging pre-roost in Shadyside, Pittsburgh, 22 Oct 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)